v.1 ~10 minute play

[CHRIS stands alone on stage left, on a low platform, holding a brightly colored flower; he should be dressed in dull colored clothes. The stage is dark; a spotlight is trained on CHRIS.]

CHRIS:

This flower …[rubs petals gently and pauses] this flower is soft. It smells like a kiss of nature. The flower is real, the dewdrops I wipe off of it are wet, I can feel the ridges and spiraling curves of its petals. I know it must have color. But cupped in my hand, it is every color, and yet no color. Andrew Hamilton said that “in painting, vision has nothing to do with sight.”

[Lights shine on stage right, where MOTHER stands holding a pile of pamphlets, looking beseechingly up at CHRIS]

MOTHER:

I know that this is going to be hard on you, but maybe this is for the best. Perhaps we could look through these brochures, look at some other options. Art was never the best option for you anyway. Not with your academics. Drawing isn’t everything in life. There are many respectable futures still waiting for you. [Holds out pamphlets]

[Spotlight shines back on CHRIS]

CHRIS:

Red. Red was my favorite color. It made me feel daring and independent. I felt strong. Red is the strongest color. Mix it with any color and it will easily overpower it. Oh to be such a color. To be able to dismiss any minor setback and let my true essence shine through.

[Spotlight shines on DOCTOR, stage right.]

DOCTOR:

We have done everything we could, but due to the extensive damage to his occipital lobe from the accident, I am sorry to inform you that Chris is totally blind, and will remain so for the rest of his life. I suggest that you leave him for now, he is asleep and should not be disturbed. Hospital councilors will be available to you. I wish we could have done more for him.

[Spotlight leaves DOCTOR, lights shine back on CHRIS, stage left.]

CHRIS:

The Maryland Institute of the Arts accepted me with full scholarships and open arms. I had seen [chuckles darkly] my whole future in front of me.

[lights shine on ADMISSIONS PERSON, stage right]

ADMISSIONS PERSON:

RE: Christopher Daniels. Dear Mrs. Daniels, Although we regret Christopher’s decision to decline our offer, we hope that he will continue perusing his other interests, and suggest that he explore other artistic realms that do not rely on sight.

[lights go out over ADMISSIONS PERSON, and shine on CHRIS, who is standing at a wall covered with painting supplies, half finished, and finished art pieces. CHRIS touches them reverently]

CHRIS:

The world is a dark, dark place. My old friends, my pictures, my drawings, my paintings… I can only feel the brushstrokes and imagine and remember their colors. [rubs hands along canvases and drawings thoughtfully, unseeing]What will happen to you over the years, with no loving hands to wipe the dust away, or to protect you from the bright afternoon sun? [hands pause on an unfinished canvas, a portrait] And you, dear woman, whose hands will paint the sparkle into your eye? Whose hands will bring you back to life?

[lights train on FATHER and MOTHER, who is sitting at a dinner table and are holding hands]

FATHER:

Perhaps it would be best if you stayed home for a year or two, come to terms with the whole situation. Besides, your mother could use the help with the twins. When you are ready we will look at your options.

[MOTHER nods in agreement. The lights fade on MOTHER and FATHER, and shine back on CHRIS. CHRIS is sitting]

CHRIS:

Mother read me the letter. The letter from the Maryland Institute. [pauses] I can see their point. What does an art school want with a blind artist? … a blind artist. [quietly] irony at its finest.

[Lights train on MRS. MORGAN]

MRS. MORGAN

Mrs. Daniels, Chris is wasting away. Even with his new aid, his academics are going down hill, fast. Christopher’s friends feel sorry for him but cannot crack through the shell, the cocoon he has built around himself; nor can his teachers. I beg of you to bring him into counseling. I would be happy to offer any assistance I can.

[Lights fade on MRS. MORGAN and light up CHRIS, stage left, and on MOTHER, stage right]

CHRIS:

They say that I must open up. Live life to its fullest-

MOTHER

I’m only thinking of what’s best for you-

CHRIS:

But what would my life be full of?

MOTHER:

What about your friends? Why don’t you go out with them, forget about all of this for a few hours…

CHRIS:

Looking for happiness is harder when you cannot see. Forgetting is perhaps the hardest of all.

MOTHER:

The tutor agreed to come on Tuesday. It will be better when you can learn to read again. Don’t you miss your books?

CHRIS:

“All the best stories in the world are but one story in reality -- the story of escape.
It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape.” I don’t think that Arthur Christopher Benson knew how hard it was to escape when there weren’t even the “windows of the soul” to escape through.

[Lights train on ADELE, at the back of the stage, and begins to play the violin, slowly and clearly]

CHRIS:

If only the old masters had written of some other escape method…

MOTHER:

Talk to us, Chris. We miss you.

[Lights fade out for a moment, and then light up again, in an area of center stage. ADELE is standing in front of a music stand, and playing a slow, sweet song. CHRIS is sitting on the steps to the platform, watching. After a moment, CHRIS rises and walks slowly over to ADELE.]

ADELE:

[stops playing and does not look at CHRIS]

You’re that blind kid, right?

CHRIS:

Yah

ADELE:

Where’s your aid?

CHRIS:

Hmm? Oh, she’s taking a break. I told her I would be fine.

[ADELE shrugs and begins to play again, still not turning around to face CHRIS]

CHRIS:

How long have you played?

[ADELE stops playing]

ADELE:

Seven years. [readies herself to begin playing again]

CHRIS:

You’re really good.

ADELE:

Well, I certainly didn’t get where I am by chatting. But I suppose you know that. You are that painter. The one who basically owned the school art shows.

CHRIS:

[quietly] Not anymore.

ADELE:

Hmm, I suppose it would be hard, especially for someone like you. But everyone needs to learn sometime how to buck up and live life.

[lights fade off, and violin music continues to play. CHRIS stands on stage right, off of the platform]

CHRIS:

Hey, mom! I was wondering if I could borrow some of those old classical CDs you have. Nope, no particular reason- they just help me to relax.

[Lights fade, and violin music fades. Lights come back on and show ADELE and CHRIS sitting on a park bench, center stage. They sit on opposite ends of the bench]

ADELE:

I never knew you came here.

CHRIS:

It used to be my inspiration. I would people watch for hours- making up stories, sketching them, studying character and expression… movement. It was always different. There was one little old lady that would come here every Sunday. She always wore the funniest little purple hat. And carried a small yellow canary in a delicate cage with her when she walked.

ADELE:

Did you ever paint her?

CHRIS:

I planned for so long for her portrait- it was going to be my best painting. I sketched her for months and months until I could draw her face from memory picture perfect. I had finally started… my first brush strokes were on the canvas. My friends…. They decided we should celebrate… Celebrate this new painting. [CHRIS pauses, can’t continue]

ADELE:

Richy and Caleb were torn up the next day. They felt so bad, I could tell. And not for their own cuts or bruises, either.

[ADELE reaches over and holds CHRIS’s hand]

ADELE:

You haven’t forgiven them, have you?

CHRIS:

How could I?

ADELE:

They were- are- your best friends.

[lights fade out, and when they come back on, MRS. MORGAN is sitting on stage left with MR and MRS DANIELS]

MRS. MORGAN

Mr. and Mrs. Daniels, thank you for coming to meet with me today. I wanted to speak with you about Christopher’s grades.

MOTHER:

We know that he’s falling behind, but he’ll catch up. He has the aid, and is learning Braille.

FATHER:

Surely his enthusiasm for learning has not completely left him- he just needs to be left alone for a while, so he can come to terms with his situation!

MRS. MORGAN

Actually, quite the contrary. Chris is doing considerably well- his teachers have all noted a change in him. Whatever you have been doing to help him- keep it up!

[lights fade out, and then focus on ADELE and CHRIS, on the platform, ADELE is looking at his art. CHRIS is focusing on something in the distance.]

ADELE:

How’s the Braille coming along?

CHRIS:

The tutor is useless but I guess I’m doing alright… hey, Adele, do you think that I could learn to play violin?

[ADELE pauses and turns around to face CHRIS]

ADELE:

It would be hard...

CHRIS:

[angrily] Let me try! Even though I am blind not everything is useless to me! You’re just like my parents--- thinking that I can’t do ANYTHING without my sight. But I can [sobbing] I can…

[ADELE takes her violin out of the case and gently puts it into CHRIS’s hands, holding them steady and helps him to play one single note]

ADELE:

I know you can.

1. Any suggestions about how to create smoother transitions?

2. Are my characters deep at all?