(labor) X (rhetoric) : playacting "identity", in PRELUDE and one SCENE [2012]

Characters:

M - a disembodied, narrating voice

N - a disembodied, narrating voice

T - a poet

A - a body/voice

G - a body/voice

U - a body/voice

Setting:

Now

Location:

Inside a circuit

✽     ✽     ✽     ✽     ✽

PRELUDE:

T walks out to the center of the empty stage, turns to face the

audience, and recites a poem.

T: we are

notes in anticipation of

so many poems

is looking for

an obvious way to be content with

strain     I am an outlaw disorder

tripping a light     and easy

sending witness to the day standing up

a philosopher

now there is no

way to play colors against what's good here

this is working     they are dirty me

alive in the hope that I might be now

at the site of the book     normal joy

of me me me

they might get past the truth

it is really entertainment treated

as if a bad voice were waiting with it

checking here     I live my way in them

so that this is person

we are notes

in anticipation 

of so many poems

T exits stage, leaving it once again empty.  The overture begins to play.  Throughout the duration of the overture, A, G, and U take turns walking back and forth across the stage, occasionally stopping to make abstract hand gestures toward the ceiling, always with their backs to the audience.  When the overture ends, they clear the stage.

END PRELUDE

✽     ✽     ✽     ✽     ✽

SCENE:

The sound of the circuit rises.  The image of a face appears on the projection screen.  A, G, and U enter.  G is carrying a trumpet.  The three characters mill about aimlessly, as if in a trance, occasionally bouncing off of one another, but they never make any further attempts at engagement.

A: In the half-light, it is difficult to tell whether or not those
     passing before me are alive.

U: Weaving in and out between the parked fire trucks introduced him
     to a new process.

A: The smell of skunk permeated the entire block.

U: He was having a hard time understanding the decisions that had
     been made in his name.

G: A noise is music, and so on. 

(blows a note on the trumpet)

U: What is this sticky substance on the bottom of my shoe?

A: Is that really the only way one might turn?

U: She is determined to fall forward as she walks.  I, too, am  
     top heavy.

A: He found that he preferred his holes in circles, and black.

U: I don't care about where I'm going, or where I'm going to be.   
     I just want to run.

A: This environment is comfortable and fosters communication.

U: So... I got a call from him, and he was crying.

G: He arrived in the room as if he had just been dismissed.

(blows a note on the trumpet)

A: Reading this might remind you of things you've never done.

U: What must it be like to be a refugee among unforgiving consumers?

A: I would paint her if colors could communicate her hair.

U: That smile is no convincing disguise.  I'm not fooled by your  
     hat, either.

A: She is a pleasant embodiment of animal instinct and confusion.

U: Other people are working on their poems at the same time.

A: I am not alone in my desire to be somewhere other than this.   
     She is frowning.

U: I've come for the loneliness, and the tart beverage, but  
     certainly not the generic reggae music.

A: She carried herself like a turn-of-the-century British stage  
     actress.

At this point, A, G, and U, stop their meandering, and each grabs a chair.  They place the chairs in a straight line beside one another, facing the backstage area at stage left, and they each sit down and gaze attentively into the darkness of the wings.

M: I haven't felt this good since the day my dad came home from
     Vietnam.  I'm basking in a real sense of accomplishment, like
     I've done something they might not forget for a hundred years,
     or more.  Of course, there's still lots of work to do,and X's
     going to owe me a lot of money when I'm finished.  He'll see
     the value, just like the next person, and he'll open up his wallet
     accordingly.  You know, I might even take a shower now that I'm
     finished, then put on my fancy shirt and sit on the porch for all
     the neighbors to see and admire.  I can look handsome, too, if
     that's what I set out to do.  My mom dressed me up real nice the
     day my dad came home from Vietnam, and she even cried looking at
     me.  That's how good I can look!  Yeah, I haven't felt this good
     in a long time.

G jumps up and blows some loud notes on the trumpet, while A and U slink out of their chairs and begin wandering again.  G then joins the wandering, as well.

U: I have determined, after years of carefully executed research,
     that books are uncomfortable with me.

A: He said something about joy in relation to Buddhism.

U: Apparently, the guy is involved in everything, and he is so  
     glad to see you.

A: His appearance distracted her just long enough for her to be  
     overwhelmed.

U: I might fall asleep to the sound of his voice if I weren't  
     inspired to kill him.

A: He was propped-up by a 5-foot iron rod, and a rusty wire mesh.

U: I was happy to have their unpleasant language removed from my  
     soundtrack.

A: What is she waiting for?

U: His is a burden that was carefully chosen from a closet full of
     heavy items.

As A and U continue wandering silently, G stops and takes time to move the three chairs, one by one, into identical positions on the opposite side of the stage.  Once the chairs are all moved, the three wanderers make their ways to their respective seats, and then begin staring blankly into the wings.

A: The clothing that I wear calls into question a series of wounds.

U: Quotation marks bring attention to those words and phrases that
     require a closer reading than others.

G: Attention is less than compensation.

(blows a note on the trumpet)

N: I have previously mentioned a small, fortified island with a
     lighthouse and a catacomb of tunnels beneath it, but this is
     nothing like that.  This is almost beyond description, but not
     quite.  Also, I failed to mention the presence of two small
     rabbits, who have been darting in and out of the shadows at the
     corners of the stage.  There is a black one, with a white tail
     and a brown mohawk; and there is a "peaches and cream"-colored
     one who has thumped at me on several occasions.  I wonder if
     they are friendly, and I wonder to whom they belong.  This is
     a strange place, not unlike the fortified island.

G jumps up and attempts to blow a sound through the trumpet, but nothing comes out.  He wanders away confused, fidgeting with the horn.  Then, A and U stand and make their ways over to the edge of the stage, where they sit with their legs dangling over, looking directly into the audience.

U: She is speaking in one language, while he is communicating in  
     another.

A: The people through glass are beyond my journalistic reach.

U: A deep-dish pizza with green peppers and mushrooms would be  
     delicious right about now.

A: He appeared to be a superhero in search of a costume.

U: I've never previously encountered such a passion for talking on
     the phone.

G: (still wandering) If I were to go downstairs, I would be beneath
     him.

U: An oversized orange branch hung down behind the preoccupied man.

A: The response he provided was attractively insignificant, and
  this suited her just fine.

U: I would much rather participate in an extended public discourse
     on the current state of professional wrestling than speak to you
     privately about poetry.

A: The beard was a bad idea made manifest on his sweaty face.

U: The difference between her hips was purely astonishing.

A: Spitting on the sidewalk is a crime I might commit.

U: A relatively well-endowed man just disappeared behind a narrow
     column, and I can't see why.

G walks up and sits down beside the other two at the edge of the stage, still fiddling with his horn.

G: I am inspired by animals and petty thievery.

(stares at the trumpet)

A: My goal is to reach the bottom of the page before I commit to
     leaving.

U: Time is not a significant consideration.

T enters stage and moves in directly behind the three seated characters.  A brief poem is recited.

T: some have found their ways out

through windows and air ducts

I'm escaping them now

I am holding X to my breast

T exits, leaving the other three seated at the edge of the stage, staring into the audience, legs swaying and kicking.  After a beat or two, G jumps up and blurts out one last triumphant note on the trumpet.  The sound of the circuit fades.  The image of the face disappears.

END SCENE