The Wrong Umbrella
Rom-com, meet-cute · Young adult (18-25) · Neutral American · 1 minute
Cast: OWENJUNE
A bus shelter in a downpour. JUNE, 22, and OWEN, 24, have each picked up the other's black umbrella from the stand
VO Journey Academy30 practice scripts from VO Journey Academy. Free to record, free to use in your reel. Download the PDF to mark up in the booth, or print it straight from here.
Rom-com, meet-cute · Young adult (18-25) · Neutral American · 1 minute
Cast: OWENJUNE
A bus shelter in a downpour. JUNE, 22, and OWEN, 24, have each picked up the other's black umbrella from the stand
Workplace, slow burn · Adult (30-45) · Neutral American · 1 minute
Cast: DANAPRIYA
A hospital ward, 7 a.m. shift handover. DANA, 38, the night nurse, and PRIYA, 34, on days. Six months of handovers and never anything more
Second chance · Adult (30-45) · Neutral American · 1 minute
Cast: ELLISTHEO
A church before a wedding. THEO, 36, a groomsman; the bride is his sister. ELLIS, 37, his ex of eight years, arriving late
SFX: organ music begins
Small town · Adult (40-55) · Irish · 1 minute
Cast: MAEVEDECLAN
A village pub in County Clare, closing time. MAEVE, 47, runs the bar. DECLAN, 50, the widowed vet, has been the last customer every Friday for a year
Rom-com, young adult · Young adult (18-25) · Neutral American · 1 minute
Cast: SAMJAVI
A school gym after hours. SAM, 18, head of the prom committee. JAVI, 18, stuck on balloon duty as part of a detention
Contemporary, mature · Mature (55+) · Neutral British · 1 minute
Cast: ARTHURMARGARET
Neighbouring allotments, early spring. MARGARET, 68, a widow. ARTHUR, 71, a widower who took the next plot last year and has lost every battle with the slugs
Historical · Adult (25-40) · Neutral American · 1 minute
Cast: RUTHWALTER
A railway telegraph office in Nebraska, 1926. RUTH, 24, the operator. WALTER, 27, a farmer who has come in every week for a month to send the same telegram
Enemies to lovers, workplace · Adult (25-40) · Neutral American · 1 minute
Cast: CASSHOLLIS
A newsroom at midnight. CASS, 31, twelve years on the politics desk. HOLLIS, 29, the new hire who has scooped her twice this month. Both waiting on the same source
Rom-com · Adult (25-40) · Neutral American · 1 minute
Cast: JORDANALEX
A city dog park. ALEX, 29, owner of an enormous shy dog. JORDAN, 32, owner of a tiny furious one. The dogs have been inseparable for weeks; the owners have never exchanged names
Slow burn · Young adult (18-25) · Scottish · 1 minute
Cast: ISLACALLUM
The last bus out of Glasgow city centre. ISLA, 23, and CALLUM, 25, have caught it from the same stop for three months. Tonight she sits next to him
Enemies to lovers, small town · Adult (30-45) · Southern US · 90 seconds
Cast: BEAURAFE
Main Street in a small Georgia town, the night before the county fair. BEAU, 41, owns the old bakery. RAFE, 36, opened a new one across the street six months ago. They are judging the pie contest together
Slow burn, workplace · Adult (40-55) · Scottish · 90 seconds
Cast: FIONAKERRY
A mountain rescue bothy in the Cairngorms, sheltering from a whiteout. FIONA, 44, team leader, twenty years on the hills. KERRY, 33, in her first winter on the team, who left the line to reach a casualty and got them both stranded
Second chance · Adult (30-45) · Neutral American · 90 seconds
Cast: MARCUSLENA
An airport gate in Denver, a four-hour delay. LENA, 38, a surgeon. MARCUS, 39, a high-school music teacher. They were engaged at twenty-six; she left for residency and he didn't follow
SFX: a gate announcement chime
Historical, Regency · Young adult (18-25) · Neutral British · 90 seconds
Cast: ELEANORHENRY
An assembly room in Bath, 1814. ELEANOR ASHBY, 21, sharp-tongued and in her third Season. CAPTAIN HENRY WARD, 29, a naval officer home from sea, who has asked for a dance she has already given away
Rom-com, fake dating · Young adult (18-25) · Neutral American · 90 seconds
Cast: TESSMIA
A diner booth after a college party. MIA, 20, asked her roommate TESS, 20, to pretend to be her girlfriend so her ex would stop texting. It worked too well
Contemporary, mature · Mature (55+) · Neutral American · 90 seconds
Cast: WALTHAROLD
A library meeting room after book club. HAROLD, 72, a retired chemistry teacher. WALT, 69, a retired English teacher. They have disagreed about every book for two years
Workplace · Adult (30-45) · Neutral American · 90 seconds
Cast: GREGNADIA
A glass-walled meeting room. NADIA, 35, head of design. GREG, 37, head of engineering. A new HR system has made them assess each other in person. They have been polite rivals for three years
Small town, second chance · Adult (25-40) · Australian · 90 seconds
Cast: DANNYJESS
A jetty in a fishing town on the south coast of New South Wales, dusk. JESS, 29, home to sell her late father's boat. DANNY, 31, the deckhand who worked it with him for ten years
Rom-com, friends to lovers · Adult (25-40) · Neutral American · 90 seconds
Cast: BENROSIE
A karaoke bar on a Thursday night. BEN, 30, and ROSIE, 29, best friends since college. They have one rule: no duets. Rosie has just signed them up
SFX: the host taps the microphone
Historical, Victorian · Adult (25-40) · Neutral British · 90 seconds
Cast: TOMANNIE
A Kensington street at dusk, 1889. TOM, 26, the lamplighter. ANNIE, 22, a housemaid who has opened the same attic window every evening for a month, just as he reaches her lamp
Second chance · Adult (40-55) · Neutral American · 90 seconds
Cast: ROBINCASEY
A lawyer's waiting room. CASEY, 46, and ROBIN, 48, are finalising their divorce. Everything is settled but one item: Admiral, a fourteen-year-old cat
Slow burn · Young adult (18-25) · Neutral American · 90 seconds
Cast: NOAHKAI
A university observatory at 3 a.m. KAI, 24, a PhD student with the telescope booked. NOAH, 23, the undergrad technician paid to stay awake with him. Their fourth night
SFX: a soft beep from the computer
Rom-com, unrequited · Adult (25-40) · Neutral American · 2 minutes
Cast: DEVLUCY
An empty restaurant after closing. LUCY, 31, the pastry chef. DEV, 32, her best friend since school, who is proposing to his girlfriend Claire here tomorrow and has asked Lucy to stand in for a rehearsal
Enemies to lovers · Adult (25-40) · Neutral British · 2 minutes
Cast: HARRIETGEORGIA
A hotel function room the night before a wedding. HARRIET, 33, the bride's maid of honour, a planner with a laminated schedule. GEORGIA, 30, the groom's best woman, who has not looked at the schedule once. They are folding four hundred napkins into swans
Second chance, mature · Mature (55+) · Southern US · 2 minutes
Cast: EARLDEE
A high-school gym in Alabama, a forty-five-year reunion. DEE, 63, a widowed retired teacher. EARL, 64, divorced and back in town this year. They went steady senior year until he left for the Navy without a word
Historical · Adult (30-45) · Neutral British · 2 minutes
Cast: ROBERTJAMES
A village church vestry in Yorkshire, 1953. JAMES, 32, the organist. ROBERT, 34, the churchwarden, a farmer. After choir practice they are putting the hymn books away. They have walked home the same way every Thursday since spring
Slow burn, workplace · Adult (25-40) · Australian · 2 minutes
Cast: RILEYSAM
Neighbouring stalls at a Friday night market in Brisbane, packing up at eleven. SAM, 34, runs the dumpling stall. RILEY, 30, runs the gelato stall. They have traded food for eight months and split the cost of one extension lead
Workplace, rom-com · Adult (30-45) · Neutral British, Neutral American · 2 minutes
Cast: MAYAOLIVER
A hotel lobby at a company retreat. OLIVER, 36, from the London office. MAYA, 34, from Chicago. They have been on video calls together every day for two years and have never met
Historical, post-war · Adult (25-40) · Neutral British · 3 minutes
Cast: JACKPEGGY
A village hall dance in Kent, 1946. PEGGY, 27, a land girl who has stayed on to run the farm. JACK, 29, just demobbed after four years as a prisoner of war. They wrote to each other all through the war, having met once, the week before he shipped out
SFX: the band starts a slow waltz
Slow burn, contemporary · Adult (40-55) · Neutral American · 3 minutes
Cast: LOUBEA
A laundromat, Tuesday, 9 p.m. BEA, 52, an ER doctor, divorced. LOU, 45, a sign painter. They have used the same two machines every Tuesday for a year. Tonight Lou's dryer is broken and Bea's has room
SFX: the dryer buzzes
Practice with these, record them, post them as demos or reels, use them in auditions. Please do not resell them as scripts. © VO Journey Academy · avosjourney.com