David Refuses to Take the Leopard to Connecticut

Taken from the screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby, written by Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde, this high-energy duologue captures a chaotic morning inside Susan's apartment. David is desperately attempting to leave with his precious fossil to complete his brontosaurus and attend his upcoming wedding. Meanwhile, Susan scrambles to stop him from escaping, determined to enlist his help in taking an affectionate panther to Connecticut before her wealthy Aunt Elizabeth arrives. The scene balances escalating stakes with rapid-fire verbal conflict and slapstick energy.

David is an anxious, high-strung academic whose primary concerns are his museum duties, protecting his fossil, and arriving at his wedding on time. His mounting panic over the friendly wildcat contrasts sharply with his instinct to keep his fragile scientific discovery out of harm's way. Susan is charming, persistent, and entirely unbothered by ordinary logic or David's frantic protests. Focused on securing a million dollars from her visiting aunt, she uses emotional appeals, guilt, and relentless momentum to keep David by her side.

This modern-classic selection provides performers with a fantastic showcase for screwball timing, verbal dexterity, and physical storytelling. Because both characters have urgent, mutually exclusive objectives, the comedic tension remains taut and engaging throughout the two-minute exchange. It allows casting directors to evaluate an actor's listening ability, stage presence, and capacity to play heightened circumstances with genuine conviction and warmth.

Spanning an age range of twenty-five to thirty-five, this piece is well suited for drama school auditions, agent showcases, self-tapes, and general comedy practice. Performers targeting casting types such as leading man, leading lady, comic relief, charming eccentric, or academic nerd will find ample opportunity to display their range and charisma.

Maintain brisk comedic pacing and ensure cue pickups are sharp without running over key comedic beats. Treat the off-balance physical presence of the animal as a real, continuous danger that dictates where and how you move across the room. David should anchor his terror in the high stakes of his wedding and museum career, while Susan must play her absurd logic with total sincerity and effortless confidence.