When Only the Best Will Do
A Stage Play for 3 actors.
(No Dialogue)
Duration of act 7 minutes
Main character: Male: aged 60+ frail build greying and weathered
Style: shuffling walk and stooped overly worried expression.
Second character: Male 20+ youthful fit appearance.
Third character; Young child 5-7 years old either sex
Style: soft expressive manner.
Props:
An old timber seating bench.
Some plastic signs: No Smoking, Hospital Zone.
One fake with glowing end cigarette, one lighter old and almost out of fuel.
One Packet of 20, clear latex gloves and some balloons, and rubber bands.
Costumes: Main character: white hospital gown with ties to the back, a pair of old slippers, a scarf, an old hat, a tutu of 20+ inflated latex hospital gloves and one inflated red balloon around his waist in a single row, held onto the belt of the gown with the rubber bands, an imitation surgical neck hole. Second Character: Nursing Uniform:
Third character. Casual clothes
Scene set: lighting is a sparse spot. That refers to characters only as they pass on to stage and walk to props.
LFX: Spotlight up on main character shuffling very slowly entering AR.
Every four to five slow shuffles, he stops and undoes a latex glove then proceeds to open the end very slowly and place this to his lips allowing the air inside to fill his lungs, he then shuffles on, till he reaches the timber bench.
Note: Repeat this ever four steps and also every 15-20 seconds on the bench. Dropping the empty gloves onto the floor in a row as he walks towards the bench,
He sits on the secluded bench and faces the view, he takes off his hat; he then unravels his scarf to expose the imitation neck hole.
He reaches into his hat and removes the cigarette from the inside band places it into the hole in his neck then proceeds to light it over and over with the empty lighter coughing and spluttering. Without luck till finally it ignites. Swapping between the cigarette and releasing an inflated latex glove to the neck hole every 15-20 seconds.
(He wheezes deeply and helplessly)
He puts the hat back on his head and sits staring blindly and motionless. Looking at the view from the bench, dropping the gloves around him as they become totally empty.
fx: Segment infill Movie reel/photo stills past moments in his life,1 minute (optional)
He then slowly and awkwardly gets to the last red balloon filled with oxygen he stares at the near finished cigarette as he removes the balloon from his hip. He pauses then touches the balloon with the cigarette about to cause it to explode. When he sees a young child looking at the red balloon, he smiles for the first time and hands the balloon to the child who returns the smile then walk away towards the mother.
FX: The young Nurse slowly follows the trail of gloves till he discovers the man’s now past body. And the child in the distant background bouncing the balloon in the air.
End
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