This is actually a brief play. It is planned for discussion afterward, preferably in small groups so that all will share. It is a play about conviction. For more impact, let adults play the adults. The cast: Dr. John Whitney, a surgeon; Helen, his wife; Nancy, their fifteen-year-old daughter; Rod, her seventeen-year-old boyfriend. The play takes place in the living room of the Whitney home. However, all you really need is some folding chairs, two put together as a sofa. Props needed are an ashtray and a cup in which is, supposedly, coffee. The imagination of the audience will supply all else you need.

As the play begins, Dr. John Whitney enters, obviously under strain and pent-up emotion. He sits on a chair, bows his head into his hands. In a moment, his wife, Helen, enters. She comes and p…