Writing Sample:
"Lion's
Mane" --
Ethiopia
(African drums will follow characters' movement. SEGAB enters quickly)
SEGAB
The
African highlands, full of forests and cliffs...
GUDINA
(Entering)
Overlooking
the far-off lowlands where the elan and zebra run in great herds...
BIZUNESH
...and
the lions hunt and kill for their food.
WISEMAN
In
the African highlands, this place, at the top of the world, is where Bizunesh was born.
BIZUNESH
And
Bizunesh grew up and moved from the age to marry into the age of being lonely for all her
life.
GUDINA
Until
one day, Gudina, a merchant from the lowlands came by and saw her and took her for his
wife.
WISEMAN
(BIZUNESH
and GUDINA move below boxes)
And
she moved into the lowlands, the land she had watched from far above, the land of the
lions and the plains, the land of her new life.
(GUDINA
leads BIZUNESH to SEGAB)
BIZUNESH
It
is here that Bizunesh first met Gudina's son, Segab.
He was a boy not quite grown and not quite a man.
WISEMAN
A
lonely boy that lost his mother to the fever.
(BIZUNESH
tries to embrace SEGAB. He rejects her)
WISEMAN
And
this was sad news that the boy had no mother.
BIZUNESH
Oh,
but glad news to Bizunesh's heart that she had a new son that would fit the age she had
become.
SEGAB
(Going
down stage to sit alone)
She's
old.
(GUDINA
follows him, angry and mimes hitting him.)
GUDINA
And
for all the beatings Gudina gave his son for not loving his wife...
(SEGAB runs from GUDINA to hide)
BIZUNESH
And
for all the presents Bizunesh gave her new son to gain his love... There was no winning Segab's heart. He would run into the brush and hide until long
after the moon had gone to sleep.
(GUDINA
exits)
GUDINA
Then
the day came when Gudina left on a caravan to buy and sell, leaving his son and new wife
to find their own way together.
BIZUNESH
(She
forces the tunic over SEGAB's shoulders)
She
made him a new tunic.
SEGAB
(He runs and rips it)
He'd
run through the thorns and tear it to shreds.
BIZUNESH
(She forces a pair of sandals on him)
She
mended his shoes.
SEGAB
(He throws them down)
He
threw them away.
BIZUNESH
(She pushes food at him)
She
cooked for him, cleaned for him, pleaded with him to love her.
SEGAB
(He
runs and hides in a private spot)
But
he hated her more and more and more and more.
(She crosses to WISEMAN)
WISEMAN
Until
one day, Bizunesh went to see the wise man who lived on the edge of the village.
BIZUNESH
Make
me a magic potion so my son will love me.
WISEMAN
Will
you be willing to get what I need to make the magic potion?
BIZUNESH
I'll
get anything. Tell me what you need to make
the magic potion.
WISEMAN
And
the old wise man looked at her very closely and he thought.
And he said.
(As WISEMAN)
I'll
need three hairs from the mane of an old lion.
BIZUNESH
The
lion will kill me.
WISEMAN
I
know about magic potions. Lions I know little
about. You must find a way.
BIZUNESH
Determined
to get the three hairs from the mane of the old lion...,
(BIZUNESH crosses up stage and gradually works her way down
center)
Bizunesh
crossed the river and went to the edge of black rock desert.
(Looks straight out into the audience)
And
through the weeds, in the distance, she saw the lion...
And the lion saw her.
(Percussion follows BIZUNESH's heartbeat from here to the end)
WISEMAN
And
she ran away as fast as the wind in the grass.
(She
returns to her "home." SEGAB moves
out of her way and is somewhat surprised she isn't forcing anything on him. He watches her from now on whenever she returns
from the plains)
BIZUNESH
But
the next day, even more determined, Bizunesh returned to the black rock desert.
(Returns to center)
This
time with a bowl full of food and placed it one mile away from the lion.
WISEMAN
And
the old lion smelled the food and came and ate it.
BIZUNESH
(Pushes
the bowl closer to down stage)
The
next day, she placed the food a half mile away.
(She
backs away)
WISEMAN
And
the old lion came and again ate it.
BIZUNESH
(Pushes
bowl yet closer)
The
next day, a quarter mile.
(She
backs away, but not as far)
WISEMAN
He
came and ate it.
BIZUNESH
(Closer,
etc...)
A
hundred yards. Fifty. Twenty. Ten. And the old lion came every day. And every day Bizunesh sat closer and closer as he
ate the food.
(PERCUSSION
sounds BIZUNESH heartbeat)
Finally,
Bizunesh could sit right next to the lion while he ate.
She could feel his hot breath on her face.
She could smell the dust on his mane. See
the gold in his eyes.
(She
slowly reaches out toward the audience and grabs "hairs." Slowly pulls back in fright, eyes closed. Nothing. Opens
her eyes, looks at her hand and sees hairs, and slowly backs away from down center.)
WISEMAN
And
like the mouse that reaches out to take a seed from a snake, she reached out and touched
his head, she touched the soft mane and she gently pulled out three hairs.
(Percussion
heartbeat, maybe chewing sounds also, double rhythm.)
The
old lion hardly noticed three hairs being pulled from his mane. He was eating the food that came every day. What did he care about three hairs.
BIZUNESH
(She
goes back to WISEMAN)
Bizunesh
backed away. And ran to the village. And brought her prize to the wise man.
(Holding
out the hairs to WISEMAN)
Make
me a magic potion so my son will love me.
WISEMAN
And
the wise man. He laughed at the woman.
(Laughs
at her)
I
can't make a magic potion to make your son love you!
BIZUNESH
You
said you could!
WISEMAN
Woman,
if you can tame an old lion with your patience, you can tame a young boy. Now go home!
BIZUNESH
Bizunesh
returned to her home and she found Segab who was not quite a boy and not quite a man....
(Segab
has been trying to mend his tunic)
SEGAB
(Frustrated.
Throws it on floor.)
...
trying to mend his torn tunic!
(BIZUNESH
[like feeding the lion] slowly picks up the tunic, patiently holds it and looks toward
WISEMAN)
"Mixed
Marriages" -- Young Character Man
(YOUNG
CHARACTER MAN enters ringing his "church" bell.
He places it on the stage as PERCUSSIONIST quietly continues ringing
"church bells.")
YOUNG CHARACTER
MAN
I'm
black and my wife is white. There aren't many
places in this country we can live without people pointing at us. Or saying something hurtful to our sons. There's really not that much difference between
my wife and myself. We were both raised in
middle class families. Church going.
(Bells
stop)
Hard
working parents, brothers and sisters. Both
celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas. Went
to similar public schools. Found good jobs
after college. Not much difference. Until we got married. Now most people look at us as being wrong. Not normal. I
wonder sometimes if those people do the same things that we do. Love their children like we do. Celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas like we do. Not that much difference.
(YOUNG
CHARACTER MAN exits taking his "church" bell)
"Canyon
of Abandonment" -- Japan
(NARRATOR/JUVENILE
enters ringing oriental chimes)
NARRATOR
There
was a time in ancient Japan when a great famine swept across the islands and caused one of
the lesser lords in the shogun's domain to take actions that we have now come to believe
are barbaric.
(Gong)
LORD/LEADING MAN
(Enters
and seats himself on raised platform)
Don't
speak to me of precautions now! The damage is
done! Draught ruined the crops. Storehouses burned in the last earthquake. There are too many people to feed this winter!
NARRATOR
And
the great lord decreed.
LORD
So
that the young will survive, all villagers over sixty years old are to be taken to the
Canyon of Abandonment and left there to die.
(Gong)
NARRATOR
And
that became the law.
(Enter
DAUGHTER/INGENUE and MOTHER/LEADING LADY)
My
mother and grandmother at the time lived in one of those small villages near the Canyon of
Abandonment. Every day they watched old
friends pass by on their way up the mountain.
(Watch
two VILLAGERS pass by)
DAUGHTER
Oh,
mother. We live like a tea cup on the edge of
a well. If the law doesn't kill us, the
famine surely will.
MOTHER
Our
spirits are like water. They flow through the
smallest holes and can mold to any vessel. We'll
find a way to survive.
DAUGHTER
We
barely have food to last to the next full moon.
MOTHER
We'll
put the chickens and the goat in the house with all the straw we can gather. They won't freeze.
That will give us fresh eggs and milk.
DAUGHTER
We
can dig up the bamboo roots and gather all the mushrooms.
MOTHER
We'll
dry them and store them in the basket I made last summer.
And I'll salt the eels the way my mother did.
NARRATOR
As
the harsh winter began, flooding rains washed away the draught, and the crops, and the
hope of any relief and the great Lord decreed...
LORD
My
advisors have informed me that some families are hiding their elders from the law. This is intolerable, a dishonor to me as your
lord, and a disgrace to your entire village. I
will behead each and every family member, if this transgression is discovered.
(Gong)
NARRATOR
And
that became the law.
(DAUGHTER
gives MOTHER a present)
...
on the very day that my grandmother became...
DAUGHTER
Fifty
nine!
MOTHER
I
am sixty. The law must be obeyed.
MOTHER
It's
the law now. I will not bring dishonor on
our village or death to you. We must prepare.
(MOTHER
kneels and prays to "ancestors". Palms
together, bows to alter, sits on knees)
NARRATOR
While
Grandmother said her prayers, Mother made a sling for her back to carry Grandmother up the
mountain to the Canyon of Abandonment.
(DAUGHTER
puts shawl around waist)
(PERCUSSION
Monk bell during prayers. MOTHER gets up and
gets in DAUGHTER'S sling)
MOTHER
Wouldn't
it be faster and easier if I walked?
(DAUGHTER
simply puts the shawl around the MOTHER and starts walking.
PERCUSSION processional bells)
NARRATOR
Slowly
my elders climbed the mountain. One step
after another, through fields, then tall forests.
DAUGHTER
I
think it's this way.
NARRATOR
Over
rocks, and finally through a scrub pine forest that was as dense as a moonless night sky. Mother cautiously picked her way through the pine
forest as Grandmother carefully broke off the tops of the trees as they passed through.
DAUGHTER
Why
are do you doing that?
MOTHER
So
you can find your way home. There!
(Pointing
to edge of canyon)
NARRATOR
Mother
stopped at the edge of the Canyon of Abandonment. She
took Grandmother out of the sling and sat down to think.
MOTHER
You
must leave me.
NARRATOR
Mother
sat and said nothing.
MOTHER
If
you do not leave now, the wolves will find you and both of us will cross the River of
Three Ways.
NARRATOR
Still
Mother sat.
MOTHER
If
you die, you will never marry and have children to burn the incense and pray for our
spirits!
DAUGHTER
(Not
moving)
I
must leave now.
MOTHER
The
law must be obeyed! There is no choice.
DAUGHTER
The
law is wrong.
MOTHER
It
makes no difference.
DAUGHTER
Would
you abandon me because a law says you must?
MOTHER
(Gently)
No.
DAUGHTER
Then
what should we do?
MOTHER
(Defeated)
If
you sit here all night, we'll both die. So we
might as well go home and try to think of something.
NARRATOR
And
they went home and cleared a space under the porch for Grandmother to hide during the day
from the hour of the Tiger to the hour of the Monkey.
There she wove baskets to dry and store food for the coming year and
embroidered blessings on my mother's wedding robe. And
at night, during the hour of the Dog, they whispered in the dark and made plans on how to
make the food last through the winter.
(LORD
enters)
To
make matters worse, the snow storms were fierce in the year of the famine. That was when the great lord decreed.
LORD
I
have been advised that there is still not enough food for everyone. Therefore, I will behead one family from each
village, unless someone can bring me a rope made from ashes. This will let fate decide.
(Gong)
NARRATOR
And
that was the law.
MOTHER
(Weaving
a basket)
Do
you remember when you were a little girl and I made you a straw doll?
DAUGHTER
The
doll burned up in the chicken shed.
MOTHER
And
after the fire, you went to look for it.
DAUGHTER
And
found it still lying on the charred shelf. It
looked as if the fire had never touched it.
MOTHER
But...?
DAUGHTER
When
I touched it, it fell to ashes!
NARRATOR
And
Mother made a straw rope and placed it on a tray, burned it, and carried it to the great
lord.
LORD
Extraordinary! Tell me, young woman, where is your husband to
claim his reward?
DAUGHTER
I
have not yet been given the name of my future husband.
I humbly confess that I made the rope of ashes.
LORD
Fate
has made the choice. I hope everyone will not
suffer overly much because of this.
DAUGHTER
Fate
is fate.
LORD
And
hunger is hunger.
NARRATOR
The
great lord gave my mother a small gold coin, which Grandmother put away for Mother's
dowry.
(DAUGHTER
goes to MOTHER)
But
the famine worsened.
LORD
I
must behead two families from each village to make the food last.
NARRATOR
And
the great lord decreed.
LORD
If
someone can string a thread through a conch shell, I will allow the villagers to live. Again, let fate decide.
(Gong)
NARRATOR
And
that was the law.
DAUGHTER
Two
families.
MOTHER
If
memory serves, only ten or so years ago as I was sewing, I saw an ant...
NARRATOR
And
Grandmother explained how to take a piece of thread and stick rice on the end of it...
MOTHER
The
ant took a hold of a grain of rice and went right into his hole...
NARRATOR
So
my mother put an ant and the thread with a grain of rice attached at the mouth of the
conch shell...
MOTHER
Now
if there's light...
NARRATOR
Mother
put the small end of the shell to the light...
MOTHER
Watch
the ant carry the thread all the way to the other end.
NARRATOR
And
once again, with a tray, Mother went to the great lord and....
LORD
You
come before me again?
DAUGHTER
Yes,
my lord.
NARRATOR
She
showed him the conch shell.
LORD
Perhaps
I could have used such wisdom before this famine started.
DAUGHTER
I
have heard, my lord, that a journey is over when the first step is taken.
LORD
Wisely
put. But insolent nonetheless.
(Silence
from DAUGHTER)
For
your insolence....
(Thinks)
Or
perhaps for your honesty, I shall give you a reward.
Chose.
DAUGHTER
A
reward... This humble woman requests the
night to think of an appropriate reward to best serve my family and my village.
LORD
Tomorrow. The hour of the Tiger.
NARRATOR
So
Mother went home...
DAUGHTER
What
reward should I request?
MOTHER
Request
to be his adviser and teach him wisdom.
DAUGHTER
Mother,
I am a woman.
MOTHER
So
how can a woman rule a great lord?
NARRATOR
And
they were married. And that is how I came to
be born. And the Canyon of Abandonment was
never again used in the civilized world. And
that was the law. And I got to keep the small
gold coin.
(Gong)
"Survival
Spoon" --
Leading Lady
(LEADING
LADY crosses to the center ringing her bell which she strikes like a "ships
bell." She puts the bell down and pulls
out a silver teaspoon)
LEADING LADY
I
have a teaspoon that belonged to my grandmother. During
World War Two, she and several hundred Jews were on a ship that was refused entrance to
the United States and returned to Eastern Europe. Upon
returning, she asked a dear friend to hold onto the teaspoon. Then she was taken to a concentration camp. My grandmother lived to come back to the States
with that spoon. It was the little things,
she used to tell me, the little things that give you a reason to survive.
(She takes her bell and exits)
(The
chimes ring in a steady rhythm as CHRIS enters. Projections from the Third & Fourth Slide Series of Japanese-
American neighborhoods, gates to Interment camps, and a drawing of a funeral. Chimes stop)
CHRIS
I'm
third-generation American-born. My
grandparents came from Japan. In 1942 my
mother's family was forced into an assembly center. Executive
Order 9066.
Mom doesn't
have bitter feelings, but she doesn't talk about it.
Never talked about it. Never even told
me about it, until one day I asked her and she showed me a drawing of my grandmother's
funeral. No photographs were allowed to be
taken. That's the only memory of the assembly
center she holds onto, or wants.