Scream & Run Away!
A sample of the opening pages of my new dystopian circus play about outcasts, chosen family, and the scary stories we tell each other.
TIME: The 2030s
PLACE: Anywhere in the US
CHARACTERS
NAOMI / YOUNG NAOMI – trans femme, light skinned POC, 20s
RAHUL – man of color, 20s-40s
BERTRAM / MAN – masculine of center, white (or white-passing), 40+
URIEL, THE FIRE EATER, non-verbal and autistic, transmasc
WILLA, THE CONTORIONIST, has physical disability
JABARI, THE JUGGLER, man of color
BRIO, THE GYMNAST, black, transmasc and doesn’t pass
TEHILA, THE VOCALIST, bearded trans woman
JOE / LUCAS / JOSIE / CRITIC #1 / BUS DRIVER – Black man/transfemme, 40+
HANNA / ASTRID / CRITIC #2 / VENDELA – Japanese or white, 40+
PROLOGUE
(Campsite near an old National Park. YOUNG NAOMI sits playing in a patch of tall grass, occasionally picking up little sticks for kindling. Naomi’s father Joe prepares the fire.)
JOE
Go ahead and hand me that kindling.
(YOUNG NAOMI reluctantly hands it over, and JOE places it on the pile.)
JOE
Now, remember, you put the kindling inside and then stack the big ones like a teepee. You wanna light it?
(YOUNG NAOMI doesn’t move.)
JOE
Come on now, don’t be scared. I’ll teach you.
(YOUNG NAOMI doesn’t move. JOE puts the lighter in NAOMI’s hand and pushes them toward the logs. JOE guides NAOMI’s hand and they light the kindling together.)
JOE
There, see. That wasn’t so bad, was it?
(They sit in silence for a minute, maybe futzing with the logs or just staring at the stars. YOUNG NAOMI occasionally looks around like they’re looking for someone.)
JOE
Now don’t go trying to wake your mama up. She needs her rest from taking care of the farm all day. And we’re gonna protect her. You know, when I was a kid my daddy used to tell stories around the fire. You like stories, don’t you?
(YOUNG NAOMI nods.)
JOE
Ok, then. My daddy (who was also named Joe) told me this one when I was about your age at a campsite just like this one. He had a little brother that was… a little different. He had kind of a swish when he walked, and he got made fun of a lot. One day the circus came to town, and the whole family went. There were rumors then about dangerous goings on, but their mama thought it was just gossip. It was about the only fun thing they could afford anyway. It was far enough out they decided to make camp nearby, make a whole trip out of it. My daddy and his little brother had a good time watching the black strongmen but most of all the lady dancers of all colors, ya know. (JOE winks.) But this one white carnie that you couldn’t tell if they was a man or a woman kept trying to talk to them like they knew them. Like they were the same. But Daddy wasn’t having it. He got them out of there and back to camp. They had a tent, but his little brother wanted to sleep under the stars. Well, in the middle of the night Daddy heard screaming. It took him a minute to figure out where he was and where it was coming from. There was a big knife’s gash on little brother’s sleeping bag, feathers everywhere. But no trace of him. They looked all night, and the next morning got a band of guys from the fishery to go looking, but the whole damn circus was gone already. Vanished, like they were never there in the first place.
You gotta watch yourself around those types. Don’t let your guard down. Who knows what they did to him. Could have killed him or turned him into one of their own. Personally, I hope they killed him. Cause that kinda life aint a life. You get me?
ACT ONE, SCENE ONE
(Performers prance about the stage doing their various dances, tricks, and skills at half-speed. It’s a montage that blends together in stunning display. After a minute or so, they go to full speed, more frantic and scared. Something sinister is at play.)
(Lights up [RED] on a darkened corner of the stage. The performers keep going.)
CRITIC #1
I don’t get why they do this.
CRITIC #2
What else are they gonna do? You gonna let ‘em in your town?
CRITIC #1
I don’t get why people pay to see this shit either.
CRITIC #2
Government entertainment is so… clean. I like having a bit of dirt to kick around.
CRITIC #1
I hear they do sacrifices and bathe in blood cause there’s no water. I don’t trust ‘em anywhere near me.
CRITIC #2
You scared, son?
CRITIC #1
I’m not scared! I just hate ‘em that’s all.
CRITIC #2
I got an idea or two what we can do with that.
(Enough of that. They keep talking but we can’t hear them. The performers return to their slowed pace. URIEL stands in front of BERTRAM with a suitcase.)
BERTRAM
You’re awful quiet. Do you talk much?
(URIEL shakes his head no.)
BERTRAM
Can you hear me all right?
(URIEL shakes his head yes.)
BERTRAM
Alright then. I know you know it’s crazy out there for anyone whose different. The last decade, it got worse and worse. Social upheaval the textbooks used to say. The average person wants to believe they got a shot at something better. The downtrodden dream of better lives even if there’s a lot standing in their way. Our freak shows make them feel better about their little lots. They’d look at the “freaks” and think, “At least I’m better than that.” I suspect folks have already been doing that to you.
(URIEL looks away, ashamed. BERTRAM gets closer, offers comfort in some way but doesn’t make URIEL look at him.)
BERTRAM
Othering has always worked like that. They need us on the outskirts to give “normal” its shape. But it’s all an illusion. And for some, it aint enough. They tell lies about us doing all the things they do: kidnap, hurt, even kill.
(Long beat while BERTRAM looks lovingly at the performers.)
BERTRAM
So we try to look out for our own the best we can. (BERTRAM shuffles his Tarot cards.) Let’s see what the cards have to say for you. (BERTRAM pulls a card.) Ah, the Ace of Cups. A sign of new beginnings accompanying an abundance of love.
(URIEL signs “love” in ASL.)
BERTRAM
We believe each of us is special and worthy of everything the world has tried to deny us. Food, water, warmth, kindness, purpose, and yes, love. We can’t guarantee we’ll always get it right. But you’ll get to be you here.
(URIEL hugs BERTRAM.)
BERTRAM
(yelling to the rest) Alright, time to wrap up! We gotta get a good night’s sleep before the long haul tomorrow!