first year - Feb. 13, 2014 - Feb. 12, 2015 second year - Feb. 13, 2015 - Feb. 12, 2016 third year - Feb. 13, 2016 - today!
I've continued with a monologue a day until the spirit moves me to stop - if you have any ideas for a monologue you want me to write, please let me know at tigerteam1@gmail.com.
I've continued with a monologue a day until the spirit moves me to stop - if you have any ideas for a monologue you want me to write, please let me know at tigerteam1@gmail.com.
If you just started this blog and want to read the earlier monologues- for a list of the titles and blurbs from each day, click here There are now over 1130!
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Monologue Mania Day # 1153 Still (for Osculation) by Janet S. Tiger (c) April 10, 2017
(This will be part of the last two scenes of the play - am connecting them together today)
(This will be part of the last two scenes of the play - am connecting them together today)
Still (for Osculation)
A monologue by Janet S. Tiger © all rights reserved 2017
tigerteam1@gmail.com
(Ariana and Isaac are working hard and she holds up her hand.)
ARIANA - That's enough! Time for a break...
ISAAC - But we still have a lot to go over....
(She sits and offers him something from her purse, he takes it and starts to eat)
ARIANA - I've been thinking about Newton's laws.....
ISAAC - I thought we were taking a break.
ARIANA - Can still think......anyhow, not the math part....but, how they relate to English....and reality.....
ISAAC - His laws were about physics - you do know, right? We just talked about this...
ARIANA - (Quoting, a little bit mocking) An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Right?
ISAAC - Very good......
ARIANA - Did you ever think that one word describes that?
ISAAC - One word....no, I have not thought about that.
ARIANA - Still.
ISAAC - (Listens, then realizes she is done) Still what?
ARIANA - Still. That's the word. An object at rest is still...but an object in motion is also still...still moving. Get it?
ISAAC - And this is what you think about?
ARIANA - All the time. What is enough to get something to move? To get something to stop moving?
ISAAC - I really doubt they're going to be asking that at the decathalon...
ARIANA - But the answer is nothing, because nothing stops moving....I mean, even if I set this pencil down.....it's still moving through outer space on this planet, right?
ISAAC - This is existential philosophy.....
ARIANA - And it never really is moving if everything is moving.....so everything is relative, and that brings us to Einstein.....
ISAAC - The connectivity of science is not the focal point of this contest.....
ARIANA - Of course, not ...the point is winning....
ISAAC - Well, yeah.
ARIANA - How much do you need me to win?
ISAAC - Well, if you remember all this stuff that's been stuffed into your brain....
ARIANA - And if I don't...remember that is....if I don't remember, how do we win?
ISAAC - We don't.
ARIANA - That simple?
ISAAC - What are you saying, exactly? That there's another way to win? As in....cheating?
ARIANA - Cheating is such a negative word....I prefer, getting help. Getting help is what the whole field of psychology is about, isn't it?
(Isaac looks at her and she smiles)
ARIANA - You know that guy, Carson?
ISAAC - You mean that weirdo Jimmy?
ARIANA- Thought his first name was Carson.
ISAAC - Did he also tell you his folks named him Carson because he was conceived during some old late TV show?
ARIANA - Yeah!
ISAAC - He just likes to screw with people......
ARIANA - But he's smart, and he told me, he could get, how should I call it....a preview of the questions?
ISAAC - Incredible! He actually would do that just to get close to you!
ARIANA - You are so cynical, but, yes.....
ISAAC - And you said......
ARIANA - Nothing yet, I wanted to talk to you first.....because I figure, you're in it with me...
ISAAC - I am not! I don't wanna win that bad!
ARIANA - But you'll sleep only two hours a night and tutor me and.....what else are you planning...just to win?
ISAAC - (Getting upset) You're talking about something that's not only illegal, but immoral! And we, I mean you, could get caught, and then, realistically, there are a lot of bad things that can happen!
ARIANA - Morality is a very strange animal......and reality, well, that's a real buzzkill...but winning, that could be real......don't tell me you haven't thought about it....
(He shakes his head, she stares at him)
ARIANA - (Smiling) You haven't!
ISAAC - No, I figured, if we work hard and we win, we win.
ARIANA - But winning is important to you, be honest, this award means nothing, it doesn't help you get into college, you're already in! So it's just ego, right?
ISAAC - You know you end a lot of your sentences with a question....right? Surprising how you ask if something is right, but you know the answer.....
(Lights down. End of scene.)
And I think this scene would go next-
Monologue Mania Day #1146 Geometry of Lines in the Sand (for Osculation) by Janet S. Tiger (c) April 3, 2017
(It is a few minutes before the decathalon begins, and Isaac has pulled Ariana into an empty classroom.)
ISAAC - You asked me to think about something, something I didn't ever want to consider....
ARIANA- And you've thought about it?
ISAAC - Yes. All night....I couldn't sleep....
ARIANA - I'm sorry....
ISAAC - Are you really?
(She bristles, turns away)
ISAAC - I have one last thing to share before we start.....
ARIANA - From the look on your face, I imagine it has something to do with math....
ISAAC - Geometry.
ARIANA - As if there's a difference!
ISAAC - You offered me something, and I.....was tempted to because......winning is tempting.
ARIANA - So I guess the answer is no....good guess, huh?
ISAAC - Geometry is based on lines.....and a line is .....
ARIANA -..... straight....has no thickness and extends in both directions without end......see, I did learn something.....
ISAAC - Infinity. But sometimes....you have a line ....in the sand......and it has....a beginning and an end, right where you put down your foot, where you make your stand....this is where I have to make my stand......and I'm not sorry....
(She shakes her head, turns to leave, stops looks back)
ARIANA - You missed a good chance, my friend.....see you at the winner's table.....
(She exits, and he watches)
ISAAC - But I am sorry.....for you.....
(Lights down, end of scene)
ARIANA- And you've thought about it?
ISAAC - Yes. All night....I couldn't sleep....
ARIANA - I'm sorry....
ISAAC - Are you really?
(She bristles, turns away)
ISAAC - I have one last thing to share before we start.....
ARIANA - From the look on your face, I imagine it has something to do with math....
ISAAC - Geometry.
ARIANA - As if there's a difference!
ISAAC - You offered me something, and I.....was tempted to because......winning is tempting.
ARIANA - So I guess the answer is no....good guess, huh?
ISAAC - Geometry is based on lines.....and a line is .....
ARIANA -..... straight....has no thickness and extends in both directions without end......see, I did learn something.....
ISAAC - Infinity. But sometimes....you have a line ....in the sand......and it has....a beginning and an end, right where you put down your foot, where you make your stand....this is where I have to make my stand......and I'm not sorry....
(She shakes her head, turns to leave, stops looks back)
ARIANA - You missed a good chance, my friend.....see you at the winner's table.....
(She exits, and he watches)
ISAAC - But I am sorry.....for you.....
(Lights down, end of scene)
Then I think this should go next -
Monologue Mania Day # 1149 Osculation (last scene) by Janet S. Tiger (c) April 6, 2017
(There is the sound of an audience, clapping, quiet, then cheering and applause. The sounds die out, and there is a quiet, almost awed silence. Lights up as a door closes as someone is leaving. Isaac watches the person in disbelief, shaking his head. Ariana looks at Isaac. She smiles, a little sad)
ARIANA - I'm pretty good at reading people, Isaac. If you're really honest, you know....that you thought I was going to cheat.
(Isaac starts to protest, she holds up a hand and stops him)
ARIANA - I'm pretty good at reading people, Isaac. If you're really honest, you know....that you thought I was going to cheat.
(Isaac starts to protest, she holds up a hand and stops him)
ARIANA - Please, leave us a little dignity! I know you wanted to believe I wouldn't use the cheat sheets.....and I know you didn't rat me out.....but I also know....you didn't trust me.....and that's ok. You see, it just shows I did a good job. That I convinced you......that's what I had to do.....just like Carson.....he bought it......and so, I got the job done......in the end, that's all that matters......isn't it?
ISAAC - Was anything you told me the truth?
ARIANA - Wasn't that one of the questions? Under philosophy? You can memorize and analyze and study......but me.... I prefer thinking about the truth not from the Greek view, but of the Steven Spielberg angle- which way is the camera pointing? One way, it looks like the big man is shooting the little man, but you turn around.....
(She spins and points a finger)
Monologue Mania Day # 1151 Osculation (last scene continued) by Janet S. Tiger (c)
ISAAC - So everything....done for show.....
ARIANA - Not everything.....you asked me about whether I ever told the truth.....the truth is a fluid thing....here's some......when I was about ten, I was in an airport, heading out to visit my grandparents. My folks were sitting, talking to some other old hippies they'd met....so, I was just hanging out.....and this man came walking past, and I took a look at him and I knew something was wrong.....and he looked around and then he ran into a bathroom. I watched and a few moments later, some police ran up, with this one guy in a suit.
And I knew, just like I knew about the guy, I knew the guy in the suit was someone important.....so I went over to the guy in the suit and said 'he went in there' and I pointed at the bathroom.
They went in, and a couple minutes later, out they come, with the guy, in handcuffs, and the suit guy comes over to me, and he says, 'thank you' - and he gave me a card and told me, if I ever needed help, give a call. And that's when I started writing the letters. And after a few years, I got letters back, and then calls, and then.......the man in the suit came to visit me one day....in the library.....and told me about Carson. How dangerous what he was doing was.....not just for schools, but for everyone.....so I made friends with a kid at my old school, got him to change my grades. Then I got 'caught' but I didn't rat him out, so he was a good contact. And I transferred here, got into the decathalon, and made friends with him.....
ISAAC - Friends?
ARIANA - Can I help it if smart guys like me? Anyhow, I had to go along, to get the proof.....I'm sorry ....if...it hurt you.
ISAAC - Friends?
ARIANA - Can I help it if smart guys like me? Anyhow, I had to go along, to get the proof.....I'm sorry ....if...it hurt you.
(Isaac looks at a card in his hand.)
ISAAC- Agent Harrison....
ARIANA - Not the same guy as my suit, but they know each other.....
ISAAC - Like one big strange family...
ARIANA - Something like that..... when I graduate, I get to join that family....
ISAAC - So you're not going to Stanford....
ARIANA - Not really.....but I never was.....
ISAAC - Amazing! And I did trust you...
(She looks at him, shakes her head)
ISAAC - I mean .....except for not trusting you....
(She looks at him, shakes her head)
ISAAC - I mean .....except for not trusting you....
ARIANA - But I trust you....not to tell this....
ISAAC - And if I did? Would I disappear?
ARIANA - Don't be silly.....you'll never tell......that's why I can tell you.....I'm a good judge of character.....something that can't be taught actually......maybe enhanced, but it's something you're born with....like math, I guess....
ISAAC - Character. Interesting word. So none of what happened today is gonna be public?
ARIANA - Why would it have to be?
ISAAC - What happens to your other boyfriend, Carson? Does he go to jail for this? I mean, hacking the SAT and ACT, that's pretty radical stuff.
ARIANA - He's smart enough to get into bigger stuff than tests......so, I doubt if jail is in his future...
ISAAC - (Horrified, stunned) Wait a minute, so, he's gonna work for........
ARIANA - Our side? Us? I hope so. That's what this game is all about. It's much more than winning some high school academic league decathalon! How did you think they got Werner von Braun to make rockets for us? By offering some fresh socks after the war? Some ice cream? For a smart guy.....
ISAAC - Maybe I'm not so smart....
ARIANA - You said it......the world is a very big place, and the future is in computers, and in people who know and understand them, what they can do, what they can't.......Carson might be just good enough to stop a war, or win one....who knows? I'm not the judge.
ISAAC - So, exactly...how far would you go to ....do your job?
ARIANA - (Thinking) I don't know.....I guess I'm gonna find out......
(She turns to leave, stops, looks back)
ARIANA - You said none of this would be public....but there is one thing....the press will want to interview us because the fact is...... we won.
ISAAC - And you didn't cheat.....so....how?
ARIANA - Maybe you're a good teacher. One thing, Isaac, when you speak of this one day, and you will, maybe in guarded terms, but you will, please know ......I did like learning from you......and of all the things you taught me.....my favorite was.....can you guess?
(She walks over quickly and kisses him, then pulls away just as quickly)
ARIANA - Osculation!
(She leaves as he watches her go. Then he puts on a jacket, some glasses, he is older, and he goes to the chalkboard and starts to make some notes......)
ISAAC - And this my dear students, is one you may be able to remember with a simple pnemonic device......
(He draws two curves as the lights start to dim)
(Spotlight on the curved lines, then blackout. The end.)
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Janet S. Tiger 858-736-6315 CaregiversAnon.org
Member Dramatists Guild since 1983
Playwright-in-Residence
Swedenborg Hall 2006-8
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