Dress for Mona, A: Abridged one-act version
Exported from Holy-Writings.com on 2026-07-04 - 1 clipping

CASTING REQUIREMENTS:  2f; 2m

Introduction

SCENE 1 - 
Mona’s Dream

SCENE 2 - 
English Class

SCENE 
3 - A Mosque & Mona’s room

SCENE 4 - Prison

SCENE 5 - 
Interrogation Room

SCENE 6 
- Final Interrogation

Introduction

            The
following one-act play is a shortened version of the full length play called,
“A Dress for Mona.”  This is a play
based on the life of a young Baha’i woman named Mona Mahmudnizhad, who was the
youngest of ten women executed in Shiraz, Iran on the 18th of June, 1983 for
their unwillingness to renounce their Bahá'í belief.

            Our story
begins before Mona went to prison.  One
night, she had a dream in which she was offered a gift from God.  She was offered three dresses and she had to
choose one.  The first dress was red and
it stood for martyrdom.  The second was
black and it stood for a life of suffering and sadness.  The last was blue and it stood for a life
dedicated to service.  

SCENE
1 - Mona’s Dream

Music.  Mona enters.  As she
approaches center stage, a robed figure is illuminated.

A VOICE

A gift.

TWO VOICES

From.

ALL

God.

            [Silence.  The robed figure gestures right.  A red dress is revealed.  Mona takes the dress and holds it up to
herself.]  

MONA

No!

            [She
pushes the dress away.  The robed figure
gestures left.  A black dress is
revealed.  Mona again holds the dress up
to herself.]

MONA

No! No! I don’t want that either.

            [Again,
she pushes the dress away.  The robed
figure comes forward and reveals a blue dress. 
Mona slowly takes it and holds it up to herself.  The figure whispers in Mona’s ear.]

MONA

Yes.  This is the dress I choose.

            [The
robed figure removes his hood, unveiling a handsome young man.  Mona is captivated.  As he speaks he eventually moves back behind
the frame.]

MONA

Who are you?

YOUNG MAN

Look for me.

MONA

What?

YOUNG MAN

I am there when you look for me.

MONA

When I...? What do you...?

YOUNG MAN

In the face of others--

MONA

What do you mean?

YOUNG MAN

Look for me.

MONA

I don't know what you mean.

YOUNG MAN

Look for me.

MONA

Who are you?

           [A voice is heard, calling to her.  This time from the waking world.  It is Mr. Alizadeh, her English teacher.]

ALIZADEH

Mahmudnizhad.

YOUNG MAN

I am.  

ALIZADEH

Miss Mahmudnizhad.  Please, take your seat.

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SCENE
2 - English Class

            [The
young man pulls the hood back over his head and exits into the dark with the
dress as the scene shifts to the English class.  Mona sits.  Mr. Alizadeh
points to a board with an English phrase written on it.]

MR.
ALIZADEH

And again...

THE CLASS

"I would like to buy a
kidney pie for my wife."

MR.
ALIZADEH (To audience.)

Everyone, please.  Yes, you too.

THE
“CLASS”

"I would like to buy a
kidney pie for my wife."

MR.
ALIZADEH

Not "vife"!
Wa-wa-wa.  Wwwwwwife! Speak it like an
Arab! 

THE CLASS

"I would like to buy a
kidney pie for my wife."

MR.
ALIZADEH

Now what about this word
ordering? Does someone have it? Yes, Miss Mahmudnizhad.

MONA

The subject comes first.

MR.
ALIZADEH

And what is that subject...
Yes?  The subject is "I."  Now, class, is it necessary to include the
word "I"?

THE CLASS

Yeeeeesss.

MR.
ALIZADEH

Are you sure? Class, is it not
like Persian where you can just add the pronoun if you feel like it?

THE CLASS

Nnnoooo.

MR.
ALIZADEH

The English are very impatient,
you know.  They don't want to wait til
the end of the sentence before they figure out who's doing what.  The subject is first.  Miss Mahmudnizhad, please continue, what is
next?

MONA

Next comes the verb. 

MR.
ALIZADEH

The verb comes next! Exactly,
those English are so impatient they need to know right away what's happening
and who's doing it.  Where's the poetry
in that, I ask you?! Huh? Huh? Persian, you see, is a circle.  You need the whole of it to understand any
of it, but the English, the English are in such a hurry, they hear the
headline, the "who" and the "what" and, bam, they're off to
colonize another part of the world, and you're not even finished with your
sentence! (Mona raises her hand.) Yes, Miss Mahmudnizhad.

MONA 

Then why teach?

MR.
ALIZADEH

Excuse me?

MONA

Why teach English? Why teach
something that you don’t care about?

            [Pause.  A voice comes over the intercom speaker.]

INTERCOM

Mr. Alizadeh?

MR.
ALIZADEH

(Shouting
at the intercom speaker.)

What do you want, disembodied
voice?! 

INTERCOM

Mr. Alizadeh, please come down to
the main office.

MR.
ALIZADEH

Disembodied voice! I finally get
a student to ask a question and you interrupt!

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SCENE
3 - A Mosque & Mona’s room

 Mona returns center stage. 
She picks up the blue dress and stands as if assessing the fit of the
dress in a mirror.  After a moment, she
closes her eyes, breathing deeply.  Mr.
Alizadeh reenters.  

MR.
ALIZADEH

We have a visitor.  The Religious Magistrate of the
Revolutionary Court.  Please welcome
Ayatu'llah Qazá'í.  

            [He steps aside.  The doors to the back of the house fly
open.  The RELIGIOUS MAGISTRATE
enters.  He is played by the same actor
that portrays the Young Man in Mona‘s dream, but now wears a beard and a large
turban.  He walks straight towards Mona,
who has opened her eyes with a start. 
They are locked in a stare as he comes closer.  He walks until he is just opposite her.  He puts on a pair of eyeglasses, and her stare is broken as if the
vision of him has vanished.  She breaks
away.  He turns.] 

MAGISTRATE

Let us talk about
"Bahá'í."  (Pause.)
Bahá'í says it is a religion.  Islam
says Baha’i is a political sect. The Twelfth Imam has returned, Bahá'í says. My
friends, if the Twelfth Imam had returned, I should not be standing here. He
should be here, and I should be on the floor in humility like you. But here I
am, and I ask: Where is Imam? (A beat.) But wait, you may say.  Baha’is aren’t so bad, you may say.  You see them around.  They seem nice, you say.  Before you know it, you’re seeking them
out.  Meeting them in back alleys, and
they begin to fill you up with their poison! Filling your cup! The poison is
sweet, they say! Drink it down, my friends, BUT KNOW!!! God reads your heart, even
as I read this Qur'an! (With a thick guttural Arabic pronunciation)
“Házá va enna letagheyna lashara ma’ábe,
Jahannama yaslavanahá fabe’ass-al Mehádo!”  [1] This is what
God has revealed! This plague will be eradicated from this land.  Starting now.  And you will do it.

            [During the Magistrate’s
speech, Mona, now wearing the dress, has returned to stand center stage.  He turns and prostrates himself.  Mona addresses herself in the mirror,
practicing her delivery.]

MONA

My name is Mona.  I was asked to come and act as your
teacher.  I’ve never done this before
so... maybe we can start by getting to know each other better.

            [The Magistrate rises and
walks to Mona.  She puts on a dark

chador.]  

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SCENE
4 - Prison

Mona kneels.  She sways a bit, eyes closed, apparently
praying. We hear a voice from offstage.

WOMAN’S
VOICE (Off.)   

Mona!

            [Mona
opens her eyes.]

MONA

I’ll be right in, Zahra.  

WOMAN

Mona, look! Look!

            [The
woman, Zahra, has entered and handed Mona a piece of paper.]

MONA  

Is this real? I mean... a
release? (A beat.)  But, no.  No. 
I want everyone to be released. 
I don't want to be the only one. 
It's horrible.  How can I sleep
in my bed when you are all here in the cold?

ZAHRA

We're not going to think about
that, Mona.  

MONA  

I feel torn.

ZAHRA

But don‘t you want to go home?

MONA 

Want, want, who cares what I
want? No, no, no, Zahra.  This is not
the way Baha‘is think about it.  We are
here for God! We are in prison for our faith! What I want is what God wants for
me! That's what I want.  That's what we
all want.  That's why we're here.  That's why when they line us up and give us
the choice... that's why we always come back here.  Because that's what we want. 
We want what God wants.  (Pause.)
It's just hard sometimes to figure out what God actually wants. 

            [A
long beat.  She tears up the paper, then
exits.] 

Back to Top 

SCENE
5 - Interrogation Room

Mr. Alizadeh enters.  He takes a moment to look around, then
sits.  Mona enters.

MONA (Surprised.)

Oh...

ALIZADEH  

Miss Mahmudnizhad.  

MONA 

Mister Alizadeh, Hi!  What...? 

ALIZADEH  

It's good to see you again.

MONA 

It’s good to see you! What are
you doing here? I... I wasn’t... This isn’t how we normally meet with visitors.

ALIZADEH  

Miss Mahmudnizhad, I am here to
discuss with you your options.

            [A
beat.]

MONA 

My options? 

ALIZADEH

Yes.  I have just spoken with the authorities here and...

MONA

I’m not going to be released.

ALIZADEH

Well, no, not yet... no.  But it is within your power to negotiate
your freedom.

MONA

Mr. Alizadeh, I don’t know if you
know this but the only way they’ll release us is if we claim to not be Baha’is.

ALIZADEH
(Gravely.) 

Yes.  

 

MONA

So I really don’t have any other
options.

ALIZADEH  

Miss Mahmudnizhad, I am
ashamed.  I am ashamed to find you
here.  I am ashamed that Iran has fallen
so low that it casts its innocent children into prison.

MONA 

You don't have to be
ashamed.  I'm not.

ALIZADEH  

You should be free! You should be
in school, learning! How can they do this? It was one thing to hear about it,
but now to see you... No I cannot allow this. 
I cannot.

MONA 

Mr. Alizadeh.  I'm in prison because of my beliefs.  There is no shame in that.

ALIZADEH

No this is unacceptable.  Unacceptable!

MONA 

I appreciate that, Mr.
Alizadeh.  I do.  But there's nothing you can do.  We have to leave this in God's hands.

ALIZADEH  

Is that how you really feel?

MONA 

Yes.  I’m content.

ALIZADEH  

Really?

MONA 

Really.  There's nothing you can do.

ALIZADEH  

Nothing? Before I was brought to
this room, Aqa-ye-Husayni told me there were several women here in prison that
were about to be convicted of capital crimes. 
I asked if my student was one of them. 
He said, yes.  And then he asked
me -- me -- to help him.

MONA 

To do what? Convince me to
recant? 

ALIZADEH  

Clarify your options.

MONA 

Mr. Alizadeh, I'm grateful that
you've come to see me.  I am.  But if you've only come to convince me to
renounce my religion... 

ALIZADEH  

Are you afraid I might succeed?

MONA  

I'm afraid of nothing.

ALIZADEH  

Nothing? Nothing, Mahmudnizhad?
What if they torture you? What if they torture someone you love? You're not the
only one you have to think about.  

MONA  

Mr. Alizadeh...

ALIZADEH  

Are you afraid of truth,
Mahmudnizhad?

            [Pause.]  

MONA  

No.  I'm not.

ALIZADEH  

Then you can listen to this old
bachelor foreign-language teacher whose only wish is to see his students grow
and flourish?

MONA  

Of course.

ALIZADEH  

Thank you.  (A beat.)  You know, you’re just like him. 

MONA  

What? 

ALIZADEH  

Your father.  You have your father’s faith.

MONA 

I follow the same religion as my
father, Mr. Alizadeh.  My faith is my
own.  

ALIZADEH  

Miss
Mahmudnizhad, I am not here to convert you. 
I'm only here to talk to you about your options.  I do not like the clergy.  But, Miss Mahmudnizhad, I can ALIZADEH
(cont’d) 

find nothing of any worth in you
dying for a belief.

MONA 

I understand why you might feel
that way, but you are not a Bahá'í.  

ALIZADEH  

I know something about your
religion, Miss Mahmudnizhad.

MONA  

You are a Muslim, Mister
Alizadeh?   

ALIZADEH  

I was born a Muslim.

MONA  

Did Imam Husayn do well in dying
for his faith?

ALIZADEH  

My dear, you are not Imam
Husayn.  Your story will not be
told.  Mourners will not pour onto the
streets for you.  They will not put up a
wailing every year to remember your sacrifice. 
Too many people have already died for causes.  We don't have room for you on our calendar.  

MONA 

I'm not doing this to be
remembered by your calendar.  I'm doing
this for God.

ALIZADEH

Yes, I know.  I know something about your religion.  Some very good people, and they say some
good things about education...

MONA  

Men and women.

ALIZADEH  

Most admirable.  But, Miss Mahmudnizhad, the goal of
education is to make this a better world, and yet you seem all too ready to
give it all up for some other world. 
Doesn't this seem to be a contradiction?  

MONA  

No, it's...

ALIZADEH  

It sounds like fundamentalism.

MONA  

Am I killing myself? If it were
up to me, I'd be back in school...

ALIZADEH  

But it is up to you!

MONA  

How?

ALIZADEH  

Just tell them what they want to
hear and you're free to go.

MONA  

Mr. Alizadeh, you care about
truth?

ALIZADEH  

Truth? What is truth? The truth
is uncertain.  Even within Islam, there
are different opinions about what truth is.

MONA  

You stood up for me when the
clergy was trying to empty the school of Bahá'ís.

ALIZADEH  

Yes.

MONA  

Why did you do that?

ALIZADEH  

Because I wanted to see you
thrive and flourish, and live.

MONA  

Wouldn't it have just been easier
to allow them to expel me?

ALIZADEH  

Easier? ... No.  I couldn't have lived with myself.

MONA  

Exactly.  And I couldn't live with myself if I were to
recant.

ALIZADEH  

But there is a difference between
me putting up with some heat from the clergy and you throwing away your life.

MONA  

How do you know they can't burn
your house down?

ALIZADEH  

I live in an apartment.

MONA  

No free thinker is safe in this
society, Mr. Alizadeh.  Didn't you say
that?

ALIZADEH  

That doesn't mean we throw
ourselves into the fire.

MONA  

Do you think you're the only one
who should sacrifice?

ALIZADEH  

That's absurd.  I love what I do.  I have sacrificed nothing.

MONA  

So if I told you I love my Faith
more than anything else?

ALIZADEH  

I'd say you're a fool to throw
away your life for words.

MONA  

Words?

ALIZADEH  

Words!  That's all they are! Like words in a book.  Close the book and they are gone!

MONA  

This book is my life, Mr.
Alizadeh! 

ALIZADEH  

Precisely.  (A beat.)  Your faith advocates moderation in all things.  

MONA  

It also demands absolute
truthfulness.

ALIZADEH  

And yet 'Abdu'l-Bahá said you
could lie to a dying man if it would comfort his mind.  How do you explain that contradiction?

MONA  

'Abdu'l-Bahá said that?

ALIZADEH  

I know something about your
Faith, Miss Mahmudnizhad.

MONA  

Where did he say that? 

ALIZADEH  

Some Answered Questions.  Chapter 57.  Verse 12.

MONA  

I need to check that.  But even then, that doesn't mean I shouldn't
tell the truth about my belief.

ALIZADEH  

What is the truth, Miss
Mahmudnizhad? Show me an absolute statement about any subject in your writings,
and I will show you another to contradict it.

MONA  

I don't believe you.

ALIZADEH  

Try me.

MONA  

I don't believe you.

ALIZADEH  

I'll prove it to you.  Try me.

MONA  

Okay, in the Bahá'í writings it
says that we should investigate the truth for ourselves and that we should ask
questions.

ALIZADEH  

Bahá'u'lláh:  "The most burning fire is to question
the signs of God." Words of Wisdom.  Verse 18.

MONA

I don't see that as...

ALIZADEH 

I know something about your
faith.

MONA

But...

ALIZADEH

There are no absolutes.  

MONA  

Why are you saying this?

ALIZADEH

Because you are my student.

MONA

Baha’is don’t dissemble their
faith.

ALIZADEH  

Bahá'u'lláh says that Bahá'ís
should act with wisdom to avoid persecutions. 

MONA  

Bahá'ís don't dis-

ALIZADEH  

But what about you, Mona? What
about Mona? What does Mona think about it? Investigate the truth for
yourself.  You say you're not afraid,
but maybe you're just a little afraid to think for yourself?

MONA  

No.

ALIZADEH  

Not even a little? (Pause.)
You had a dream that you told me about. 
With the dresses.

            [Mona
looks down.]

ALIZADEH  

You chose the blue one if I
recall correctly... but that doesn't seem right.  The blue one was about life and service if I remember
correctly... Am I wrong? You did believe that dream to contain a message, did
you not? Mona?

MONA  

Yes.

ALIZADEH  

So who was this message from?
From God? Because God also appears to be the one telling you to die for your
faith.  Well, which is it? Life or
death? Or maybe God is confused?

MONA  

How dare you say that?!

ALIZADEH  

It was a question.  Am I not allowed to ask questions?

MONA

God is not confused.  You may be. 
I may be.  God is not confused.

ALIZADEH

But, you see, I don’t think it
was God sending you that dream.   I
think it was your own unconscious. 
Maybe it sensed that your life was in danger, so it fashioned a creative
way of telling you...

MONA  

No.  It was more that that.

ALIZADEH  

The other option is a confused
God.  Are you ready to die for a
confused God?

MONA

Why are you doing this? I don’t
know why you’re doing this.

ALIZADEH

You are my student...

MONA (A
discovery.)

You were a Baha’i.

            [A
beat.]

ALIZADEH

I was.

MONA

What happened?

ALIZADEH

I woke up.

            [A
beat.]

MONA

Do you believe in God, Mr.
Alizadeh?

ALIZADEH

I cannot believe in a God at war
with Himself.

MONA

I’ll be honest with you.  I didn’t expect to face this situation.  I didn’t. 
But I have not been abandoned. 
I’m seeing things now...  Life
and death.  They don’t mean the same
things any more.    Everything around us
is telling us how fleeting this life is. 
But God is present with us in this very moment, Mr. Alizadeh.  Do you feel Him? He doesn’t speak through
human language, Mr. Alizadeh.  He speaks
in the heart.  And sometimes it takes
time to understand what He’s saying.

ALIZADEH
(Harshly.)

What you're really talking about
is another father figure that you can cling to when your real father is dead.

MONA

I am not clinging to my father.

ALIZADEH

Then listen to what I’m saying
and stand on your own!

MONA (Standing,
trembling.)

I stand on my own.  I have left the house of my father.  My clothes are packed.  My rugs rolled up.  And I’m on a journey.  To
the abode of my lover.

ALIZADEH

Your...

MONA

I am a bride.  And this is my wedding day.  This is my wedding dress.  The dress I have chosen.  The dress I have put on.  And no one will take it off me... until my
wedding night.  And then only him.

ALIZADEH

What if someone kills him first?

MONA

What?

ALIZADEH

Your lover? 

MONA

What are you...?

ALIZADEH
(Gesturing.)

What if someone holds him in
front of you and -- with a word -- slits his throat? Because I can do
that.  With a word.  I can kill with a word.  (A beat.)  Dead.  He’s dead.  Your lover is dead.  And you are alone in this world.

            [A
beat.]

MONA

Mr. Alizadeh, I just saw someone
die.

ALIZADEH

Yes.

MONA

Mr. Alizadeh, it was you.

            [End
of scene.]

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SCENE
6 - Final Interrogation

The lights go off except for a
single harsh light center stage. Mona comes forward to stand in the light.  As she comes into it, she is overtaken by
exhaustion.

MONA

How much longer are you going to
keep me here? My legs are numb.  (Her
head falls.  She starts.)  No! Gotta stay... here. Okay.  (She struggles to open her eyes.)  What did you want? (She struggles.)  I am still... I am still awake!  (Her head falls.)  Awake. 
(She walks around in a small circle, stomping, trying to stay
conscious.)  I’m awake! 

            [She
falls asleep, standing. The Magistrate appears.]

  MAGISTRATE

I came across an interesting
thing.  Under "desired
profession", you have "service to humanity."  It's a noble thing, Mona.  May I call you Mona?

MONA

Yes, sir.

MAGISTRATE

Truly.  A very noble thing.

MONA (Very
softly.)

Thank you.

MAGISTRATE

You also have here that one of
your role models in this respect is your father.

MONA

Yes, sir.

MAGISTRATE

He must be very proud.  Your father has been of great service to us
here.  Reminding the Baha’is that they
have nothing to hide.  What about you,
Mona? Do you have something to hide?

MONA

No, sir.

MAGISTRATE

No doubts or fears, stray
thoughts, questions why you’re really here? (A beat.) Mona?

MONA

I have nothing to hide, your
honor.

MAGISTRATE

Then tell me why you’re here.

MONA

I served as a teacher for a
Baha’i children’s class.

            [A
beat.]

MAGISTRATE

When God's revolution came to
this country, we took away your ability to congregate.  We dissolved your institutions.  We closed the border to keep you from
spreading.  What is happening to your
potential for service? We denied you rights of citizenship.  We had you expelled from schools, fired from
your jobs.  Your homes were burnt, your
leaders executed, your holy places destroyed.  
Do you see what is happening to your service? You come here, cut off
from the world, you have nothing, you are completely at our disposal.  Well then, you think, you can help the
others in the cell with you.  Now you
can't go near them.  You wanted to
pray.  I took the words right out of
your mouth.  (A beat.)  Now you feel that breath surging in and out
of your nostrils, Mona? Huh? You feel that hot, moist breath surging in and
out? Mona, I can take that away too. 
How are you going to serve then, Mona, when Mona is no more?  

            [Mona
doesn't respond.]

MAGISTRATE

What do you say to that, my
child?

MONA

Then somehow, I will serve... in
death.

MAGISTRATE

Serve whom, Mona? Do you think
anyone will ever remember what happens to you here? (A beat.) Do you
think this is cruel? Do you? Can you forgive me? I love this country.  I love Iran.  And I love all the people in it, though I send

every last one to the grave!  I love them the way God loves them. With
justice. And justice, in our sight, is only mercy. Do you feel my love for you,
Mona? I am your real father, Mona.  I am
telling you the truth, Mona.  So will
you forgive me? Mona? 

MONA

There’s nothing to forgive. (A
beat.) You lead me to my Beloved.

MAGISTRATE

We must obey the Qur'an.  Accept Islam or face execution.

MONA

I kiss the order of execution.

            [Mona kisses the hand of the
Magistrate.  She then looks into his
face.  She lifts her hands and removes
his turban and his glasses to reveal the Young Man from her earlier visions.  His outer garment falls to the ground.  He smiles as she stares at him.   After a moment, he moves behind her.]

YOUNG MAN
(Gently.)

Are you ready?

            [Mona nods and takes a step
forward.]

MONA

Wait. (A beat.)  Last. 
I want to be last.

YOUNG MAN

Are you afraid?

MONA

No.  I want to pray for the others. 

YOUNG MAN

It is granted.  

            [Mona lowers her head in
silent prayer as the names of the Ten Women Martyrs of Shiraz are read
off.  A carpet is spread out, and as the
names are read, people come out carrying, with great care, dresses representing
each woman.]

 READER (Throughout.)

Shírín Dálvand.  Táhirih Síyávushí.  Roya Ishráqí.  'Izzat
Ishráqí.  Zarrín Muqímí.  Símín Sábirí.  Nusrat Yaldá'í. Mahshíd Nírúmand.  Akhtar Sabet.  Mona
Mahmúdnizhád.

            [When Mona is called, she and
the young man together remove her chador, revealing the red dress beneath.  She shivers and moves forward.  She lays down the veil.]

THE END

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[1]   Qur’an 38:55-56 (Transliterated pronunciation)  “This is so! And for the transgressors will
be an evil return! Hell! Where they will burn, and worst is that place to
rest!”
-- Dress for Mona, A: Abridged one-act version (Used by permission of the curator)