I was wrong... so wrong

I saw this picture this morning, and it expressed my... my... I don't want to say "art."
"I get knocked down but I get up again.  You're never gonna keep me down. Pissing the night away."
Stephanie, it's perfect.
I've been doing a lot of soul searching, and by that I mean surfing the 'net.
Boomboom.
I must embrace the spirit of fried potatoes.
Actually, it's not that I must, it's that I can't not.
I hated the loss of my tail.
For Art is noble!
291
And I am distorted...
A line must be drawn somewhere.
Yes, Mother.
E.H.Plötz
#DeadMommiesLive!

Thoughts and Notes for "Mystery-Bouffe 2017: A Comedy in Six Acts" - FronteraFest Short Fringe

I wrote "Mystery-Bouffe 2017: A Comedy in Six Acts" following the election of The Donald on Nov. 8.  We were going on stage Jan. 19, Inauguration Eve.  My director, Molly Christine McCarty, received the play on Dec 12, the day after the cold reading at a ScriptWorks Salon.  I made a few changes on the 12th and sent it off.  The first rehearsal was after Jan 1.

"Mystery-Bouffe..." was not the first play I wrote for FronteraFest Short Fringe 2017.  The first play was a longer version of a 10-minute play I wrote for a 48-hour play ScriptWorks playwriting event know as "The Weekend Fling," called "Pancakes & Pussy (Life is Not All) #DeadMommyJokes."

I'm ready for next year.  :)

The original "Mystery-Bouffe" was a Soviet propaganda play written  by Vladimir Mayakovsky and performed at the first anniversary of the Russian Revolution in 1918 and revised in 1921 and ran for 100 performances in Moscow.

In his preface to the 1921 edition Mayakovsky wrote "in the future, all persons performing, presenting, reading or publishing Mystery-Bouffe should change the content, making it contemporary, immediate, up-to-the-minute."

I took him at his word.

I considered several other possibilities for topics and themes for my FronteraFest piece.

I have been making notes for several years now for a play about what happens to the personal belongings of soldiers who are killed during a war.  I thought I might make a stab at writing a one-act.

I consider a piece on gun violence and made a few notes.  (I have a great title that must remain secret.)

I made notes for a one-act about why Americans are over-weight.

There were other ideas for a FronteraFest piece.

But after the election, only one thing seemed to matter.

Before the notes, I need to say one more thing.  I began reading about Post-Dramatic Theater, first in a book "Theatre of the Unimpressed: In Search of Vital Drama" by Jordan Tannehill.  Loved it.  Now in "Postdramatic Theatre" by Han-Thies Lehmann.  The ideas presented don't seem revolutionary to me.  They seem to be extensions of ideas that have been around since before Aristophanes.  What's different is the degree to which these ideas are now dominating so much of modern theatre.  I was in New York a couple of weeks ago and saw "Paramour" by Cirque du Soleil.  The techniques and ideas have leaked over onto the Broadway stage.

These ideas remind me of how Impressionism, then Surrealism, then Abstract Expressionism, etc. sweep through painting with the development of the camera.  Realism didn't die out, but the camera does it so much... better?  Better is the wrong word.  Drama on stage won't die out, but movies and TV do it... if not better, more realistically. 

 I love the new direction theatre is going and I am being dragged along... not unwillingly.


Notes for my play:

Mystery-Bouffe 2017: A Comedy in Six Acts

Issues:
1. Post-Truth - Flood of Feces, only elites smell
2. Immigration - Earth Quake, Banker & Machinist 
3. Misogyny - A Pink Hole, Men 
4. Jobs - Rats, only poor
5. Elitism - Swamp Monster, Rich
6. Racism - Darkness, one of each 
Branding
Conflict of interest

Characters:
Unclean 
Machinist (Male, older),Out-of-work, used to make small parts for an automobile plant in Ohio.   Job outsourced to Mexico. Angry, hates Mexicans and all other immigrants. Urban poor. Build the Wall!  Trump Supporter.
Small town farmer’s wife (female), small town girl who has never known a black person.  She’s afraid of them.  Thinks they are all drug dealers.  Too many of her friends have gotten addicted to opioids.  Several have died, including her sister who dated a black man.  She blames black people.  Evangelical.  Thinks gays are evil.  Against gay marriage and abortion.  Trump supporter.

Clean
Banker (female), rich, fiscal conservative, but cultural liberal.  Has a gay son that he is proud of.  New Yorker.  Acted and spoke as though he hated Trump, but secretly gave him money and voted for him.
College Professor (Male), teaches literature, worries about climate change and the accumulation of wealth in the hands of few, supports the Native Americans, pro-abortion, anti-death penalty, peace activist.  But all this is mostly supported by talking to her friends and re-posting stuff on social media.  She’s to busy to actually get involved.  Voted for Jill Stein.

Tech, African-American, nerd who provides sound effects and lighting and holds signs, helps with costume changes.

Woman - Producer/Commentator

Plagues

Does the size of my... hands scare you?  Trump’s expressions turned on their head.
Grab her by the pussy.
Mocking the disabled
Build the Wall
Muslims

(going to Machinist)
Who did you vote for?
MACHINIST (ACTOR 1)
Ah... Trump
TECH
(calmly)
Fuck you.
(going to Farmer’s Wife)
Who did you vote for?
FARMER'S WIFE (ACTOR 2)
(sheepish)
Trump.
TECH
Fuck you.
(goes to Banker)
Who did you vote for?
BANKER (ACTOR 3)
(asserting his rights)
There’s a reason it’s a secret ballot.
TECH
So Trump.
(Banker gives a noncommittal but affirmative head nod)
Fuck you.
(goes to College Professor)
Who did you vote for?
COLLEGE PROFESSOR (ACTOR 4)
Jill Stein.
TECH
Especially fuck you!



Plagues clearer.
Why grampa lives in argentina.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/kassycho/signed-by-trump?utm_term=.eryV7vq82#.lxjdJ6e40

Ask the black person

Props:
Pink Flashlight
Digital Timer
Mice
Signs
Script
3x5 cards
Large Paper bag
Swamp monster mask
Speakers
Power

Music player

90 in 90 - What I Learned

I did it!  90 short plays (3+ pages each) in 90 days.  I actually wrote 91.  On one day, I didn't like what I wrote, so I wrote a second.  Plus I began my first high school one act.  Oh, yea, I also wrote two one minute plays for the 2nd Annual One-Minute Play Festival.

Why did I do this?  I was stuck.  In the spring, I began a full-length play about some of my experiences being a foster parent. but after about 30 pages, I got bogged down.  I had an outline and character notes and lots of other notes, but I couldn't make any progress.

The experiences of foster parenting were still to fresh, raw.  We had only just made a decision in January to take a break until June.  We both thought that we might not continue, but we wanted to give ourselves some space to get some perspective.  The final month of 2014 had been particularly hard on us as foster parents.  We are both now in our 60's.  We had been doing this for nearly 10 years.  And the young teen aged women we took into our family had all suffered major (I cannot over-emphasis "major") trauma before they came to us.

My writing need some perspective.

The decision to do ScriptWorks 90 in 90 was actually rather spur of the moment.  We rented a house in Port Aransas for a month.  We worked and walked.  And grieved.  As the month neared it's conclusion, I decided I would do the 90 in 90.  I had done a ScriptWorks 30 in 30 in 2013 and had gotten some useful material.  I knew I was stuck.  I needed to write, but what I wanted to write about was not available to me, emotionally.

The day we drove back from Port Aransas, I got my first prompt.  I wrote a short piece thinking of one of my sisters.  It made me happy.

Certainly, I had doubts about my ability to write everyday for 90 days.  Stuff happens.  And I decided that if stuff happened, it happened.  I would be okay with that.

June 2nd, day 2.  I found myself writing about an experience I had foster parenting.

Day after day, I found the prompts prompted a memory I had foster parenting.

I didn't plan to write about these things, but I needed to write about these things.  I didn't respond to every prompt with a short play recalling some experience foster parenting, but many, many of them I did respond with a play about foster parenting.

There has been some healing. (Although, I am surprised at how emotional I feel just writing this.)  Some of what I wrote will go back into my full-length play.  Some will become 10-minute plays.  I already have one of these from the summer's work.

And stuff happened, and I wrote anyway.  Sometimes the stuff from the day before became the next day's play.

I think I wrote something over 300 pages.  That's the equivalent of 3 full-length plays.

I am finishing my one-act, three pages a day.  Then it's back to the full-length play.  I think I can finish it now.

Probably more crying, but that's a good thing.

29 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  Ask a partner or a friend to hide special pennies throughout your life, in the fridge, the pockets of your clothes, your car.  Mark them all with an X with a sharpie.  When you find one, write whatever you are thinking for five minutes.

Kirk Lynn, playwright/educator

Karen, 50, sits on the sofa.  Her husband, Harold, 51, sits next to her.
KAREN
I know we’ve talked about it, but...
HAROLD
You complain about being bored...
KAREN
This will certainly relieve the boredom.
HAROLD
And then some.
Silence.
KAREN
What... what age...?
HAROLD
I don’t know, Karen.  Grade school?
KAREN
There’s training, right?
HAROLD
A lot of training.  We don’t have to make a final decision right now.  We’ve got months of training before we they’ll lets us take anybody.
Silence.
KAREN
I don’t know.  It’s a big change.
HAROLD
Yup.
Silence.
KAREN
Harold, why do you want to do this?
HAROLD
After Andrew died...
KAREN
That was more than twenty-five years ago.
HAROLD
After Andrew died, I felt that somehow, God didn’t trust me with... children.
KAREN
That’s ridiculous!
HAROLD
I know, but we’re not talking about what I was thinking.  We’re talking about what I was feeling.
Karen slides over to Harold and hugs him.
KAREN
I’m so sorry you felt that way.
Silence.
HAROLD
When I was in college, I took a semester off and helped my mother at a Headstart program.  While I was doing that I realized where I thought the center of the universe was. Children are the center of the universe.
KAREN
That was part of the reason I married you.
HAROLD
After Andrew died, I felt lost.  You helped.  You got me started teaching pre-school.  Then I started working with teenagers for the city.  I loved those kids.  If working for the city hadn’t been such a pain in the ass, I’d probably still be doing that.
KAREN
I know.
HAROLD
And I wanted to write, but I need more and you say your bored...
KAREN
But foster parenting?  That sounds really hard.
HAROLD
Probably will be.  Taking kids at any age who’s parents don’t want them...
Silence.
KAREN
I’m willing to start the training.  I don’t know whether this is something I can do, but I’m willing to... try.
Silence.
HAROLD
Sweet dreams and flying machines...
End of play.

28 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  I didn't realize how strong I was ...
Lynne Kaufman, playwright

Brittany, 20, sits on the edge of her bed, crying.  Kurt, 59, stands in the doorway of Brittany’s room.

BRITTANY

I’m disappointed in myself and I’m angry with myself.

KURT

Why is that, young lady?

BRITTANY

I’m... I’m not acting like an adult.

KURT

You’re twenty years old.  It’s not time for you to be an adult yet.

BRITTANY

I have a daughter!

KURT

I know you do, and I know you love your daughter very much.

BRITTANY

She should be with me!

KURT

I agree.  How are you going to make that happen?

BRITTANY

I don’t know!  There are so many things I should be doing!

Silence.

KURT

Being an adult is hard, Brittany.

BRITTANY

(quiet)

I know.

KURT

I’m fifty-nine years old and I struggle everyday to be an adult and I my parents loved me and cared about me.

BRITTANY

My mother loves me!

KURT

What have I always told you about love?

BRITTANY

(angry)

I don’t know!

KURT

Love is an action verb.

Silence.

KURT

I don’t want to fight with you about your mother.  She’s not the issue here.

Silence.

BRITTANY

I need to act like an adult.

KURT

You’ve got a million things you need to do.

BRITTANY

I do.  It’s a huge list.

KURT

And how many of ‘em can you do right now?

BRITTANY

All of ‘em!

KURT

(slowly)

How many of them can you do right now?

BRITTANY

I can do one of them right now.

KURT

That’s the adult answer.  You can do one of them right now and when that one’s done, then you can do another one.

BRITTANY

I don’t know where to start!

Silence.

KURT

Start by taking a deep breath.

Kurt takes a deep breath and looks at Brittany.  Brittany takes a swallow breath.

KURT

Deep breath... and let it out slow.

Kurt takes a deep breath and lets it out slow.  Brittany takes a deep breath and lets it out slow.

BRITTANY

(still impatient)

Now what?

KURT

I want to remind you of some things.

BRITTANY

What?!

KURT

Do you remember what it was like when you first came to live with us?

BRITTANY

I had just gotten out of a Residential Treatment Facility.

KURT

They had you drugged to the gills.

BRITTANY

I don’t hardly remember those first couple of months.

KURT

You were a zombie.  You were so drugged that you didn’t wake up in the middle of the night when you had to pee.  You were twelve years old and you wet the bed every night.

BRITTANY

You don’t have to remind me!

KURT

You just wanted to go home to your mommy.

BRITTANY

But my mommy didn’t want me.

KURT

I know.

(silence)

But we wanted you.

Silence.

BRITTANY

I know.

KURT

Your daddy was in prison.  Your mother had dropped you off at a kiddie mental institution and wouldn’t pick you up.  You were doped up and...

(smiling)

... slight overweight.

BRITTANY

I was fat!

(smiling)

You’ve still got that picture of me in front of the Christmas Tree, don’t you?

KURT

It’s on my screensaver.

BRITTANY

I hate that picture.

KURT

I think it’s an important picture.

BRITTANY

Why?!

KURT

It’s a reminder of where you were.  It’s a reminder of how much you’ve come through.  It’s a reminder of how strong you are.

Silence.

KURT

It’s hard being an adult.  You don’t always get to have all the fun you think you ought to have, but what you get in place of fun, and as you know, that fun ain’t all that fun...

BRITTANY

(sigh)

I know...

KURT

You know what you get in place of fun?  Something far more valuable.

BRITTANY

What?

KURT

Self-respect.

Silence.

KURT

I love you, Brittany.

BRITTANY

I love you guys.

End of play.

27 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  What would it take to forgive someone, if meant you had to give up something you believe?

Zeb L. West, writer/performer

Judy stands in front of Terrance glaring.
JUDY
How can you say you forgive him?!  I will never forgive him!  There’s nothing he can do to get me to forgive him!
TERRANCE
What do you want me to say?
JUDY
I want to you to say that what he did was unforgivable!
TERRANCE
What he did is unforgivable.
JUDY
But you still forgive him, don’t you?!
TERRANCE
I...
JUDY
(turning her back on Terrance)
Don’t even talk to me!
TERRANCE
(putting his hands on Judy’s shoulders)
Judy...
Judy shrugs off his hands and takes a step away.
TERRANCE
Forgiveness is the wrong word.
JUDY
(turning around and glaring)
Well, genius, what’s the right word then?!
TERRANCE
He’s broken, Judy.
JUDY
Broken!
TERRANCE
Broken.  I don’t know how or why...
JUDY
Broken?!
Silence.
JUDY
It’s all well and good to say someone is broken, but that doesn’t relieve an adult of responsibility.
TERRANCE
No, of course not.  He is completely responsible, but I don’t have to be angry.  I don’t have to hate him.
JUDY
He raped a little girl... his own daughter.  I can’t think of anything worse a human can do unless he raped her and then murdered her and even that might be kinder.  At least she wouldn’t have to live with the... facts.
TERRANCE
I know.  I know.  I hate what he did...
JUDY
Then why don’t you hate him?!
TERRANCE
I don’t think he woke up one morning and decided it would be a good idea for him to rape his daughter.  I don’t believe that... I can’t believe that.
JUDY
(snide)
Then what do you believe?!
TERRANCE
I think there is something wrong in his brain.
JUDY
Of course, there’s something wrong in his brain, Terrance!
TERRANCE
Judy, I have to believe that his brain is wired wrong.  I don’t know if something happened to him when he was a boy or maybe it’s just a genetic defect or... or... I don’t know, but if a man can get up one day and just decide it’s a good idea to rape his daughter, then... then...
JUDY
(with compassion)
Then... what?
Judy strokes his face.
TERRANCE
Then, there’s no hope.  We should drink wine, and burn coal, and shoot each other and every animal on the planet ‘til it all burns up.  ‘Til we’re gone and the mother can rest.
JUDY
The mother?
TERRANCE
Mother earth.
Silence.
End of play.

26 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  Three characters wake up side-by-side on a raft. Two of them are in a relationship; they have never met the third person. They don’t know how they got there— or where they’re headed.

Allison Gregory, playwright

Britany, 17, upset, can’t sit still at the table in the restaurant.  Terri, 57, her foster mother is agitated as well.  Clarence, her foster father enters and sits down with a sigh and a thud.  Everyone is silent for a moment.
CLARENCE
That was... weird.
TERRI
The judge... the judge must have heard...
CLARENCE
She had to have heard...
TERRI
Even if she didn’t, the court clerk was standing right there.  And the cop...
Silence.
TERRI
Was that as... crazy as I think it was?
CLARENCE
Yup.
Silence.  Clarence looks at Britany.
CLARENCE
Are you okay?
BRITANY
No, I’m not okay!
TERRI
Your mother’s lawyer called you a... a...
BRITANY
A bitch.
Silence.
BRITANY
And my mother just stood there nodding!  She agreed with her!
Silence.
CLARENCE
I was proud of you.  You kept your cool.  You didn’t go back after her.
BRITANY
I wanted to!
CLARENCE
I know you did.
TERRI
(half smile)
I saw the cop standing guard get all tense when your mother’s lawyer said that.  He thought you might go off... You were amazing.
BRITANY
(calming slightly)
Thanks.
CLARENCE
You stood up for yourself, but you kept your cool.
Silence.
BRITANY
Thanks, you guys.  I appreciate the way you stood up for me.  I know I haven’t always been the easiest...
CLARENCE
That’s what family’s do.  They hang together.
Silence.
BRITANY
Do you think my mother put her up to that?
TERRI
I can’t believe that.
BRITANY
My mom seemed pretty mad.
CLARENCE
I’m sure this is... frustrating and... embarrassing for her.  She has to stand up in court every three months and tell the judge she... she...
Silence.
BRITANY
She doesn’t want me back.
Silence.
TERRI
We want you.
BRITANY
(crying)
I know.
CLARENCE
We love you.
BRITANY
I know.
CLARENCE
Remember what we’ve always told you Britany, there are two kinds of family.  The one you’re born into, and the one you choose when you’re an adult.
TERRI
We choose you.
BRITANY
And I choose you guys.
Terri stand up and holds out her arms.
TERRI
Group hug!
Clarence goes to Terri and puts one arm around her and holds out his other to Britany.  Britany grins, a little embarrassed, but joins the hug.  Big hug, then everyone sits down.
CLARENCE
Now, what should we have for lunch?
TERRI
A victory celebration!
End of play.

25 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  When they moved in next door, my father had a lot to say but nothing I dared repeat to anyone.

Kristen Gandrow, writer/dramaturg/arts administrator/teacher 

Ron, middle-aged, stands at the window peaking out between the curtains.  Margie, his wife, enters.
RON
Did you see what’s moved in next door, Margie?
MARGIE
They are not a what, they are a who.  The Henderson’s.
RON
I count three teenage girls!  One black and two brown, but the parents look white.
MARGIE
They are white.  They’re foster parents.  The girls aren’t really theirs.  They belong to the state.  They moved because their old house didn’t have enough room.
RON
What do you mean foster parents?  They treat those kids like they’re their own.  Hugging them and talking to them and smiling and laughing with them.
MARGIE
I think they think of them as their own children.
RON
And the girls!  They seem happy!
MARGIE
Their children, Ron.  Sometimes they are happy despite their problems.
RON
Those girls are going to be out in the backyard smoking marijuana.  There’s going to be young men... thugs... going in and out of the house...
MARGIE
It’s a little scary, but they seem like nice people...
RON
And they have a dog...
MARGIE
Barkie.
RON
What?!
MARGIE
Barkie the dog.  That’s the dog’s name.  They said if she was ever making noise...
RON
I’ll get out my gun.
MARGIE
You will not get out your gun!  Jeez, you sound like an old coot.
RON
I am an old coot!
MARGIE
You’re not an old coot.  You’re just scared.
RON
I don’t like strangers.
MARGIE
I know.  So why don’t you go next door and meet them.
RON
What will they think?
MARGIE
You keep peaking out the window instead of introducing yourself, and they’ll think your some kinda pervert.
RON
(hesitant)
What will I say?
MARGIE
How about “Hi, welcome to the neighborhood?”
RON
I can’t say that!
MARGIE
Then how ‘bout “Hi, I’m the creepy old man that will be peaking through the curtains at you for the next thirty years.”
Silence.
RON
That’s not funny.
MARGIE
No, it’s sad.
RON
You know teenagers scare me.
MARGIE
Not just teenagers.
Silence.
MARGIE
Suck it up, old man.  Time to act like an adult.  Teenagers are going to be living next door to us for a long time.  Going in and out.  Dressing weird, getting tattoos, smoking and drinking who knows what, sneaking out late at night.  The police will probably show up more than once and at all hours of the day or night.
RON
(muttering)
Shit.
MARGIE
We’re the village.  We have to help those people.  Who knows what kind of hell those children have been through and we have to help, and not pull the covers up over our heads and hide.  I know you believe that.
RON
I... I do.
MARGIE
Then march out that door, put a smile on your puss, and say...
(waving)
 “Howdy.”  Or are you the idiot in this village?
RON
(grumpy)
I didn’t ask for this responsibility.
MARGIE
You didn’t ask to be born rich, white, male, and American either, but you won the lottery.  Time to give something back... to our neighbors!
Silence.
RON
(ashamed)
I’m lucky I married you.
MARGIE
Damn right!
Ron give Margie and hug and a kiss on the cheek and exits.
End of play.

24 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  Fog

Rebecca Beegle, writer/storyteller

A grey morning with fog.  Staff Sgt. Edwards holds a large notebook in his hands.  He signs his name with a flourish in the notebook.  Airman Roberts walks over.
At the edge of the stage stands another Sgt. with an M-16 rifle.  He watches everything carefully.
SGT. EDWARDS
You check the cockpits, Roberts.
ROBERTS
Ready for the stick actuators.
Edwards smiles.
SGT. EDWARDS
Who we strapping in this morning?
ROBERTS
Parthum and Douglass.
SGT. EDWARDS
Think they can squeeze their egos in?
Parthum and Douglass, Air Force captains in flights suits and carrying helmets enter.  They go to Roberts and Edwards.
PARTHUM
How’s my plane, Edwards?
SGT. EDWARDS
My plane is fine, Captain Parthum.  Pre-flights complete.
PARTHUM
That’s my name sprayed on the cockpit.
SGT. EDWARDS
And mine’s on the other side.  ‘Til you sign your name in the log, it’s my plane.
ROBERTS
I don’t even know why we had to do a pre-flight.
DOUGLASS
So that when and if we ever have to fly this mission for real, we won’t have to think about it.  We’ll just do it.
SGT. EDWARDS
But... shouldn’t we think about it?
PARTHUM
You’re not here to think, Edwards.  There are people in Washington who are paid a lot more money than you and I make, to do the thinking.
SGT. EDWARDS
Yes, sir.
PARTHUM
Give me the book.
Edwards hands Parthum the note book.  Parthum thumbs through it and stops near the end.
PARTHUM
Fuel leak?
SGT. EDWARDS
Mid-shift cleared it.  I inspected and signed off the red ex when I got here this morning.
PARTHUM
Ok.  Anything else?
SGT. EDWARDS
We had nav out after the sortie yesterday.  Captain Hanson complained about the radar.
DOUGLASS
Hanson’s an idiot.
SGT. EDWARDS
That was the tech’s opinion.  Couldn’t duplicate.  No defect noted.
PARTHUM
(with a smile)
Full a gas?
SGT. EDWARDS
We put in forty-five thousand gallons of JP4.  No centerline tank for this mission, just wing external tanks.
PARTHUM
It’s not like were taking off.  Just taxi down to E.O.R., hit the burners for three seconds and taxi back.
ROBERTS
This is so stupid.
PARTHUM
What’s your problem, Roberts?
ROBERTS
(indicating the guard)
There’s a guy with a gun standing over there.
PARTHUM
Ensure the two man concept.
ROBERTS
Or what?  He’ll shoot us?
PARTHUM
I doubt he’d shoot you, Roberts.  Just throw you to the ground, put the business end of that rifle to the back of your head and wait for the MPs to come and haul you away.
ROBERTS
That’s ridiculous.  It’s just an exercise!  This is all pretend!
PARTHUM
Sgt. Edwards?
SGT. EDWARDS
Roberts, we talked about this!
ROBERTS
(growing more agitated)
It doesn’t make any sense!
SGT. EDWARDS
This is how every exercise ends.  The elephant walk.  We load out everything that will still fly.
ROBERTS
And destroy the planet.
DOUGLASS
(a bit of glee)
Nuke ‘em til they glow!
PARTHUM
(rebuking his back seater)
That’s enough, Douglass.
(turning to Sgt. Edwards, indicating Roberts)
He gonna be alright?
SGT. EDWARDS
I think we’re all a little on edge.  Been a long two weeks.
PARTHUM
You’re first time over here?
SGT. EDWARDS
Yes, sir.
PARTHUM
You’ll get used to it.
SGT. EDWARDS
I’m not sure I want to get used to it.
PARTHUM
You’re a good man, Edwards.  A good crew chief.  You keep this plane in the air.
SGT. EDWARDS
And today they loaded it with a real nuclear weapon and I’m going to kick the tires and light the fires.
PARTHUM
And I’m going to taxi it down to the End of Run way.
SGT. EDWARDS
And if we were really losing the war...
PARTHUM
I’ll do my best to drop that bomb wherever they tell me.
ROBERTS
Women... and children...
SGT. EDWARDS
But today, we’re just practicing the end of the world.
PARTHUM
Yup.
Parthum takes a pen from his flight suit and signs the notebook.  He hands the notebook back to Edwards.
Parthum heads off stage opposite where he entered.  Douglass follows, the Edwards, then Roberts.
End of play.

23 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  Unintentional gratitude

Ellen Stader, dancer/choreographer/writer 

Trevor sits at a long table with a number of chairs.  He can’t sit still.  A few others mill around for a moment, then leave.  Jason comes over at Trevor’s beckoning and sits.  They shake hands.
JASON
I’m Jason.
TREVOR
Trevor.  I heard what you said.  I don’t want to lose everything.  I want to be one of the lucky ones.
JASON
It’s not hard.  Quit drinking, quit using.
TREVOR
I’ve tried.  I had seven years.
JASON
Did you keep going to meetings?
TREVOR
I quit going after five years.  A couple years later, I started drinking... I’ve been in and out.  This time it started with drinking, then I started smoking crack.  I smoked two thousand dollars worth of crack in last three days.  I got a girlfriend who loves me and a great job...
JASON
Not for long...
TREVOR
I know.  I want to get lucky.  I don’t want to lose everything.
JASON
It’s not luck.  There is some grace, but no luck.
TREVOR
How do I get that?  I pray and pray, but God doesn’t answer my prayers.
JASON
You did it once.  How did you do it?
TREVOR
I followed the suggestions...
JASON
How ‘bout you try that again?
TREVOR
It stopped working!
JASON
You stopped following the suggestions.
TREVOR
(hesitant)
Okay.
Silence.
TREVOR
How do you do it?
JASON
Same way you did.  I follow the suggestions.  I do what the people who come into these rooms looking for help, and who are successful, do.  And I don’t stop.
TREVOR
I want that.
Silence.
JASON
How much time and effort do you put in everyday to get high and then to cover up that you’re getting high and then to combat the hang over from getting high?
TREVOR
I spend most of my time doing that.
JASON
For a while...
TREVOR
How long?
JASON
A few months.  Three, six, nine.  I don’t know, but for awhile, you’re going to have to put in nearly as much time working on not getting high.  It will get easier.
TREVOR
I know.
Silence.
TREVOR
You seem happy.
JASON
I am happy, and right now, really grateful.
TREVOR
Why are you grateful?
JASON
Cause I ain’t you.  You’re the best reminder there is of why I still work hard to not take a drink or use drugs today.
TREVOR
I don’t want to be a reminder.  I’m tired of being a reminder.
JASON
Then quit drinking and quit using.
TREVOR
What else should I do?
JASON
Read the book.  Go to meetings.
TREVOR
I will.
JASON
It’s going to hurt, Trevor.  For the next few weeks, it’s going to hurt bad.
TREVOR
I know.
Jason takes out his wallet and gives Trevor his business card.
JASON
Here’s my card.  Call me anytime, as long as it’s before you use.
TREVOR
Okay.
Jason stands.
JASON
I come to the noon meetings here couple of times a week.
They shake.
TREVOR
I’ll look for you.
Trevor stands and leaves.
JASON
There but for the grace of God...
End of play.

22 Aug 2015

PROMPT:

Sarah, Roberto, and Cynthia stand at a table in a bar.  Three drinks are on the table. Tad walks up.
TAD
(picking up a drink)
Who’s not drinkin’?
Roberto and Cynthia pick up the other drinks and clink glasses with a laugh.
CYNTHIA
(nodding toward Sarah)
Stick in the mud.
Cynthia picks up her drink and pointed takes a long draw.
ROBERTO
More like stick up her butt.
SARAH
Lovely, Roberto, that’s just lovely.
TAD
What’s the problem, Sarah?
SARAH
I just don’t feel like drinking tonight.  Is that alright with you, Tad?
TAD
It’s a free country.
ROBERTO
And free booze!  Cynthia said she’s buying!
Roberto takes a long drink.
CYNTHIA
(excited)
I got a promotion today!  This is a celebration.  Come on, Sarah, have a drink!
SARAH
I can’t...
ROBERTO
What do you mean you can’t?!
SARAH
I got... I got stuff to do tomorrow.
ROBERTO
That’s tomorrow!  Besides it’s Saturday!  Sleep late!  Watch sports!  Boss didn’t ask you to come in on your day off, did she?
SARAH
(annoyed)
No.
TAD
Now we’ve hurt her little feelings.
SARAH
Ya’ll can be such assholes.
CYNTHIA
(looking pointedly at Tad and Roberto)
We’re sorry, Sarah, aren’t we... Roberto, Tad?
ROBERTO
(mumbling)
Sorry.
TAD
Sorry.
Silence.
CYNTHIA
So what’s going on with you?  I know it’s... been hard... since...
TAD
We were just trying to help you forget.
SARAH
I’m not going to forget.  I don’t want to forget.
CYNTHIA
Of course, you’re not going to forget.  We don’t want you to forget.
ROBERTO
We just don’t want to see you so... sad.
SARAH
I appreciate... what ya’ll are trying to do, but I can’t...
CYNTHIA
It’s only been two weeks since the funeral.  Nobody’s expecting you to be the life of the party, but a drink...
SARAH
Like I said, I got something to do tomorrow... early.
Silence.
TAD
So... what are you doing tomorrow?
Silence.
SARAH
I can’t drink because I’m donating... milk.
ROBERTO
Buy a carton at the store, drop it off.  Don’t see why you can’t have drink.
CYNTHIA
Not cow’s milk, idiot, breast milk.
ROBERTO
You mean like from...
Roberto points at Sarah’s breasts, then realizes what he’s doing and his hand and eyes drop.
ROBERTO
Sorry.
SARAH
(putting a hand on Roberto’s arm)
It’s okay.  I know it sounds weird.
TAD
A little...
SARAH
There are lots of premature babies who’s mother’s can’t give milk.  If they get breast milk, they have a better chance of survival.
TAD
(quietly)
Wow...
ROBERTO
Yea... wow...
SARAH
(sad, breaking down at the end)
It seemed like something I could... do.
CYNTHIA
That’s... amazing.
SARAH
If I can’t feed my own... baby...
Sarah cries.  Tad, Roberto and Cynthia gather round her and give her hugs.
End of play.

21 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  It’s all I have in me today...

Leticia Rodriguez, artist/musician/dancer

Chuck, late middle aged, holds the phone up to his ear.
CHUCK
As soon as I hang up with you...
(listens)
Yes, ma’am.
(listens)
Thank you.  Good night.
Debbie comes in just as Chuck is finishing the conversation.
DEBBIE
Are you still up?
CHUCK
Britany is not in her room.
DEBBIE
What?!  Where is she?!
CHUCK
She snuck out.
DEBBIE
How did she get around the alarm?!
CHUCK
I don’t know.  I got up to pee and decided to do a bed check.  Her room was empty.  Window open.  Screen off.
DEBBIE
Did you... call the police?
CHUCK
I didn’t want to.  I called the agency emergency number.  They said I had to call the police and the hotline.
DEBBIE
What is she thinking?
CHUCK
Thinking?  She’s all anger and fear and hormones!
Silence.
DEBBIE
What are we supposed to do now?
CHUCK
I’m going to turn on the TV, sit on the sofa, and wait.  You should try to go back to bed if you can.
DEBBIE
I don’t know...
A loud knock on the door.  Debbie jumps.
DEBBIE
Shit!
Chuck exits and comes back a moment later with a young woman, Darlene, in a police uniform.
DARLENE
Evening folks.  Do you know why I’m here?
DEBBIE
Our daughter snuck out.
DARLENE
I have her in the back of the squad car.
CHUCK
Thank god!
DEBBIE
She’s alright?
DARLENE
She’s fine.  Drunk, but fine.
CHUCK
Drunk?!
DARLENE
Just a little tipsy.  We picked her up over on Burnet Road along with her little girlfriend, Sydney.
CHUCK
Those two idiots...
DARLENE
Can’t argue with you there, sir.  They were just walking along the sidewalk.  Some... weirdo was following them.
DEBBIE
They’re alright?  I mean, other than being drunk.
DARLENE
They’re both fine.
CHUCK
Did you talk to them?
DARLENE
We had a long discussion and before I bring Britany in, I’m going to have another little chat with them.
CHUCK
Are they... in trouble?
DARLENE
With the law?  No, sir.  Not this time.  I am going to issue a curfew warning to both of them, but they won’t have to go to court.
DEBBIE
Thank you.
DARLENE
Britany is your foster daughter?
CHUCK
Yes ma’am.
DARLENE
You’ve got your hands full.
CHUCK
Yes, ma’am.
DARLENE
She getting some counseling?
DEBBIE
She goes once a week.
CHUCK
And we had an alarm installed...
DEBBIE
This isn’t her first time.
CHUCK
No, ma’am.  This isn’t her first time.
DARLENE
Alright.  Sounds like you folks are doing everything you can.
CHUCK
We love her but...
DARLENE
I know.  I’m going to go have a word with the young ladies, and then I will bring Britany in.
DEBBIE
Thank you.  We’ll talk to her.
DARLENE
In the morning.  Put her in bed and go to bed yourselves.
DEBBIE
Thank you, officer.
Darlene nods and exits.
DEBBIE
I don’t know if I can do this.
CHUCK
It’s been a long day.  We’re not going to make any decision tonight.
DEBBIE
Okay... I love her.
CHUCK
Me, too.
They hug.
End of play.

20 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  Three or more circumstances occur at once creating a perfect storm of some kind.

Alison Frost, director/educator

Robert stands at the open front door looking out.  Macy wanders in.
MACY
You can close the door.  They’re not coming back.
ROBERT
I was looking to see if Santa was on his way.
MACY
‘Bout as likely as a white Christmas.
Silence.
ROBERT
Two in two weeks.
MACY
I don’t what to do with myself.
Silence.
ROBERT
Did the agency call?
MACY
No.
ROBERT
They’re all on Christmas vacation.
MACY
Wish I was on Christmas vacation.
Silence.
ROBERT
Did she say why she was leaving?
MACY
No.
Silence.
ROBERT
Somebody from the agency should have called.
Silence.
MACY
Teenage girls just represent to much... risk.
ROBERT
Pregnancy, drugs, fights, run aways...
MACY
And all the drama.
ROBERT
We’ve had it all.
MACY
Too much risk.  Too much liability.
Silence.
ROBERT
I thought we’d turned a corner with Anna.
MACY
Two years.
ROBERT
I really thought we’d turned a corner.
MACY
She would get scared whenever she got too close... And she got way to close this time.
Silence.
ROBERT
And Matilda... A mile wide and an inch deep.
MACY
It’s always the deepest problem.
ROBERT
Not the PTSD or the depression or the bad brain chemistry.
MACY
Attachment.
Silence.
ROBERT
When your mommy and daddy don’t want you, it’s hard to believe anyone ever will.
MACY
And when it does look like someone might want you...
ROBERT
Better to not take the risk.
Robert steps back from the door and closes it gently.  He turns to Macy.
ROBERT
(breaking down)
Merry... merry...
Macy comes into his arms and they cry.
End of play.

19 Aug 2015

PROMPT:


Jacob, an old man, sits in a coffee shop talking to Richard, a much younger man.
JACOB
I was one of the five pretty boys.
RICHARD
(impressed)
Wow.  So you were in an actual movie?!
JACOB
The star never showed.  We waited for hours and finally Andy sent us all home.  The only thing you would have seen was the back of my head, anyway.
RICHARD
You were this close to glamour, glory and gold.
JACOB
That was before the Factory on 47th street closed and the new one on Union Square opened.  I moved out of New York and came back down here to Texas.
RICHARD
That must have been a culture shock.
JACOB
That was easy.  The original move from east Texas to New York, that was hard.
RICHARD
Where in east Texas?
JACOB
Beaumont.
RICHARD
That must have been a shock.
JACOB
From enormous pine trees to enormous buildings.  It was weird.
RICHARD
And you met Warhol!
JACOB
He was too weird for me.  The whole thing was just too weird.  Everything was so intense, so driven.  If you couldn’t do something outrageous on command, you didn’t fit in... I didn’t fit in.
RICHARD
That sounds so cool.  I’m so excited I’m going!
JACOB
If you want to be a big star in the theater, if you’ve got that kind of drive, that’s where you need to be.  But, Richard, that city and that business chews up and spits out kids like you everyday, by the dozens.  You got a back up plan?
RICHARD
I’ve got people... family here that loves me.
JACOB
No better back up plan then that.
RICHARD
What... what do I do?
JACOB
What do you do here?
RICHARD
Go to every show I can get into.  Wait afterwards and talk to the actors, directors, whoever.  Go to the bar they all go to after the show and drink with ‘em.
JACOB
No different up there.  This is a collaborative art.  Who you know is as important as how talented you are.
RICHARD
I hate that.
JACOB
Love it, hate it, that’s the way it is.  Every theater up there gives acting classes.  Sign up.
RICHARD
I don’t need acting lessons.
JACOB
It’s not about gaining skills, it’s about meeting people.
RICHARD
Okay.
JACOB
Don’t know what else I can tell you.  You seem to have your head on straight.
RICHARD
Thanks... And thanks for giving my mom a place to stay.
JACOB
My pleasure.
RICHARD
Is she... is she okay?
JACOB
Your mom is doing great.  She’s working hard to figure out who she’s going to be now that she’s not a mother to children who need her or a socialite or a housewife.
RICHARD
That’s right, isn’t it?
JACOB
Yup.  She’s figuring who and what she’s going to be for the second half of her life.
RICHARD
I never thought of it that way.  Thanks, Jacob.
Richard stands.
JACOB
Remember, shake every hand you can.  Talk to them.  I learned long ago that the best way to talk to strangers is to interview them.  Let them talk about themselves.  They’ll think your the smartest person on earth.  Good luck.
Jacob shakes hand with Richard and leaves.
End of play.

18 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  Draw a map of a place you go to every day. Then choose one section and make a close up map of that section.  Then choose one section of the close up and draw a close up map of that section. Repeat. What landscape is revealed in this final close up? What lives or hides there? What happens there?

Katie Pearl, writer/director/performer

Tippy looks in her microscope and frowns.  Cyril enters.
CYRIL
Why the sour puss, Tippy?
TIPPY
Dinoflagellates.
CYRIL
So teeny, tiny critters.
TIPPY
Algae.
CYRIL
Plants?
TIPPY
Algae is a plant.
CYRIL
But flagelattes?  Doesn’t that mean they have little tails to make ‘em move?
TIPPY
Perfect.
CYRIL
Plants that move?
TIPPY
Lots of plants move.
CYRIL
I’ve never seen an oak pull up its roots and wander down the road.
TIPPY
Only the tiniest of plants can move, smarty-pants.
CYRIL
Good to know.  Still doesn’t explain the sour look on you face.
TIPPY
These particular dinoflagellates are red algae.
CYRIL
Where’d you get red algae?
TIPPY
Toilet bowl.
CYRIL
That’s disgusting.
TIPPY
I didn’t eat out of it, I just scrapped a little gunk off the porcelain.
CYRIL
Gunk, that’s a technical term.
TIPPY
(rolling her eyes but otherwise ignoring Cyril’s remark)
I was curious.
CYRIL
About the gunk growing in the toilet bowl?
TIPPY
Yup.
Silence.
CYRIL
I don’t appreciate this kind of harassment.  If you want me to clean the toilet, just say so.
TIPPY
That’s not what this is about.
CYRIL
I know I’m not the best house keeper.
TIPPY
You’re fine house keeper.
CYRIL
There’s dirty laundry piled in the bedroom and the floors haven’t been swept in a couple of weeks.  I saw a dead roach in the corner of the dining room this morning.  I should have picked it up.
TIPPY
Cyril...
CYRIL
And now, there’s gunk in my toilet that my wife is examining under a microscope.  Did you scrape the bathtub, too.
TIPPY
There was this beautiful colony near the drain...
CYRIL
You scraped the bathtub?!
TIPPY
I wasn’t trying to criticize your housekeeping!  Really, I wasn’t.
CYRIL
You just thought you’d examine all the gross things growing in our home!  Just for fun!
TIPPY
Yea.
CYRIL
I’ve got some old cheese in the refrigerator, and I think there’s some chicken from dinner three nights ago.  I’m sure we can get some disgusting stuff off of those!
Tippy steps over to Cyril and puts her arms around him.  He stand stiffly.
TIPPY
I love you, Cyril.
CYRIL
(angry)
I love you, too.
TIPPY
I was just... I don’t know.
CYRIL
Yea, curious.  I got it.
TIPPY
I wasn’t trying to say anything about your housekeeping.
CYRIL
Sure.  Red algae grows in everybody’s toilet.
TIPPY
It does.
Cyril glares at Tippy.
End of play.

17 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  Write a scene where adults behave literally as children

Marisela Treviño Orta, playwright

Corporal Stanley Richardson, 25, stands in front of a simple wooden box on a table in front of him.  He pries off the lid and looks inside.  He reaches in a pulls out a rubber chicken.  He smiles.
Sergeant Edward Russell, 45, enters and goes and stands next to Corporal Richardson.
SERGEANT
You doing okay today, Corporal?
CORPORAL
(stiffening slightly)
Just fine, Sergeant.
Sergeant Russell, looks into the box and pulls out a yo-yo.
SERGEANT
Camp clown.
Corporal reaches in and takes out a can of nuts with a screw on lid.
CORPORAL
Nut?
Corporal hands the can to the Sergeant, who unscrews the lid.  Snakes jump out of the can.  Neither man moves.
SERGEANT
Bet the boys at Ramstein wet their pants.  You have to stay alert, Corporal.  Some of ‘em are booby-trapped.
CORPORAL
Yes, Sergeant.
Corporal reaches in and takes out a deck of cards and a plastic lapel flower attached to a pocket squirter.
CORPORAL
He must have been very popular.
SERGEANT
Like a case of the clap.
The Sergeant looks at the Corporal who looks a little surprised by the remark.
SERGEANT
Sorry.  Sometimes I forget... It’s not forgetting... it’s... it’s...
Silence.
CORPORAL
How long have you been doing this, Sergeant?
SERGEANT
(slowly)
Four years.
CORPORAL
Doesn’t it get to ya?
SERGEANT
Sometimes... yea.
Silence.
Corporal reaches in and pulls out a gun.  He points it at the Sergeant.  When the Corporal pulls the trigger, water squirts out.
CORPORAL
Can’t believe there’s still water in it.
SERGEANT
Ramstein probably filled it up before they sent it on...  Wanted it to be the way they found it.  The way he left it.  Make sure it’s refilled before you put it back in.
Silence.
CORPORAL
What’s the weirdest thing you ever found in one of these?
SERGEANT
A finger.
CORPORAL
(surprised)
A real finger?
SERGEANT
Wasn’t much left but a little leathery flesh and bones.
CORPORAL
That’s kind sick.
Silence.
SERGEANT
You serve in Iraq?
CORPORAL
No, Sergeant.
SERGEANT
(struggling)
It... it...
(stops, then starts again, almost an explosion)
You don’t know who the enemy is until they start shooting, or a car blows up.  Could be anybody on the street, man, woman, child.  When you’re out on patrol your finger is always on the trigger waiting, watching.  Then when you get to base, you gotta let out the stress.  You act stupid, you do stupid things.  There were days, I swear to God, when we had a day off that I felt like a five year old.  Runnin’ around, rough housing, playing stupid games and stupid jokes...
The Corporal is a bit stunned by the revelation.  The Sergeant seems hyper and a little embarrassed by his outburst.  The Corporal doesn’t know what to do.  Finally, he looks in the box and pulls out a whoopie cushion.  The Corporal squeeze it and it makes a loud farting sound.
SERGEANT
Treat everything in these boxes with respect, Corporal.
CORPORAL
Yes, Sergeant.
SERGEANT
(looking in the box)
You can ditch the girlie magazines.  His mother or wife doesn’t need to find those.
CORPORAL
Yes, Sergeant.
The Sergeant reaches into the box and takes out the dog tags.
SERGEANT
(reading the dog tags)
Private Rudolfo Rodriquez... Rest in peace, Private Rodriquez.  Rest in peace.
The Sergeant sets the tags down and puts a hand on the Corporal shoulder.
SERGEANT
Keep up the good work, Corporal.
CORPORAL
Yes, Sergeant.
The Sergeant exits.  The Corporal looks in the box.
End of play.

16 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  Think of a question you have about the world. Think of a statement you have about life/people. Write a monologue or scene that takes you from the question to the statement, or vice versa. Use each line as the beginning ad ending of the monologue/scene.

Liz Engleman, dramaturg/educator

Todd, 62, stands before the Oracle of Delphi.  Brenda, 28, stands next to him.
TODD
(mocking)
Oh great Oracle, tell us what becomes of us after we die?
Brenda looks at Todd with surprise and disappointment.
BRENDA
That’s your question?!  What happens to us after we die?!
TODD
(defiant)
Yea.  That’s my question.
BRENDA
I thought you were a deep and spiritual human being!
TODD
I am!  I’m going to be dead a long time!  A lot longer than I’m going to be alive!
BRENDA
So what!  You’re alive now.  Don’t you care about what’s happening right here and right now?!
TODD
Of course, I care.
(trying to sidle up to Brenda in sexy manner)
In fact, all I can really think about is getting you back to the hotel and taking your clothes off, right now.
Brenda pushes Todd away.
BRENDA
My friends warned me...
TODD
About what?!
BRENDA
That if I got involved with an older man, all he would care about is my body.
TODD
I spent thousand of dollars...
BRENDA
So I’m just a whore!
TODD
You’re not a whore.
BRENDA
I thought you cared about me.
TODD
I do care about you.  I have a daughter...
BRENDA
You fuck your daughter!?
TODD
NO!  Of course not!
BRENDA
That’s a relief.
TODD
I’m just saying that your young...
BRENDA
I’ve got an MFA in literature.  I’ve had two books published and am writing my third...
TODD
And you obviously have daddy issues.
Silence.
BRENDA
You really are a selfish son of a bitch.
Silence.
TODD
I guess I am.
BRENDA
And I’m an idiot.
Silence.
Brenda turns and starts to walk away.  She stops and looks around and then walks off.
BRENDA
(muttering as she leaves)
Humans are  so stupid.
End of play.

15 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  One of The Many Gods has it out for you. Do you a) run,  b) make a deal for protection from One of the Other Gods,  c) work on a little counter magic on your own  or d) something else?  State the background then the proposed action.

Kent Cole, guitarist

Casey, 34, kneels on one knee in front the Goddess Aphrodite.
CASEY
I wasn’t peeking!
APHRODITE
You new she was out there, right?
CASEY
Yea.
APHRODITE
And you know how she is, right?
CASEY
Yea.
APHRODITE
So when your wandering the forests with a goddess and she disappears for a while and then you hear singing and the sounds of water splashing, what do you do?
CASEY
(resigned)
Close my eyes, turn, and walk in the other direction.
APHRODITE
We’ve talked about this before.
CASEY
I know.
APHRODITE
When you say...
(airquotes)
 ... “I know” like that I can hear the “Fuck you” you’d really rather say.
CASEY
Sorry.
APHRODITE
You don’t own me an apology.  I’m not the one going to turn you into a hog or a goat or a...
(with a shrug)
... who knows.
CASEY
Deer, well, a stag.
APHRODITE
She wants to turn you into a stag?  Why?
CASEY
So my hunting dogs will run me down and kill me and eat me.
APHRODITE
Yea, that sounds like Artemis.
CASEY
She really doesn’t like men, does she?
APHRODITE
She’s not that crazy about women either, unless their pregnant.
CASEY
Who does she like?
APHRODITE
Her twin brother.
CASEY
What happened during their upbringing?! She’s a virgin and he’s a hound dog!
APHRODITE
Don’t let Apollo hear you say that.
CASEY
Well, he is!
APHRODITE
I know!  But he likes to see himself as a protector of women, and compared to his father...
CASEY
You people are really fucked up, you know that?!
APHRODITE
Too small a gene pool.  Bad traits get reinforced rather than weeded out.
Silence.
CASEY
So, can you help me?
APHRODITE
What’s in it for me?
CASEY
You’re a freakin’ goddess!  What could I possibly have that you would want and couldn’t get for yourself?!
APHRODITE
You make a good point.
CASEY
Have you no mercy?!
APHRODITE
Not a lot of pay off in mercy.
CASEY
You’re a goddess, for christsake!  Pay off!  Don’t you have everything you could ever want?!
APHRODITE
Do you know how boring it is to be a goddess?!  There’s nobody to talk to, I don’t have any real friends, and I can never get a date on New Year’s Eve except with one of my brothers.
CASEY
Ewww!
APHRODITE
Ewww, is right!
CASEY
Well, at least nobody’s trying to turn you into a stag!
APHRODITE
Alright, alright.  Quit your whining.  I’ll talk to Artemis.
CASEY
Thank you!
APHRODITE
I’m not promisin’ nothin’...
CASEY
I know, I know...
APHRODITE
(turning away)
Humans...
End of play.

14 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  hesitancy in the voice. a slip of the tongue. cold feet. a new marriage and a teasing sun.

Caridad Svich, playwright, translator, songwriter, lyricist and editor

Bert, newly wed, and his bride, Frida, are in bed, under the covers, together.
BERT
(jerking away from Frida)
Jeez, you’re feet are cold!
FRIDA
(moving toward Bert, sexy voice)
Cold feet, warm...
BERT
Frida, think of the children!
FRIDA
Children?!  We’ve only been married two weeks.  We don’t have any children.
BERT
It’s a joke and God willing we won’t have...
FRIDA
Bert!  We talked about this!  We decided we weren’t going to wait.
BERT
(muttering)
You decided.
FRIDA
I can’t believe you.
BERT
(knowing he’s in trouble)
I didn’t mean that.  It was just... a slip of the tongue.
FRIDA
That was no slip!  You told me before the ceremony that you were ready have kids!
BERT
(hesitant)
I... I... know.
FRIDA
You didn’t mean it?!
BERT
I... I thought you’d back out.
Silence.
FRIDA
(cold anger)
I’m nearly thirty, Bert.
(lifting up the covers for Bert to see her body)
This look like a refrigerator to you?!
BERT
(feeling some lust)
No.
Dropping the covers.
FRIDA
You’re damn right it’s no refrigerator and my eggs aren’t going to stay fresh forever.
Bert lifts up the covers for another lustful look.
BERT
That may not be a refrigerator, but that’s one fine vegetable crisper you got there.
Bert reaches for Frida’s goodies.  Frida slams the covers down, halting Bert’s progress.
FRIDA
The sun still up and peeking through the curtains!
BERT
The sun’s always up at this time of year, here!  You’re the June bride who want to see Stockholm on her honeymoon.
FRIDA
Well at least close the curtains tight!
BERT
We’re on the forty floor and the pigeons aren’t going to watch.
FRIDA
And we’re having a fight!
BERT
(almost happy)
Our first one!
FRIDA
Well there ain’t going to be no make-up sex till you agree that we can start trying to make babies.
BERT
(lusty)
Can we start right now?!
Bert rolls over and clutches Frida.  Frida relents, but then Bert rolls away, letting go of Frida.
BERT
Jeez, you got cold feet!
End of play.

13 Aug 2015

PROMPT:  A dirty boxfan in the window . . .

Carolyn Maye, interdisciplinary artist

Natalie, 56, and Martin, 58, sit in their van that is parked in a driveway, looking out the front window and over the heads of the audience.
NATALIE
(shocked)
Wow.
MARTIN
It’s worse than I thought.
NATALIE
No AC.
MARTIN
The window screens are all ripped.
NATALIE
At least they have box fans in the windows.
MARTIN
Dirty box fans.
Silence.
NATALIE
(pointing up
Is that a hole in the roof?
MARTIN
I think so.
Silence.
NATALIE
We are so lucky.
MARTIN
So lucky.
Seeing Anna come on stage.
NATALIE
Here she comes!
Natalie and Martin get out of the car and go to greet, Anna, 19.
NATALIE
Hello sweetheart!  How are you?
Anna acts a bit shy, but hugs Natalie and even gives Martin half a hug.
MARTIN
It’s so good to see you.  How are you doing?
Anna steps back.
ANNA
(slight Mexican accent)
I’m fine.
NATALIE
That’s good.
MARTIN
We miss you.
ANNA
I miss you too.
Silence.
NATALIE
Are you... working?
ANNA
I’m a flagger on a road construction crew.
MARTIN
Wow.  That’s sounds good.
NATALIE
Do you like it?
ANNA
(holding out her arms)
Yea, except I’m turning brown.
NATALIE
You are getting brown.
ANNA
Starting to look like a real Mexican.
MARTIN
You look beautiful.
ANNA
(shyly)
Thank you.
NATALIE
Is you’re mom here?  We’d like to meet her.
ANNA
She’s working.
MARTIN
And your sister?
ANNA
(scornful)
She moved in with her boyfriend... And she’s pregnant again!
MARTIN
I’m... sorry to hear that.
NATALIE
How many kids does she have?
ANNA
Two.
NATALIE
So this will be her third.
ANNA
Uh-huh.
Silence.
MARTIN
And... what about.. Denzel?
ANNA
I broke up with him about three weeks ago.
MARTIN
How do you feel about that?
ANNA
Good.  I just couldn’t handle anymore of his junk.
NATALIE
Okay.
ANNA
(angry)
Him and all his hoes.
Silence.  Everyone looks uncomfortable.
ANNA
Listen, I’ve got friends coming by in a few minutes...
MARTIN
Yea.  We need to get back on the road too.
Anna gives Martin a hug.
MARTIN
I love you...
Anna steps back.  He looks down at her.
MARTIN
You’re still our daughter.  That hasn’t changed.  We still love you.
Natalie hugs Anna.
NATALIE
We love you.
ANNA
I love you.
Silence.
ANNA
Would it be okay if I came and visited?
NATALIE
You are always welcome in our house.
MARTIN
Your house.  You are still our daughter.
ANNA
(nodding)
I’d like that.
End of play.