I had some early hours this morning to get some work done. The first five pages were fairly simple, there's an allusion to the major problem - foreclosure on the house - in the play and a minor problem - will Jim call his father on his sixty-fifth birthday. It was all very straightforward, very linear. There were three characters at the beginning and only two on stage talking. Then the numbers went up.
Barba came on stage, Maybelle came on stage, Ameerah came on stage. Now we have two other issues/story arcs/problems to deal with. Ameerah's trying to prove she still can foretell the future, and Maybelle (clumsy Maybelle) is new to the house.
Starting around page 8, there are now five people on the stage. There's information that needs to get out and there are story arcs that need to be maintain. I've seen some bad work - mine among them - where the writer follows one arc, stops to follow another arc, and then comes back to the first arc. Each shift freezes the abandoned arc. I feel they need to all be kept in play, woven together, or juggled.
I like the juggling metaphor because the balls are always in motion, even if they aren't in the Juggler's hand. As I'm writing these last five/six pages I've been trying to keep all the arcs in play. So that even when I've brought one to the foreground, the others are still in motion.
Ameerah is scanning the morning paper to see if she properly predicted what was going to be printed. Spoiler alert: she's not doing well. So even when she's not talking, she's not sitting, waiting to talk.
At the same time, Maybelle is being questioned as to why Tina (the home owner) has been seen crying. Maybelle is also being introduced to the other characters on stage (for her benefit and that of the audience) which brings the conversation back around to why she's there and what is making Tina cry.
What I haven't put in and will probably add later in a rewrite is Sterk Mens, a former circus strong man who can't open a jar without help. His thread has to be woven in so that it looks like it not only belongs there, but that it had always been there.(He's a small role and unlike the past, even small roles have to be activated characters.)
Despite having to go out several times today I managed to weave the story pretty well for a first draft. Well, I think it's looking okay. We'll see what other say when the whole play is done.
Below is pages eight through eleven:
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JAMES
Oh, ow. Sorry to hear that.
(Listens.)
Okay, thanks. You have a good day as
well.
(Listens.)
Right. Good luck with the therapy. Talk
to you again.
(Ends phone call.)
BARBA
What happened?
FEUR
Therapy? For what?
JAMES
Prosthetic leg. Seems the bear led a
revolt which the tiger and lion joined in on. He said he'll be fine.
Just needs a year or so and a new career. Good guy, Leon.
BARBA
His leg! And you want back into that,
Feur? Mister Everything-Tastes-Burnt?
FEUR
(Defeated.)
No. I guess probably maybe not.
(Maybelle enters with a chaffing dish.
She's moving slowly and looks to be having trouble. James gets up to
help.)
AMEERAH
(Not looking up. Still scanning paper
and crossing stuff off her notepad.)
She'll make it if you don't help.
JAMES
(Going to help.)
Right.
(James tries to help Maybelle. They
almost get chaffing dish on the table and suddenly spill some of the
contents.)
JAMES
Sorry.
MAYBELLE
Could have been worse.
AMEERAH
(Still in same position.)
Wouldn't have been.
FEUR
We'll never know, now will we.
BARBA
Feur!
MAYBELLE
(To James.)
Who's that?
JAMES
(Helping to clean the mess.)
Her? Ameerah.
MAYBELLE
Ameerah? Crystal Eye Ameerah? Wow.
FEUR
Bit of a fog in that crystal eye.
MAYBELLE
I'd wondered where she'd disappeared
to. Some people said she'd just disappeared. Like magic.
BARBA
Would have been more impressive than
the truth. But she's here, dear.
MAYBELLE
(To Ameerah.)
I have both your circus cards.
AMEERAH
Well, thank you young lady.
(Glaring at Feur.)
At least some people still appreciate
me and my abilities.
FEUR
Abilities? What abilities? How many
predictions did you get right this morning? Lot of crossed out
gobble-dee-gook on that pad.
BARBA
Feur! You stop.
FEUR
(Worked up but calming.)
Maybelle, everyone here is not who they
used to be. Me for example.
MAYBELLE
Feur Mangeons, greatest fire eater of
the mid-west circuit. You had four cards. I got them all. Wow. Why are you
here?
FEUR
Because James needed the company.
(Beat.)
And I got tired of not tasting
anything. What fun is eating when everything taste like burnt
charcoal.
BARBA
That's what I'm here for dear.
(To Maybelle.)
I do my best to describe what things
should taste like Feur eats them. It's also very unlikely that you'd
recognize me from any card you'd have of me. But I'm the only person
that needed two cards for one pose.
MAYBELLE
Barba Grande!? In the flesh?
BARBA
Well, what there is left of it.
MAYBELLE
What happened? Did you get sick?
(To Feur and James.)
Did she get sick?
(Feur and James smile and shake their
heads no.)
BARBA
Ignore them. I just realized one day
that people in the audience were as big as me, if not bigger. There
was nothing special about my act.
MAYBELLE
The beard!
JAMES
She's got a point.
FEUR
She does.
BARBA
I didn't want to be “just the bearded
lady.” So I cashed it in, joined Jenny Craig, while having laser
hair removal sessions.
(Beat.)
Found out, after getting to a size
eight and having smooth flawless skin, that I missed the people I
grew up with and around. Someone told me about Tina's house for
retired circus folk and caught the next plane out. Met these two
charming gentlemen.
MAYBELLE
Wow. My mom said I'd meet some real
stars of the circus. But....
JAMES
James Rutherford. The amazing tattooed
man.
MAYBELLE
Oh, I recognized you right away. I'm
just confused about Ms Tittle. I'd always been told that she was a
Siamese twin. The lady I met wasn't two ladies.
JAMES
Ah, yes. Tina and Tammy Tittle, the
world famous Siamese twins.
FEUR
Charming and popular. Well received.
The both of them.
BARBA
Then they met that doctor. Well, Tammy
met him. He only had eyes for her.
AMEERAH
I told her she'd meet a man that would
come between her and Tina. I warned her.
FEUR
Yeah, of course you did.
JAMES
Tammy fell in love with the doctor and
they sued for separation from Tina. Paid her a big pile of money to
let the doctor cut them apart.
MAYBELLE
Is that why she's crying now?
FEUR
We don't know why she's crying. We
thought maybe it was you.
MAYBELLE
No sir, I don't think so. She knew that
I had a problem with dropping things. Started happening a couple
years ago. I was so glad that I could come here and not have to go
out into the plain world with the ordinaries. I don't know what I
would have done then.
-----
I hope to get three pages tomorrow. I have other writing tasks that may interfere. And a two-year-old daughter. :)
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