Place- An empty, gray space.
Time- The present, presumably the end of the world.
Set- Two chairs against a gray wall. Not much else.
The End
(Lights up. Two chairs, side by side. MAN 1 sits in a chair, gazing around. MAN 2 saunters on.)
MAN 2
May I sit here beside you?
MAN 1
Sure.
(He sits.)
MAN 2
So…
MAN 1
So.
MAN 2
So, why are you here?
MAN 1
Why am I here?
MAN 2
I mean… Why aren’t you with your family?
MAN 1
They took the easy way out.
MAN 2
Oh…
MAN 1
You?
MAN 2
I couldn’t. Never had the courage.
MAN 1
I never had the rope. Nor the gun. Nor the pills. Nor the knife.
MAN 2
No knife?
MAN 1
They used ‘em all.
MAN 2
Your whole family?
MAN 1
Every possible way one could do it. They did it. And they exhausted all the methods. Nothing left for me.
MAN 2
Wow…
MAN 1
Yep.
(Pause.)
MAN 2
So is this it?
MAN 1
Is what?
MAN 2
Is all?
MAN 1
Where?
MAN 2
Huh?
MAN 1
Here?
MAN 2
Yes. Here. Is this all? At the end, I mean…
MAN 1
What do you expect?
MAN 2
I don’t know. Something bigger.
MAN 1
I guess most others took the easy way out. Or they’re home. With their families.
MAN 2
I guess you’re right… Now what?
MAN 1
What?
MAN 2
What do we do now?
MAN 1
We wait. For the end.
MAN 2
Of it all?
MAN 1
Of it all.
MAN 2
Wow. I thought there’d be more. People, I mean.
MAN 1
Hmph.
(Pause.)
MAN 2
Let’s do something.
MAN 1
No.
MAN 2
No?
MAN 1
No.
MAN 2
Why?
MAN 1
Let’s just wait.
MAN 2
For the end?
MAN 1
For the end.
MAN 2
That’s stupid.
MAN 1
It’s not.
MAN 2
That’s boring.
MAN 1
It’s not.
MAN 2
Can we make it fun?
MAN 1
It is.
MAN 2
This? Fun? Never.
MAN 1
You’re trying too hard. You’ve got to wait. Let it creep up on you.
MAN 2
I’ve got to wait to wait?
MAN 1
In a sense.
MAN 2
In a nutshell.
MAN 1
In a way.
MAN 2
In a sense.
MAN 1
In a… way. You’re not waiting.
MAN 2
I am!
(Pause.)
MAN 1
Has it crept?
MAN 2
No… I’m bored. Oooh, I know! Let’s play chopsticks.
(MAN 2 sticks out his two index fingers and faces MAN 1.)
MAN 1
I suppose…
MAN 2
C’mon.
MAN 1
I suppose it couldn’t hurt.
MAN 2
It’s inevitable.
MAN 1
It’s inevitable that we do.
MAN 2
It’s inevitable.
MAN 1
Okay.
(MAN 1 does the same as MAN 2.)
MAN 2
Should I go first?
MAN 1
Should you?
MAN 2
Okay, I’ll go.
(MAN 2 prepares to make the first move. He abandons the game.)
MAN 2 (Cont’d)
Nah.
MAN 1
Well then.
MAN 2
I’m bored.
MAN 1
Then just wait.
MAN 2
I can’t take that.
MAN 1
You didn’t even try.
MAN 2
Fine.
(Pause.)
MAN 2 (Cont’d)
I can’t do it. I just can’t.
MAN 1
You didn’t try hard enough.
MAN 2
No.
MAN 1
You didn’t try long enough.
MAN 2
No.
MAN 1
You didn’t try hard enough.
(Pause.)
MAN 2
No. No way. I’ve got to do something!
MAN 1
Fine.
MAN 2
I will…
MAN 1
Go ahead.
MAN 2
I will!
MAN 1
All right.
MAN 2
Oh! I know. Let’s recite from famous literary texts.
MAN 1
You start.
(MAN 2 jumps up with fervor.)
MAN 2
“To be… or not to…” Um… Shit. I forgot. You try.
MAN 1
Um…
MAN 2
Well?
MAN 1
I can’t.
MAN 2
Come on.
MAN 1
I won’t.
MAN 2
Come on.
MAN 1
I can’t.
MAN 2
I’ll go again… “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow… And tomorrow… And yesterday, and yesterday… And the day before. And Friday. And last week. And a year. Last year…” I can’t.
MAN 1
Great.
MAN 2
No. It wasn’t.
MAN 1
It was sufficient.
MAN 2
It wasn’t.
MAN 1
It was good.
MAN 2
It wasn’t.
MAN 1
It made sense.
MAN 2
It didn’t.
MAN 1
You’re right. Nothing. Nothing does.
MAN 2
No! I can’t.
MAN 1
You can.
MAN 2
I can’t, I can’t.
MAN 1
You can, you can. Try, try again. Try and wait.
MAN 2
Wait?
MAN 1
Wait.
(MAN 2 sits down. Pause.)
MAN 2
I can’t.
MAN 1
Ah well. Try again later.
MAN 2
I won’t.
MAN 1
You will.
MAN 2
I won’t.
MAN 1
You will.
MAN 2
I won’t, I won’t, I won’t!
MAN 1
You will.
MAN 2
Ugh.
(Pause.)
MAN 2 (Cont’d)
Let’s play another game.
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End of excerpt. If you'd like to read more, email me at raymondturco@yahoo.com
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Yeah this is a piece I really sort of discarded as an experiment. I should direct you to a longer, more polished work of a similar nature, whose excerpt can be found here: http://www.stageplays-forum.com/forum6/4723.html
