Sunday, April 12, 2015

Mirth

(a play at play)

Archy
How’d it go?

Gaby
It’s over.  I think.  Don’t let it trouble you.  Nothing falls neatly in place.

Archy 
Do we ever find our place in this world?  Do we even have a place?

Gaby 
Those are just the wrong questions.  

Archy 
What are the right ones?

Gaby 
Are we alone? Do the angels watch over us?  

Archy
Do the angels even exist? What angels would bother with us?   

Gaby
The art on the walls and the books on the shelves are your excellent angels.  They were inspired by the muses. 

Archy
They’ve become material possessions sought by collectors.  Would angels profit from collectors?

Bertha
American dreamers think money will solve their problems.

Martin
Let them dream. Everything must end. Even dreams.

Bertha
So? 

Gaby
Do you dream?

Archy
I dreamed I was loved and valued.

Martin
Dreams are the garbage of the brain.  

Bertha
They don’t matter.

Archy
I can't walk away.

Bertha
You’re committed to the show.  Enjoy it.

Gaby
You won’t suffer forever.

Bertha
I’m quite satisfied with what you’ve put on exhibit.  

Martin
We were not expecting much.

Gaby
Just leave my delusions intact.  

Bertha
Gaby.  You ought to exhibit your work.  

Gaby
I brought bread and cheese from the market.

(a burst of light and sound of a loud blast followed by silence)

Archy
The city is under siege.

Gaby
What?

Archy
What will we do?

Gaby
I listen to the wind.

Bertha
What do you hear?

Archy
We should put up a pot of tea and live for the moment.

Gaby
We share our moments with our guests.

Archy
Send the audience home. The end is beginning and I’m feeling weak.

Bertha
Get on with your life. Make the best of it.

Gaby
What of the audience?  Do we need them?  

Archy
An artist ought to be paid a living wage.

Martin
You need contracts.

Archy
Let’s not talk about it.

Bertha
Do you prefer to be alone?

Martin
Does that surprise you?

Archy
We should quit using words . . . 

Martin
We need to give voice to our anger.

Gaby
Are you angry?

Archy
I didn’t want to do this.

Martin
But, you did it anyway.

Archy
What was I doing? Where could I go? Wherever I went, I couldn’t get away from myself.

Gaby
It’s getting late.

Bertha
Why would you leave?

Martin
No one would know if you went or stayed.

Gaby
All artists start with a single gesture, a response to a perception. They continue until they stop. Then they walk away.

Bertha
Listen to the children’s voices.

Gaby
I hear the children’s voices -- 

Bertha
You can sustain their hopes.

Gaby
Until they look into the abyss, and find despair for themselves.

Bertha
Your art would survive.

Archy
I’ll do what I have to.

Gaby
Come, swift Spirits of might and mirth,

Archy
I’ll live in the present. The audience sat through the entire play.

Bertha
The audience leaves after every performance.

Gaby
But we’ll return with other bodies.

Archy
Can I exist outside the theater?

Martin
At the end you are free. You may leave the theater.

Archy
It is time to begin again.

(sunrise. bright house lights)

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