Friday, September 21, 2007

Potential play in the making?


Ok. I've been thinking about it for the longest time. I've been wanting to write a play. Pitch it to someone to direct (or direct it myself if I have to) - and stage it. But I haven't felt strongly enough about any subject matter or idea to commit myself to the act of sitting in front of my lappie to write it. But 2 nights ago, lying awake at 3 ish am. Unable to sleep - I suddenly felt a flurry of ideas fill my head making it even more difficult for me to get any shut eye. So, I put a small portion of what was in my head in a word document.

What I did that night, I will post below - have a read - tell me what you think. Is it interesting enough to keep you watching?
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DREAMS - a potential play in the making.


Characters: Protagonist: Kit
Protagonist’s love interest: Elizabeth

Story skeleton (Tentative):
Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Life happens – tears boy and girl apart.


Monologue:(As audience settles in the dark - they hear a voice)

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it was quoted that sleep and dreams are the chief nourishers of life’s great feast. Everybody dreams. If you think you don’t – you do too. You just don’t remember them. That happens.

I read on the internet that there used to be a Greek God by the name of Asclepios. There were temples built in his name all over the ancient Greece. People would travel great distances to his temples to heal themselves.

One such person was a woman by the name of Arata. She was suffering from Edema or Dropsy as it was formerly called. Arata’s Mother went to one such temple and begged Asclepios to cure Arata. Arata’s Mother slept in the temple and had the following dream:

It seemed to her that Asclepios cut off her daughter’s head and hung up her body upside down. Out of it came a huge quantity of fluid matter. Then, Asclepios took the body down and fitted the head back on the neck.

After she had seen this dream, Arata’s Mother went back home, miles away, where she found Arata in good health; she too - had the same dream.


Lights come on to reveal - Stage bare except for a tombstone in its centre.

TV’s strategically placed around theatre(off stage but where all audience can see) showing protagonist (tentatively named: Kit).

KIT: Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could look into someone’s dream? I find myself wondering what it would be like. But as with most things, I think it’ll be subjective dependent on the person doing the dreaming.

Take Eliza for instance. You see her don’t you? (Image on TVs change to that of Eliza lying in bed, sleeping) She’s lying in bed right this moment. And at right this moment, she’s dreaming of me.

She dreams me dead. I don’t blame her.

Lights go soft as Elizabeth enters stage. Till she stands facing the tombstone.

EL: Now you’ve gone and done it. You happy now? Bloody idiot. Stubborn mule. You just had to do it. I wasn’t enough. All your promises and sweet words, all gone. Like they never happened.

Elizabeth stops – unable to continue talking – clearly very sad – on the verge of breaking down.

KIT enters stage: But KIT’s voice comes from TVs’.

KIT: Eliza was the one. I knew it the moment I laid my eyes on her and I was proved correct when I started talking to her. And then she did me the utmost honour by allowing me into her world. As screwed up as I was when I met her, she always saw the best in me and she always brought the best out of me.

Everything that was ‘wrong’ with me was ‘right’ to her and when someone embraces your flaws with as much ease as they would your good qualities – you become ‘perfect’ to them. And that was how I appeared to her in her dreams – ‘perfect’.

Back to the stage:

KIT: Hi.

EL: I hate you right now. I wish I never met you. (EL is visibly distraught now.)

KIT: I don’t blame you. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being such an ass. I’m sorry for causing you pain. I’m sorry for every wrong I’ve done to you. You deserve better. You deserve more. I definitely don’t deserve you. I love you in a way I never thought I could and that’s a gift you’ve given me that will live in me always. For that, I have to thank you.

Then KIT walks over to EL and hugs her. But she does not return the hug. She just stands there.

KIT then exits stage: KIT on TV resumes talking.

KIT: She definitely saw the best in me. In real life – I would never have said or done what you just saw me do in her dream. In real life, I was good at one thing. Running away, turning my back. When I made a mistake, a really big one, I wouldn’t do the right thing and apologize. Because to me, apologizing wouldn’t make up for my mistake. Better to just walk away.

But sometimes, all a person needs to hear is, “I’m sorry.”

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So how? What do you think? Cool opening? Lame? Got you interested?

I'm out.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's official. There's something in the water. Ur the 4th person I know who wants to try their hand at script writing.

My comment: It's been done b4 (unless u can get a really different angle) n it's very u... if that makes any sense =D