digital gallery

Scene 1

CURTAIN RISES

Curtain Rises

There are people on the stage.

PRESIDENT: You're going to die.
JENNIFER: I'll kill you.
ALAN: Look I'm fucking myself.
JULU: I'll fuck anyone I want to.
NIKUKO: I won't be fucked by anyone.

Curtain Falls

Curtain Rises

There are people on the stage.

PRESIDENT: I've killed Jennifer.
ALAN: Look, I'm fucking myself.
JULU: I'll kill both of you.
NIKUKO: I'll kill all three.

Curtain Falls

Curtain Rises

There are people on the stage

PRESIDENT: You're going to die.
JENNIFER: I'll kill you.
ALAN: Look I'm fucking myself.
JULU: I'll fuck anyone I want to.
NIKUKO: I won't be fucked by anyone.

Curtain Falls

Curtain Rises

There are people on the stage.

PRESIDENT: This is what I mean.
JENNIFER: I'll kill you.
ALAN: I'll fuck anyone I want to.
NIKUKO: Look I'm fucking myself.
JULU: I'll kill all of you.

Curtain Falls

Curtain Rises

Julu is on stage.

JULU: Where is everyone?

Curtain Falls

CURTAIN FALLS

Scene 2

The Breathing of the Death of All Being

The PRESIDENT is in the audience.

The curtain rises.

Empty stage: Noon lighting, bright, yellow.

The curtain falls halfway.

Blood seeps from the curtain, oozes from the curtain onto the floor. The color of the blood: Bright red.

The curtain falls.

The curtain rises.

Empty stage: Late afternoon lighting, medium, orange-yellow.

The curtain falls, three-quarters down.

Blood seeps from the curtain, oozes from the curtain onto the floor. The color of the blood: Red-brown.

The curtain falls.

The PRESIDENT coughs.

The curtain rises.

Empty stage: Dusk lighting, dark orange-red.

Bones fall from the curtain, spatter and break on the floor.

The curtain falls.

The curtain rises.

Empty stage: Evening lighting, dim red.

The curtain falls half-way.

Bones and black blood fall from the curtain.

The curtain falls.

The curtain rises.

Empty stage: Night, no lighting.

The curtain remains up for twenty minutes.

The PRESIDENT leaves the theater.

The curtain falls.

The hem of the curtain is wet.

Scene 3

Curtain rises.

The PRESIDENT is on stage.

THE PRESIDENT: I am in charge of agriculture. Please forgive me for my rudeness, but I am in charge. Either you are bad leaders or good followers. Forgive me. I am a member of your organization. I would like to know, what form did your provocateur work take. Please, do not answer all at once.

<Pause.>

THE PRESIDENT: Who have you betrayed. This is of utmost importance to the survival of this country. I am responsible for what you see.

<Jennifer Enters.>

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Jennifer. You and I know I am responsible for your sight. I am responsible in two ways.

Jennifer: You are responsible for what I see and you are responsible for my eyes.

THE PRESIDENT: Exactly, thank you, Jennifer. The same is true for every- one. Time will pass. I bear a heavy responsibility.

<Pause.>

THE PRESIDENT: The graves of the hateful traitors will grow over with weeds and thistle, they will be covered with the eternal contempt of our country's honest citizens, of our entire people. But over us, over our happy country, our sun will shine with its luminous rays as bright and as joyous as before. Over the road cleared of the last scum and filth of the past, we, our people, with our beloved leader and teacher, the president of this beloved country, at our head, will march as before, onwards and onwards, towards greater and greater goals.

<Pause, Silence>

<Jennifer and the President leave.>

<Pause, Silence>

Curtain falls.

Read ACT III Next Month in *spark-online 5.0

Copyright © 2000 Alan Sondheim All Rights Reserved

Alan Sondheim is virtual writer-in-residence at trAce online writing community until 3/2000; his trAce projects are at http://trace.ntu.ac.uk/writers/sondheim/index.htm and his texts and art- work are at http://www.anu.edu.au/english/internet_txt/ In 1996 he edited Being on Line, Net Subjectivity, for Lusitania Press. Sondheim lives in New York City with his partner and cat.