Tuesday 26 April 2011

Act One


Play in music.

Empty stage, house lights dim, blackout, house lights come up.

Man enters stage right, crosses to centre, looks at audience bows.

A jumper is thrown onto stage, stage left, man looks at it.

Another jumper, a shirt, trousers, shoes etc etc - man looks at audience shrugs and walks to the pile of clothes and looks up to an imaginary upstairs window.

The cascade of clothes continue, enveloping him.

It eventually stops.

Pause.

“Do you want to talk about this?”

A suitcase drops by his feet (suspended from lighting rig preferably).

We hear the slamming of a door and the sound of a car leaving.

Man watches it into the distance.

Man packs things into the suitcase, turns and begins to (mime) walk away (stage right).

Lights dim to blackout.

Bird song, (sun rise) lights come up man is asleep on floor, suitcase under head, an open wallet on floor some distance away.

He wakes up, gets up, and seeing the wallet goes to it and goes through it – he has been robbed.

He stands up picks up suitcase.

Too Too Train - Big Bill Broonzy - starts to play, lights projected of passing train.

Man sits on suitcase.

Fade to black out.

Music fades into - Good Jelly – Big Bill Broonzy.

Lights snap up, centre stage a table chair and waitress polishing it.

She starts to sing, and dance (Josephine Baker style).

Man enters stage left, carrying suitcase.
Woman stops dancing, polishes table, looks at man.

“Table for two?”

“One”

She gestures, he sits down, she gives him a menu and exits stage left.

Man looks at menu.

Searches pockets.

He is embarrassingly searching his pockets when she enters with a jug of water and a glass.

They stand looking embarrassingly at each other.

He turns to leave….

She says -“Sir”

He turns, she pours the glass of water and hands it to him.

He drinks it.

And leaves.

Blackout.


I'm not sure what happens next.

7 comments:

Vicki said...

Neither am I but I am enjoying it.

Vicki said...

Whoops! Meant to say I am enjoying the economy of the actual dialogue. It's like reading a mime.

Anne Hodgson said...

Can he get a job in the kitchen?

popps said...

Ah, good Vicki, because that's how it's meant to be, visual, minimum dialogue.
So far so good then.

popps said...

Hi Anne, thanks, i need the input!
I had thought he could eat, then not pay, and then wash up but i want to keep them apart a bit longer.
Or get a job as a musician in the restaurant.
Someone told me that all films can be analysed as -something happens, something has to be done, something is done - so i guess we have - man get's thrown out, man needs home, and then either man gets home, or gets thrown out again or man gives up, or.....
But i'm looking for a surprise or two along the way.

Anne Hodgson said...

He's got to eat some time, doesn't he? Maybe he steals something from a stand somewhere, something sweet-smelling...

popps said...

We are thinking the same way Anne - Act Two coming soon, on the park bench.