Madness, memory, melancholy

Maybe the present madness, the context, something turned on the light on this unfinished play I wrote in 2016. The following is an extract from a previously posted article – here.

GEORGE

You said you entertain people… So do what you know.

(after Ace’s first seven lines, George will start beating the drums he keeps under his desk)

ACE

I do what my talent tells me, not what I know. For example…

I could talk… about the dump.

Not that I might think of Trump,

but we see it growing bigger,

in our minds being the trigger

to the image of the tower

dominating with its power

over our senses, brother!

Don’t you think we waste too much?

Our lives clenched in a pouch

while we build mountains of garbage 

pondering on our bondage

to the nature or its laws.

Then we fear its claws,

so we close our eyes and speak:

There’s no danger, there’s no peak!

We can build higher and higher!

Don’t get lost, just be The Buyer!

FAY

(clapping) Wow! You are very good! You can rhyme on the spot, right? That’s fantastic!

GEORGE

Gooood!So, you can do it! Now take it off.  You can do the same thing without this costume.

ACE

Man, you have an obsession! Your personal issue! What in the name of the thing do you have against my costume?

GEORGE

You’re right. I do have a personal issue. It reminds me of gambling. And I’m not comfortable with this memory.

FAY

(moving like a mechanical doll) I can’t take off my costume. People would be horrified. They would instantly run fast and far away from me if they would see my wounds.

GEORGE

What wounds?

ACE

(worried) It’s only a metaphor, isn’t it?

FAY

The metaphor of my life, indeed.

ACE

Oh, my life, you sweet bright metaphor,

I have been a fool, a carnivore

sucking my own flesh to scars,

so that I could reach the stars

of the fame I wanted more,

more than any other lore.

GEORGE

What happened to you, Fay?

FAY

Why would I tell you?… You would then think of me in a certain way. You would label and cable… Ha, I caught the rhyme bug from you, Ace!

ACE

Kind of! But you know, we all have wounds, and scars…

GEORGE

And scars we are ashamed of. But we shouldn’t be ashamed. They are like tattoos we are rewarded with for experiencing life.

ACE

Oh, that’s profound, wise man!

FAY

(she does classic ballet moves, moving her arms especially) I failed the opera audition. That was the only thing I really wanted in my life. That was my life. I had no other purpose.  I was told my arms were bad. So I cut them badly. You don’t want to see them.  They’re very ugly.

ACE

But you so beautifully move your arms. And those wings…

FAY

My wings grew afterwards. My mother made them for me. She told me the story of the phoenix bird. She helped me to create this character, so that I could still dance…  (with deep sadness) on the street… But I dance! And this is all I want from life! I want to dance my life. That’s all.

Cover: ai generated image from pixabay.com