Paris, Or Someplace Like It
A Play in 4 Acts
Our Characters:
Wobat (a brown-black, feathered bat with superfluous appendages)
The Devil’s Soul
Antique Candlestick
Setting: Exterior, sidewalk of a sidestreet, windows partially defacerated with graffiti. Head- or searchlight reflections bounce at random and the competing sounds of heart- or hoofbeats mix with something like jazz and fall across the stage from both wings at uneven intervals. The sky is somewhere between pink and blue.
We stumble upon the play at Act III, Scene 7:
The Devil’s Soul (leaning heavily against a shop window, touching it only with his bald head.): It could be Paris. WE could be in Paris right now.
Wobat shrugs, causing a purring feathered roar.
The Devil’s Soul: I know you don’t agree. I didn’t ask if you agreed. I don’t care if you agree. (Something in the window catches his eye and he slowly sinks towards the sidewalk as if pulled by his kneecaps, his bald head never losing contact with the window.)
Wobat: (her voice garbled and an octave higher than usual): It isn’t whether I agree. Or disagree. Or disavow any knowledge of this entire operation. Or decide to operate on your brain. If you want to be in Paris, go to Paris. (she tries to whistle but makes only wind sounds, then flies to the spot next to and upstage from The Devil’s Soul and looks in the window)
The Devil’s Soul: Isn’t it perfect?
Wobat: (incredulous) That? THAT?!?! It looks just like…(she then walks across the stage away from him and the brassy thing in the window, only to fall off the stage which is no longer the stage but a bridge across La Seine, splashing as she falls in)
The Devil’s Soul: I know.
Me, mostly, and maybe some other fiction
- Sina (implied bo Bina)
- I collect paint chips. I de-story books. I blow bubbles. I write poetry (mostly) and take pictures. I love vintage Pyrex and Hermosa Beach and mapping southern California. My alter-ego/better half is a fictional character I created named Stella. I write about Stella and her adventures and right now her adventures are set in the Salton Sea, another place I love. I make jellyfish. I've been an art teacher, police dispatcher, floral designer, case manager, project manager, three-time AmeriCorps member and hopefully soon just a regular old administrator. Wanna know a secret? I think I might have a little crush on you, but don't hold it against me.
The assignment for tonight's class was to send in a short (200-500 word), one-act play. It was strongly suggested that it include an animal, an invisible being and an object each of which has an individual or collective crisis of conscience or resolution of love. Our previous class also dealt with plays (we had to use various things to create a small-group play on the spot during Thursday's class). I used to read plays for fun--not a lot of them, mind you, but still. It's quite different being on this side. And it's incredibly fun!
ReplyDeleteThis IS fun! Love your imaginative characters in particular.
ReplyDelete