You Don't Touch My Children

Written by Jacques Audiard for the contemporary drama *Emilia Pérez*, this intense three-minute duologue captures a volatile confrontation between two women sharing a home. The conflict ignites when Jessi reveals her sudden engagement to a man named Gustavo and her plan to relocate with the household's children. Emilia initially masks her concern before the conversation deteriorates into a fierce battle over custody, safety, and unspoken family tensions.

Emilia, a woman in her forties or fifties, embodies a fiercely protective matriarch who operates with razor-sharp authority and buried tension. She attempts a measured, diplomatic facade, but her resolve hardens instantly the moment the safety and custody of the children are threatened. Jessi, in her thirties, is defensive and desperate for personal independence after years of waiting. Her determination to build a new life clashes directly with Emilia's calculated dominance, making both women formidable adversaries in the space.

This piece provides actors with exceptionally high dramatic stakes and rapid emotional shifts that avoid falling into one-note hostility. The scene begins with cautious small talk and a tentative embrace before transforming into a biting, personal interrogation, offering performers a clear arc within a compact timeframe. Its sharp pacing and simmering undercurrents allow both performers to display rich subtext, active listening, and strong vocal command under pressure.

This duologue is ideal for adult female performers seeking gritty contemporary dramatic material for agent showcases, self-tapes, or scene study practice. It offers prime casting opportunities for actors playing leading lady, matriarch, anti-hero, or tough yet vulnerable roles. It is especially well matched for performers looking to demonstrate grounded emotional intensity within a bilingual Spanish and English framework.

Resist the urge to launch the interaction at maximum volume or overt hostility. Allow the opening conversation and embrace to feel plausible so that the subsequent interrogation about the move lands with genuine shock value. Jessi should anchor her defenses in an authentic yearning for freedom rather than mere defiance, while Emilia must maintain quiet control before unleashing her sharper attacks. Track the shifting power dynamic carefully, letting physical stillness and deliberate pauses reveal the danger behind the argument.