Write a play in which you are going to die - and it's you- like really you and right now- and you get to talk to someone real, living, alive that you love one last time--- and include details that are unique to your relationship.
Why are you going to die? What serves you best? Are you hanging from a rope over lava? Gasping last breaths at the hospital? Staring at the barrel of a gun?
Then go back and give that character a different age and gender and voice than in real life. Let them be more X than they were before- like keep the scene going but amplify some quality to dramatic effect.
********
Continuation of this idea I was working on yesterday
Jeffrey goes in search of ingredients for the antidote to the love potion.
A Wiccan supply store.
DUNCAN goes to open the door.
JEFFREY is waiting just outside.
DUNCAN
Oh. Hello.
JEFFREY
Sorry.
DUNCAN
Don't
be.
JEFFREY
Anxious.
DUNCAN
Itchin'
to get started with your day?
JEFFREY
Gotta
clean up a little mess I made.
DUNCAN
Really? Do tell.
JEFFREY
It's
dumb.
DUNCAN
Newbie
wiccan?
JEFFREY
Pagan. Dabbling.
DUNCAN
You
were here before.
JEFFREY
Yeah,
you were really helpful last time.
DUNCAN
Duncan.
JEFFREY
Jeffrey.
I
kinda made a love potion.
DUNCAN
Got
the ingredients wrong?
JEFFREY
No,
you were very thorough. I had everything
I needed.
DUNCAN
Something
still off? Didn't work?
JEFFREY
No,
it did. That's kinda the problem.
DUNCAN
Wrong
subject?
JEFFREY
I
didn't use it. A friend of mine did.
DUNCAN
You
gave it away?
JEFFREY
I
didn't think it'd work.
DUNCAN
Oops.
JEFFREY
The
guy he used it on is kind of taken.
DUNCAN
Oh.
JEFFREY
And
straight.
And
his wife's pregnant.
DUNCAN
Didn't
read the ethics chapter first.
JEFFREY
Newbie.
DUNCAN
Right. Antidote?
JEFFREY
Yes,
please.
DUNCAN
Got
a shopping list?
JEFFREY
Brought
the book with me, just to be safe.
JEFFREY hands DUNCAN the book.
Their hands brush.
They smile at one another nervously, just for a
second.
Then get back to business.
DUNCAN
I'm
not sure we have all this in stock but some of it's a little obscure, so I may
just not be remembering. We'll just go
down the list and check 'em off as we go.
JEFFREY
Thanks.
DUNCAN
Well,
it sounds like the sooner -
JEFFREY
Yeah.
DUNCAN hands JEFFREY a shopping basket.
Their hands brush again.
This was not an accident.
Their looks confirm this.
Back to the shelves.
DUNCAN passes JEFFREY items which he places in the
basket.
DUNCAN
Some
of these there's a generic option.
JEFFREY
Seriously? Like the drug store.
DUNCAN
It's
cheaper.
JEFFREY
Yeah,
but does it work as well?
DUNCAN
Brand
name isn't everything.
JEFFREY
But
it's safer.
DUNCAN
Most
of the time.
JEFFREY
Better
safe -
DUNCAN
Gotcha'.
JEFFREY
Don't
want to keep them waiting.
DUNCAN
Well,
you're not entirely responsible. Your
friend got himself into this more than you did.
JEFFREY
I
provided the potion, though.
DUNCAN
Yeah,
why'd you do that?
JEFFREY
Moment
of weakness. Thought it'd be fun.
That's
a lie.
I
just wanted to make him happy.
DUNCAN
This
situation's making him happy?
JEFFREY
Not
really.
DUNCAN
Wakeup
call?
JEFFREY
Not
consciously.
DUNCAN
Well,
you're all wide awake now.
JEFFREY
I'll
say.
DUNCAN
Never
understood the purpose of that.
JEFFREY
Of
what?
DUNCAN
Love
potions. Un-love potions.
JEFFREY
You
don't think there's any way they can be useful?
DUNCAN
Well,
it's hard enough to know love is real, right?
JEFFREY
I
guess.
DUNCAN
Forcing
the issue -
I
mean, it's either there or it isn't, you know?
JEFFREY
Yeah.
DUNCAN
I'd
want to know that it's me. Not some
drug.
JEFFREY
Plus
drugs can wear off.
DUNCAN
Or
you get addicted.
JEFFREY
You
can get addicted anyway.
DUNCAN
True
enough.
JEFFREY
Still,
you're never sure anyway.
DUNCAN
Really.
JEFFREY
Sometimes.
DUNCAN
Depends
on the person.
JEFFREY
You
ever been sure?
DUNCAN
Coupla'
times.
JEFFREY
Currently?
DUNCAN
Not
currently involved.
JEFFREY
By
choice?
DUNCAN
If
I had my choice -
JEFFREY
Yeah?
DUNCAN
Like
I said, you can't force it.
JEFFREY
Right.
DUNCAN
Plus,
it falls apart, the aftereffects aren't always fun.
JEFFREY
Potion
could help with that.
DUNCAN
So
could alcohol.
JEFFREY
Guess
that'd be cheaper.
DUNCAN
Well,
you don't have to mix it yourself from scratch.
JEFFREY laughs.
DUNCAN (cont'd)
'Sides,
if I hurt, I want to feel it.
Proves
it was real.
That
it meant something.
I
didn't dream it.
JEFFREY
You
want to hurt.
DUNCAN
No.
But
that's the chance you take, right?
JEFFREY
I
guess.
DUNCAN
OK,
we've got all but one of what you need.
JEFFREY
So
what do we do?
DUNCAN
Well,
there's a couple of things you could use to substitute -
JEFFREY
But
they're not a sure thing?
DUNCAN
No. It's a crap shoot if you go that way.
JEFFREY
We
can order it?
DUNCAN
Yeah,
there's a couple of other stores in town I could call. If they don't have it, we can special order
it.
JEFFREY
Fast?
DUNCAN
I'll
do my best.
JEFFREY
Thanks.
DUNCAN
So
I'll need your number. You know. To contact you when I've got it.
JEFFREY
You
didn't do this just so you could get my number.
DUNCAN
No. I was gonna ask for your number anyway.
JEFFREY
Oh.
DUNCAN
If
that's OK.
JEFFREY
Uh. Sure.
DUNCAN
Should
I only use this professionally?
JEFFREY
You
can call when you're off duty, too.
DUNCAN
Good
to know.
JEFFREY
Can
I wait while you call? Just in case one
of the other stores has it handy?
DUNCAN
Absolutely. Jeffrey.
JEFFREY
Duncan.
DUNCAN starts calling.
JEFFREY waits.
They smile shyly.
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