Interrupting Vanessa

Vanessa lives with her mother, who seems too busy to listen to her and calls Vanessa's beloved collection of stuff a "pile of junk"

Vanessa uses her stuff - keys, string, wire, cardboard, broken flashlights, old radios - to create inventions and to make up stories

There is one more treasure she keeps in her room - her father

Dad died last year, but Vanessa has imagined him back to life

He sits there reading his newspaper and telling jokes, just like he used to

Vanessa gets carried away by her imagination, telling her father elaborate stories about things like receiving a gold medal from the president and having "a ranch with bucking broncos"

Then Mom does the unthinkable - she invites Timmy Fibbins over to play

Vanessa is mortified because no one talks to Timmy at school

Her dad reminds her that no one talks to her, either

And he also decides that it's time for him to leave

Once Timmy arrives and starts talking, things aren't so bad - Timmy likes Vanessa's junk, laughs at her jokes and doesn't laugh at her inventions

Realizing she's never really alone, Vanessa is now able to her dad go to " ... live on the ranch and ride the broncos"

REVIEWS

"How refreshing to have a family play as delightful and thought provoking for adults as well as children ... Interrupting Vanessa is a vastly entertaining show that can serve as a useful tool for stimulating conversation between parent and child ... The play generates so many important issues, further discussion is likely to continue on the way home" -Sheila Schultz, KDHX Community Media