This document provides biographical information about playwright Sharon E. Cooper and summarizes her 10-minute play "Mistaken Identity." The play is set in a pub in Leicester, England and involves Steve, a American student studying abroad, who is under the mistaken impression that he has been set up on a date by his friend Raj to propose marriage to Kali, Raj's sister. Over the course of the date, it is revealed that Kali is actually a lesbian. The play explores the misunderstandings and assumptions that arise between Steve and Kali over culture and sexuality.

1. Mistaken Identity
Sharon E. Cooper (b. 1975)
© Ginny Zapar Cohen
Sharon Cooper studied English, Theatre, and Secondary
Education at Longwood University (BA), and attended the
Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University
(MA), where she studied playwriting, screenwriting, and arts
and public policy. She also attended the Kennedy Center's
Playwriting Intensive program. Cooper has taught English and
Creative Writing in public and private schools and is a tutor,
writing coach and Teaching Artist. Cooper is a Resident
Playwright at The CRY HAVOC Company. Her five full-length
plays and dozens of short plays have won numerous awards and
have been produced in America, India, England, Hungary, and
Germany.
Mistaken Identity
A Ten Minute Play
Sharon E. Cooper (2004, revised 2008)
CHARACTERS
KALI PATEL, 29, F. Single lesbian Hindu, Indian heritage,
social worker who works as much as possible; lives in
Leicester, England
STEVE DODD, 32, M. Single straight guy, desperate to marry,
raised Baptist but only attends church on Christmas and Easter;
studying abroad for his final year
SETTING
The Castle, a Pub in Kirby Muxlowe in Leicester, England
TIME
The present Lights up on STEVE and KALI in a busy pub on
their first date. They are in the middle of dinner.
STEVE: You must get tired of fish and chips all the time. Why
do y'all call them "chips"? When they're french fries, I mean.

2. And do you ever notice when people swear, they say—"Excuse
my French." Not me. Nope. I have nothing against the French.
KALI: Right, well, I'm not French, Steve, now am I?
STEVE: I just didn't want you to think I was prejudiced against
the French or anyone else. . . . They're like your neighbors. The
French. And your neighbors are like my neighbors. And like a
good neighbor, State Farm is there. Have you heard that
commercial?
KALI: What? No. Steve—
STEVE: It's for insurance. Y'all must not play it here. [pause]
So, I know that you all do the "arranged marriage thing." Raj
and I had a long talk about it. Of course, Raj and I wanted you
to approve, too, Kali.
KALI: How twenty-first century of you and my brother. Steve—
KALI / STEVE: I'm gay. / Will you marry me?
KALI / STEVE: Come again? / What?
KALI / STEVE: How could you ask me to— / Well, I can't
believe this.
KALI / STEVE: Bloody hell, stop talking while I'm talking . . .
/ This is very strange.
KALI: So—what?
STEVE: This new information is, well, new, and changes
things, I guess.
KALI: You guess? What the hell is wrong with you? I'm sorry,
Steve, you just happened to show up at the end of a very long
line of a lot of very bad dates. You know, movies where the
bloke negotiates holding your hand while you're just trying to
eat popcorn, running across De Montfort University in the
pouring rain, dropping a bowling ball on the bloke's pizza.
STEVE: You had me until the bowling ball. Kali, this doesn't
make sense. I invite you out on a lovely date. We eat fish and
chips—when I would rather be eating a burger or lasagna—
KALI: Steve, I'm sorry—
STEVE: I figured we would have a nice, long traditional
wedding with the colorful tents; all of my family would be
there—we're more of the Christmas/Easter Christians, so we'd

3. do your religion and I would wear—
KALI [overlapping]: You don't know anything about my people.
What are you—
STEVE [overlapping]: Ooohhh—yes I do. I rented Monsoon
Wedding. And watched the director's cut! And, I saw Slum Dog
Millionaire like three times. Three times. Unbelievable!
KALI: Yes, this makes loads of sense at the end of the day. I am
a lesbian who has to date every Hindu bloke in England until
her brother gets so desperate that he sets her up with a
Cowboy—
STEVE: I take offence to that.
KALI [overlapping]: But I should feel sorry for you because
you watched two, count them, two movies about Indian people
in your entire life and ordered fish when there are hamburgers
on the menu! Forgive me for being so insensitive.
STEVE: I ordered fish because I wanted you to like me. And I'm
sure I've seen other Asian movies. . . . Like all those fighting
movies. You know, the ones where women are jumping through
the air—
KALI: Aaahhh! Do you see how all of this is a moot point now?
STEVE: I'm confused. Let's review.
KALI: Please, no, bloody hell, let's not review. Let's get the
waiter. Haven't you had enough?
[She gets up. He follows.]
STEVE [overlapping]: Why is your brother setting up his
lesbian sister—
KALI [overlapping]: Will you please keep your voice down?
STEVE [overlapping]: —up on dates for marriage and tricking
well-meaning men, specifically, me, into proposing to her? I'm
here to finish my business degree, but I wasn't born yesterday.
So I took a few years off and changed careers a few times, was
a fireman—
KALI [overlapping]: What does that have to do with anything?
STEVE: And I'm thirty-two years old, but that doesn't mean—
KALI: Mate, are you going to keep on and on?
STEVE: Why did your brother put me through this? This isn't

4. one of those new reality shows— "Big Brothers Set up Their
Lesbian Sisters." Is there a camera under the table? [He looks.]
Let's talk about this. [He sits back down.] I'm a good listener.
Go ahead. [pause] I'm listening. [pause] You have to say
something if you want this to continue as, what we call in
America, a conversation.
KALI: Are you done?
STEVE: Go ahead.
[She sits.]
KALI: I guess I was hoping you wouldn't tell Raj.
STEVE: He doesn't know?
KALI: You are finishing your bachelor's degree, is that right?
STEVE: If you're so "bloody" smart, I'm wondering why you
would tell me, a man that is friends with your brother and sits
next to him twice a week in eight am classes—why would you
tell me you're a lesbian and not your brother.
KALI: Maybe for the same reason you would ask a woman
you've never met before to marry you.
STEVE: Your brother made it sound like it would be easy. I've
been looking for that.
KALI [overlapping]: Look, you seem very nice, you do.
STEVE: I am very nice.
KALI: And at the end of the day, I hope you find someone you
like.
STEVE: I like how you say "at the end of the day" and I like
how you say "bloke" and "mate." It's so endearing. And you're
beautiful and small and your hair falls on your back so—
KALI: Steve, being a lesbian is not negotiable. And don't start
with how sexy it would be to be with me or to watch me and
another woman—
STEVE [overlapping]: Kali, I didn't say any of that.
KALI: You didn't have to. Up until a few minutes ago, you
thought I was a quiet, subservient Asian toy for sale from her
brother. Steve, go get a doll. She can travel with you to America
whenever you want. In the meantime, I'll continue to be a loud,
abrasive [whispering] lesbian, while my brother sets me up with

5. every bloke on the street—and
KALI [cont.]: they don't even have to be Hindu anymore! Do
you have any idea what that's like? [pause] How would you
know?
STEVE: You're right. I wouldn't.
KALI: Steve, why did you want to be with me? I mean, before.
STEVE: I figured that we would have visited my family in the
winter when it's so cold here. I would have been willing to stay
here when I'm done with school and we would get a nice little
place by the—
KALI: Steve, we hadn't even shared dessert yet.
STEVE: Don't blame me for all of this. Five minutes ago, we
were on a date.
KALI: We're just two people in a pub.
STEVE: Kali—do you remember the last time someone—man,
woman, I don't care—had their hand down the small of your
back or leaned into you like it didn't matter where you ended
and they began?
KALI: Yes, I do remember that. And that was strangely poetic.
STEVE: You don't have to sound so surprised. Anyway, I
remember that feeling. Three years ago, at a fourth of July
celebration—you know, that's the holiday—
KALI: Yes, Steve, I know the holiday.
STEVE: She was the only woman I ever really loved. I knew it
was ending. Could taste it. I just held her as the fireworks went
off and the dust got in our skin. Figured I would hold on,
hoping that would keep me for a while . . . . You know how they
say babies will die if they're left alone too long. Always
wondered if it's true for bigger people, too. Like how
STEVE [cont.]: long would we last? . . . She left with her
pilates mat and snoopy slippers a few days later. I bet it hasn't
been three years for you.
KALI: No, it hasn't. But you wouldn't want to hear about that.
STEVE: Why not?
KALI: Come on, Steve, I'm not here for your fantasies—
STEVE: This thing where you assume you know what I'm

6. thinking—it's getting old.
KALI: I'm . . . sorry. I do have a woman in my life, Michele—
she's a teacher for people that are deaf. We've been together for
nine months. The longest we were away from each other was
this one time for three weeks. She was at a retreat where they
weren't allowed to talk, you know, total immersion. So she
would call and I would say, "Is it beautiful there, love?" and she
would hit a couple of buttons. Sometimes she would leave me
messages, "beep, beep, beep beep beep beep." It didn't matter
that she didn't say anything. . . But I can't take her home for
Diwali.
STEVE: What's that?
KALI: It's a festival of lights where—
STEVE: You mean like Hanukkah.
KALI: No, like Diwali. It's a New Year's celebration where we
remember ancestors, family and friends. And reflect back and
look to the future.
STEVE: It sounds nice. You know, my mother has been asking
me for grandchildren since I turned twenty-seven—every year,
at Christmas, it's the same—"I can't wait to hang another
stocking for my grandchildren, if I ever get to have them."
KALI: Now imagine that same conversation, well, not about
Christmas, and what if you could never give that to them—
could never bring someone home for any holiday for the rest of
your life?
STEVE: Then why don't you just tell them the truth?
KALI: I can't say, Mum, Dad, Raj, I've chosen women over
men—it's not a hamburger over fish. You just don't know how
they'll react. I'd run the risk of not being allowed to see my
nieces. I'm so exhausted from hiding, I can barely breathe.
STEVE: So stop hiding.
KALI: Have you been listening to what I've been saying?
STEVE: Have you?
KALI: Are you going to tell my brother?
STEVE: Do you want me to?
KALI: I don't know.

7. STEVE: I've never thought about that thing that you said.
KALI: Which thing would that be?
STEVE: The one where maybe you can't see your nieces 'cause
you're gay. That must suck.
KALI: Yes, well, thanks for trying to make me feel better.
STEVE: Listen. You get to decide what you tell your family and
when. As far as I'm concerned, I'll tell Raj tomorrow that we're
getting married. Or I can tell him you're a lesbian, and if he
doesn't let you be with his kids anymore, I'll punch him in the
face. That was me kidding.
KALI: You're funny. [pause] Maybe I told you because
somewhere deep down, I do want him to know. But I don't know
if I can take the risk.
STEVE: You don't have to rush.
KALI: I just wish it could be more simple. Like why can't what
I want be part of the whole picket fence thing? That's pretty
ridiculous, huh?
STEVE: We're all looking for that. My grandparents met before
World War II, dated for seven days in a row and my grandfather
asked my grandmother to go with him to Louisiana, where he'd
be stationed. She said, "Is that a proposal?" And he said "Of
course, it is." And they've been together ever since. And I just
want that, too. Huh—asking you to marry me on a first date!
You must think I'm pretty desperate, huh?
KALI: Not any more than the rest of us. . . . Oh, hell, do you
want to have some dessert?
STEVE: Oh, hell, sure. You know, we're going to share dessert.
KALI: Hey mate, no one said anything about sharing.
STEVE: I would go home with you for Diwali. I mean, as
friends. If you ever wanted one around. You're a nice girl, Kali.
I mean, woman, mate, bloke, I mean—
KALI: Sssshhhh. Let's just get some dessert.
[Lights fade as they motion for the waiter.]
[Blackout.]
End Play.

8. Copyright 2009, 2014. All rights reserved. The playwright has
written a full-length romantic comedy screenplay inspired by
"Kali" in Mistaken Identity. For more information on this
screenplay or for permission to produce the ten-minute play
Mistaken Identity or any of Sharon Cooper's plays, please
contact the author by email: [email protected] or through her
website:http://www.sharonecooper.com.
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
List of Literary Techniques
Technique Description
Allusion
A reference to a recognized literary work, person, historic
event, artistic achievement, etc. that enhances the
meaning of a detail in a literary work.
Climax
The crisis or high point of tension that becomes the story’s
turning point—the point at which the outcome of the
conflict is determined.

9. Conflict The struggle that shapes the plot in a story.
Dramatic irony
When the reader or audience knows more about the
action than the character involved.
Epiphany
A profound and sudden personal discovery.
Exposition
Setting and essential background information presented at
the beginning of a story or play.
Falling action
A reduction in intensity following the climax in a story or
play, allowing the various complications to be worked out.
Fate
An outside source that determines human events.
Figurative language
Language used in a non-literal way to convey images and

10. ideas.
Figures of speech
The main tools of figurative language; include similes and
metaphors..
First-person point of view
Occurs when the narrator is a character in the story and
tells the story from his or her perspective.
Flashback
The description of an event that occurred prior to the
action in the story.
Foreshadowing
A technique a writer uses to hint or suggest what the
outcome of an important conflict or situation in a narrative
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
will be.
Imagery

11. A distinct representation of something that can be
experienced and understood through the senses (sight,
hearing, touch, smell, and taste), or the representation of
an idea.
Irony
A contradiction in words or actions. There are three types
of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic.
Limited omniscient point of
view
Occurs when a narrator has access to the thoughts and
feelings of only one character in a story.
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made
between one object and another that is different from it.
Objective point of view
A detached point of view, evident when an external

12. narrator does not enter into the mind of any character in a
story but takes an objective stance, often to create a
dramatic effect.
Omniscient point of view
An all-knowing point of view, evident when an external
narrator has access to the thoughts and feelings of all the
characters in a story.
Persona
Literally, in Latin, “a mask.”
Plot
A connecting element in fiction; a sequence of interrelated,
conflicting actions and events that typically build to a
climax and bring about a resolution
Point of view
The perspective of the narrator who will present the action
to the reader.

13. Resolution The outcome of the action in a story or play.
Rising action
Conflicts and circumstances that build to a high point of
tension in a story or play.
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
Situational irony
When the outcome in a situation is the opposite of what is
expected.
Simile
A figure of speech that compares two objects or ideas that
are not ordinarily considered to be similar, linked by using
like or as.
Song
A lyrical musical expression, a source of emotional outlet
common in ancient communities and still influential in
contemporary culture.
Symbol
An object, person, or action that conveys two meanings: its
literal meaning and something it stands for.

14. Third-person point of view
Occurs when the narrator tells the story using third-person
pronouns (he, she, they) to refer to the characters.
Tone
In a literary work, the speaker’s attitude toward the reader
or the subject.
Verbal irony
When words are used to convey a meaning that is opposite
of their literal meaning.
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
Types of Conflicts Found in Literature
Below is a list of possible conflicts found in literature. Select
each conflict to learn more. To help you
better understand each conflict and how it might be apparent,
examples from popular culture have been

15. provided. Please also note that it is possible for a text to have
more than one conflict at work. The
repeated references to conflicts in The Simpsons provide further
context on how multiple conflicts might
be present in a single work. Other examples of conflict are also
provided.
Click on each type of conflict to learn more.
Individual versus Individual
Individual versus Nature
Individual versus Society
Individual versus Technology
Individual versus Self
Individual versus Individual (Kahn vs. Captain Kirk, Tom vs.
Jerry) Return
ers
in The Simpsons is
unavoidably obvious. The two men are as different as night and
day. Though Ned Flanders

16. seems unaware that he is Homer Simpson’s antagonist, to
everyone who watches, it is
obvious that Ned plays this role.
the funniest movies about individuals
opposing each other is called The
Ref, where a cat burglar gets caught in a house with a warring
husband and wife. Other
members of this dysfunctional family also add to the conflict.
View The Ref (1994) fan
trailer or explore the film on the Internet Movie Database
(IMDB).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_26ROmuSyTQ&feature=you
tu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_26ROmuSyTQ&feature=you
tu.be
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110955/
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
Individual versus Nature Return
a hilarious scenario in which
Homer takes the family camping in the woods. Things end

17. disastrously for Homer and Bart,
while Marge, Lisa, and Maggie successfully brave the wild.
This episode has an interesting
underlying argument at work about the relationship between
humans today and nature.
daring to scale the most
formidable and highest mountains on earth where they face
extremely difficult climates and
terrain. These accounts are usually full of adventure, action, and
hardship. Here is an
example of human versus mountain in the video Touching the
Void Atheism. You may also
explore the article “Mt. Everest: Why do people keep climbing
it?”
animals. One of the most popular
movies of all time is Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Watch
Crows Attack the Students - The
Birds (6/11) Movie CLIP (1963) HD.
Dick, features Captain Ahab

18. determined to kill the large white whale that took his leg.
Individual versus Society (V for Vendetta, Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn, 1984) Return
hilarious interactions with
politicians. Mayor Quimby comes across as less than effective
in his work. As a figure who
represents the political system in The Simpsons universe,
Quimby’s portrayal makes an
argument about the conflict between the individual and society.
Additionally, the economics
of the working-class Simpson family is often framed against the
wealth of Mr. Burns,
McBain, and other affluent figures.
brought up free in an aristocratic
home during the years of slavery in England. The story features
Belle, the protagonist, and a
young lawyer engaged in challenging and ending the slave
trade. Belle’s struggle also
involves challenging social conceptions of race. Watch the
Belle Trailer to explore further.

19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWhmOwGqcMQ
http://news.discovery.com/adventure/activities/mt-everest-why-
do-people-keep-climbing-it-140422.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplpQt424Ls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplpQt424Ls
http://youtu.be/hFi8YCxq2VU
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
Individual versus Technology (2001: A Space Odyssey, Modern
Times, The Fly) Return
a nuclear power plant, but he is
perpetually doing extremely dangerous things. The technology
itself is portrayed as
immensely complicated. Even in an animated sitcom like The
Simpsons, the message about
technology and the human being in our current era is multi-
layered and complicated.
(according to many) is The
Terminator, which tells the story of a lethal robot sent back in
time to murder the mother of
the human army’s leader. View the trailer Terminator 1 Trailer
1984 or explore the Internet

20. Movie Database (IMDB).
since the monster is man-made and
seeks to destroy its creator.
Individual versus Self (John Nash in A Beautiful Mind, Gregory
House in House, Homer Simpson in The
Simpsons, Hamlet in Hamlet) Return
battle with himself—his eating
habits, his drinking habits, his tendency toward laziness—you
name it. He always acts
against his own best interests.
plays a man who must confront
his prejudices, which he does when he is sent to prison for
murdering another man. The
trailer, American History X - Trailer - (1998) - HQ, shows the
character’s personal
transformation. You may also explore this further on the
Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

21. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpdAcA6ziiA&feature=youtu
.be
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV0VEstvjMM&feature=you
tu.be
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120586/?ref_=nv_sr_1