''Sure Thing'' is a short comic play by

David Ives David Ives (born July 11, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; '' The New York Times'' in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written ...

featuring a chance meeting of two characters, Betty and Bill, whose conversation is continually reset by the use of a ringing

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

, starting over when one of them responds negatively to the other. The play was first produced in 1988, and was published in 1994.

Synopsis

The play begins with Bill approaching Betty in a café, asking "Is this chair taken?" To which she replies "Yes." The bell rings and Bill repeats his question to which Betty says, "No, but I'm expecting somebody in a minute." The bell rings again, and Bill poses his question again. This process continues until Bill is finally allowed to take a seat. The bell acts as a buffer against all topics of conversation that are potentially negative to building their relationship, allowing them to try another line. By the end of the play, their initial differences in opinion (i.e. literature, movie tastes, romance) have reversed to become perfect companions. Both of them finally agree to fall in love and cherish the other forever. Ives takes away any words or beliefs that could be offensive, whether they be sexist remarks or political affiliations. As with Bill's line: :“I believe a man is what he is. (Bell) A person is what he is. (Bell) A person is ... what they are.” As Martin Andrucki (Professor of Theater, Bates College) wrote: "In effect words create, and re-create, his

ill ILL may refer to: * ''I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom * Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland * Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility * Interlibrar ...

future as he goes along. Thus, language itself takes on the power to determine the lives of Bill and Betty."

Productions

''Sure Thing'' was first presented at Manhattan Punch Line's Festival of One-Act Comedies,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, in February 1988. The director was Jason McConnell Buzas. The characters of Bill and Betty were played by Robert Stanton and Nancy Opel, respectively. ''Sure Thing'' was part of Ives’ original six-play collection, ''

All in the Timing ''All in the Timing'' is a collection of one-act plays by the American playwright David Ives, written between 1987 and 1993. It had its premiere Off-Broadway in 1993 at Primary Stages, and was revived at Primary Stages in 2013. It was first publi ...

,'' which premiered

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

in 1993 at

Primary Stages Primary Stages was founded in 1984 by Casey Childs as an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company. In 2004, Primary Stages moved from its 99-seat home of 17 years at 354 West 45th Street to the 199-seat theater at 59E59 Theaters. In 2014, the c ...

, and was revived at Primary Stages in 2013. Ives won the

Outer Critics Circle The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

John Gassner Award for Playwriting, 1993-1994.Awards Archive, 1993-1994"
outercritics.org, accessed February 8, 2014

References

{{Works by David Ives 1988 plays Plays by David Ives One-act plays