I ain’t perfect, but at least I make the effort.
In the serio-comedy scene Songs From the Courtyard, Mckenzie won’t let Paul back in the house because he’s shown he won’t change.
Featured Scene – Songs From the Courtyard
MCKENZIE: I ain’t perfect, but at least I make the effort.
PAUL: What effort?
MCKENZIE: To change.
PAUL: Bullsh’t. You’re the same as when I first met ya.
MCKENZIE: I’ve grown.
PAUL: Your arse has grown maybe, but not your –
Mckenzie slams the door shut and locks it. We hear Mckenzie scream. Paul laughs heartily.
PAUL (through the door): Can’t ya take a friggin’ joke, woman, an’ lighten the mood some? Come on, ya know I love your arse. Most favorite thing about you is your arse. Mckenzie, I swear it you’ve a great arse. It’s a well-shaped, plump…in a good way.. FIRM, luscious arse. I love your arse, okay? If you could just be your arse with no talkin’, that would be okay by me, yeah? I’m just sayin’ is all.
Mckenzie opens up the second-story window.
MCKENZIE: See how insultin’ you are?!
PAUL: I’m not. I’m complimentin’ ya on your –
MCKENZIE: You’d rather me just be a NON-SPEAKING ARSE, so you don’t really love me.
PAUL: I was tryin’ to flatter you, love.
Mckenzie tosses a winter hat out the window. Paul catches it and puts it on.
PAUL: My ears were about to fall off, you know.
MCKENZIE: Good! Soon they’ll get frostbite.
PAUL: Yeah, they might though. I’m shivering!
MCKENZIE: Sober up!
PAUL: How’s about some hot cocoa?
MCKENZIE: You ain’t comin’ back in.
PAUL: I’m sorry. Is that what you want to hear?
MCKENZIE: I want to see you turn into a snowman.
PAUL: Do ya now?
MCKENZIE: That’s right.
PAUL: So, if I turn into a snowman, will you then let me back in the house?
MCKENZIE: Of course! I will set you right next to the fireplace and watch you melt away into water.
PAUL: Well, we don’t have a fireplace.
MCKENZIE: I’m sure I’ll think of somethin’.
PAUL: I’m sure you bloody damn well would, woman! Let me in!
MCKENZIE: Go visit the North Pole!
PAUL: I’m going back to the pub before I get pneumonia!
MCKENZIE: You step one foot into that pub, and it will be the very last of ya!
PAUL: I’m nearly freezin’ to death! Can’t feel my toes!
Mckenzie steps away from the window and comes back. She tosses out a pair of socks and a winter coat.
MCKENZIE: Here you are!
Paul hurries to the coat and puts it on. He picks up the two pairs of socks and holds them up.
PAUL: What do ya expect me to do with these?
MCKENZIE: Stuff them in your mouth!
PAUL: I’ll use them as gloves then. (puts socks over his hands) Ha! Ya can’t kill me, McKenzie! I’ll stay alive forever!
MCKENZIE: (she chuckles)
PAUL (sniffling): I’m definitely catching cold.
MCKENZIE: Will that be the new thing then?
PAUL: What?
MCKENZIE: Catching cold?
PAUL: Aye.
MCKENZIE: Gonna cry to me about that now?
PAUL: It’s your fault.
MCKENZIE: It’s your own damn fault.
PAUL: Ah, so maybe it is. But that’s life, innit? None of us are perfect.
MCKENZIE: I don’t want ya to be perfect.
PAUL: No such thing.
MCKENZIE: I’m sayin’ I know that.
PAUL: But you expect as much –
MCKENZIE: You know what I want, and if ya can’t give it, I’ll be looking elsewhere then.
PAUL: So, it’s on me then, eh?
MCKENZIE: It’s always on you.
PAUL: Mckenzie?
MCKENZIE: What?
PAUL: I heard there’s a factory place not far from here, just up the road in fact. It’s a place where I’d like us to go so we can get repaired and start again. I’d like us to start again from the first day we met. That was perfect, that day was perfect. It was the only perfect day I believe I ever had in all my life. I’d like to start there again with ya, fully repaired, and continue onward together, being happy, with no injuries, no scratches, no scars, no memories of our mistakes – just us, alone, perfect, and happy.
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Scene Summary
In the one-act eplay Songs From the Courtyard, a couples quarrel turns indecisive as Paul tries to get allowed back into his apartment from his girlfriend Mckenzie because he had too much to drink.
- Genre: Drama
- Length: ~5 minute scene
- Characters: 1 woman, 1 man
- Themes: love, couple
- Best For: drama scenes for 1 woman, 1 man
FAQ
A: There’s a useful resource on Monologue Blogger called 10 Intense Scenes Featuring Couples in Conflict which extracts scenes from published plays you can use.
A: Songs From the Courtyard is a serio-comedy script written by Joseph Arnone where Paul comes home from the pub and his girlfriend Mckenzie refuses to let him back into their home.
A: The Echoes of Our Existence, Charade, and Mad To the Core explore couples on the verge of having a breakup.
Related Scenes
- Isn’t that blood on your hands? – drama scene from Snowdrift
- You know I couldn’t have loved him. – drama scene from Gleam of Dawn
- Are we being like those people in the movies, Gus? – drama scene from Fall No Further
- And is that supposed to be considered newsworthy? – drama scene from Eye of the Whale
Scene Source: Songs From the Courtyard
Songs From the Courtyard is a drama play script by Joseph Arnone, 2026.
