“No human thing is of serious importance.” - Plato
The actors in the play are assembled, configured facing the audience, each in their own little world.
They speak to us – well, rant to us more appropriately – about whatever is bugging them. They can talk about the personal stuff they just can’t get out of their head, the thing that bothers them about tonight’s performance, the war in Iraq, the way the shirt they’re wearing fits on them, the relationship they’re in that just isn’t working out, the relationship from five years ago that always feels like it slipped through their fingers, their job, their dog, their weight… anything and everything, from details to the largest philosophical idea.
They rant about it. All at once, all at full volume, all desperately trying to get our attention.
The Guy appears, perplexed by the tumult. He is joined by his Uncertain Future.
THE GUY
They’re loud.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
What?!
THE GUY
THEY’RE LOUD!
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
I KNOW!
THE GUY
Can you turn them down a little?
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
What?!
THE GUY
TURN. THEM. DOWN!
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
OH! SURE!
He snaps his fingers. They all freeze mid-rant.
You’d expect there to be silence. But there isn’t.
There’s a sound. Music, really. A gentle rush of notes that sits somewhere between a melody and wind. It moves through the space gently.
THE GUY
What’s that?
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
The hum of the world.
THE GUY
It’s nice. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Few do.
They listen for a little while. The rest are still frozen.
THE GUY
Guess you can’t keep them quiet forever, huh?
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Nope.
THE GUY
Well. It was a nice thought.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
We always think we are what keeps the world spinning forward.
We’re not.
We’re just… static.
He snaps his fingers. The actors snap back into motion. The hum of the world disappears beneath the voices.
But having heard the hum of the world, The Guy moves through the last few moments of this play (and probably the rest of his life) trying to remember that no human thing is really of serious consequence.
The lights go down.
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3 comments:
I really really really like this one.
Should you be trying to remember that no human thing is really of serious consequence?
hm.. too many sentences in head to write down another.
Humanity is simply a blip in the tapestry of the universe with the typical male ego thinking otherwise *sigh*...
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