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Overview
Synopsis
Steve Martin’s WASP is an absurdist take on 1950s suburbia and its White Anglo-Saxon Protestant values that seeped into popular culture. A nuclear family--Dad, Mom, Son, and Sis--gather together for dinner and banal conversation. But when each family member is alone, they truly come to life in a world of imagination, fantasy, and philosophy. They ponder love, desire, existence, and purpose. Individually, they rebel against the WASP norms that dictate their lives and behaviors, yet as a family unit, they continue to “live the lie” of middle-class American life. A true satirical work, WASP defies clear interpretation and challenges the audience to make meaning from its absurdist critique.
Show Information
- Book
- Steve Martin
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 1
- First Produced
- 1994
- Genres
- Comedy, Dark Comedy, Satire, Parody
- Settings
- Multiple Settings, Simple/No Set, Contemporary
- Time & Place
- 1950s, United States, suburbs
- Cast Size
- medium
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- Ideal For
- Community Theatre, College/University, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, High School, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Late Teen Characters, Medium Cast
Context
WASP had its New York premiere at the Joseph Papp Theatre in 1995, alongside Steve Martin’s other one-acts, Patter for the Floating Lady, Guillotine, and The ZIg-Zag Woman. Critics largely disliked the absurdist production, seeing it as self-indulgent and nonsensical. However, some reviewers did find Martin’s satiric exposé of 1950s middle America as clever; F. Kathleen Foley of the L.A. Times wrote of a 2002 production: “Deft and incongruous, the play yields plenty of laughter but has
to read the context for WASP and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Scene 1: WASP
In a 1950s kitchen, a family is gathered around the dinner table as Dad says a prayer to “God in heaven, which is seventeen miles above the Earth.” The family eats, but Son’s curiosity gets the best of him--he learned that the moon is 250,000 miles away, so that means heaven is closer than the moon. More than that, if Adam and Eve only had two sons, where did all the other people on Earth come from? Mom bursts into tears while Dad assures Son that his science teacher will be
to read the plot for WASP and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
A play with only one act. One-act plays may have several scenes and vary in length, from short single scenes to full-length scripts.
An investigation of truth, existence, or morality that uses rational and logical thought
A form of comedy that presents ridiculous extremes in order to make a point about society or human nature.
Drama which abandons conventional dramatic form to portray the futility of human struggle in a senseless world.
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Guide Written By:
Cindi Calhoun
Theatre teacher, director, writer, and seamstress