DAWN
Last moments of sleep, dreams. A time to find enough meaning to rise.
The most important moment in time is Now.
Will and Frank arrive for a ‘happening’. They must share the only bench. The program is announced but keeps changing and they must adapt to the change. A vendor passes by selling symbolic merchandise related to the changing venue. All await the main speaker who will supply the answers they are seeking in due time. And that time is now.
Characters:
WILL
FRANK
VENDOR, creates commerce out of confusion
SPEAKER, unseen announcer, voice of authority
ROGER
TIME: moments before dawn
PLACE: a bare stage
Performance notes:
Vendor will enter from many directions, never the same, will also interact with audience.
Staging can be very loose, with actors going into the audience to buy from vendor.
Stuffed animal/cat used in last scene.
The most important moment in time. Now.
DAWN
Announcements (IN underlined BOLD) overlap dialogue, beginning with an underlined cue word.
Vendor enters with the repeat announcement.
Vendor will vary sale methods and direction..
Will and Frank will get progressively bewildered as the program unfolds.
A single bench at center stage.
As play progresses actors go into audience to buy goods.
The speaker begins.
PROGRAM ON THE ESSENCE OF LOVE BEGINS IN TEN MINUTES
Will and Frank rush in at the same time from different directions.
PROGRAM ON THE ESSENCE OF LOVE BEGINS IN TEN MINUTES
After some confusion they must share bench.
WILL: It’s so crowded
FRANK: Got to keep informed. I have to see to believe.
WILL: I have to believe to see. (offers hand) Will
FRANK: (shakes hand) Frank.
Pause. They each wipe off covertly the other’s handshake residue.
WILL: I’m looking forward ---
FRANK: Of course, cause she’s gone.
WILL: Love is the poetry of emotions.
LECTURE ON THE SUBSTANCE OF POETRY WILL BEGIN IN NINE MINUTES
WILL & FRANK: What?
LECTURE ON THE SUBSTANCE OF POETRY WILL BEGIN IN NINE MINUTES
VENDOR: (enters, selling nooses) Dress wear, Formal dress wear, Get your regulation poetic licensed attire, right here. Get your dress wear ---
Frank buys a noose tie, then nonchalantly puts it on.
VENDOR: (continues) Dress wear, Formal dress wear, Get your regulation poetic licensed attire, right here. Get your dress wear ---- (exits)
WILL: What happened to that love thing? Poetry’s cool though.
Love will take us all the way and bring us all a better day
FRANK: I think not, she left.
WILL: Wait and see what the speaker has to say.
FRANK: (lifts himself up by noose) I wrote a poem once:
Life is an unbearable lie, a despair over nothing
A collision of silence and cries, the mediocrity of compromise thrives,
Brains buried in distraction, words whirled in inaction,
The platform of enlightenment lies six feet below the ground
WILL: That’s a bit grave.
FRANK: ( sits) The key to life is death.
WILL: You’re a bit depressing.
FRANK: The key to life of death.
WILL: Heard you the first time. A shared house key is enough.
FRANK: I meant we only know things by comparison – good/bad, happy/sad, heaven/hell…
THE NATURE OF RELIGION WILL BE TODAY’S TOPIC IN EIGHT MINUTES
WILL & FRANK: Geezus…
THE NATURE OF RELIGION WILL BE TODAY’S TOPIC IN EIGHT MINUTES
VENDOR: (enters) Ganges soda, Mecca sandwich, wailing waffles, Christian beanies, Mao caps --- Ganges soda, Mecca sandwich, wailing ---
WILL: Beanie here!
Vendor tosses crown of thorns which Will unwraps and adjusts uncomfortably on his head.
VENDOR: (continues) Ganges soda, Mecca sandwich, wailing waffles, Christian beanies, Mao caps --- Ganges soda, Mecca sandwich, wailing --- (exits)
FRANK: Isn’t this a bit strange?
WILL: Now here’s a sore subject.
FRANK: This doesn’t make sense.
WILL: Neither did she. You either believe or you don’t.
FRANK: I don’t. What do you believe?
WILL I believe.
FRANK: What?
WILL: It doesn’t matter, does it? I believe.
FRANK You mean -- be a leaf on some else’s tree?
WILL: I believe.
FRANK: I don’t believe. I know.
WILL: You’ve got your ‘know’ mixed up. When you negate everything -- that’s n o.
FRANK: I know.
WILL: Wish the speaker would hurry and get here.
PRESENTATION OF THE MOST ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE IN 7 MINUTES
WILL & FRANK: What?
PRESENTATION OF THE MOST ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE IN 7 MINUTES
VENDOR: (enters, selling ball and chain) Global Encyclopedias , Encyclopediatic memory ball souvenirs, get your official all-you-need-to-know memory ball souvenirs ---
FRANK: Ooo, oo, oo! here!
Vendor drags ball and chain to Frank, who immediately fastens it to his leg as the vendor continues
VENDOR: (continues) Global Encyclopedias , Encyclopediatic memory ball souvenirs, get your official all-you-need-to-know memory ball souvenirs (exits)
WILL: Uh, what’s going on?
FRANK: This is too much.
WILL: Why do intelligent people seem so profoundly stupid?
FRANK: The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.
WILL: That’s heavy.
FRANK: God damn right.
WILL: What do you know?
FRANK: I know.
WILL: What?
FRANK: I know I don’t know. I sense a pattern here, scientifically speaking
(looks at watch)
WILL: All I know is that she didn’t come home.
THE MAIN PROPERTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN SIX MINUTES
WILL: What?
FRANK: (looking at watch) Uh-huh.
THE MAIN PROPERTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN SIX MINUTES
VENDOR: (enters, selling bananas and apples) Potassium bars, vitamin spheres, chips, Potassium bars, vitamin spheres, chips ---
WILL: (flags down vendor) Chips here! (to Frank) Want some?
FRANK: Make that two.
Vendor tosses bags of chips, continues toward unseen customer.
VENDOR: Be right there. Potassium bars, vitamin spheres, chips. Potassium bars, vitamin spheres, chips --- (exits)
WILL: Silicon chips? Check out the date. Expired.
FRANK: (still looking at watch, calculating) They don’t stay fresh for long.
(he’ll continue looking at watch until next announcement)
WILL: Really now, this is too much. Science too?
FRANK: Osmosis is the only science I know.
WILL: You mean, you don’t know?
FRANK: I know osmosis: some people make a fortune off of the misfortune of others.
WILL: It still begs the question – what is going on here?
FRANK: You mean, where is she?
WILL: The speaker will fill us in, in five minutes or so. Wait for the --
IN FIVE MINUTES OR SO THE GREATEST ADVENTURE IN WORLD TRAVEL
Will looks dumbfounded at Frank, who is still studying his watch.
FRANK: They’re off by 15 seconds!
IN FIVE MINUTES OR SO THE GREATEST ADVENTURE IN WORLD TRAVEL
VENDOR: (enters, selling blindfolds and mirrors) Travel glasses! Travel glasses! Get your travel glasses! Paradise! Pictures of paradise! Get your pictures of paradise --
WILL: (to Frank) Should we?
FRANK: This is nuts.
They raise their hands. Vendor gives Will a blindfold, Frank a mirror. Continues selling…
VENDOR: Travel glasses! Travel glasses! Get your travel glasses!
Paradise! Pictures of paradise! Get your pictures of paradise --
WILL: What do you suppose is going on here?
FRANK: I don’t know
WILL: Does that mean that you know? That you know you don’t know?
FRANK: (into mirror) Exactly.
WILL: (tries blindfold ) I love traveling.
FRANK: So does she, cause she ain’t coming back.
WILL: Isn’t this just novel?
PRESENTATION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NOVEL IN FOUR MINUTES
FRANK: Stop giving ‘em ideas!
PRESENTATION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NOVEL IN FOUR MINUTES
VENDOR: (selling books) Best sellers! Get your red hot, all-time blockbuster, book of the month bestest seller right here!
FRANK: (resigned to the situation) What the hell. Two!
Vendor obliges, continues…
VENDOR: Best sellers! Get your red hot, all-time blockbuster, book of the month bestest sellers right here!
FRANK: (opens book) What?
WILL: They’re blank.
FRANK: (stands) That’s it!
WILL: Is it a book if its blank?
FRANK: I’m not saying another word until someone tells me what’s going on.
WILL: Yeah, let’s wait and see.
FRANK: Someone should take note of this.
WILL: Here (hands Frank pen).
FRAANK: (writing) The air is still and morgue-like.
WILL: Give me – (takes pen, notes) The room is vibrant with expectation.
FRANK: (grabs pen, notes) with cadavers
WILL: (grabs pen, notes) with humanity
FRANK: (grabs pen, notes) with nonsense
WILL: (grabs pen, notes) with essence
FRANK: with…
THE ABSOLUTE ESSENCE OF ART IN THREE MINUTES
WILL & FRANK: What?
THE ABSOLUTE ESSENCE OF ART IN THREE MINUTES
VENDOR: ( selling wrapped canvas) Madonna and child canvas, masterwork virgin canvas, Masterwork Madonna and child in snow storm canvas …
WILL: My turn. Here. We’ll split one.
They return to bench and unwrap canvas. Will cuts hand. “Ouch!” Vendor continues…
VENDOR: Madonna and child canvas, masterwork virgin canvas, Masterwork madonna and child in snow storm canvas …(exits)
WILL: Madonna and child in snow storm!
FRANK: (stands, sweaty and anxious) This is outrageous. An empty canvas.
WILL: (sucking blood from cut) Good thing we’re not paying for any of these things.
VENDOR: (offstage) You’ll pay, believe me, you’ll pay!
WILL: Crap. I got blood on the … (shows red streak on canvas)
FRANK: (wipes sweat from brow) Here, let me…
(he wipes canvas but stain won’t come out)
(to Will) Cry.
WILL: What?
FRANK: Cry. We need warm salty water!
They struggle to squeeze out a tear, a real effort... They ask the audience to help...
... finally tears appear. (to audience) Thanks.
WILL: Okay. Okay…
They combine their tears and wipe canvas. It’s still streaky but interesting.
WILL: You know, with the right art dealer and publicity…
FRANK: Blood sweat and tears. It kinda sings.
WILL: Great art comes from great suffering.
THE GREATEST MUSIC EVER PRODUCED IN TWO MINUTES
WILL & FRANK scream in harmony
THE GREATEST MUSIC EVER PRODUCED IN TWO MINUTES
VENDOR: (enters) Hot recordings here! Simulcast surround-sound octaphonic soundtrack recordings here! Get your ----
They refuse to buy any more merchandise. Vendor tries to sell
VENDOR: Two for one! Two for one!! (they don’t budge, vendor continues)
Simulcast surround-sound octaphonic soundtrack recordings ! ---- (exits)
Will & Frank look at each other and realize they missed a golden opportunity.
They turn in the direction of Vendor and scream “Wait!”
FRANK: Damn it! A two-for!
WILL: Just as well. Records are not music. That’s history not music.
FRANK: Plato says, “Thinking is the highest music.”
WILL: I believe he was deaf.
FRANK: I know Beethoven was.
WILL: And he was great. And he never heard any recordings.
FRANK: The point?
WILL: Music is live vibrant sounds.
(sings) Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream
Together:
WILL: merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream
FRANK: row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream
VENDOR: row, row, row your boat
Together:
WILL: life is but a dream life is but a dream
FRANK: merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream
VENDOR: gently down the stream, merrily merrily merrily merrily
ALL: Life is but a ---
THE GREATEST DREAM EVER CREATED IN ONE MINUTE
VENDOR: (frantically, across stage) Sale! sale! sale! Discounts, recounts, charge counts! No accounts! Underwear, outerwear, inner wear, anywhere everywhere!... (exits)
THE GREATEST DREAM EVER CREATED IN ONE MINUTE
WILL & FRANK are totally confused. Start to really freak out…
WILL: What happened to love?
FRANK: She’s gone.
THE QUINTESSENCE OF THEATER IN FORTY-FIVE SECONDS
WILL: Is this happening?
FRANK: If you think it’s real – it’s real!
THE GREATEST MOMENT IN HISTORY IN THIRTY SECONDS
WILL: Are you sure about that?
FRANK: (irritated) Yes!
THE MOST PROFOUND TEACHER IN TWENTY SECONDS
WILL: Where’s the speaker!?
THE SPEAKER HAS ARRIVED
Vendor puts speaker in center of stage, removes bench.
THE SPEAKER HAS ARRIVED
FRANK: Something’s missing!
WILL: No kidding!
ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO
Curtains start closing
WILL: Go?
FRANK Go where?
ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO --- 10
WILL: I know what I want!
9
FRANK: I know what I need!
8
WILL & FRANK: Pussy!
7
they cling to each other
CURTAINS close with countdown
SIX FIVE FOUR THREE TWO ONE --
Roger, We have LIFT OFF!
Sound of rocket taking off as curtain opens. Roger is just waking in bed.
He is a composite of Will and Frank. He looks with wonderment at audience.
He turns to the side, becomes very animated.
ROGER: (with open arms) My baby! ( a cat comes flying into his loving arms )
Where’ve you been all night, you little tramp!
CURTAIN
brief intermission to DUSK
"DAWN," from PLAYBOOK, © 1988 by John Kirkmire, ©2013 Kirkworkshop. All Rights Reserved