For a Pessimist, I am Pretty Optimistic

(After enrolling in a Dramatic Play-writing class years ago, the first assignment was to write a scene without dialogue - something that I was convinced I couldn’t do. Even worse, I had to share this with the entire class, which would make it the first time I would ever share my “real” writing with anyone! Looking at this piece years later, I can see many corrections that are needed, but I left it as is - perhaps you can see how/if I’ve improved? For more background on the story and my inspiration see here)

A large room in a multi-bedroom apartment. It is divided in to a dining room area and a living room. There has been a struggle of some kind as we see what is ordinarily a tidy room is now a “disaster area”.

There is a dark colored couch covered in clothing that is piled on the seats and pieces are hanging over the arms and the back. Two end tables are on each side of the couch and the lamps and picture frames that are normally perched on the tables are now either on the floor or still overturned on the tables.

The dining room chairs are also knocked over on the floor, one even lying near the couch implying that is was thrown. A hanging mirror on the wall is tilted at a precarious angle. The floor is scattered in broken glass and ceramic pieces.

A woman enters. She is in her early twenties and is petite, both in size and in shape. She is wearing a pair of faded jeans and a black sleeveless turtleneck that makes her seem even smaller than she is. As she surveys the room, we can see that her face is tear streaked with make-up. It is obvious that she has been crying, perhaps for a long time.

            She walks down stage, rightening the over turned chairs and one of the lamps. Next to the lamp she comes across a broken glass vase and bends down to pick up the pieces.

            As she gathers the larger pieces, she pricks her finger on a particularly sharp one and jerks her hand away. She does not cry out, but brings her finger to her lips to clean up the blood from the small cut.

             Taking a shirt from the couch, she puts together the broken pieces of glass and, holding them in the shirt, exists through a doorway, presumably to throw the pieces out.

            After she exits, a man enters. He appears to be in his early thirties and is very tall and in shape. He is dressed in black jeans and a faded white “wife-beater” shirt which shows off his muscular form. His expression is of great rage and his bearing is of intended intimidation. He stalks around the stage, seeking out the woman, but does not see her. He exits.

            The woman’s make-up streaked face is seen peeking out the doorway she exited from. She is checking to make sure that the man has left the room. Assured of his absence, she enters the room again to continue to clean up.

            A flash of color catches her eye and she sees the broken pieces of dining room china. She walks over to the pieces, sits on the floor, and sobs. After several moments, she composes herself, wipes her eyes, and stands. She exits through the doorway, returning with two small sized luggage bags. She lays the bags open on the couch and sifts through the piles of clothes, placing the items that she picks in the bags.

            Offstage, footsteps are heard and upon hearing this, the girl’s motions become frantic. She keeps glancing around and starts grabbing any article of clothing that she sees and throwing it into the bag.

            As she closes up the bags, the man enters, still with an expression of rage on his face. He walks over to the girl and they stare at each other for a few seconds. The man moves towards the girl and she takes a few tentative steps backwards away from him. His expression becomes apologetic. Upon seeing the packed bags, he moves as if to hug her and she shrugs away, crossing her arms and pouting as she glares at him with defiance and fear.

            The man’s expression becomes sad as he shakes his head and turns to exit. As he starts to walk away, he turns back around towards where the girl is still standing. He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a small plastic bag filled with white powder, which he then throws on the floor towards the girl’s feet. He shakes his head sadly again and exits.

            The girl covers her mouth and lets out a small sob. She bends down to pick up the bag and quickly places it in the back pocket of her jeans. She straightens up, takes a deep breath and upon releasing it, picks up the luggage as she walks to the door.

            She turns the door knob, opens the door and then in a burst of rage drops her luggage to the floor in order to pick up an overturned lamp and hurl it across the stage towards the exact spot that the man had exited. She pauses to see if he will re-enter. She kicks over an end table when he does not. She picks up her bags again and exits, slamming the door behind her.

Comments RSS