CLAUDIA You’re...right.
LEE You think you’ve got ghosts?
[LEE motions around the room.]
CLAUDIA Lee, crazy people see ghosts.
LEE The pills don’t help.
CLAUDIA Excuse me?
LEE Or the booze. Or the drugs....When I got back, I had a lot of time on my hands and a fair amount of money. It didn’t work. If they have something to say to you, they’re gonna say it. And they’re gonna say it and say it and say it.
CLAUDIA So now you’re here to fix me?
LEE You aren’t crazy, Claudia.
CLAUDIA Of course I’m not.
LEE And you are going to have to forgive yourself.
CLAUDIA For what?
LEE For her.
CLAUDIA How dare you.
LEE We’re like alcoholics’ kids, me and you.
[She backs him down.]
CLAUDIA We are not anything.
LEE Weird thing is, I get you.
[She starts to shove him.]
CLAUDIA You don’t get shit.
LEE You pushed her away, didn’t you. That’s why you’re scared to go home?
[She tries to slap him. He catches her wrist. She tries with the other hand. He catches that one too. He pulls her arms to her sides. She fights. They wrestle.]
CLAUDIA Let go of me. Let go of me!
[CLAUDIA is frantic. She fights. LEE restrains her. ALMA returns to the stage. ALMA plops down to the floor and opens a letter. Some photos fall out.]
ALMA Alma, I hope this finds you.
[The photos from the box appear on the screen. Most are of a stoic CLAUDIA.]
I watch the news and hunt the Internet to find stories about your unit and have found nothing. I guess that’s a good thing.
[CLAUDIA fights. She is ferocious. Feral. LEE holds her strongly. Gently. He turns her to watch ALMA.]
Not much on this end to update. Just me. We had a Marfan patient the other day. Tall, lanky kid. He saw his doctor complaining of joint pain. Luckily his doctor was bright. I cut. We prevented aortic rupture. He’s now pretty upset that he won’t be playing football anymore, but he’s alive. Anyway, I’m sure I’m boring you. Like I said, it’s just me.
[Finally, CLAUDIA submits. The struggle transforms into a hug. One of the photos shows CLAUDIA in the background smiling.]
They had a little birthday party for me at the hospital and that was okay, I guess. They took pictures, so I sent them to you.
CLAUDIA That’s not what I said.
[The screen zooms on CLAUDIA.]
That’s not what I...meant.
ALMA Be brave. Come home! Mommy.
[The screen zooms again, showing only CLAUDIA’s smile. ALMA smiles and kisses the picture. LEE holds CLAUDIA for a moment.]
LEE I should get a second opinion.
CLAUDIA Because I’m—
LEE You’re not crazy...but you’re not right.
[CLAUDIA looks like she might challenge him, but thinks better of it.]
CLAUDIA That’s logical.
[They sit quietly. Eventually CLAUDIA pulls out her pills.]
LEE They are not going to help.
CLAUDIA I’m the doctor, remember?
LEE What happened to her, if you don’t mind me asking?
CLAUDIA I mind you asking.
ALMA You didn’t tell anybody. You didn’t even take off work.
LEE You didn’t?
CLAUDIA This is none of his business.
ALMA You want me to tell him?
CLAUDIA Alma! Some things are private.
ALMA And some things aren’t. Be. Brave.
CLAUDIA Parents of soldiers know they’re fucked when three strangers knock on their door. One to deliver the news.
ALMA Two. In case you faint.
LEE Three. In the car. In case you get violent.
CLAUDIA They have it down to a science.
[CLAUDIA hands LEE a letter. He opens it and reads silently. ALMA opens an identical letter. She opens it and reads aloud.]
ALMA January 17, 2010. We regret to inform you that late last night Sergeant Alma Torres was involved in an ambush attack just outside of Kandahar. She was fatally wounded. The details of this conflict are sensitive and cannot be given at this point. Please know that her actions were heroic. Her ultimate sacrifice is acknowledged by your government, and it is with our deepest sympathies that we send you this notification of her death. You will be put in contact with a grieving coordinator who will help you with funeral arrangements and grief counseling. Please contact him with further questions.
[LEE folds the letter and gives it back to CLAUDIA.]
CLAUDIA [To ALMA.] You happy now?
[CLAUDIA is about to take a few pills. She considers, then puts them back.]
I can refer you to Dr. Kwong. He’s good. Thorough. You’ll be in good hands.
[LEE grimaces and grabs his jaw. CLAUDIA has turned away from him and can’t see him.]
Not as good, of course, but more than competent. He hasn’t been trained on the da Vinci, so—
ALMA Mommy—
CLAUDIA Also...I hope you will use some...discretion.
[LEE has fallen to the ground.]
ALMA CLAUDIA!
[CLAUDIA sees LEE on the ground.]
CLAUDIA Goddamnit.
[ALMA helps LEE offstage, then pushes him onstage prepped for surgery as CLAUDIA “scrubs in.” The sounds of an operating room (heart monitor, etc.). CLAUDIA walks over to him, ready to operate. Drumming returns as a heartbeat.]
Lee, you went into arrest. We almost lost you. We revived you, but we need to do the surgery now, or we risk significant damage.
ALMA Mr. Gardner, I need you to count backwards from ten.
LEE Ten. Nine. Eight. Sev...
[He’s out. The drumming heartbeat is replaced with the beeping of a heart monitor.]
CLAUDIA Scalpel.
ALMA Scalpel.
[ALMA and CLAUDIA stand on opposite sides of the gurney. They spin in circles. The spinning accelerates with each revolution.]
I arrived in a C-130. Combat landing. Meaning we got up high and corkscrewed to the ground to avoid AAM’s. I felt sick when we landed and the world was orange. Someone next to me said, “Welcome to Mars.”
CLAUDIA I’m working, Alma.
ALMA The sand gets in your teeth. The water stinks. And you can’t open your eyes in the shower....Mars....And I was thinking, as a medic, I’d never see battle. But that’s the way it is on Mars. One minute, you are “safe” and the next you are in the middle of shit.
[An explosion. ALMA falls to the floor beneath the gurney.]
CLAUDIA GODDAMNIT!
[CLAUDIA assesses the damage and tries to fix the bleed. ALMA uses the gurney like a bunker.]
ALMA Oh my God. Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygodohmygodohmygod —I’m bleeding.
CLAUDIA Alma, please...
[CLAUDIA manages to stay focused on LEE even with ALMA at her feet. The screen shifts to show toy soldiers. ALMA talks on her radio.]
ALMA Raptor Six, this is Three-Two. Requesting backup. Over. Raptor Six, this is Three-Two. Requesting backup. Over.
[ALMA looks up at CLAUDIA. CLAUDIA finally plays along.]
CLAUDIA Three-Two, what is your situation?
ALMA Caravan lead has been blown up. Then the rear. Haji are coming out of the street like roaches.
CLAUDIA What is your grid?
[Another explosion. LEE flat-lines.]
I need the paddles.
ALMA Send help!
[CLAUDIA mimes defibrillation paddles.]
CLAUDIA CLEAR.
[LEE’s body bounces. So does ALMA’s. Still no pulse.]
CLEAR.
[LEE and ALMA bounce again. Nothing. CLAUDIA tosses the “paddles” aside and reaches in to pump LEE’s heart with her hands.]
Lee, please...
ALMA There’s someone out there. He’s wounded worse than me.... Mommy, I can help.
CLAUDIA Take
care of yourself.
ALMA Breathe, Alma....Breathe.
[ALMA takes a deep breath and snaps three times.]
One. Two. Three.
CLAUDIA Beat, you bastard. Alma, stay here.
ALMA Again.
[She takes a deep breath and snaps three times. She seems calm.]
Be brave.
CLAUDIA Goddamnit, do not be brave. Be a fucking coward and—
[But it’s too late. ALMA has scampered off.]
Come home to me.
[The drum bangs. ALMA falls to the floor.]
COME HOME TO ME!
[CLAUDIA re-gathers herself and pumps LEE’s heart.]
Beat, you motherfucker. BEAT.
[ALMA rolls over.]
ALMA You should call it.
CLAUDIA I’m not done fighting.
[ALMA understands and moves to the side.]
ALMA Fight. Five minutes.
[Waiting.]
Ten minutes.
[Waiting.]
Fifteen.
[Waiting.]
Twenty-two minutes before you hit the ground.
[Exhausted, CLAUDIA stops pumping the heart and slumps.]
CLAUDIA Time of death...
[She can’t finish.]
Did you know?
[ALMA shrugs.]
You bitch.
ALMA I did this for you. Sometimes you need to handle a little damage before you can properly fix yourself.
[CLAUDIA pulls her pills out of her pocket.]
Be brave, Mommy.
CLAUDIA It hurts. So. Bad.
ALMA Be brave.
[CLAUDIA drops the pills.]
Be. Brave.
[ALMA watches CLAUDIA, though CLAUDIA can no longer see her. CLAUDIA gasps like a patient waking up in the middle of surgery. The drums pick up with a heartbeat. On the screen we see pictures of toy soldiers, boots, a game of Operation, a doll, a sunset, an envelope. Clifford the Big Red Dog, a drawing, and a girl. A girl. A girl. CLAUDIA takes a deep breath and snaps her fingers three times. With each snap, we zoom on the face of the girl. CLAUDIA exhales as lights begin to fall, and she starts to cry. Softly at first. But the tears build. Lights go out as her cries turn to sobs.]
• • •
Snowbound
a play in one act
Brent Englar
Snowbound by Brent Englar. Copyright © 2011, 2012 by Brent Englar. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of the author.
CAUTION/ADVICE: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that performance of Snowbound is subject to a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union (including the Dominion of Canada and the rest of the British Commonwealth), and of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention, the Berne Convention, and of all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights, including professional and amateur stage performing rights, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound recording, all other forms of mechanical or electronic reproduction, such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, information storage and retrieval systems, and photocopying, and the rights of translation into foreign languages, are strictly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed upon the matter of readings, permission for which must be secured from the author’s agent in writing.
Inquiries concerning rights should be addressed to Brent Englar at [email protected].
Brent Englar
Brent Englar is an aspiring playwright from Baltimore, Maryland, where he works as an editor for an educational content provider. Prior to that, he taught high school English for several years; he has also lived in New York City and Los Angeles. His plays have been produced throughout Maryland, including Baltimore, as well as New York, Chicago, and Austin. A member of the Dramatists Guild, he is also the director of the Mobtown Playwrights Group, an offshoot of Baltimore’s Mobtown Players; its season consists of public readings of three new plays by local writers, culminating in a full production of one of the selected plays.
• • • Production History • • •
Snowbound was given a public reading by the Baltimore Playwrights Festival at the Fells Point Corner Theatre in December 2010. Director: Miriam Bazensky; Cast: Hillary Mazer as SHERRI; Rodney Bonds as ANDY; David Kellam as CLIFF. Snowbound was also given a reading in April 2011 as part of Dezart Performs’s Third Annual Play Reading Series. And it was produced by the Old Opera House Theatre Company (Charles Town, West Virginia) in June 2011 as part of the 2011 New Voice Play Festival. Director: Shannon Potter; Cast: Lorraine Bouchard as SHERRI; Dan Rice as ANDY; Alecia Schulz as CLAIRE (i.e., CLIFF: the role is gender neutral).
Characters
SHERRI BLOUNT, mid-50s
CLIFF, late 20s, her boarder (CLIFF may be played by a woman by changing the character’s name to CHRIS [CHRISTINE when SHERRI says CLIFFORD]. Feel free to leave SHERRI’s line, “Lord, if I had a dollar for every new girl I’ve seen at breakfast,” as is.)
ANDY BOWDEN, 50
Time
The present; late January. During a blizzard.
Place
Baltimore. A row house owned by SHERRI BLOUNT. The power has been out since dawn. A fire burns in the fireplace. Windows in the stage-right wall flank the front door and vestibule and reveal a narrow street blanketed with snow. Through the vestibule—the sides of which mask actors from the audience—a small parlor opens into the dining room, which connects to an offstage kitchen by a door in the stage-left wall. Upstage of the parlor, the stairway to the second floor winds out of sight. Furnishings, modest yet tasteful, include a well-polished table in the dining room and four or five chairs. A mirror with an ornate frame hangs on the upstage wall, alongside pictures of SHERRI at various stages of her life; in most, including the large portrait directly behind the table, she is embracing a heavyset man with a boyish grin. Above this portrait is a framed needlepoint quoting chapter 19, verse 5, from the Book of Matthew: “And they twain shall be one flesh.”
• • •
[Lights up on SHERRI, wrapped in a shawl and seated at the dining room table. She holds a cup of tea in both hands and close to her face for warmth. Her accent is unmistakably but not comically Baltimore, and when she speaks, her voice is full of easy laughter. For a long moment she sits, the picture of contentment, softly humming old ballads and taking an occasional sip of tea. At last CLIFF knocks open the front door and shuffles into the vestibule. We hear him stomping his boots and brushing snow from his coat; then he crosses into the parlor.]
CLIFF Hey, Sherri—
SHERRI Clifford, I swear, you don’t take off them boots—
CLIFF I stomped them. You swear what?
SHERRI And wipe up, while you’re at it.
[She sets the tea on a coaster and throws CLIFF a towel draped over a nearby chair. He catches it, grinning, and returns to the vestibule. We hear him struggling to pull off his boots, followed by a crash.]
What on earth was that?
CLIFF [Calling from the vestibule.] Snow shovel. I’m fine.
[His boots and coat removed, CLIFF strolls back into the parlor. He pauses to wipe the floor clean of slush, then tosses the towel into the vestibule and joins SHERRI at the table.]
It’s a real mess out there.
SHERRI Still coming down?
CLIFF I’ve never seen anything like it.
SHERRI Then what are you doing shoveling the walk for? Just have to go back out and shovel again.
CLIFF So I’ll shovel again.
SHERRI Only person I know looks for an excuse to shovel the walk.
CLIFF Did you know if somebody slips and falls on account of your icy walk, they could sue you?
SHERRI Nobody’s suing me. Who’s even outside?
CLIFF I didn’t see anyone.
SHERRI You should be working on your dissertation.
SHERRI What do you need power for? Pick up a pen and some paper and finish the thing.
CLIFF My notes are on my computer.
SHERRI Clifford, you’re obviously stalling.
CLIFF I have till June.
SHERRI You’ve had six years.
CLIFF I’ll tell you what—you give me back those six years, I’d select an entirely different field of study.
SHERRI What’s the matter with your current field of study?
CLIFF Nobody ever told me there were so many books written on it. I’d have found something original.
SHERRI Original like what?
CLIFF Seriously?
[Standing.]
Hold that thought....
SHERRI Where—
CLIFF To get a book.
[CLIFF crosses to the stairs. SHERRI stands.]
SHERRI Just a minute, Cliff, while you’re up there—
CLIFF Yep?
SHERRI Check in on Mr. Bowden for me.
CLIFF Who?
SHERRI My new boarder.
CLIFF The man from last night? How long is he staying?
SHERRI [Shrugging.] He’s been in his room all morning—didn’t even come down for breakfast. Just give his door a knock and see that he’s all right.
CLIFF What if he’s not?
SHERRI You know CPR, don’t you?
CLIFF No.
SHERRI For what little I charge you each month, you don’t know CPR?
CLIFF Was I supposed to?
SHERRI Just make sure he’s all right, Cliff.
[CLIFF nods, slightly confused, and bounds upstairs. SHERRI takes a long sip of tea. From the street comes the groan of shifting gears and squealing brakes. SHERRI crosses to the window and peers outside. Calling upstairs.]
CLIFF, IT’S THE SNOWPLOW!
[Watching for a moment.]
WHY’S HE NOT TURNING DOWN THIRTIETH?
CLIFF [Offtsage.] WHAT?
SHERRI HE’S IGNORING THIRTIETH!
CLIFF [Offstage.] SIDE STREET!
SHERRI WHAT?
CLIFF [Offstage.] WE’RE A SIDE STREET!
[ANDY enters from the second floor. He is trimly dressed in suspenders, a jacket, and a tie; liberal amounts of gel fix in place his thinning hair.]
SHERRI [Still peering outside.] CLIFF, YOU SEE THEM POWER LINES?
The Best American Short Plays 2010-2011 Page 15