Day 9 - A Joke

August 13, 2018 in Writing Prompts

“Prompt 1: Relatives going through a deceased loved one’s belongings find something shocking.”

A JOKE

CHARACTERS

DAVID. 30. Fairly affluent. Well-liked among his social circles and considered a golden child within his family, though arrogant in his personal relationships.

JENNIFER. 28. Shy, even-tempered. Not the standout of the family, but treats others with kindness and respect.

GEORGE. 35. Deceased. Cause of death not yet known. A black sheep of the family who spent most of his life isolated and quiet.

SCENE I

The stage is set up with an upstairs space and a downstairs, with a narrow, winding staircase linking the two. The downstairs stage is dark, while the action of this scene takes place in the well-lit upstairs space. A dusty attic is bathed in warm daylight flowing in from a large window with broken blinds. DAVID and JENNIFER are in the process of boxing up the last few belongings of their recently deceased cousin GEORGE. They both look somber as they work.

DAVID. Looks like this is the last box of George’s stuff.

JENNIFER. He’d only been living here for a few years--how does one person amass so much stuff?

DAVID. Especially someone like George.

JENNIFER stops taping up the box and looks at DAVID.

JENNIFER. What do you mean by that?

DAVID. Jennifer, let’s be real. George was our cousin but he wasn’t really… you know… the life of the party.

JENNIFER. George was nice enough of a guy.

DAVID. Oh yeah, for sure, but we’re not talking about niceness here. I mean his personality.

DAVID. ...Or lack thereof.

JENNIFER covers her mouth to hide her laughter. She gives DAVID a slight push.

JENNIFER. That's so wrong!

DAVID. Maybe--but you know it's true. I mean, think about it, when is the last time you ever had a conversation with the guy? Like a real, honest to God conversation that you actually got something out of or even laughed at. Not even a deep belly laugh, just a slight giggle?

JENNIFER pauses to think.

DAVID. Exactly.

DAVID stands up and lifts one of the boxes. He starts to make his way to the exit.

JENNIFER. I think he was just shy.

JENNIFER also stands and carries a box as the two descend the staircase.

DAVID. Jen, you're shy, but I can still carry on a normal conversation with you. George was just blah. Weird at best.

SCENE II

JENNIFER and DAVID walk down the staircase and arrive on the bottom stage, which GEORGE's bedroom. The room is also fairly well-lit but bare, containing only 1 twin-size bed, a closet, and a set of dresser drawers next to the bed. The bottom of the drawers should be slightly ajar.

DAVID. Don't you find it bizarre that we were left in charge of his belongings? We weren't even that close...

JENNIFER. I guess we were closer than most people in our family...

DAVID. It's not like there's anything good in here, either. A bunch of boring history books and tax papers. Thanks for the gifts, Georgie.

JENNIFER and DAVID set the boxes down on the floor. JENNIFER surveys the bedroom.

DAVID. My guess is us moving boxes around in here is probably the most action this bedroom has ever seen.

JENNIFER. Stop it, that's not funny.

DAVID holds his arms wide out at his sides, examining the bare room.

DAVID. So what do you think he really got up to, huh?

JENNIFER. Now what are you talking about?

DAVID walks back over to JENNIFER and gets close to her as he talks.

DAVID. Think about it. Guy barely talked to anyone, had no friends, held a boring desk job, was found dead of no discernible causes by the cable guy of all people--what could he have done in his spare time? Why did he feel the need to have a house, practically in the middle of nowhere, filled with next to nothing, he could have just as well lived in a one bedroom apartment with the amount of stuff he had.

JENNIFER. Maybe he just liked having space.

DAVID. I think he had some secrets. I bet he was into weird shit.

JENNIFER. Stop it.

DAVID. Maybe this bedroom did see more action than I'm giving him credit for.

JENNIFER. Knock it off.

DAVID. Maybe... just maybe... David's body wasn't the only one ever found here...

JENNIFER. WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?!

DAVID and JENNIFER stop and stare blankly at each other. DAVID begins to laugh, but JENNIFER is not amused.

DAVID. Calm down, cuz. I was just joking.

JENNIFER begins to lose her cool as DAVID ignores her, instead directing his attention at the set of dresser drawers.

JENNIFER. I don't care what you thought about George or his private life, but he's a member of our family who's gone now, the least you can do is show a little respect.

DAVID walks past her and gets closer to the drawers.

JENNIFER. But seeing as how you can't even show me that, I'm not sure what I was expecting...

DAVID points at the drawers as he speaks.

DAVID. Did you open this drawer?

JENNIFER. No, why?

DAVID. It was closed before we went upstairs.

JENNIFER. Well I didn't touch it, I haven't even been in this room for longer than a few seconds until just now. Are you sure you didn't touch it--

DAVID. No. I swear to God, it was completely closed before.

JENNIFER. This isn't funny, David.

DAVID. I'm not trying to be funny, not this time.

JENNIFER slowly walks over to the drawers. She tries to peer into the open drawer.

DAVID. Is there anything in there?

JENNIFER. I can't tell...

JENNIFER looks back at DAVID before mustering up some courage. She closes her eyes and opens the drawer. She looks in and smiles, before slowly pulling out what's inside. At the sight of her producing a hand from the drawer, DAVID screams and faints.

DAVID. OH MY GOD!!

JENNIFER smirks as she pulls out the rest of the object--a comedic puppet. She continues to dig into the drawer to pull out a stack of handwritten papers.

JENNIFER. Jokes?

JENNIFER. These are all jokes.

JENNIFER. George was a...

JENNIFER pauses to look at the puppet in her other hand.

JENNIFER. Prop comic???

JENNIFER laughs as she steps over DAVID's unconscious body, exiting the bedroom.

JENNIFER. Good job, George. You finally made me laugh.

JENNIFER turns off the lights as she leaves the room.

END.

Off the wagon, then back on the wagon, then off again. What will come next? Only time will tell...

Day 2 - New Groups

August 03, 2018 in Writing Prompts

“Prompt 2: Write a play where each character says no more than three words at a time.”

NEW GROUPS

CHARACTERS

1. Bald. Nondescript. Male.

2. Blonde. Quiet. Female.

3. ???. ???. ???.

All wear dark brown hooded robes.

SCENE I

A dark stage. THREE HOODED FIGURES stand in a row, bathed in a very low-light that barely brightens their faces. 1, standing directly in the middle, removes his hood. He does not look at the people standing next to him, but instead up towards the last row of the audience, as he speaks.

1.
Welcome, new recruits.

1.
State your purpose.

2 and 3 look up but do not remove their hoods.

2.
Want to fly.

3.
Want to fly.

1 lowers his head and 2 and 3 immediately follow suit.

1.
You can fly.

The stage goes dark.

SCENE II

Same stage set up as before, except now there are THREE DIFFERENT HOODED PEOPLE standing center stage. While not the same as the three before, they all share the same qualities and attributes. 1., standing directly in the middle, removes his hood. He does not look at the people standing next to him, but instead up towards the last row of the audience, as he speaks.

1.
Welcome, new recruits.

1.
State your purpose.

2 and 3 look up but do not remove their hoods.

2.
Want to believe.

3.
Want to believe.

1 lowers his head and 2 and 3 immediately follow suit.

1.
You will believe.

The stage goes dark.

SCENE III

Same stage set up as before, except now there are THREE DIFFERENT HOODED PEOPLE standing center stage. While not the same as the three before, they all share the same qualities and attributes. 1., standing directly in the middle, removes his hood. He does not look at the people standing next to him, but instead up towards the last row of the audience, as he speaks.

1.
Welcome, new recruits.

1.
State your purpose.

2 and 3 look up but do not remove their hoods.

2.
Want to live.

3.
Want to live.

1 lowers his head and 2 and 3 immediately follow suit.

1.
We will live.

The stage goes dark.

SCENE IV

Same stage set up as before, except now all three of the THREE DIFFERENT HOODED GROUPS are standing, forming a pyramid. THREE 1s stand center stage, with the 2 and 3s branching out behind them, in a broken triangle. All three 1s speak at once.

1.
Three new groups

1.
Six new recruits.

1.
For the cause.

All of the 2s and 3s remove their hoods and look straight at the audience, trying their best to make direct eye contact with any audience members that they can.

2.
We are here.

3.
Want to be.

2.
Better for us.

3.
Need to be.

2.
We need this.

3.
We want this.

2.
We crave this.

1.
You have this.

1.
It is yours.

1.
Do you believe?

All of the 2s and 3s lower their heads and the stage goes dark.

SCENE V

The stage is dark. A LOUD CRACKING NOISE reveals a stroke of lightning bursting through the sky. After the lightning the THREE HOODED 1s re-appear on stage.

1.
Came to us.

1.
Needed our help.

1.
Didn't fit in.

1.
We are guides.

1.
We are guardians.

1.
We seek truth.

The stage goes dark.

SCENE VI

The stage is bright--almost blindingly so. An UNKNOWN VOICE speaks from off-stage.

VOICE
It is time.

SCENE VII

THE THREE HOODED 1s appear again center stage, standing dark in contrast against the blinding bright light. The light behind them should resemble the sky.

1.
They are ready.

1.
Time to fly.

The 2s and 3s walk out on large metal structures at the side edges of the stage, so it looks as though they are higher up in the sky.

1.
Do you believe?

2.
We do believe.

3.
We do believe.

The 1s drop their hoods and raise their hands in the air.

1.
You can fly.

SCENE VIII

The 2s and 3s drop from their high perches. They drop their hoods behind them and extend their arms wide by their sides, as if they can use them as wings. One by one each body hits the ground with a large thud. The bodies all lie motionless across the stage floor. The THREE HOODED 1s remain center stage, unfazed.

SCENE IX

The stage goes dark again, with the same eerie low lighting on the faces of the THREE HOODED 1s standing center stage.

1.
We will live.

The stage goes dark.

End.

RABBIT, RABBIT

August 01, 2018 in Life, Writing Prompts

Happy first day of August! I don't know about you, but June and July whooped my ass & then some for tax, so I'm crossing all my appendages that August will bring with it a wave of positivity. So far it's started off on a pretty good note, which I'm hoping is an early sign of more good things to come. But one thing I've also learned is that the world is going to throw what it can at you—it's how you respond to it that matters. And moreover, if you have the opportunity to do something positive and take care of yourself along the way—do it. In honor of that I'm making sure I make the most out of these dog days of summer. I beat myself up a lot when I don't engage in personal creative endeavors, so to keep myself on my toes (or on my fingertips, which is more appropo), I'm going to force myself to get my creative juices flowing.

Working in an art environment I'm incredibly luck to work alongside some very talented artists and see their processes and work on a daily basis. One thing I always envy is the ability to do something artistic every day—any time there's a daily drawing challenge I'm inspired by my friends' artistic endeavors and wish I could do something of that caliber. So for the month of August I'm taking a page from their artbooks and imposing a 31-day writing challenge upon myself. But which one? Well, the answer to that is a little tricky; I'm going to create my own.

I've been doing a lot of cleaning and (unsuccessful) decluttering and I've come across a lot of old plays I've both read and written during my time as a Drama Studies minor in college. I always enjoyed the art of playwriting but have not utilized it at all since I graduated college (almost ten years ago—yikes). I don't often think to write a play when I have an idea, so this challenge will work to dust off my playwriting muscles.

But a play a day for 31 days is pretty challenging, so I'm combining three different writing challenges I've found to help out. First is 31 Plays in 31 Days—pretty self-explanatory. Next is a list of daily writing prompts courtesy of Writer's Write which I will use in conjunction with the prompts from the 31 Plays site. Last, and possibly the toughest, is 750 Words. I'll aim to have every play be (at least) 750 words. Every day.

Will I make it? We'll see. Will every play be good? Absolutely not. But so much of writing is the process of writing—flaws and all. And the only way to get better is to just keep going.

Wish me luck—and I'll be back soon with the first play of the month!

- Jamie