Behind the Legislature
okay. a scene for you all to read finally. to see where it comes from, click on the link and read the latest comments: the smell of canadian rain: Oh life.
Behind the Legislature
JUSTIN and NOELLE are leading SAM, who is blindfolded, to the steps of the pool behind the legislature. It is a clear dark night and the stars are reflected perfectly in the still water of the pool.
SAM
Okay… grass. I feel grass now. On my toes.
JUSTIN
He’s really using all of his mind power tonight.
NOELLE
I never said I was dating him for his brains…
JUSTIN
It’s for the sandals, isn’t it?
NOELLE
Totally.
SAM
The park! We’re in the park!
JUSTIN
Genius guess!
NOELLE
But no banana.
SAM
Really? We’re not in the park?
JUSTIN
Nope. Not the park.
NOELLE
Which park did you mean exactly? Park is rather general…
SAM
Any park. I meant to be general. Which one is it? Are we in the ravine?
NOELLE
No, we’re not in a park. I was just curious which one you thought it was.
SAM
I’m sick of you guys messing with me. I’m taking this thing stupid thing off. It’s making my eyeballs sweat.
JUSTIN
Nasty. But don’t take it off yet. We’re almost there. And you are pretty stylin in it.
NOELLE
Stylin?
JUSTIN
If we cut you some eyeholes, you’d be just like Zoro.
SAM
Or Donatello.
JUSTIN
Cowabunga, dude.
The boys become Ninja Turtles.
NOELLE
Uh-uh, take off the blindfold. There’s no way I’m making out with a Ninja Turtle.
SAM
Who said anything about making out?
JUSTIN
Yeah? Wait. There’s going to be making out?
NOELLE
Ew. Not with you.
SAM (taking off the blindfold to hit him)
Dude. Stop with the nasty.
JUSTIN
What? She started it.
NOELLE
Clearly I didn’t.
SAM
Whoa. The Legislature.
JUSTIN
Yeah? I bet you haven’t been here in forever, huh?
NOELLE
When was the last time…? I don’t remember…
SAM
I haven’t been here since… um… ever…
NOELLE
Shut up, really? I could have sworn we—
SAM
No… never…
SAM wanders down by the pool unnoticed by the others.
JUSTIN
Dude. You never took her here? It’s prime romantic real estate.
NOELLE
Even I knew that.
JUSTIN
Of course you knew that…
NOELLE
What’s that supposed to mean?
JUSTIN
Nothing… Sunshine church parking lot… errrhmmm…. I mean, everyone knows that. Sam?
They both go to him. He’s crumbling.
NOELLE
Oh no. I’m sorry. Are you okay?
SAM
Yeah. Fine. I-- I think Elliot used to come here. He wanted me to come with him one time… Fuck….
JUSTIN
Oh no. I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have—
SAM
No… It’s good. He… he doesn’t seem so far away here. Maybe he can even… (a whisper) Elliot?
SAM walks closer to pool, listening. NOELLE and JUSTIN aren’t sure what to do. They grab each other’s hands and then let go. They sit down and wait for SAM. Silence. SAM suddenly kicks the water in the pool with intense anger.
NOELLE
Sam?
SAM
(with surprising force and anger)
What!
JUSTIN
Whoa. Buddy…
A moment for SAM to snap out of it.
SAM
Buddy?
They all laugh.
JUSTIN
It’s my dad’s fault. He’s always saying that…
SAM
(looking back to the water)
Fucking reflections…
SAM goes to NOELLE.
NOELLE
Yeah they’re so… reflective.
SAM hugs NOELLE apologetically and then they kiss once, twice, a few times…
JUSTIN
So there is making out afterall…
SAM
Put on the blindfold.
JUSTIN
(holding up a thermos)
No it’s fine I’ll just go over here and quench my thirst with this nice fresh—
SAM
(too eagerly, goes for the thermos)
Whiskey!
NOELLE
Sam…
JUSTIN
Whoa there buddy… don’t want to bend yourself all out of shape—(SAM takes the thermos and chugs it quickly). Just don’t burn your—
SAM
(spitting, grabbing his mouth)
Ahhh! What the hell is that and why is it so damn hot?
NOELLEI
t’s hot chocolate, Sam.
JUSTIN
It’s kind of supposed to be hot… hence the name…
SAM
Where the hell is the whiskey?
JUSTIN
Not in the hot chocolate. That would be gross.
SAM
You guys promised me whiskey. That’s only reason I wore that stupid blindfold and let you bring me all the way out here.
NOELLE
We never said whiskey. All we agreed to was a tasty beverage. And if you wouldn’t have spit it out you’d know that it is extra tasty. Possibly the best hot chocolate ever.
JUSTIN
It is really good. We made it with real chocolate and—
SAM
--You two made this? Together?
JUSTIN
Yeah dude. For you.
SAM
When?
NOELLE
Just before we came to get you. Chill out.
SAM
Have you been hanging out a lot since… Are you two--?
JUSTIN
Shit, Sam. I’m your bestfriend.
NOELLE
So am I.
JUSTIN
So is Noelle. We’re just trying to help you.
NOELLE
We didn’t know what else to do, so we made you hot chocolate. We knew it wouldn’t make things better but… it was the thought, Sam.
SAM
Well maybe you should have thought about whiskey. And would you please stop using my name at the end of sentences like that. Everyone’s been doing that lately and it’s driving me insane— (silence) Fuck! I should have come here with him. Maybe I could have… talked to him… maybe-- I’m sorry… I’m sorry…
SAM completely disintegrates. NOELLE and JUSTIN hold him.
NOELLE
Hey, we’re here. We’re here.
JUSTIN
We are here. That much is certain. Even if we have no idea what that means. (NOELLE looks at JUSTIN). What?
NOELLE
(quietly)
Is that supposed to be comforting?
JUSTIN
It’s true…
SAM comes back to the present, at least a bit.
SAM
(To JUSTIN)
What did he look like? When you found him?
JUSTIN
Uh…
SAM
I mean, his face. Do you remember? What kind of expression did he have?
JUSTIN
He… I don’t know, man. It was raining, and he was, um, sort of slumped over… I didn’t even know who it was at first. I had to move him to--
NOELLE
--I don’t know if this is really the best--
SAM
I keep seeing his face. He’s looking up at the sky, with his mouth open.
JUSTIN
It wasn’t open.
SAM
Like he’s about to laugh. Or scream. Or maybe catch raindrops on his tongue. I wonder if he thought about that when he was out there…
NOELLE
Thought about what?
SAM
When we were kids we used to run around outside and try to fill up our mouths up with rain, or in the winter snow… once we even tried it with stars.
JUSTIN
A little more challenging?
SAM
Yeah.
SAM looks up at the sky. JUSTIN and NOELLE do too.
NOELLE
They’re really bright tonight.
JUSTIN
It’s because it’s so dark. No city lights up here.
NOELLE
Do either of you know any of the constellations?
JUSTIN
Do the dippers count?
NOELLE
Of course. Although I don’t know that they have much of a story to go with them.
JUSTIN
Do you have a better one?
NOELLE
I wish I could remember which was which… there’s one with a dragon in it. Protecting three golden apples while Atlas carries the world on his back. Do you see a dragon anywhere up there?
JUSTIN
I see Orion’s belt.
SAM
Where?
JUSTIN
There… just left of the plane…
NOELLE
The dragon’s not too far from Orion… I wish I remembered what it looked like…
JUSTIN
I wish I knew where that plane was going.
NOELLE
Probably Chicago.
JUSTIN
Why Chicago?
NOELLE
I don’t know. Isn’t it in that direction?
SAM
Maybe Elliot’s up there somewhere. Maybe he finally caught a bunch of stars in his mouth and when he swallowed them, he became his own constellation.
JUSTIN
Maybe he’s hanging out with Orion…
NOELLE
Or eating apples with Atlas.
SAM
Maybe… (long beat) I’m glad it was you who found him.
JUSTIN
Actually it was Gretchen… I mean, she saw him first.
SAM
Gretchen too. How is she?
NOELLE
She’s…quiet. Which is kind of a good change…
JUSTIN
I should stop by sometime. Bring her some ice cream or something.
NOELLE
I’m sure she’d like that.
SAM
(to JUSTIN)
Don’t wait too long.
NOELLE
Oh she’s not… I don’t think she’ll…
SAM
I just mean… (to JUSTIN) What was it you said earlier? About the only the thing that’s certain…?
JUSTIN
I don’t know exactly. Just that not a lot is certain. Except that we’re here now.
SAM
The here and now…
NOELLE
I guess that really is all that’s guaranteed.
SAM
Thank you both for being here, now.
A long moment where the three of them sit quietly connected.
JUSTIN
Whoa! Did you just—
SAM
Yeah…
NOELLE
What?
JUSTIN
A shooting star.
NOELLE
Damn, I missed it—hey! Another one!
JUSTIN
No way.
SAM
I saw it too
NOELLE
That’s really rare. Two in a row?
JUSTIN
I don’t know if I’ve even seen one before. It just sort of fell out of—
SAM
--Another one!
NOELLE
Yep!
JUSTIN
I saw it!
NOELLE
Do you think it’s a meteor shower?
JUSTIN
Oh wow… must be.
SAM
It’s raining stars…
They all lie back onto each other and look up at the sky pointing every few seconds. JUSTIN opens his mouth wide.
JUSTIN
(without closing his mouth)
Ow oo ou ow en ou ot one? (how do you know when you got one?)
SAM
You don’t. Just keep swallowing them down.
SAM tilts his head back and opens his mouth.
NOELLE
What if we become a constellation?
SAM
From up there looking down, maybe we already are. (or: we probably already are)
NOELLE tilts her head back and opens her mouth.
***
there's more where a new character enters the scene, but i think other scenes with other characters have to come first. it's rough, i wrote it in two days, but i wanted to post it for you all to start getting your ideas.
posted by Joy @ 5:28 PM
23 Comments:
i love it!!!!!
its a little sad that elliot killed himself though...well thats the impression i got anyways was suicide. I love the whole idea about them tuning into constellations I think thats brialliant. Maybe there should be a little more description of when they found Elliot though just so it really sets in. I loved it.
ps. lol sorry i forgot to add
the shooting stars idea was one of my favourties becuase there's nothing more miraculous then shooting stars. Plus did you know its very rare for 2 people to see the same shooting star...its belived that when people see the same one they're some how bound for eternity in some way...i saw it on a show lol i dont know if its compltly real but it's a neat idea =)
that's a cool idea about the shooting stars. i'll try to find out if that comes from a legend or some common tale.
speaking of legends... just want to let you all know that i still want to take this play out of our world and into the stars... this is just the frame-work of one element of the story. the poetry and space-bending and abstraction will come later... like maybe in the next scene these three end up in that space between the stars... this is just a concrete place for me to start (i kept getting lost in all of the abstract ideas we've been discussing and was having a hard time getting them down into long enough scenes).
also, these characters are just one element. there are lots of other characters who have nothing to do with rain (many inspired from the monologues) who i have been writing about. their scenes are all in fragments still, which is why i haven't posted them but i will soon enough.
I was actually overcome by sadness when I figured out that Elliot died... But it makes me really happy to read this scene. You made my day today, Janis, and I think the scene totally kicks ass.
I cried a little at my computer when I first wrote it.
And KK, (who played Rainboy in Canada)don't worry, reincarnation does exist in playwriting. You'll be in this play... just not as Rainboy.
As for Luke (who played Rainboy in Chicago), um, don't tell him? Bad joke, sorry. The great thing about plays and writing them that is that there really can be parallel universes. We could even play them at the same time or in a cycle by the same company. I just realized this and I feel like I gained a superpower in my writing.
I'm curious about your thoughts on what else might be going on in this parallel universe...
Ok, I think I get it. So this takes place at the same time as Rainplay, only things have played out diffferently? Elliot remembered a glass of water. Sam and Noelle are clearly not fighting. Justin knows Gretchen already... But it's not a sequel in the most common sense... right?
Haha I guess I'm a little slow.
you're not slow. it's not that clear either. i just started with the idea of what if rainboy had never met poet, then he wouldn't be rainboy, he'd still be elliot and he wouldn't even be that for long because he'd have found a glass of water and killed himself. i don't know that we'll see any of the other characters from Rain, but i'm really into this ability to play with parallel universes and to connect and overlap rain and stars... hence the pool of water with the reflected stars in it... just wait... they're gonna swim in the stars. it truly is becoming and adaptation, which was the original goal of this project. canadian rain is the reflection of stars in still water -- finally we found rain's equal.
Janis. You're my second favorite. My first favorite is Louie Anderon, I don't know why "Life With Louie" never took off.
I really love that section that youve wrote. Everything I could have hoped for. I'm just a little confused about the relation between Justin and Noelle(Cant help but be curious about Justin :P...Hopefully he doesnt die!)
im sad that elliot died.
no word of a lie.
i thought he was a great character.
but yea.
i really liked the scene.
eating stars is the best idea since sliced bread.
anywhoo.
looking foraward to more scenes.
but i have to go.
my times up.
loved the scene!!!
yeah i was kinda depressed that elliot died. but i like the idea of the legislature and the shooting stars.
i guess im slightly confused too...but im looking forward to the rest of the play!!
Hey what's a legislature? I mean I know what legislature is but i didn't know it could be a place.
ELLIOT DIES!!!!????
the scene was absolutely wonderful.
i really like the idea you were talking about with the paralell universe. very cool. it's all coming together in my mind now. i can already tell this play will be amazing.
when compared with rain, it's taking on a science fiction tone - what with the parrallel universes and "what if this had never happened". i like it. very much. can't wait to read more.
yes, the legislature is a place. it is a building where the legislative branch of the government is held. i'm sure you can find pictures of it on google.
the death of rainboy...i really like that part in the scene where sam calls for elliot, it sort of opens up so many doors, i love the scene its powerfull it seems really real to me
kk, i'm glad you like it. i was a little worried you'd be miffed that i went and killed off your old character. now i know we're on the right track. and you're right... there really are some open doors. many that i'm sure i haven't even found yet.
as for gretchen, i think she's in shock after finding elliot in the park. i think she'll be ok, but she's not her usual gregarious self.
and as for noelle and justin... i don't know. that's a door i was aware of partly opening just because i can see the two of them really bonding while trying to help sam, but i think that mostly it's in sam's head. but who knows. what do you think?
what other questions do you guys have? what do you want to see more of? where do you think it is going?
it's fun having you all respond to it... it's like we've got the start of a real play finally. wahoo! another scene coming to you soon.
I think it would be interesting to see Sam and Noelle distant from eachother. I don't know if that means that there's something between Noelle and Justin but it might be nice to see Sam having to find something or someone else to lean on. Maybe it's not even that Sam and Noelle aren't together but that she isn't the source of help that he needs. Because I've always kind of felt like they had the kind of relationship in which they could lean on eachother when they were together. Maybe it's someone/thing else this time.
Maybe it's Justin. I always thought that the best relationship in Smell of Rain was the one between Sam and Justin.
But now that I think about it, that relationship seems simple enough that it was fully covered in Smell of Rain... Something else? Oh hell, now I'm just babbling.
Ooh. What if Sam turns to astronomy, locking himself in his room by himself for days on end, looking at the stars and studying old charts. Everyone's really worried about him but nobody knows what to do. One day he finds an anomoly: what he sees in the sky doesn't match up to what he sees on a chart. One star doesn't appear on the map and upon closer examination it appears to be a completely untwinkling white dot. Realizing that it can't possible be a star, he dives into the library because it's a lot more dramatic than the internet. He find images of all kinds of objects in space, desperately trying to figure out what this thing could be. A funny old man notices that he's looking in books about stars and the universe and things and he hands him an old leather book. The spine is cracked and worn and on the cover is a sketchy diagram of the solar system. Sam considers the man to be a wack-job... I never noticed before but "wack-job" sounds kind of sexual... Anyway, he takes the book anyway and goes home. That night as he's flipping through some of the other books he brought with him, he picks up the old leather book the old man gave him. Inside he stumbles upon a theory about white holes and that a white hole can transport you to another place and time. So he build a space-ship, flies through the worm-hole and comes out on the other side right by the Death Star which he proceeds to blow up because Luke is an incompetant little brat.....
I'm sorry for that last outburst. I have lots of time and little to do with it.
well, in the play about Sam, this is a definite possibility. however in this play, that so far has 12 other characters... it might be a little difficult to incorporate...
i think you're right about sam and noelle's relationship being different this go around and sam dealing with things more on his own.
I'm not sure what to think about the Justin Noelle thing
I mean I can see something like that happening. Because it doesnt seem like Sam would be 100% into a relationship in his preset state. On the other hand I think that Justin and Sam have been friends for so long that there would be no way that Justin would do that to him. But its a good angle/predicament if they started to have feelings for eachother I think. It puts them both into a really tough spot.
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