I'm in the midst of a 31 plays in 31 days project. They are here. This was day 21 and I wrote a monologue.
Like all the plays I've written for this project I've sat down and started typing. Sometimes I've had a vague idea of what I was going to write, sometimes I had no clue what I was going to write. Several times it started with me typing: (Lights up on ...
Occasionally I had to go take a way part way through the play.
This is not my normal way of writing plays. I prefer to think about them, plan them, have way-markers to guide me as I go, and to know the final destination.
This experience has not changed my opinion on that. But it has shown me that as a brainstorming exercise to kick-start ideas, it's not bad; as an exercise.
So what follows is the monologue as I wrote it:
---
My Kingdom by
Earl T. Roske
(Lights
up on a roadside construction worker with his stop/slow sign, reflective vest,
yellow hard hat, walkie-talkie, lunch box by his feet.)
WORKER
Loot at ‘em. Lined up,
waiting for my permission to proceed.
Stop. Go. Stop. Go.
It’s as if they have
come to me, supplicants, seeking permission to enter the kingdom. And I as the
gate keeper make the determination of who and who shall not pass. They’re they
wait, eagerly watching – some of them with pleading eyes, especially those with
small, crying children – for me to grant them passage.
Mine is a heavy burden,
shouldered with modesty.
RADIO
Yo! What’s going on?
Send ‘em through! Send ‘em through!
WORKER
(Slowly
turning the sign)
I see their eyes
brighten with anticipation. Are they finally to be allowed permission to enter
the land previously forbidden? Will the soon be continued on their harrowing
journey?
Aye, in my benevolence I
see fit to grant 42 of you passage. You may enter, continuing on with your
journey.
(Pause
as he watches)
Look at them, sojourners
in passage to new, adventurous places. Are there dragon slayers amongst them?
Healer priests?
(Flinches)
Apparently there are
children with squirt guns.
Have a good day!
I hope he pees his
pants.
(Beat)
(Waves)
Greatings pilgrims!
Hello. Continue on your journey knowing that I have made this passage safe for
your continuance. New places.
(Beat)
Further adventures.
(Beat)
As I remain standing
here. Going nowhere.
(Beat)
How I would like to
journey afar. Distant lands, new places. Adventure!
Yet I am staid by my
duties. Slave to this responsibility. Girded only by the commands from above –
and my PB and J sandwich. Potato chips on the side because if you put them in
too early they get stale and moist. No crunch – anyway!
WORKER
(Cont.)
Girded only by what
nourishment this bleak land provides while others proceed into the land of milk
and honey.
Good journey to you all!
Yes, yes, salutation.
(Beat)
I should abandon this
responsibility. I should set out on my own quest. Broaden my horizons! There
are people that need meeting, great sights that need seeing, road-side dinners
with pies that need eating!
There’s a great wide
world beyond this passage and yet here I stand, guardian. Alone. With only a
brief glimpse of those who pass, eager for the journey ahead.
(Beat)
And I am left behind.
Left to guard the passage.
(Beat)
Who am I to be fooled!
They don’t seek me or my permission. They probably loath me and my staff. We
slow them down, we impede progress. Adventure!
I am … a monster to
them. I am Cerberus – minus two heads. Now, I am unworthy of such a moniker.
(Beat)
I am merely Charon with
a free shuttle. Everyone aboard, just walk on my back there. Two at a time, why
not. I am of no importance.
RADIO
Yo! How many cars you
sending through! We got a line over hear!
WORKER
(Swiftly
turning sign)
Stop! You do not have
permission to pass.
(Beat)
Yeah, I see the glares.
“Why not me?” “What’s one more car!” “It’s always my bad luck.”
Bad luck is to serve the
gods and not to be recognized for your efforts. You will be able to remove
yourself from this land while I … I am planted here like some destitute tree of
fate, forced to serve out eternity as a marker to this passage.
And what for? What
importance could there possibly be that justifies this eternal damnation!
(Cell
phone rings. Something cheery.)
WORKER
Hold on.
(Fumbles
with sign while freeing cell phone.)
WORKER
(Each
line that does not follow a pause
ends with him listening to short responses from his wife.)
Hello?
Oh, hi sweetheart.
No. No. Things are good.
No rain today.
Saw the cupcake, yes.
Thank you.
(Pause)
When did that happen?
Did someone tell --
Right. Right. Uh huh.
(Pause)
The emergency room!?
But he’ll be okay?
Oh good.
(Pause)
Wait. So I get that at
the drug store with the prescription?
Okay.
Right. Wow. That’s not
going to be cheap.
(Pause)
I know, I know.
They’re just kids, true.
Okay. Gotta go.
Love you, too.
(Puts
phone away. Stands tall and firm.)
WORKER
The guardians duties are
never for the weak!
We must protect the
passage at all costs. Providing safety and guidance to the travelers that seek
to go beyond this point. It is a difficult but noble duty bestowed upon few
worthy men and women.
You are all my worthy
flock, fallen to me to protect until such time --
(turns
sign around to let cars pass)
-- as I determine that it is safe for you to
pass.
So continue, dear souls.
Proceed through the kingdom and on to your destinies.
RADIO
Yo! Where’s the -- never mind.
WORKER
That’s right. Uh huh.
That’s right.
(Beat)
Good journey to you dear
travelers. Good journey.
(Lights
down)
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