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(A warm, sunny Sunday in the park, where life is beautiful, the grass is green, and love is in the air.)
Girl seated on stage left, her leg hanging down from apron, swinging it back and forth, happy, expectant. Up-stage right, a Balloon Man mills about selling heart-shaped helium balloons.
A Transient Person ambles in stage left, crosses to Balloon
Man, reaches out open hand, wanting something. The Balloon Man offers money,
but the Transient Person shakes her head, the Balloon Man offers soda, but she
shakes her head again. The Balloon Man offers a balloon, she takes it and crosses
to garbage can stage right, starts to rummage through it.
Boy comes on-stage with flowers in hand, sees Girl, she doesn’t notice
him. He sneaks up behind her, surprises her, gives her flowers, she adores them,
he sits. They both pucker up for a kiss, she waves hand in front of her nose,
he pulls out mouth spray, sprays once, twice, better, they both kiss, hug, happy.
Transient Person continues going through garbage can, looking for thrown-away treasures.
Muscle Man enters stage right doing bicep curls with a small dumbbell, stops to show Balloon Man his prowess, Balloon Man thumbs up.
Boy notices Balloon Man, motions for Girl to wait and is about to get up, but she grabs his tie, pulls him down, kisses again, they sigh.
Boy gets up, crosses stage to Balloon Man at the same time that Muscle Man crosses to park bench behind where Girl is seated. Muscle Man luxuriates on bench, curls dumbbell coolly.
With sleep approaching, the Transient Person settles herself on the ground, lying down near the garbage can. Still holding the balloon, it bobs lazily in the air.
Boy and Balloon Man nod to each other, smile, Boy digs into pocket, pays money, Balloon Man gives balloon. Excited, Boy turns back toward Girl, is about to take a step, and suddenly stops dead in his tracks just as…
a Sexy Woman sashays on-stage dragging a red sweater behind her. Dumbstruck, the Boy lets go of the balloon, it floats up into the sky. At the same time…
Muscle Man catches Girl’s eye and her schoolgirl curiosity. Muscle Man flexes arm, shows off, Girl turns away out of embarrassment, can’t help herself, looks back. Muscle Man comes down from bench, sits close to Girl just as…
Sexy Woman, still dragging red sweater, circles once around Boy like a shark, drops sweater, and goes to Balloon Man. Boy picks up sweater. Sheepishly, Balloon Man gives Sexy Woman a balloon, she turns around, finds Boy holding sweater in his hands just as…
Muscle Man motions for Girl to feel his bicep. She giggles, embarrassed and flushed, but excited, touches his flexed bicep just as…
Sexy Woman takes sweater from nervous Boy’s hands, smiles, gives him a thank-you kiss on the cheek. And that’s when…
Girl sees Boy being kissed, Boy sees Girl touching bicep, both freeze, stunned, horrified at the other’s infidelity.
Dragging the sweater behind her again, Sexy Woman circles once again around Boy, then struts her stuff towards the admiring Muscle Man, drops her sweater, exits stage left. Muscle Man watches her departure, hurries to pick up sweater, hurries off-stage after her.
Breaking free from their paralysis, Girl and Boy change places, storming to opposite sides of the stage just as…
Loud swishing noises are heard from off-stage: Foils fiercely whipping through the air.
Two Fencers, completely covered in fencing outfits, enter from opposite sides of the stage, their foils slicing, slashing. They continue walking until they meet face-to-face center-stage, foils lengths apart.
Crossing their arms across their chests, Girl and Boy continue to shoot daggers across the stage at each other with their eyes. They then stalk up-stage just as the Fencers swish/slash their way downstage: each pair scrutinizing the other, sizing the other up, getting ready for battle.
Girl, Boy and the Fencers stop moving, foils freeze in the air. Each pair faces each other for several long, tense seconds, the Balloon Man scurries off-stage, and then…
The two Fencers battle, striking, slicing, slashing, parrying, dodging. One gets the upper hand, and then the other. They circle each other, attack and circle, over and over. The lines blur, which Fencer is which? Which is the Girl’s? Which is the Boy’s?
The battle intensifies. One is winning, beating and battering the other. Girl and Boy, no longer able to watch the fight and afraid for their lives, run off-stage. And then, just as the winning Fencer is about to claim victory with a killing stroke, the losing Fencer flees off-stage.
Victoriously, the winning Fencer raises his arms.
The Girl and the Boy peek their heads back in, see that the battle is over. Ashamed of their childish behavior, they slowly ease their way over to each other, meeting center-stage. Feeling like heels, Girl and Boy hesitantly hug, kiss, make up. The remaining Fencer is appalled.
The Balloon Man peeks in, sees that the fight is over, crosses to center-stage, offers a balloon to the newly reunited couple. They take one, hold it between them, and slowly walk off-stage left, each holding the other close. The Fencer is left, alone, defeated, his foil clatters to the stage.
The Balloon Man walks up to the lone Fencer, offers a friendship balloon. The Fencer looks at the balloon, takes it in his hands, and pops it – jarring the Transient Person out of her slumber. The Balloon Man hurries off-stage right.
Yawning, sleepily sitting up, the Transient Person notices
the Fencer, sees that he is all alone, and offers her balloon to him. Aggravated,
the Fencer throws his hands in the air.
(Lights out!)
back to: Literary Arts
Home Literary Arts Visual Arts About Zephyr Contact Graphic Version
Mendocino College Online Journal of the Arts - Spring 2002 Text Version
Mendocino College
1000 Hensley Creek Road
Ukiah, California 95482