Elaine
Lakewood: In her late twenties.
Claire:
Her best friend, mid twenties, from Long Island.
Carl:
Mediterranean, mid to late forties.
Lawrence: Eastern European, early thirties.
Al:
Early thirties, from NYC.
Cave Bear
(Leo): Early thirties.
Silva:
Late twenties, Portuguese decent.
Park transients:
Poet:
Street woman, indeterminate age, sketches with charcoal and pad all that
she
sees, and hangs her sketches on her shelter.
Policewoman, doesn’t want the
beat, has half a heart for it.
Elderly woman in Elaine’s
building, everyone has seen her around.
Basketball player (young man).
Passion for playing.
New wave
boyfriend, club musician (guitar) (plays basketball).
New wave
girlfriend, plays basketball, but not unless last resort.
Homeless Man, can throw a few hoops, but out of shape.
Park
drummer, expresses himself by what he sees. He and the Poet are a call and
response for one another.
Set:
The set is split into three areas,
the inside of Elaine’s brownstone apartment, the outside of a corner of Tompkins
Square Park, and the roof of Elaine’s building.
In the kitchen is an oak table surrounded by four oak chairs and a bookcase
piled with books. The kitchen walls and
appliances are implied frames that open out toward the park. There are solid counter
spaces to put objects. Inside the kitchen is
a solid door leading to the bathroom: a
front door leading to the apartment hallway, one to the back bedroom. The bedroom is the only “other room”
that could be seen through the framing. A
kitchen window “frame” looks out to the Poet's park bench.
The stylized set allows the outside
shadows to invade the inside kitchen and vise versa at certain times in the play. The park transients at times cast shadows
throughout the park environment (from street lights)
The image tone should be almost film noir, a rather black and white
environment except for the warmth that is found inside the kitchen and in the Poet’s
park bench area.
Music/Sounds:
All recorded music, pre-show,
scene changes, roof party, etc. should be underground East village bands from the period. (Most of which went on to make
CD’s and names
for themselves.) The Park Drummer is live. He reflects the mood of the park and of the
apartment throughout the play. The Park
Drummer has simple bongos, maybe a stashed conga, but also uses street “garbage”
percussion devices. Some of the other park
people may join in his percussion from time to time;
such as the basketball player with the ball, the punk musician, his
girlfriend, the policewoman and her stick…etc….
Act Breakdown:
Time:
Friday
night of the first weekend in June, 1980. Play
takes place from early evening to dawn under a “blue moon.”
Act One:
Scene One
Brownstone kitchen and
Tompkins Square park, sunset.
Scene Two
Same, around midnight
Scene Three
Same with roof, around 1 am.
Act Two
Scene One