Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Monologue Mania Day #497 The Last Boat by Janet S. Tiger June 24, 2015

Welcome to Monologue Mania- one new free monologue a day- for a whole year-and still going!
                                                                    first year -  Feb. 13, 2014 - Feb. 13, 2015
I've continued with a monologue a day until the spirit moves me to stop, so if you have any ideas for a monologue you want me to write, please let me know at tigerteam1@gmail.com.
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     To start at the beginning - Feb. 13, - 
click here.
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click here  There are now over 400!

 
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Monologue Mania Day #497 The Last Boat by Janet S. Tiger  June 24, 2015
             This is from the one-act started on Day # 495.  

                                              The Last Boat
                           A monologue by Janet S. Tiger   © all rights reserved  2015                                                                                       tigerteam1@gmail.com

          (Again, this is pulled from a scene with more than one actor.  There are two couples -one older who are sitting together, as the younger couple speak.  Will try to get the entire script ready within the next week.  The younger woman is talking while the older woman sits and looks at a book, while the older man watches her)

Oh, I knew something was wrong.  And not just that I couldn't remember the names of friends - and family! - I had known for years.  It was strange things, like, one day, I thought it might be interesting to be a dog, so I buried the car keys in the back yard.  That caused a lot of barking!   (Giggles)  Another time, it was hot and I decided that I needed no clothing at all.....even when I went out to get the mail......at the end of the driveway.

      (Listens, laughs)
I don't know, I may see myself in this body, but that's the one that went to get the mail...

         (She points to the older woman, who is smiling)
Only, it wasn't funny.  I cried all the time when I realized what was happening to me.  I did not even begin to count the kleenexes either.....
You see, when I was young, and dating young men, I was very prone to falling in love.  As one usually does when one is young.

       (She twirls as if in a dance)

And so the love affair would run its normal course, and I would cry, and I took to counting the number of kleenexes I cried into.  Of course, when I started, it was handkerchiefs, which are easier to count, if less hygienic.  There were ten hankie ex-boyfriends, and fifteen, with the higher numbers being the most broken heart!

        (She clasps her hands over her heart)

Then hankies were replaced by pulverized trees...kleenex.  Now kleenexes glue together with tears, so they become one big clump of tissue, so it helps to keep a running total.  I used a pad and paper, very simple.
        (Listens, laughs)

So my propensity for tears is well established from youth, and when I heard them talking about putting me here, in this place, oh, it was an ocean of tears and enough kleenex tissues to start my own....what would I start?  A collection? That's it -  a collection of cried-in tissues - perfect for an avant garde art gallery!  I could have called it...Cry Me A River!
I begged them not to abandon me....but the words did not come out clearly and they brought me here anyways....and......I gave up......
I would sit and just stare out the windows, and mumble.  The nice nurses would try to get me to eat, but I made their jobs difficult.  The surly nurse, I think her name was Janice, she made me laugh in spite of myself, so I would eat for her.  But then I discovered something......I .....actually realized there was an upside to all this.  No more responsibility!  It was intoxicating....I felt reborn.....almost like a baby might when finally discovering how to use his toes....or say 'momma' - I started to like the fact that I had no more dishes to wash, no one to worry about......not even myself!  All choices - gone!
I didn't have to worry what to wear - someone else cleaned my clothing and chose each day's outfit....unless I cried, and then I got to wear something else, my biggest decision of the day.......and no more driving!  No more chores of any kind!  It was a freedom that, I have to admit, still thrills me!
Yes, I cannot go where I want, that's the prison side of it, but ......in my own way, I can....because I can sit and read all day......she holds the book...
        (She points to the older woman)
And I understand it....even if she can't turn the pages properly anymore.
So.... all the sadness is gone....and then......I realized we are all in the same boat here.....so I can talk to the others, just like I talk to you......when they hang out around here, that is.  Some of the others are gone completely, so it was wonderful when you arrived, to join me in the boat......
       (Listens)

No, I don't call it a lifeboat.....  A lifeboat takes you to shore, and we are not going to land on any shore that we recognize.....so, it's really more a .......deathboat.
         (Listens, nods)
 Now that you mention it, that name is a bit dreary.... and you have a strong point there, my friend, I believe in heaven, that we'll be there someday......so maybe.....maybe this is..(excited by the idea)...a heavenboat.....Yes, I like that....heavenboat......
        (She offers her arm as does the other woman)

.....would you like to join me on this last.....voyage?
         (They exit with their respective gentlemen, lights down)
             
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Janet S. Tiger    858-736-6315
JanetSTigerMonologueMania.blogspot.com
Member Dramatists Guild since 1983
Playwright-in-Residence
Swedenborg Hall 2006-83

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