Discourse on Youth Violence in America:
A Love Story
Characters: The
Narrator- female. Dark. Cynical. Gifted public speaker.
(The
rest of the parts will be played by a cast of 5-6 actors of flexible gender):
Boy
Girl
Jock
Jock
2
Cheerleader
Counselor
Dean
Evangelist
College
student
Mother
with Child
Man
with Eyepatch
Setting: The stage, and various other locations
provided by the audience’s imagination
Time: Nowish
Synopsis: A Player Queen of sorts and her troupe of
versatile, if occasionally mutinous, actors present the audience with what
appears to be a treatise on youth violence, bringing together in theatrical
form the various opinions and theories that are commonly expressed on the
subject.
Amid
this heavy-handed lecture, a love story takes shape, only to be crushed by a
world that traps us between cynicism and stupidity.
(Lights come up on a young
woman in a cheerleader’s uniform. She is excessively perky as she attempts to
whip the audience into a frenzy of highschool spirit.)
CHEERLEADER
Do you guys have
Spartan spirit? Then let’s hear you shout it out!... Gooooooooo Spartans!
Wooooo! C’mon guys! I can’t hear you! Spartans woooooo!
(She claps rhythmically as she begins her
cheer.)
Spartan Spirit.
Spartan pride.
Let’s hear it for
the winning side.
Score that point.
Make that play.
Spartans! Spartans!
Yay yay yay!
We’re never gonna
beat Valley with that attitude! Let’s hear some spirit! Woooooo!
Go you Spartans.
You’re the best.
Spartans better than
the rest!
Fight to win. Shoot
to kill.
Bend them to our
Spartan will!
Gooooooo Spartans!
Yeah!
With Spartan men on
the attack
The other team
should watch its back
Fight on Spartans,
as you must.
Grind our enemy to
dust!
Goooooooooo
Spartans!
C’mon you guys!
Let’s show Valley what kind of enthusiasm Andrew Jackson Highschool has!
Wooooo!
Annihilate the other
guys
Those evil rats whom
we despise
Mangled by our
victory
And left to die in
agony!
Gooooooooo Spartans!
Yeah!
Spartans! Spartans!
Hike Hike Hike!
Roast their heads
upon a pike.
Break their bones!
Bash their heads!
Rip their genitals
to shreds!
Goooooooo Spartans!
Woo!
Spartan fight song
note by note
Stick their eyeballs
down their throats
Snap their ribs!
Stab their–
(A shot rings out. The cheerleader drops to
the ground. The narrator strolls confidently onto the stage. She wears a black
trenchcoat and smokes a cigarette. She notices the audience’s reaction to the
cheerleader.)
NARRATOR
What are you all
looking at? (pretends to notice the
cheerleader) Oh. The dead cheerleader. You don’t think I had anything to do
with this, I hope. Hell, she’s not even really dead. (Cheerleader pops back to life) Take a bow, sweetie. (Cheerleader takes a bow and bounces
offstage, when she has gone...) See? Nothing to worry about. Hello and
welcome to “Discourse on Youth Violence in America.” I will be your humble
narrator this evening. Before we begin, I’d first like to introduce to you our
company. (Cast bounds out onto the stage
in their blacks) For those of you unfamiliar with the conventions of the
theatre, these 6 young men and women will be in charge of telling you a story
tonight. They will pretend to be people who they are not, adopting such costume
pieces and physical characteristics as the role might demand. Now, at this
point I am obligated to warn you that this show does contain frank and often
graphic discussions of violent situations. Alas, such vulgarity cannot be
avoided if we are to confront head-on a very real social epidemic that divides
and cripples our nation. Tonight is our opportunity to examine the amoral and
antisocial elements in our society and to think critically about what might be
at the root of this terrifying evil.
PLAYER 1
Video games!
PLAYER 2
(overlapping) Parents!
PLAYER 3
(overlapping) Guns!
PLAYER 4
(overlapping) Chemical imbalance!
PLAYER 5
(overlapping) Rap music!
PLAYER 6
(overlapping) Nietzsche!
(pause. Narrator gives them a look)
PLAYER 1
(as if the narrator might not have heard her) Video games!
NARRATOR
Well, you may have
to put just a little bit of thought into it.
(Players 1 through 4 exit. Players 5, Boy,
and 6, Girl, remain on opposite sides of the stage, with the narrator in the
center.)
NARRATOR
Behold: two young
people. They could be your children. Or yours. Neither one is even old enough
to buy cigarettes. Yet inside their souls lurks the potential for monstrous and
profound evil. Observe the tragic fate of these two lovers and find therein the
tragic fate of a generation. But enough talk! Let our play begin. Scene one is
entitled, “Boy meets Girl.”
(Lights crossfade. The Narrator retreats to
watch the scene. Boy and Girl look at each other. Slowly, they begin to walk
towards each other. Before they can meet, however, Cheerleader and Jock both
enter and walk between them. Boy and Girl both back up.)
CHEERLEADER
You are so mean!
Stop it!
JOCK
Ah, c’mon, Tracy.
I’m just playin’.
CHEERLEADER
(flirting) You are such a jerk.
JOCK
(also flirting) I’m just sympathizing. It must be rough to
be so air-headed.
CHEERLEADER
(false shock) You are so mean!
JOCK
I’d rather be mean
than a skanky ‘ho like you.
CHEERLEADER
(pouting) Shut up! I am not!
JOCK
You sure are. You
have sex for money don’t you?
CHEERLEADER
That’s not true!
Stop being such a jerk.
JOCK
Dirty whore. Cheap
slut.
CHEERLEADER
(slapping his arm, still flirting) Stop it!
JOCK
Stupid empty-headed
bitch.
CHEERLEADER
(giggling) You’re stupid!
JOCK
I oughtta slap your
stupid bitch face. Worthless sack of human garbage.
CHEERLEADER
(pouting) I’m never speaking to you again, Billy.
JOCK
Aw. I’m sorry,
Tracy. You wanna go do something later?
CHEERLEADER
Call me.
(Cheerleader bounces of stage. Jock smirks
and follows after her. When they have left, Boy approaches Girl.)
BOY
Hi. My name’s–
GIRL
Get the hell away
from me.
(She hurries offstage. Boy watches her go,
sadly. He turns and exits. Lights crossfade.)
NARRATOR
Well, these budding
romances take time. Let’s take a break and ask local teens what they think of (dramatically) youth violence.
PLAYER 3
Well, I think the first
thing we have to ask ourselves is where were the parents in all this? I mean,
to be a good parent you have to be involved in your child’s life.
PLAYER 1
Parents need to be
doing their jobs. Just plopping your kid down in front of the television is no
substitute. And think about all the stuff that kid is exposed to. I heard that
the average American child is exposed to 100 billion murders on tv every single
day. That’s a fact. And these kids are like listening to Marvelous Manson who
is telling them to go out and worship Satan.
PLAYER 2
What everybody fails
to realize is that we are living in a mass-media society. The media dominates
all the media that we see, societally speaking. Every single media that we
media is controlled by our society’s media. It all depends on the media within
a society.
PLAYER 1
Just look at the
society that we live in! It’s turned people into like consumerized zombies. I
mean, look at it. This society, with its media and its internets, it’s just
filling people up with consumerism.
PLAYER 4
I think it’s stupid
to say it’s movies and stuff. I mean, I watched violent movies when I was a kid
and I never went out and shot any of my classmates. They’re only dangerous if
they’re being watched by kids who are like screwed up in the first place. It’s
like the anti-social element in our society.
(Narrator lets out a theatrical gasp.)
NARRATOR
You dare to speak
the name of the anti-social element? Leave this place!
(Players 1 through 4 break character
somewhat, confused. Narrator indicates that they should exit, and they
awkwardly comply)
NARRATOR
(to audience) There is no doubt in my mind, ladies and
gentlemen, that we do indeed live in a society that promotes amorality
tolerates evil. I also have no doubt that you all consider yourselves integral
partners in the unity of purpose that binds this great nation. For you realize
that if we all stand strong together, there’s no reason we can’t turn the tide
of this toxic culture with certain, basic, agreed upon sets of– (Boy enters.) But wait, my friends!
Who’s this character? (Boy looks behind
him to see to whom the narrator is referring) Surely you recognize him. (Boy points to himself: “Me?”) A sullen,
disdainful countenance upon his face. Dark, shifty eyes never meeting your
glance. (Boy listens carefully, taking in
all this new information about himself) What’s he plotting in that closed,
aloof imagination of his? He goes to school everyday, yes he does. Taking
classes alongside your children. And yours. And yours. But he’s not like them.
Oh no. He’s a loner. An outcast. While your children are out playing clean,
healthy American sports and taking their sweethearts out for frosty chocolate
malts, he sits at home, in a dark room, fiddling with his internets. No doubt
hackering into all of your secret, private informations that the government’s
been turning into internets without your even knowing about it! Violent video
games and perverse pornography are slowly warping and twisting his mind into a
cold, inhuman vessel for the most cruel and destructive of intentions. He is a
creature out of your darkest nightmares. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: Your
anti-social element!
(Boy looks around, clears his voice for big
performance. Pause.)
BOY
(falsetto) Why don’t nice girls like me?
NARRATOR
(interrupting) No no no! Try again.
BOY
(much lower) Everything’s so fucking stupid.
NARRATOR
Oo Better. I
especially like the profanity.
BOY
(dark, resentful, brooding) Everyone around me is so fake and shallow. I
hate my life. Nobody at school but those stupid bullying jocks and vapid
giggling girls. When I take over the world, I’m going to have them all killed.
They’ll be sorry that–
NARRATOR
(interrupting) Stop stop stop. I’m not believing it.
BOY
(breaking character) What?
NARRATOR
I’m not believing
it. It’s too much.
BOY
You want me to pull
it back?
NARRATOR
Well, you’ve
obviously never heard of playing opposites.
BOY
Opposites?
NARRATOR
It’s a key part of
acting. If you want to play sad, you should actually play happy. If you want to
be cold, pretend to be warm. If you need to be hungry, act as if you’ve just
eaten a huge meal. It’s the simplest thing.
(Boy looks incredulous but gives it a shot)
BOY
(smiling slightly, chuckling) This big stupid ape called me a faggot on
the bus the other day.
NARRATOR
more.
BOY
(grinning broadly) In my mind, I saw myself hitting him in the
face with a huge sledgehammer. Right in the middle of his face. I could see it
crumbling inward, you know, as if it were made of clay.
NARRATOR
Getting there. What
about gym class. I’ll bet you love that.
BOY
(beginning to do a little dance) Oh ho! I’d like to take Mr. Archibald’s
whistle and shove it right down his throat. Then I’d ram an icepick through his
kneecaps. Tra la la.
(Narrator places a festive lei around Boy’s
neck)
BOY
(now really getting into it, giddy) No one understands me and no one ever will!
Ha ha! My life is so utterly empty and lonely sometimes I just want to end it
all and take everyone I can with me!
(Girl enters, writing something in a
notebook. Boy freezes and watches her as she passes.)
BOY
(taking off the lei) Hey.
GIRL
(without looking up) Hi.
(pause. Girl sits down as far as she can
possibly get from Boy and continues writing.)
BOY
Whatcha writing?
GIRL
Something private.
BOY
(nodding eagerly) Cool.
(No reply. Boy winces and looks as if he’d
like to claw his tongue out. He stands awkwardly, looking for something to
say.)
BOY
You’re in my English
class, right?
GIRL
(still not looking up) You’re very perceptive. (Exits)
(Boy awkwardly exits. Lights crossfade back
to narrator.)
NARRATOR
A ticking timebomb
waiting to explode! Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t wish to alarm you, but
this boy may already be a lost cause. Maybe his antisocial tendencies will
erupt in violence. Maybe they won’t. But either way, he may always be a
dangerous, threatening element. The real question, my friends, is how we can
prevent such personalities from forming in the first place. Luckily, Discourse
on Youth Violence in America has assembled a panel of experts to discuss the
roots of this social disease and paths to finding a cure.
(Players 1 through 4 wear eyeglasses to
indicate that they are “experts.”)
EXPERT 1
(in a German accent) Behaviors aquired in childhood can have
profound effects on later development. Therefore, violence must be targeted at
an early age. Children develop social habits relatively early on in
development, and any attempt to steer socialization must begin from the ground
up.
EXPERT 2
Individuals and peer
groups that identify themselves as existing apart and in opposition to other
youth peer groups and the community at large lie at the core of this problem.
Hostility towards the community must not be allowed to grow in the hearts of
our nation’s youth.
PLAYER 3
If children do not learn to think of
themselves as belonging to a group that includes, at some level, a broad
section of their peers, all is lost. Through activities that promote peer unity
and identification with the community, we can hope to foster healthier group
dynamics.
PLAYER 4
...Pamphlets and
posters, effectively disseminated in the schools, can have a really positive
effect. I’m thinking things along the lines of: “Don’t Leave Anyone Out,” “We
Are All Us,” “Unity is Strength,” or simply “Join.”
PLAYER 2
School assemblies!
For years they’ve been a cornerstone of organized socialization efforts. And I
for one believe they still can be.
PLAYER 1
Not only do
assemblies gather your student body together in a very literal, tangible way,
didactic performances can be designed that promote nonviolent behavior and
stress the importance of belonging to the larger social group.
PLAYER 3
Whether or not
frequent and prolonged exposure to assemblies has any measurable effect,
research indicates that these delightful excursions from the monotony of
everyday academic life are unlikely to do any serious harm. I mean, who doesn’t
like assemblies, right?
PLAYER 4
Key messages to
promote: we all belong to the same group, and our group does not use violence
to solve our problems. It may also be helpful to give children another group to
vent their hostilities towards. Possible enemies include dragons, people who
waste electricity and tooth decay.
PLAYER 1
If we make schools
fully accountable for a socialization process that includes an emphasis on
constructive group... behavior...
(Player 2's train of
thought is interrupted as Boy walks through his light.)
PLAYER 2
...We can-
Everyone else:
Shhh!
(Lights crossfade. Girl enters from behind.
She calls out to Boy.)
GIRL
Hey, wait!
BOY
(turning around, hiding his surprise
admirably) Oh. Hi.
GIRL
I liked your story
today in class.
BOY
Oh. Thanks. Mrs.
McGovern didn’t. I have to go see the counselor this afternoon.
GIRL
(with a derisive grunt) That’s ridiculous! The juxtaposition of the
pastoral imagery and the serial killer motif was brilliant. Clearly, an attempt
at defamiliarization of the genre.
BOY
Yeah. Trevor and I
thought it’d be funny.
GIRL
Well, it was. (pause) It’s not everyday you see
someone with the courage to go against the flow like that, Todd.
BOY
Well, actually, my
name’s–
GIRL
You’re different
somehow, Todd. There’s something about you I find very intriguing.
(pause. Boy glances behind him, then at his
watch.)
BOY
We should keep
moving. The assembly’s about to start.
GIRL
Bah! What an idiotic
waste of time! You go to those things?
BOY
No!... Well, I mean,
I wouldn’t if we weren’t forced to.
GIRL
Oh, come on, Todd.
They can’t possibly keep track of every single student. I just hide out under
the bleachers and have a smoke while all the rest of these zombies get to crowd
into a stuffy auditorium and listen to some prick preach about gonorrhea.
BOY
It’s drunk driving
today, I think.
(She gets a cigarette out of her pocket and
puts it in her mouth as she turns to leave.)
GIRL
You coming?
(Boy is frozen. Finally, he nods. They exit
together. The narrator returns to center.)
NARRATOR
Oh sure. It looks
cute. But any story built on a foundation of deviancy can only end badly! You
wait and see.
(She pauses a moment, then pulls a cigarette
out of her coat. Lights crossfade, and Counselor enters. Her manner is
effortfully mild, as if coaxing a vicious animal.)
COUNSELOR
Come in.
(Boy enters.)
COUNSELOR
Welcome.
BOY
Hi.
COUNSELOR
Have seat. Would you
like a Tootsie Pop?
BOY
(shaking his head, quietly) No thanks.
(There is a long pause while Counselor nods
understandingly at Boy, and Boy stares awkwardly at the ground.)
COUNSELOR
How’s school going?
Is everything alright?
BOY
Yeah. I guess.
COUNSELOR
You guess?
BOY
I mean, “Yeah.”
COUNSELOR
(nodding) Uh huh? That’s good.
(She makes a note of something.)
COUNSELOR
I read your story.
Was there any reason you decided to write about that particular... topic?
(Boy shrugs. Counselor reacts as if he has
just given a highly articulate verbal response.)
COUNSELOR
(nodding) Uh huh. Uh huh. Yeah... I see. Are you doing any drugs?
BOY
No.
COUNSELOR
Well would you like
to start? I could prescribe some Prexidone, some Seditron, some Posivex?...
(Dean of Students enters.)
DEAN
Excuse me, Ms.
Heisman, could I see the student for a moment?
(Boy looks concerned.)
COUNSELOR
Of course. We can
continue our talk another time.
(Dean motions, and Boy follows.)
DEAN
(as they exit together) We missed you at the assembly today.
(Boy pales. Lights crossfade.)
NARRATOR
(looking at a newspaper, shaking her head) It seems that every single time you open a
newspaper, you find out that there’s been another school shooting. (flips through pages, hoping to find one)
Or if not a school shooting, something bad of some kind is happening at any
rate. (tosses newspaper carelessly over
her shoulder) The point is: we live in dark times, my friends. What has
made our age so distinctly vicious? So cold and unwholesome that little
children are for the first time ever taking the lives of other little children?
(Evangelist steps forward)
EVANGELIST
I think we all know
the answer to that question, young lady! We have turned our backs on God! We
have exiled him from our homes. We have expelled him from our schools. We have
given him no say in our government! Oh, the hubris of man! We think that we
have become enlightened, what with our Darwins and our internets, we have no
need of God, and then look what happens! Atheism is responsible! What do you
expect from a society that has rejected all spiritual values? As soon as these
poor youths realize, I mean think, that they are completely free– oh completely
free, I shudder at the thought! There’s no telling what evil they might feel is
permissible knowing, I mean thinking, that there’s no God waiting to judge
them.
(Narrator is going to speak, but College
Student steps forward)
COLLEGE STUDENT
Yeah, but how can
you say that when religion like spreads intolerance and stuff? Religious people
just want to oppress everyone with their dogma. Religions have done all kinds
of bad, intolerant things in the past. Think about the crusades, when Jesus
went around killing all those Arabs. I mean, I know that was like almost a
hundred years ago, but still! This country’s full of these Bible-thumping
rednecks who are just narrow-minded and prejudiced. Especially in the South.
NARRATOR
Ladies and
gentlemen, I submit to you: the decline of organized religion is responsible
for the majority of the world’s problems. The survival of organized religion is
responsible for the rest.
PLAYER 3
(stepping forward) Ok ok. But what I think we really need ask
is, where are the parents in all this? I mean, really!
NARRATOR
Shut up.
(Lights crossfade. Boy and Girl enter and sit
under the stars.)
GIRL
Do you believe in
God?
BOY
I think so
(pause)
GIRL
What kind of God?
BOY
(considers) I don’t know.
(pause)
GIRL
They used to think
all these stars were gods, you know.
BOY
Who did?
GIRL
You know. Ancient
people. The Greeks, and probably Romans.
BOY
Oh.
GIRL
The constellations,
they used to think, were all gods who’d been trapped up in the sky for one
reason or another.
BOY
Who trapped them?
GIRL
Other gods. And then
they had to stay there, fixed like that, for all eternity. And we can look at
them and make up stories about them.
BOY
That one looks like
a dinosaur.
GIRL
(Looking in the wrong place) A dinosaur?
BOY
No, that one.
GIRL
That one?
BOY
Yeah.
GIRL
(considers) Maybe a little.
(pause)
GIRL
It’s beautiful up
here. Thank you for bringing me. Is this where you come? When you want to get
away from it all?
BOY
Actually, you
brought me here.
GIRL
Well, it doesn’t
matter. It’s our spot now. A magical spot we can always escape to.
BOY
From the first
second I saw you, I’ve wanted this. Now that I’m finally here, it doesn’t seem
real.
GIRL
What was that?
BOY
(with difficulty) I think you’re amazing. I’ve never met
anyone so unique and brilliant and gorgeous.
GIRL
I know. And I think
I’m good enough for you.
(Boy is overwhelmed. Slowly, Boy and Girl
bring their faces closer together...)
NARRATOR
How sweet. I can
feel the tears welling up already. Next scene.
GIRL
What?
NARRATOR
Next scene. Hup hup
hup. Gotta make these transitions crisp.
(Girl pulls out a script from her back pocket
and flips to the appropriate page)
GIRL
But we’ve still got
two more pages of dialogue.
NARRATOR
Yes, but it’s all
more of the same syrup. Next scene! Cue lockers!
(Lights crossfade. Player 4 rolls in a set of
lockers. Boy opens one and shuffles through his books. Jock enters and slams it
shut.)
JOCK
Hey weirdo, done
anything weird lately?
BOY
Leave me alone.
JOCK
Who was that chick
you were talking to earlier? That your girlfriend?
BOY
I guess so.
JOCK
No shit. She is?
Hey, she’s got a nice ass. How’d a wormy little cocklicker like you end up with
such a fine rack of beef?
BOY
Because I’m not a
fat, vulgar imbecile like you!
(Jock cannot believe what Boy has just said.
A huge grin spreads across his face.)
JOCK
What’d you just call
me? (laughs out loud) Hey, Conners,
listen to what this faggot just called me?
(Jock 2 enters)
JOCK
He called me a
fucking “imbecile”
(Jock and Jock 2 laugh uncontrollably.)
JOCK 2
(to Boy) Did you say that? (putting
on a pretend monocle and adopting a stuffy British accent) My good man,
your behavior is quite deplorable. Thou art nothing but an imbecile.
JOCK
Ha ha. “Imbecile”
JOCK 2
I dub thee
imbecilic.
JOCK
What a fucking
idiot. You seen this guy’s girlfriend, though? Fucking hot.
JOCK 2
Who is she?
JOCK
That one stuck-up
bitch from Bio. The one that sits behind Marty.
(Boy tries to leave, but Jock stops him.)
JOCK
Where the fuck are
you going? Don’t leave while we’re talking.
JOCK 2
Seriously, dude.
That’s really fucking rude.
JOCK
I just wanted to ask
you more about your girlfriend, that’s all. You fucked her yet?
BOY
No.
JOCK
No? Take my advice,
bro. Next time you’re alone, when she’s not looking, PAH-POW! Finger up the
cootch. She’ll love it.
JOCK 2
Hey, what’s her name
again?
BOY
Shut up.
JOCK 2
What? I’m just
asking her name. What’s her name?
BOY
I’ll fucking kill
you.
(Jock and Jock 2 once more erupt in laughter)
JOCK 2
Come on, dude, don’t
be an imbecile.
JOCK
Fuck with us, you’re
asking for pain. (shoves Boy up against
lockers) Come on, Conners, we got practice at 2.
JOCK 2
(to Boy) Don’t forget to tap that ass, Romeo.
(Jock and Jock 2 exit. Boy is left on stage
to stew. Lights crossfade back to Narrator holding a Supersoaker watergun.)
NARRATOR
We’ll return to our
young anti-social element and his wacky misadventures. For now, I’d like to
take a break and discuss an issue of intense national controversy: gun control.
(On Narrator’s left approaches a mother
cradling a baby doll. On Narrator’s right approaches a man with an eyepatch.)
MOTHER
This issue is so
simple, it’s ridiculous. Guns are designed to kill people. Designed! They need
to be outlawed right away. (holding out
her child for all to see) I’m scared to think about the dangerous world my
little baby’s going to grow up in. He could just be walking down the street,
and there’s an assault rifle, laying on the ground ready to kill him. Kill! In
this country, there are 50 gun related deaths every second. 50! In Europe and
Japan, there’s only like a couple a year I think. And it’s because they have
gun laws! This stupid country. When will we learn to be more like Europe in
every way?
EYEPATCH
I’m afraid you’re
just going about protecting your kid the wrong way, little lady. Sure, you can
quote those gun death statistics til you’re blue in the face, but simple fact
remains that guns save almost twice as many lives as they take away. All the
liberal media will ever let you hear is all the bad things that guns do. And
you know why? Because television audiences are thirsty for blood, and it’s way
more exciting to see people getting shot by guns than people getting saved by
guns. Furthermore, all those gun crimes are just committed by the bad guys, and
the bad guys can get guns whether they’re legal or not, so there’s no point in
making up silly little laws that just take guns away from the good guys. But
no! Big Brother knows best! If they ban automatic weapons, what’s to prevent
them from banning all other kinds of things that could potentially hurt people,
like feet? Nothing! And they will too! Because the liberal elite is just
handing this country over to the bad guys. We might as well just call this the
United States of the Bad Guys or something like that. It makes me sick. The
good guys need their guns and their feet to fight the bad guys. Everybody knows
that.
NARRATOR
An intriguing
debate. But does it have any relevance to our story? That remains to be seen.
(Lights crossfade. Boy and Girl again sit
under the stars. Boy’s face is subtly bruised on one side.)
GIRL
Our dinosaur’s
almost disappeared from the sky.
BOY
I can still see his
tail, dipping down under the horizon.
GIRL
I thought that was
his head.
BOY
No no. (takes Girl’s hand and uses it to trace the
pattern of the constellation) There’s the tip, and see it curves up like
that...
GIRL
Real dinosaurs
didn’t drag their tails like that.
(Boy draws Girl’s hand close to his face and
kisses it gently. They stare into each other’s eyes. Girl notices the bruise
and touches it gingerly.)
GIRL
Is this new?
BOY
Earlier today.
GIRL
Again? Those fucking
barbarians. What happened?
BOY
I threw a rock at
his car.
GIRL
A big rock?
(Boy shrugs.)
GIRL
Well, you probably
shouldn’t intentionally provoke them like that, but I’m proud of you for
standing up for yourself anyway.
BOY
I have to talk to
the counselor again tomorrow.
GIRL
For the rock?
BOY
No. Unrelated
incident. I told this guy in gym class that I was going to jab a knife through
his spine.
GIRL
Oh. (pause) Do you think you could ever
actually do something like that?
BOY
Probably not.
(pause)
GIRL
But do you think, if
you ever decided that you didn’t care anymore, didn’t care about living or what
happened next, do you think maybe you’d want to– I mean, consequences don’t
matter anymore– would you try to hurt some of them? As like your last act. The
only thing meaningful you’ll ever do. Would you try to just pay some of them
back?
BOY
Pay who back?
GIRL
You know who I’m
talking about. All those guys who have made your life miserable over the years.
You know. The bad guys.
BOY
If I didn’t have to
worry about what happened next? Yeah, I guess so.
GIRL
I’d like to be there
to see that.-- Is that a shooting star?
BOY
Where? I didn’t see.
GIRL
I should have made a
wish.
BOY
What would you wish
for?
(They clasp hands.)
GIRL
For this moment to
last forever.
NARRATOR
Ugh. It already
feels like it is. Get to the point.
(Girl and Boy both break character and
express frustration at having their moment broken. Girl rolls her eyes and
pulls out her script.)
GIRL
Where should we take
it from?
NARRATOR
From your
proposition. Right before the end of the scene.
GIRL
Fine. (putting away her script and reciting the
lines melodramatically, still out of character) Meet me here tomorrow
night. We’ll run away together.
NARRATOR
Stop! Act it right
or don’t act it at all.
GIRL
(once more giving as real and heartfelt a
performance as the actor can muster)
Meet me here tomorrow night. We’ll run away together. We’ll go to some town where
we don’t know anyone, and all we’ll have is each other.
BOY
And maybe we’ll be
happy?
GIRL
Most of the time.
BOY
I’ll be here.
(Lights crossfade. Narrator addresses the
audience, accompanied by Mother, Expert 2, Evangelist and Eyepatch.)
NARRATOR
Enough talk, my
friends! Enough euphemisms and theories. The problem is at our doorstep. We
have but one simple dilemma: how are we going to keep are kids from being shot
to death in school?
MOTHER
Metal detectors in
every classroom! Bullet-proof school uniforms! Huge concrete walls surrounding
the premises and barbed wire everywhere. Anything to keep our little treasures
safe!
EXPERT 2
I propose that we
implement a more aggressive program of assemblies. We keep the kids in the
auditorium 24/7. I mean, who ever heard of anyone getting shot at an assembly?
EVANGELIST
We need the ten
commandments up in every classroom. From preschool to highschool. I’m confident
that any would-be shooter is gonna think twice when he sees, “Thou Shalt Not
Kill” up there on the wall. That’s God’s law up there!
EYEPATCH
What we need is
armed guards. Schools can’t keep children safe if they’re being outgunned! All
you need is 3 or 4 security men per campus packing heat, and I swear, next time
there’s a problem, you’ll be sure to keep your body count low.
NARRATOR
These measures may
seem harsh, but what we need now is solutions. (to audience) Do you have a better one?
(Lights crossfade. Player 1 wheels on the
lockers. Boy enters carrying a paper sack. He looks around nervously and opens
his locker. Jock and Jock 2 enter, talking.)
JOCK
So what happened to
all the metal detectors?
JOCK 2
Bulletproof uniforms
kept setting them off, I guess.
JOCK
Like anyone actually
wore them. (to Boy) Hey, asswipe,
feel like removing anything from your rectum? I’ve got a pencil here with your
name on it.
BOY
Go fuck yourself.
I’m not afraid of you.
(Jock and Jock 2 laugh)
JOCK 2
“I am not afraid of
you, good sir.” How gallant.
JOCK
You need to start
showing some more respect, little man.
(Boy reaches into his paper bag, looks
around, and points the object inside at Jock. It is still concealed by the
bag.)
BOY
I’m giving you one
last chance to say you’re sorry.
JOCK
What the fuck?
JOCK 2
Oh shit. You can’t
be serious.
JOCK
This little prick
doesn’t have shit. Do you, you little cocklicker?
BOY
Bet your life on it?
JOCK 2
Fuck. He’s got a
gun. He’s got a gun!
BOY
Shut up! Stay calm!
(There is a commotion heard offstage that
grows louder. “A gun?” “Who?” “Over there!” “Tell someone.” etc.)
JOCK 2
Help! Help! He’s got
a gun!
JOCK
(overlapping) He doesn’t have a gun.
BOY
(overlapping) Shut up! I swear I’ll fucking kill you if
you keep shouting!
(Suddenly, an alarm goes off and the lights
start flashing. All three boys continue shouting. The stage has descended into
cacophony and confusion.)
VOICE (O.S.)
Drop it!
BOY
Who the fuck said
that? I’ll kill you!
VOICE
I said drop it!
(A shot rings out. Silence. Boy drops to the
floor. The Narrator and all actors, except Player 6, gather around his body.
Narrator lifts Boy’s arm and removes the paper bag from the object he’s holding
to reveal a banana to the audience. Narrator nods, and they begin to carry his
body, still clutching the banana, offstage.)
(Lights slowly crossfade and Girl sits under
the stars, alone. She hangs her head and weeps. Reclaiming her composure, she
looks up at the stars angrily, then despairingly. She takes out a cigarette and
lights it. After one puff, she holds it out and stares at the burning ember on
the end.)
NARRATOR
(authoritatively) That’s enough.
(Girl lifts up her sleeve and savagely jabs
the cigarette into her forearm.)
NARRATOR
I said that’s
enough!
(Girl manages to keep the burning tip pressed
against her skin for a full second, after which she violently pulls the
cigarette away and desperately nurses her wound. Boy enters and walks up behind
her.)
BOY
Did you hurt
yourself?
GIRL
Oh my god. Oh my
god! (leaping to her feet and throwing
her arms around him) I thought you were dead!
(Boy looks at her sadly.)
BOY
I am.
NARRATOR
Stop! This never
happened.
GIRL
There’s so many
things I want to say to you.
BOY
I don’t have much
time.
NARRATOR
Scene.
GIRL
Can I touch you?
(He takes both her hands.)
NARRATOR
Scene!
GIRL
Why isn’t there room
in the world for happiness?
BOY
Don’t cry. We’ll
always have this. Right here right now. No one can take that away.
(Narrator interrupts, violently coming
between them.)
NARRATOR
That’s enough, god
damn it! Scene!(Boy and Girl part and
break character) This didn’t happen. Can the ghost story nonsense and stick
to the story you’re given.
BOY
But--
NARRATOR
This is my god damn
show! (turning to walk away) Next
scene.
GIRL
We’re tired of this
shit. If you want to rant and rave, go ahead and buy yourself a soapbox. This
whole thing is just passive aggressive bullshit (throws script at Narrator). Tell your own god damn story. (exits)
BOY
(shrugs) Sorry. (exits)
(Narrator looks
around, embarrassed.)
NARRATOR
(to audience) Well, uh, looks like– (notices she’s in the wrong light cue, to booth) lights?
(Lights crossfade.)
NARRATOR
Well, it looks like
we’ve come to the end of our evening here. I hope you’ve enjoyed, “Discourse on
Youth Violence in America,” and that you will continue to think critically
about the problems that face our nation.
(She freezes. Hoping for help, she looks
offstage. She turns back, lost in thought. Slowly, she pulls up the sleeve of
her trenchcoat to reveal a circular scar on her forearm. She caresses it
gently. She looks back up and meets the audience’s gaze. A look of hatred
spreads across her face. She turns and flees from the room. Blackout.)