Setting

This play can be produced either outside or inside. The setting is that of an old back yard, with junk around and, most important, a fence. A person must be able to sit on the fence. Each actor or actress wears a shirt with the name of his or her character printed on it. The age of each character is not set. The play takes place anytime, anywhere.

Characters:

• Disciple

• Sleep

• Contentment

• Pleasure

• Security

• Community

• Church

• Education

• Politics

• Economy

(SLEEP, CONTENTMENT, and SECURITY are on stage. Pleasure enters with a ball and bat.)

PLEASURE: (To SECURITY.) Hey! You wanna play?

SECURITY: (A snob.) Play what?

PLEASURE: (Looks at his bat.) Play house.

SECURITY: Not without my bat and my ball.

PLEASURE: But you don't have any. These are the only ones around here.

SECURITY: Then I don't want to play.

PLEASURE: (To CONTENTMENT.) You wanna go?

CONTENTMENT: Go where?

PLEASURE: (Looks at his bat.) Go fishing.

CONTENTMENT: How far away is the water?

PLEASURE: Ten minutes.

CONTENTMENT: That's too far. I like it here, so I don't want to go.

PLEASURE: (To SLEEP.) Hey! You wanna live?

SLEEP: (Wakes.) Huh? What? What is this noise? Ah, the rabble! Live? Live where? I live here. This is where I live. Why can't you children leave us alone?

PLEASURE: Do you sleep all the time?

SLEEP: Do I --- ! What a silly question! Of course I sleep all the time. I am Sleep. It's such a wonderful world here. Everything's easy, relaxed. Full of love and beauty, and centered around ME! Why, I can have whatever I want, be in any situation I want. In sleep, I think DEEP thoughts. Find meaning. Find reality! Go away. I'm busy. (Goes back to sleep.)

PLEASURE: Good. I wanted to play by myself anyway. (Exits.)

(A noise is heard, blown from a trumpet offstage by DISCIPLE. Soon, people are heard. COMMUNITY, CHURCH, EDUCATION, POLITICS, and ECONOMY run in, very frightened and making a lot of noise.)

COMMUNITY: Help us! A crazy man is chasing us. Save us!

SLEEP: (Wakes.) What? Huh? Ah, the rabble!

ECONOMY: Help me! Please! I might fall!

POLITICS: (Frightened.) I'm not scared! I just act that way because the people want me to!

CHURCH: Such an evil noise!

SECURITY: (Calms them.) It's all right. He can't get you here. You're safe here. Safe and secure. I'll give you security. I'll give you life!

SLEEP: I'll give you rest and beauty. I'll give you life!

COMMUNITY: I feel better already. It must be right if it makes you feel good.

CHURCH: Maybe. But wisdom dictates that it's safer up here. (Climbs and sits on top of the fence, where he remains.) Must think of appearances, you know.

ECONOMY: It seems as if we're in good company.

POLITICS: (To SECURITY.) I promise you, sir, we'll be no trouble at all. None at all. (PLEASURE enters.)

SLEEP: Ah, our frolicking friend returns.

PLEASURE: Hey! Company! Wanna play?

SECURITY: No! They've had a terrible fright! They need to sleep.

EDUCATION: But I'm not sleepy.

SECURITY: Yes you are. (To POLITICS.) Don't you think he's sleepy? Don't you think you're all sleepy?

POLITICS: Whatever you say.

COMMUNITY: Come to think of it, I do feel a little tired.

SLEEP: All that running.

PLEASURE: All that playing.

CONTENTMENT: All that doing.

SECURITY: All that thinking.

CHURCH: But if you play a game, you won't be sleepy anymore.

SECURITY: Who asked you?

COMMUNITY: Seems like a good idea to me. Let's do something.

PLEASURE: Okay!

(All but CHURCH on stage gather away from the fence and mime a game of softball, with SECURITY pitching. At first, it is lively, but gradually slows down until everyone seems tired. Meanwhile, the trumpeting begins again, and DISCIPLE enters, out of breath.)

CHURCH: (To DISCIPLE.) Aren't you tired of blowing that thing?

DISCIPLE: Tired! I'm half-dead. Aren't you tired of sitting up there?

CHURCH: Oh no! There's a lot of things I can do. I can sit this way, or this way, or like this, or this.

DISCIPLE: Come down and follow me.

CHURCH: Why? What can you do for me?

DISCIPLE: I'll give you life.

CHURCH: It's safer up here. My conscience is clear up here.

DISCIPLE: (Watches the others.) They worship Security.

CHURCH: I worship God.

DISCIPLE: I worship God. You worship the fence.

CHURCH: I pray every morning and sit through the ritual every Sunday. What do you do?

DISCIPLE: I live life.

CHURCH: You're crazy. Have you killed God?

DISCIPLE: No. He's still alive and values still the same. (Blows the trumpet.)

COMMUNITY: Look! He's here! Help us! He's mad! Mean! Vicious!

ECONOMY: He'll eat us!

SECURITY: He can't. You're safe here. He can't come in.

COMMUNITY: All he has to do is to walk around the fence!

POLITICS: There are alternatives to everything.

SECURITY: He won't. (With great authority.) Who are you and what do you want?

DISCIPLE: I am Disciple and wish for you to follow me.

POLITICS: Why?

DISCIPLE: So you can better yourselves, quicken yourselves, strive for the full potential within yourselves.

ECONOMY: Did someone pay you to say that?

EDUCATION: Sounds phony to me.

POLITICS: (Thoughtful.) I can't just pack off. It all depends on demand and the will of the majority. (To CHURCH.) I hate to be indecisive, don't you?

CHURCH: Oh, I don't know.

COMMUNITY: Why should we come over there? We're safe here. We have security here. We're contented living out life here. We find peace in sleep. You're just throwing vinegar in the water. It's you that's full of evil and crime. Here there's something better. We're on the inside and you're not. If you want us to be happy, then leave us alone.

(SLEEP touches COMMUNITY, EDUCATION, POLITICS, and ECONOMY. One by one, they fall asleep.)

SECURITY: (To DISCIPLE.) You see. Like they said, if you want them to be happy, then leave them alone.

DISCIPLE: I won't leave them alone. I'll wake them up.

SECURITY: You can't. They choose to be here.

DISCIPLE: I can try.

SECURITY: You won't succeed. Try it.

(DISCIPLE blows his trumpet. No sound.)

SECURITY: You see? You can't.

CHURCH: (About the trumpet.) It doesn't work any more!

DISCIPLE: (Sad.) They've all been fooled. Every one of them. Their side is the world, not mine. (To CHURCH.) You too. I can talk all I want, but if you don't respond, there's nothing I can do.

CHURCH: But I'm safe here. I'm on the fence with one foot in the world while the other is beyond the world. Once in a while, when I have the time of course, I'll do something for the world. Build a few buildings, have a few bake sales, and generally spread the word to whoever wants to listen. I'm contented living my own life in this world. I can still have pleasure in life, and security. After all, I'm only human and everybody needs security. Anything else would be unrealistic.

DISCIPLE: You don't understand, do you? The fence makes your crime greater. You have a foot over here and responsibility follows.

CHURCH: You want me to be a part of the world, but you don't understand. It would be unrealistic to try to live without those things over there. Life is terrible without them. I need them.

DISCIPLE: You need them as long as you have them. As soon as you let them go, you'll find out you don't need them after all. You'll be given something better. But that, you'll have to find out for yourself.

CHURCH: It's risky.

DISCIPLE: So take a risk.

CHURCH: But the world . . . is . . . so . . . cruel.

DISCIPLE: Cruel . . . Yes, my friend. Life is full of cruelty, selfishness, greed, sickness. . . . Misery. That is life as it is. But sometimes, just sometimes, beauty and even love can break through. Too many times it gives only a feeble glow. Too many times. Only a crazy person can see it. I've seen men and women die for it . . . tortured, humiliated. These were people! People who see life as it should be. . . . But to only see life as it is. I pity the person who only sees life as it is. I'd rather be crazy than blind. . . . Because a crazy person can live life as it should be, to make it life as it is.

CHURCH: What are you gonna do about them?

DISCIPLE: I can't do anything. But maybe you can. (Gives CHURCH the trumpet.) Here. This is yours now.

CHURCH: (Drily.) You're giving me a broken trumpet. (DISCIPLE starts to exit.) Hey! You're not leaving me! What about them?

DISCIPLE: You figure it out. (DISCIPLE exits.)

CHURCH: Terrific. . . . He's crazy. . . . Take a risk, huh? Maybe. (Tries to blow the trumpet, but no sound.) I knew it wouldn't work. (Tries it again. No sound.) Nothing but a fake. Humm. . . . Maybe. Maybe ---

(Jumps down off of the fence, on the side where the others are. Then blows the trumpet. It sounds. The others wake up.)

SLEEP: Huh? What?

SECURITY: Get that thing out of here!

SLEEP: You interrupted some deep thinking I'd have you know.

CHURCH: I have a great idea! Let's organize ourselves!

SLEEP: The rabble. Nothing but the rabble.

ECONOMY: What for?

CHURCH: To better the world! To let a little beauty and love come through.

EDUCATION: You're nuts.

CHURCH: But we can do it!

COMMUNITY: How.

CHURCH: How?

EVERYONE (Not all at once.) How?

(CHURCH looks at himself, looks at the fence, then proceeds to remove the fence.)

SECURITY: Hey! You can't do that! I say you can't do that!

CHURCH: (Removes the fence.) I did it.

SECURITY: Come on. We can't stay here.

SLEEP: Of all the nerve!

PLEASURE: (To CHURCH.) Boy, you're no fun at all!

COMMUNITY: Hey! What about us?

SECURITY: God help you now, you're on your own!

(SECURITY, SLEEP, CONTENTMENT, and PLEASURE exit.)

POLITICS: (To CHURCH.) Now you've done it.

EDUCATION: Gee, I don't feel so bad.

COMMUNITY: Neither do I.

CHURCH: Now we can do something! Together!

(They all exit, CHURCH blowing the trumpet.)

Copyright 1994 Debra Bruch