The Guy and someone else…someone… not quite.
THE GUY
Who are you?
THE GUY NOT QUITE
I’m you.
THE GUY
No you’re not.
THE GUY NOT QUITE
Yes I am.
THE GUY
No. You’re not.
THE GUY NOT QUITE
Well, not quite.
THE GUY
See. Not quite. Which means you’re not.
THE GUY NOT QUITE
But I am you. In a way.
THE GUY
And which was is that?
The physical embodiment of Life/Play appears.
LIFE/PLAY
He’s who you are when you’re in me.
THE GUY
Excuse me?
LIFE/PLAY
He’s the “you” when you’re in the play.
THE GUY
But wait a minute. I’m already a version of someone else. There’s a real guy, out there somewhere, typing this thing I’m saying as I’m saying it, and I’m just who he is when he’s in this play. So how can you be me when I’m not even me?
The Uncertain Future enters. He goes over to The Guy Not Quite.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Hey, you wanna throw some more darts?
THE GUY
Hey! What are you doing? He’s not me.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Well, thank you, Kreskin. Very good. Of course he’s not you. I don’t know you.
THE GUY
What? What are you talking about? You’re my Uncertain Future!
UNCERTIAN FUTURE
I’m HIS Uncertain Future.
THE GUY NOT QUITE
Well, not quite.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
What do you mean, not quite?
THE GUY
I’m The Guy.
THE GUY NOT QUITE
Well, technically, so am I.
THE GUY
But “not quite.” You are me “not quite!”
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Look, you, whoever you are, seriously, you need to calm down.
THE GUY
I don’t want to calm down! This is working on too many levels of theatrical metaphor for me to calm down!
Life/Play moves downstage and calls to the dark.
LIFE/PLAY
Yo! Playwright! I know you’re out there, listening to all of this, so before this gets any more convoluted, could you step in and explain yourself before this dude goes nuts on all of us!
And from the darkness around them, a voice emerges: The Voice of the Playwright (if you can, please use the real voice of the real playwright.)
THE VOICE OF THE PLAYWRIGHT
I’ve just been thinking today about how wide the gap is between who I am in life and who I am in this play. Because there have been some guys who have read these, or guys who I’ve chatted with online (and seriously, if any of you schmucks judge me for chatting with boys online I’ll make the Giant Bear come in here and eat you) who I then meet in person, and the gulf between who I am on here and who I am in person…
Well…
…they like who I am on here, but the Me In Person never makes it to a second date.
So, that’s why you’re all here. I don’t understand. Why the Me In Person just isn’t as good as the Me Not Quite.
They’re all silent for a moment or two.
The Uncertain Future moves downstage, and talks to the Voice of the Playwright, somewhere out in the dark.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Hey. Chin up.
LIFE/PLAY
Yeah, chin up.
The Guy moves downstage, too.
THE GUY
How are you gonna end this one?
THE VOICE OF THE PLAYWRIGHT
I don’t know.
THE GUY
Is it over?
THE GUY NOT QUITE
Not quite.
And with this deeply unsatisfying ending, (because this play is about a question that has, itself, a deeply unsatisfying resolution on this particular day) the lights go down.
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4 comments:
I see life/play as being an extension of yourself...the self you can be all the time...the self you might not be able to share with the REAL world...I know I haven't met you in the real world yet, but I have a feeling I'll be sticking around...if that's alright with you?
Personally, I'm still hoping for the first date... Can't find out about the second until we manage that. :-) -Mike
That is so cool!!! I can really see this one so well. Like a little shoe box with your massive head hovering over all the actors within. I guess your head wouldn't be massive; all the actors would just be really small. This one really creates this theme of whatever that I can't explain without alluding to Being John Malkovich. I can really see you as this puppeteer or person that opened this little door for people to enter your mind for 15 minutes each day. Ah...
this one reminds me of when someone takes a picture of you, that you think is perfectly horrendus, and they say it looks just like you. I think we all look differently to others than we look to ourselves..both inside and out.
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