SHORT SYNOPSIS

In SCRATCH, a DJ takes us on a pulsating journey through her world and experiences, set to the rhythm of an electronic music session. We dive into her daily life—from the vibrant nightlife where she thrives to the intimate moments shared with her partner at home. Beneath it all lies her secret yearning: to pick up the guitar again, to discover her unique voice, and to emerge as an indie songwriter.

The story explores the complex realities of social exposure, the delicate dance of midnight flirtations, and the boundaries that women navigate in sexuality and seduction. It delves into the tangled web of misunderstandings, doubts, and contradictions in the choices we make.

Are all these emotions and decisions valid? Must they be fixed, or can they flow and change from moment to moment? And ultimately, can we—as an audience and as a society—embrace them without judgment?

FULL SYNOPSIS

You walk into the Disco.
DJ Laureen’s on the decks.
Beats start tickling your feet.
Dance?
Hell yes — you start moving.
Lights blind you, blow your mind.
You hit the bar. Order… something.
Whatever.
They look at you.
You’d want to… but maybe you don’t.
Can you hesitate?
Yes… or no. ’Cause if you say yes, or fake a yes, and later it’s no, you’re in for trouble.
So what? Don’t stop.
Keep dancing — hide the doubt. Shot, keep the beat, let whatever’s gonna happen…happen.
Or whatever you decide.
Don’t overthink.
And if you still don’t know what to do?
Then… SCRATCH!

Rip your life. Tear it. Scratch it. Smash it. Remake it, reboot it, or just throw yourself in and let it all go down.

In SCRATCH, a DJ takes us on a pulsating journey through her world and experiences, set to the rhythm of an electronic music session. We dive into her daily life—from the vibrant nightlife where she thrives to the intimate moments shared with her partner at home. Beneath it all lies her secret yearning: to pick up the guitar again, to discover her unique voice, and to emerge as an indie songwriter.The story explores the complex realities of social exposure, the delicate dance of midnight flirtations, and the boundaries that women navigate in sexuality and seduction. It delves into the tangled web of misunderstandings, doubts, and contradictions in the choices we make.

Are all these emotions and decisions valid? Must they be fixed, or can they flow and change from moment to moment? And ultimately, can we—as an audience and as a society—embrace them without judgment?

AUTHOR’S WORDS

I wrote SCRATCH in a playwriting lab at SGAE in 2021, but with the rage and tenderness of someone who’s been watching invisible rules simmer for far too long… Despite feminist progress, there still seems to be an unspoken law: women must seduce with permission, silence their desires, wear masks that for us men —gay or not— are cheered and glorified.

What unsettles me is that while men get applauded for exploring our impulses, women are expected to restrain theirs.

This play was born from the urge to slam my fist on the table —in this case, the DJ’s table— to shatter that ingrained script, to the pulse of electronic beats, from the podium of a hyper-empowered woman, deified in her booth high above the dancefloor, surveying like a bird’s-eye goddess but collapsing into bed exhausted, like any other mortal… and asking myself: why does freedom for women always arrive with conditions attached?

A nightclub, indie songs of a DJ-songwriter who cannot raise her voice —or has been made to quiet it— where every pause and every silence are meant to spark a shared rebellion. Not offering neat answers, but shooting questions like shots of tequila at a crowded bar. With the urgency of keeping the beat, but the slow-burning reflection we need to change EVERYTHING.

SCRATCH! Let’s scratch at our lives, tear up these rules… but never stop dancing.

Daniel J. Meyer