Four girls seeking adventure decide to create The First Time Club. They meet at midnight on the first night of every month to share the things they have done for the first time and to look for new things to do that none of them has ever done before. To make their secret club official, they decide to pledge their loyalty in blood. Using a dirty razor, the girls slice their fingers and rub their blood together. They repeat this blood ritual every month at their meeting. Marie is the most rebellious of the group. She is the first to experiment with cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, etc. Alison is the most timid. Eventually, Marie and Alison become sexually active—one because she wants to; the other because Joel keeps saying, "You would if you loved me." When Joel winds up in the hospital with AIDS, the girls are shocked, and scared. Have they contracted the HIV virus? Meanwhile, the girls continue to be bonded in friendship, adventure—and blood.

Prior to publication, The First Time Club was toured to Florida schools by the SOURCE Teen Theatre and the Planned Parenthood Association of Southwest Florida in Sarasota. Venice High School's production, directed by William G. Mossman, won the Florida statewide thespian competition, with Superior ratings in every category.

One act; modern clothes; simple set with 12 flashback scenes interspersed with direct-address speeches by Melissa. Although the play follows the girls from age 10 to 17 or 18, the same actresses play the roles throughout. May be shortened by omitting scenes.

"We feel that the realness of this play will pass information on to students FAR better than the passing out of literature." —Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources Center, Sarasota.

Other Curran plays: Freshman Year; The Girl I Used to Be; Dear God, Please Let Me Be Popular; Secrets; End of Summer

See also: Awareness Plays for Young Adults