Street Scene

Mary Alice

cast of characters:


GLORIA: early teens well dressed, fluffy skirt and blouse, low heels.  GLORIA waves her Amagic twanger@ to call each location into being.


ANGEL: early teens, old jeans or shorts and a tee shirt, quiet, keeps moving ANGEL carries a large, brown paper page.

BARBARA:  late teens, maybe twenty, a college student, well dressed, slacks and blouse

SCENE: city streets, a corner, a bus stop, riding a bus, a cemetery and a play ground, GLORIA waves each location into our imagination.  The set can be suggested; or; as elaborate as may be desired.

TIME: The action is continuous.

SETTING: City streets.

AT RISE: SOUND: Traffic, slowly fades as lights come up.  GLORIA, wave something
in her hand, crouches.  The SOUND of traffic blends with her first words and
continues to fade. 

GLORIA: Help me! Oh please help me!  I!m so afraid! Help me! Oh! Please! Help me!  I'm so afraid! Help me! Oh! Please! Help me! I'm so afraid!

          (ANGEL enters, crosses to study GLORIA. GLORIA eventually sees ANGEL.)

GLORIA: Not you!  . . . . .Where are you going . . ? . . . You can=t just walk off and leave me. . . .

ANGEL: . . . Are you following me?

GLORIA: You can't just walk off and leave me!

ANGEL: No?

GLORIA: Everybody knows about you!

ANGEL: Oh.

GLORIA: You're parents let you come down here alone.  So, you know about things that happen down here. . . . Did you see those other girls?

ANGEL: No, just you, crying and calling for help.

GLORIA: I wasn't crying, I was praying.  For someone to help me.

ANGEL: I hope someone comes along.

GLORIA: You can=t just walk away, you know what- -you know what it's like for kids-! I have no place to go.

ANGEL: If you really don't want to be here, move on.

GLORIA: I'm afraid.

ANGEL: Of-?

GLORIA: . . . -Them, they will come back- -they said they would.  You know what they do?

ANGEL: Nothing terrible interesting, except scare you.

GLORIA: You know what the girls do down here-!

ANGEL: -I thought you were afraid of them-.

 GLORIA: -Everybody knows about you! Don't keep walking away! I know we've never been introduced, but a lot of my friends know you.  Their parents won't let them talk to you, because of what you do.  Please stop! Won't you listen!?

ANGEL:  What?

GLORIA: I heard that you sometimes help kids.
 
ANGEL: What.

GLORIA: We're in the same grade.

ANGEL: We don't go to the same school.

GLORIA: No.  But I know a lot of kids who know you.

ANGEL: The one's who don't talk to me because I help kids?

GLORIA:  They do what their parents tell them to do. You shouldn't come down here by yourself! Your parents shouldn't let you-!

ANGEL: If I wasn't here, I couldn't be much help to other kids.

GLORIA: You're parents are neglectful, they're alcoholics, look at the way you're dressed!

ANGEL: Glad I could help.

GLORIA: Now where are you going?

ANGEL: Look  . . . I come down here almost every Saturday, and try to help at least one kid.  I don't know who you are or what you're up to, but you don't need anything from me.  I have met my quota for today.  I'm going home.

GLORIA: You can't just leave me here! Stop! Come back! I can't keep up in these shoes.

ANGEL: That's easy to solve.

GLORIA: What!?  Take my shoes off!? I can't! The sidewalk would tear up my stockings. . . . Okay, I'll do it, just, wait a minute, come back, will you.  Don't you want to know what happened to me?

ANGEL: What?

GLORIA: We're in the same grade, just finished ninth, right? Next year, I want to start high school with my class.  But, the last day of school, I came home and found a for sale sign on my house.  . . .  Aren't you going to say anything? . . .  You hear things like that a lot, don't you? I went to a friend's house, you know her.  She knows you, but not how to find you, exactly.  I stayed with her for a week or two, then her mom started getting
suspicious, you know, that something was wrong at my house.  I moved to another
friend's.  Same thing happened.  Then, again.  The mothers talk, and my Mom used to
talk with them.
   If they call the police, my mother will be arrested.  I don't want my mother to be
arrested.  That won't help me start high school with the rest of my class.  Where are we?

(GLORIA starts waving again.)

ANGEL: Across the street from the court house.

GLORIA: Why?

ANGEL: The bus stops here.

GLORIA: Don't you want to help me?

ANGEL: You could talk ro someone across the street.

GLORIA: Who do you know at the court house?

ANGEL: People who work there are officers of the court, they would have to tell the police anything you tell them.

 GLORIA: You don't know anyone there, you just want to impress me.

ANGEL: Here's my bus.

GLORIA Don't you know anyone who can help me . . ?

ANGEL: Not here. Do you want to get on the bus?

GLORIA: Wait, please, I don't have any money!

ANGEL; Collect some bottles.

GLORIA: I can't collect bottles dressed like this.

ANGEL: When you get scared enough to do something about it, walk across the street and tell your story.

GLORIA: I don't want anyone to call the police on my mother.

ANGEL: Collect bottles.
 
GLORIA: Not in these clothes.

ANGEL: Take them off!

GLORIA: Don't be stupid.

ANGEL: Walk.

GLORIA: In stocking feet.

ANGEL: Bye now!
 
GLORIA How far do we have to go . . ?

ANGEL: We don't have to go at all.

GLORIA: (Waving her hand around to scan.) Look, you could walk faster without that bag.

ANGEL: You can't keep up now.

GLORIA: I'm not trying. . . . . . .What's in the bag?

ANGEL: Books.

GLORIA: What do you do with them?

ANGEL: What do people do with books? I prop the back door open.

GLORIA: You know, if you got your hair cut, maybe had it styled, put o a little make up, got some clothes, you would be almost pretty . . ?

ANGEL: Aim that over there will you?

                 (Traffic sounds suddenly up, screeching tires.  GLORIA waves.)

GLORIA: What did you do that for!?

ANGLE: I told you to aim you magic twanger at the traffic.

GLORIA: What if you got hit!?

ANGEL: I'm not that lucky.

GLORIA: What would happen to me?

ANGEL: There is that.

GLORIA: Oooh! That's a cemetery! I'm not going in there with you. 

ANGEL: We're just going to walk beside it for a while.  If you're uncomfortable, aim your
twanger at it, that'll keep them dead folk in place! 

GLORIA: For your information, this is not a magic twanger! Look! Don't you know what it is?

ANGEL: A rude rood! 

GLORIA: It isn't a rude, it's a crucifix.

ANGEL: Is the working end the head or the feet?

GLORIA That's an insensitive idea.

ANGEL: Stop doing it! Say, what would happen if you aimed that at your mouth?

GLORIA: Why would you say a thing like that?

ANGEL: We're responsible for what comes out of our mouths.

GLORIA: What would make you say a thing like that?

ANGEL: Do you know, Paul?

GLORIA One of your friends from down town?

 ANGEL: I heard that, at one time, he hung out with a guy named Silas-.

GLORIA: -I don't want to hear about your friends-.

ANGEL: -They spent some time in jail-.

GLORIA: -Now you trying to scare me! 

ANGEL: Any part of your educational plan include spending time with a bible?

GLORIA: You're a heathen, you don't know anything about it. . !. . . Can't you wait up for me . ?

ANGEL: Any part of your educational plan to spend time with a dictionary . . ? Look, that's the building, right over there.  . . . .

         (GLORIA waves while ANGEL goes ahead as though to explore, returns
          back to GLORIA.)

GLORIA: . . .  Aren't you going in?

ANGEL: The people I know know I'm here, they'll come out when they have a chance, unless you want to publicly proclaim your fate.

GLORIA: I know some of those kids! Where are the cars?

ANGEL: We came in the back way, but a lot of the kids who come here, walk or ride bikes.

BARBARA (Enters.): Hi!

GLORIA: (Scanning wildly.): Don't I know you?

BARBARA: I don't think we've met.

GLORIA: I think I saw you at Jim's party-.

BARBARA (Waves her hand around, scanning GLORIA.): -Okay, if you say so. 

ANGEL: The battle of the icons!

GLORIA: These are not icons-!

ANGEL:  -I am glad you have hit it off so well! But, being as heathen, I don't carry an icon on me, so-. 

GLORIA:  -This is an symbol of something you don't understand.

ANGEL: It just happens to have magical powers. 

GLORIA: It makes me feel safe-. 

ANGEL: -Define icon.
 
BARBARA: -Depends on how you look at it.
 
ANGEL: Pluck your "magic twanger" all you like. I go now. 

BARBARA: Bye, Angel.

GLORIA: She's no angel-!

BARBARA: - It just means "messenger."

GLORIA: -You won=t believe where I met her-!

BARBARA: -Do you have something of your own you want to talk about?

GLORIA: I'm not sure.  Maybe-.

BARBARA: Would you like to come inside?

The End 

Last edited on Tue Mar 18th, 2008 10:26 pm by Mary Alice