Synopsis

Hot Fudgefocuses on the neglect and abuse of a withdrawn but talented girl, Nicky Andrews. Matthew Gill, an English teacher the students call the "Dragon Man," reads Nicky's stories out loud in class against her will. Her classmates, who have organized themselves into rigid cliques, cruelly reject her as "weird" and a "witch," even while believing that in one of the stories she foretells the suicide of Rosy, an overweight girl who is a newcomer to the school. As the drama unfolds, the audience does not know who is the potential suicide victim, Rosy or Nicky. The range of characters includes a cheerleader, an athlete, a kid who wants desperately to be popular, the class clown, the "weirdo," an overweight girl who says she only eats "half a sandwich" for lunch and Bob, the only member of the math and astronomy club. Realistically portraying the humor and pain of high school,Hot Fudgespeaks of peer pressure, stress and the desperate need to belong.Area staging. Approximate running time: 40 minutes.