Monday, December 16, 2019
One Act Play Free Essays
string(37) " paid until the adjustments come in\." There is a card table, folding chairs, newspapers, trade magazines. TERESA is sitting on a folding chair at the desk , talking to JAKE, who is consulting THE JOB FINDERââ¬â¢S GUIDE and taking notes in a notebook from his briefcase. DEBBIE enters, looks around. We will write a custom essay sample on One Act Play or any similar topic only for you Order Now TERESA I wear an extra sweater and a hat. Thatââ¬â¢s what my mother did when she was a girl, during the Depression. The kitchen stove was their heat. (notices DEBBIE) Can we be of help, dear? DEBBIE Groupââ¬â¢s supposed to be at 10:30, isnââ¬â¢t it? TERESA Yes, butââ¬â DEBBIE Iââ¬â¢ll wait. ( DEBBIE sits, takes out newspaper, begins reading. ) TERESA (to JAKE) How is Janet doing?JAKE Better. Takes her a couple weeks to bounce back from chemotherapy. But sheââ¬â¢s up and around, now. Cleaning out the kitchen drawers. TERESA And your boy? JAKE I told Park School I was going to have to pull Jason out of there. (sits) They came up with a scholarship. TERESA (pats JAKEââ¬â¢s shoulder) Well, now. Thatââ¬â¢s good news. JAKE Is it? Jasonââ¬â¢s grades are dropping. Heââ¬â¢s out too late, comes back with bullshit ââ¬âsorry. Youââ¬â¢d think that being out of work Iââ¬â¢d have time to ride herd on him, but with hustling a job and taking care of Janetââ¬â. TERESA A boy that age can be a real pill. Especially at a time of crisis.JAKE Youââ¬â¢re telling me this is normal? TERESA I saw it my boys. Thereââ¬â¢s stress, and a boy feels he ought to be pitching in to help. But there isnââ¬â¢t much he can do, really, is there? JAKE He can at least not add to our worries! TERESA Thatââ¬â¢s true, but at his ageââ¬â . Probably the guilt is driving him wild. JAKE Schoolââ¬â¢s Jasonââ¬â¢s job. Seems to me itââ¬â¢s that simple. DEBBIE Maybe your kidââ¬â¢s just not the kind who can block out the real world. JAKE (rises, turns to DEBBIE) Seems to me a person can at least try! (pause. DEBBIE hides behind newspaper) TERESA ( brings JAKE back) It was a real shame about that position in Nashua.JAKE Yeah. I thought theyââ¬â¢dââ¬â. Butââ¬â. You know ââ¬âI could never mention this to Janet, itââ¬â¢d kill herââ¬â but I wonder. Can a personnel office find out about cancer? Go though medical files? TERESA Doctorsââ¬â¢ records are confidential. DEBBIE (lowers paper) Ha! Sure. And Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. (pause) Sorry. Sââ¬â¢none of my business. JAKE Maybe itââ¬â¢s my age. Iââ¬â¢m fit, but ââ¬â do you think I should get a hairpiece? DEBBIE (laughs, loud. JAKE and TERESA look at her. She holds up the comic page) Dilbert. (they turn back) MERRIK (enters ) Good morning. JAKE (goes to Merrik) Hey, look, itââ¬â¢s Merrik back!Howââ¬â¢s it going, big guy? MERRIK (shaking hands) Good. Itââ¬â¢s going good, praise the Lord. JAKE I thought you had a job. MERRIK I did. I mean, I do. Just taking longer than we figured. JAKE Georgia, wasnââ¬â¢t it? MERRIK Right. Georgia for training, and then traveling between the territories. TERESA But your wifeââ¬â¢s careerââ¬â. MERRIK Secretarial stuff. A woman can do that anywhere. DEBBIE Anywhere thereââ¬â¢s a job. MERRIK Thereââ¬â¢s secretarial in Georgia. Alice says, ââ¬Å"At $5. 15 an hour? â⬠But money goes farther down there. No oil bills, housingââ¬â¢s less than half. â⬠¦ JAKE Iââ¬â¢d say, sell while you can!This market is so overpricedââ¬â MERRIK Alice says the company will fold: a job that can be done cheap in Georgia will be done even cheaper in Pakistan or Prague. JAKE Well, if you do put your house on the market, give me first shot at the listing, will you? (KIM enters, stands silently) MERRIK Youââ¬â¢re still part time at real estate? JAKE Me and everybody else whoââ¬â¢s run out their unemployment. KIM Is this Bright Horizons? DEBBIE Thatââ¬â¢s what they call it. KIM I had trouble findingââ¬â TERESA Donââ¬â¢t worry, youââ¬â¢re not late. DEBBIE You are, but the Counselorââ¬â¢s later. MERRIK Whatââ¬â¢s going on? crosses to phone) When I called, the overnight message was still on the answering machine. (fusses w/ machine) TERESA Oh, dear. KIM What does that mean? TERESA People have had to give up their phones, sometimes, or they may even be homeless. Being able to use this answering service makes themââ¬â JAKE Seem normal. TERESA Employable. Able to return calls. MERRIK ââ¬Å"Executive Officesâ⬠, it says. After ten, and nobodyââ¬â¢s here? ( DEBBIE laughs) TERESA Can we reset it? JAKE How hard can it be? Half the unemployed people here used to be in high tech. TERESA If you canââ¬â¢t change the message, at least turn it off.DEBBIE (unplugs machine) Off with the bullshit! (to MERRIK) Your Georgia job ââ¬â Did you get it through this office? MERRIK Not really- DEBBIE (goes back to her chair and paper) Now, how did I guess that? KIM How did you get it? MERRIK I heard about it from my cousin, a friend of hisââ¬â DEBBIE My Dad ââ¬Ë s cousin got him work in construction, once. In Jersey. Heââ¬â¢d only get home about every third weekend. Meant he and Mom never had time to work things out. All they did was fight. TERESA That sounds so like my motherââ¬â¢s stories of the Depression. When my grandfather went looking for odd jobs, weeks at a time.. â⬠¦MERRIK The jobââ¬â¢s like auditing, but thereââ¬â¢s a sales aspect, too. First our team has to convince the company that we can save them money. JAKE Sales ability! Now, that doesnââ¬â¢t surprise me, Merrik. I can see that in you. MERRIK You think so? I can do it, I have theââ¬â . JAKE 90% of any job is sales. KIM Is that really true? Iââ¬â¢m terrible. Couldnââ¬â¢t even sell girl scout cookies. JAKE Got to market your personality as well as your skills. MERRIK As soon as interest rates rise, real estate will be in the toiletââ¬â JAKE Depends on what market. I mean, itââ¬â¢s not the class of people who can afford a couple million bucks who are hurting, is it?But those sales take time, those people are chooseyââ¬â MERRIK The Georgia job, I donââ¬â¢t get paid until the adjustments come in. You read "One Act Play" in category "Papers" It can take 6 months, 9 monthsââ¬â I tell my wife, have faithââ¬â TERESA If you can be sureââ¬â MERRIK My kids are all the time after me, they want stay here where their friends are, but I tell them have faith. The church down thereââ¬â¢s strong, sââ¬â¢got real spirit. Theyââ¬â¢d make new friendsââ¬â KIM My brother was sent South for basic training. He said the people treated him like dirt. DEBBIE (reading, exclaims aloud) Jesus Christ! MERRIK Young lady! DEBBIE Sorry. I didnââ¬â¢t mean ââ¬â this story, did you see it?Unemployed postal worker in St. Louis, shot up his boss and three carriers and a cop. At his house, heââ¬â¢d already killed his wife and kids. MERRIK Let me see. (takes newspaper) TERESA I heard about that. On the radio. JAKE There were a rash of these things 10, 12 years ago. DEBBIE During the last round of lay offs. MERRIK The Post Office must be hiring straight out of the loony bin. TERESA Veterans get extra points on the exam, so there may be a lot who are trained in firearms. MERRIK Combat flash back, you think? JAKE Post traumatic. DEBBIE Postal traumatic. MERRIK Well, theyââ¬â¢d better weed out the crazies, and fast.DEBBIE Oh, the crazies are being weeded out. Along with the alcoholic, lazy, and the ones who canââ¬â¢t put in enough overtime. MERRIK About time! DEBBIE Good thing they didnââ¬â¢t start weeding till my uncle Adam took the pension. Heââ¬â¢d have been mad crazy enough to get down his shotgun. course, he drank, some, and he was certainly slow. But neither rain nor snowââ¬â MERRIK Four days, for a letter from my wife! If the mail went privateââ¬â DEBBIE Thereââ¬â¢d be no mail on Saturday, carriers would be green carders getting $5. 15 an hourââ¬â KIM And no veteranââ¬â¢s preference points? MERRIK Whatââ¬â¢s your point?KIM My brother enlisted to get training for a good job. TERESA ââ¬Å"Be all you can beâ⬠? KIM Iââ¬â¢ve thought about enlisting too. But Buddy lost the fingers off his right hand: whatââ¬â¢s he going to do when he gets out? He canââ¬â¢t go back to meat cutting. MERRIK Donââ¬â¢t expect the VA. Theyââ¬â¢re shutting down, one by one. TERESA This office could find him something, dear. Helenââ¬â¢s a lifesaver. DEBBIE Something ââ¬Å"Executiveâ⬠? TERESA Education. Retraining. This is a really good program, at least for young people. Oldsters like me, nobody wants to hire us whatever we can do. KIM Theyââ¬â¢d better find Buddy something. Cause heââ¬â¢s so angry, he mightââ¬âMERRIK So itââ¬â¢s OK to shoot people? If you lose your job? DEBBIE No, itââ¬â¢s not OK. But I understand it. Donââ¬â¢t you? At least a story like this one makes more sense to me than the crap thatââ¬â¢s in the business section: DOW up; GE announces more layoffs; the Technology Council wants more ââ¬Å"flexibilityâ⬠in the visa program, to meet the overseas competition Do they really think all these computer whizzes who used to make a hundred thou a year are going to go quietly into burger-flipping? KIM What else can they do? DEBBIE How many Luddites does it take to unscrew all the light bulbs? JAKE God knows thereââ¬â¢s a lot of frustration.MERRIK (to KIM) God knows, thatââ¬â¢s a true saying. If we cleanse our hearts, and trust Him, He answers our prayers. JAKE Iââ¬â¢ve had bosses it wouldnââ¬â¢t break my heart to see bleed. But shoot his own kids? MERRIK Now, that makes sense, in a certain cock-eyed way. If a fatherââ¬â¢s desperate enough to kill, but he loves his kids, how could he leave those kids to face it? Iââ¬â¢m not saying heââ¬â¢s thinking right, butââ¬â ! TERESA I wish Helen would get here. With two new clientsââ¬â DEBBIE Iââ¬â¢m not new. This is lay off number 5. Or maybe 25, depending on how you count it. TERESA Temp jobs? I donââ¬â¢t think those count. KIM Theyââ¬â¢d count for me!I canââ¬â¢t find anything at all. TERESA Substituting, temping, you know from the start itââ¬â¢s not going to last. JAKE Nothing lasts, these days. You got to plan ahead. Train or re-train. KIM Sure, train. But for what? DEBBIE Train, they told me. So now Iââ¬â¢m in debt up to my ears for what it cost me to learn programming. JAKE Programming used to be hot. DEBBIE And now itââ¬â¢s not. JAKE Still. In a downturn, thatââ¬â¢s the recommendation. Retrain, add new skills to your resume. DEBBIE Keep paying tuition. Dangle that ââ¬Å"good jobâ⬠carrot, the old donkey keeps plodding along. TERESA Education is a personââ¬â¢s best investment.DEBBIE Oh? Whereââ¬â¢s it got you, lady? You just here to write a book? TERESA I never seemed to be in the right place at the right time. If I hadnââ¬â¢t left teaching to raise my boys, Iââ¬â¢d be retired on a pension by now. But as a substitute, Iââ¬â DEBBIE I started out in the tool shop, with my dad. $12. 50 an hour, 18 for overtime. After the 3rd layoff I took the Expert Advice. Went to college. Got my 2 year certificate. Officially qualified to do scut work for some creep in a suit at seven fifty an hour. Seven fifty! With which Iââ¬â¢m supposed to buy all this fashion shit and ââ¬Å"look professionalâ⬠for Chrissake!But even in drag, all I could get was temp work. So then itââ¬â¢s back to school for Programmingâ⬠¦ . KIM I canââ¬â¢t even get part time Walmart! I thought anybody could get that. TERESA As soon as Helen gets here sheââ¬â¢ll help you. She has a comprehensive list: openings, training programs, subsidies, scholarshipsâ⬠¦. . (phone rings) JAKE Should we answer it? DEBBIE Well, they canââ¬â¢t leave a message, we unplugged the machine. MERRIK (answers) Executive offices. KIM (to TERESA) I hope youââ¬â¢re right. This feels like it may be my last chance. DEBBIE Everybodyââ¬â¢s last chance. JAKE Youââ¬â¢re young, youââ¬â¢re healthy. Itââ¬â¢s not the end of the world. MERRIK Yeah. Iââ¬â¢ll tell people. (hangs up) This office is closed. TERESA Oh, my dear God. Are you sure? This office? KIM Should we go to some other one? MERRIK Nobody knows. Theyââ¬â¢ve all been laid off, here. Budgetââ¬â¢s gone, the governor vetoed the restoration. JAKE That was Helen? TERESA But what will we do? MERRIK Leave, she says. And lock the door behind us. THE END home | bio | resume | blog | contact GL Horton monologues | one-act plays | full-length plays reviews | essays | links | videos Made on an by . ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â How to cite One Act Play, Papers
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