I Write
[c=#003BB2]The following is a 1-act play about 6 individuals with unusual names who end up in an unpleasant situation when they are accidentally[/c] [c=#BF0000]on purpose[/c] [c=#003BB2]trapped together in the confined space of an elevator. And one of them is a jerk. Or is there more than one?[/c] 🤔
[c=#002673]I wrote this a while ago--maybe 2-3 years ago; keep in mind that the title is in the context of another drama piece that I wrote that also featured an elevator. So it was another drama piece in an elevator.[/c]
[b]BACK TO THE ELEVATOR[/b]
FUTURE-------Junior manager over PAST and SCAR in the workplace. Young man in his mid-twenties. Obsessed with PAST.
PAST---------Average-looking young woman in her mid-twenties. Is friends with FUTURE, but apparently does not reciprocate his feelings for her. She often treats him like a non-entity and displays a callous nature towards him. Self-centred and aloof. Plays hockey for a sports club.
MENACE-------Hateful, pessimistic troublemaker dressed in a very smart, white suit with a black top hat.
SCAR---------Friend of FUTURE. Enthusiastic fan of women’s hockey in his mid-twenties. Has a large scar on his face.
HOPE---------Pretty, well-dressed, calm, collected, kind married woman in her late thirties.
FIGHTER------Strong, fit-looking maintenance worker in his mid-forties.
TRUTH--------Rescuer. Dressed like a doctor.
REVELATION---Voice over the intercom.
[b]Act one[/b]
[b][i]Scene one[/i][/b]
[i]Back in the days before cellular phones, Future, Past, Scar, Hope, Menace and Fighter all step into the elevator together as the doors open.[/i]
FUTURE. ([i]Presses the ‘up’ button[/i].)
MENACE: ([i]Steps forward and presses the ‘down’ button[/i]). I’m going down.
FIGHTER: ([i]Immediately steps forward after him and presses the ‘up’ button[/i]). Sorry, Buddy. I’m also going up.
HOPE: Ya, that makes three of us.
[i]Shortly after the sound of the elevator rising, it can be heard to shudder then stop, the lights flickering on and off. The lights then go out and the elevator can be heard to fall, violently coming to a sudden halt. The lights come back on again to reveal the characters lying about on the floor. One is seriously injured – Fighter, who is lying on the floor moaning, his forehead bleeding.[/i]
MENACE: ([i]Gets up with the others. Hands on hips, looks down at FIGHTER while shaking his head[/i]). Should have let us go down, ay?
([i]The others are now standing around looking at FIGHTER[/i].)
FIGHTER. ([i]Breathing rapidly, writhing and holding his chest[/i].)
HOPE: Let me have a look at him. I used to be a paramedic. ([i]Others stand aside. She performs a physical examination on FIGHTER then pulls a tissue out of her pocket to dab his wound[/i].) At least one broken rib and a punctured lung. ([i]Looks at FIGHTER[/i].) I think you’re going to be fine, but you will need to visit the hospital when you’re able to.
FUTURE: ([i]Presses the call button[/i].) Hello! Anybody there? ([i]Long silence[/i].) Hello?
MENACE: ([i]Smiles[/i].) Forget about it… It’s broken. Just accept that nobody’s ever going to hear us. If we get out, it won’t be through that thing.
FIGHTER: ([i]Laughs weakly[/i].) Oh, nonsense! Give it some time, will you?
MENACE: Ha! You think you have better ideas? Could have fooled me...
HOPE: We ought to just be patient and wait it out guys. Somebody will find us here.
MENACE: ([i]Snorts[/i].) Yeah, in a few days!
[b][i]Scene 2[/i][/b]
[i]The characters have been sitting on the floor or leaning against the railing in silence for some time.[/i]
FUTURE. ([i]Stares for a while at PAST sitting across from him. She is looking at the floor[/i].) So… looks like we’re all stuck here together, hey. ([i]Smiles[/i].) At least we’re not all strangers in here. I mean, it could be a lot worse.
PAST. ([i]Glances at SCAR who is leaning against the wall with his eyes closed[/i].)
FUTURE: PAST, you know what that’s like during your hockey games knowing that among the sea of faces watching you, there are at least two that you know.
SCAR. ([i]Perks up, opening his eyes[/i].)
PAST: ([i]Glances again at SCAR then flicks her hair back[/i].) Ya, I know what you mean.
FUTURE: And when you put on a good show, there is bound to be someone to remember. Like that time you moved around those two girls…
PAST: Dribbled...
FUTURE: Yeah, and passed to Vanity just before she scored that amazing goal, the one that basically won the game!
SCAR: Drag flick. In all the games I’ve watched, only ever seen it done a few times.
PAST: ([i]Pushes her hair behind her ear, affecting a smile while looking at FUTURE[/i].) I know hey, that was just amazing team work!
FUTURE: All the games I’ve ever watched have been won because of team work. ([i]Smiles at PAST[/i]). By the way, PAST you’re invited to a special function next week if you’d like to come. It’s a managers’ function from work.
MENACE: ([i]Chuckles[/i].) Remember… that’s IF we make it out alive!
SCAR: That’s right… Best not make any plans just yet.
PAST: ([i]Pushes her hair out of her eyes and flicks it back behind her shoulders while looking at SCAR[/i].) SCAR, you can come too.
FUTURE: Well… ah… I don’t know. I can only invite one. It’s an important function…
PAST. ([i]Gives FUTURE a look[/i].)
FUTURE: Ah… I guess we can try…
SCAR: ([i]Looking at FUTURE[/i].) Come on, it’s not like you haven’t been in an awkward situation before. When Sheep and I came back to the dorm after you had just moved in, your first time away from home, we caught you all emotional, crying on the bed because you were missing your mother. How we laughed!
FUTURE. ([i]Grimaces, looking down at the ground[/i].)
MENACE: ([i]Sniggers and looks directly at FUTURE, after PAST and SCAR have been laughing[/i].) Mommy… ([i]exaggeratedly affecting a pretend sad face[/i].)
[i]Suddenly, there is a loud, grating, shuddering noise, the lights flickering a few times.[/i]
MENACE. ([i]Bursts out into laughter as though he finds something deeply amusing and can hardly contain his laughter[/i].)
[i]The elevator drops briefly before coming to another abrupt stop.[/i]
[b][i]Scene 3[/i][/b]
[i]A substantial amount of time has passed and FIGHTER can be heard humming the song, ‘Wonderful World’. He does so for a few moments.[/i]
MENACE: ([i]Leaning back against the railing, arms folded, looking at FIGHTER[/i].) Why don’t you just accept that you might die in here today? You optimists make me sick…
FIGHTER: ([i]Smiles weakly[/i].) It’s not my time for that now, is it?
MENACE. ([i]Snorts, looking away[/i].)
HOPE. ([i]Sitting next to FIGHTER, has been looking at FUTURE for a few moments[/i].)
FUTURE. ([i]Notices her and looks up, affecting a smile at her[/i].)
HOPE: You know, we’ve all had embarrassing things happen to us at one time or another. It’s part of the growth process. What matters is what you do with it afterwards. Yours wasn’t even that bad to be honest… It’s normal!
FUTURE. ([i]Still smiling, chuckles and nods[/i].)
MENACE: ([i]Mimes an infant sucking on a thumb, side-looking at FUTURE[/i].)
SCAR: Maybe so, but that was a first for me. ([i]Winks at FUTURE[/i].)
PAST. ([i]Giggles, covering her face with her hands[/i].)
HOPE: Oh, come on! Would you like me to go to each of your mothers and request some of your baby stories? I’m sure they’d be in abundance. ([i]Silence[/i].) Yes, just what I thought…
[i]Suddenly there is a crackly noise coming from a speaker positioned above them[/i].
REVELATION: ([i]Faint, unintelligible sound of talking… then louder[/i].) Hello… hello, can you guys hear me over there?
FIGHTER: Hello! ([i]Sits up quickly from a lying-down position, wincing a little[/i].)
FUTURE: We can hear! ([i]Looking up at the speaker[/i].)
REVELATION: I see you guys are stuck in there. Someone’s coming to help you in a minute. Just stay put, okay?
FUTURE: Okay!
HOPE: ([i]Celebrates[/i].) Yes! I told you! ([i]Looks playfully at FIGHTER[/i].) I told you! ([i]Looking quickly at FUTURE, with a bursting smile[/i].)
MENACE: ([i]Smiling sarcastically at HOPE[/i].) Let’s not count our chickens before they’re hatched, huh?
[b][i]Scene 4[/i][/b]
[i]Lights have since gone out and the characters have been sitting in the dark. Someone pries open the elevator door, but the entrance to the adjacent floor is at an awkward angle. This means that the occupants will have to exert themselves significantly in order to climb out.[/i]
TRUTH. ([i]Appears in the gap with a flashlight, dressed like a doctor in a white lab coat. He shines the light on PAST[/i].)
PAST: Oh, take me out first! Take me!
TRUTH. ([i]Shines the light on SCAR. An aside to the audience[/i].) Scrawny little guy, isn’t he?
TRUTH. ([i]Illuminates MENACE with the light who quickly turns his face away and shields it with his arm[/i].) Okay, this lift is quite unstable, so we’re going to try to do this as quickly and as carefully as we can.
TRUTH. ([i]Points the flashlight at FUTURE. Seeing he is closest to the door, he reaches out his hand[/i].) Give me your hand.
FUTURE. ([i]Reaches up and takes his hand[/i].)
[i]HOPE and SCAR give FUTURE a boost as he is lifted.[/i]
PAST: ([i]Lunges forward and seizes on FUTURE’s leg as he is about to be lifted out[/i].) Don’t leave me here!
FUTURE. ([i]Pulls away and PAST lets go. He is lifted up through the gap[/i].)
[i]The stage is emerged in darkness. The curtain falls.[/i]
[c=#002673]I wrote this a while ago--maybe 2-3 years ago; keep in mind that the title is in the context of another drama piece that I wrote that also featured an elevator. So it was another drama piece in an elevator.[/c]
[b]BACK TO THE ELEVATOR[/b]
FUTURE-------Junior manager over PAST and SCAR in the workplace. Young man in his mid-twenties. Obsessed with PAST.
PAST---------Average-looking young woman in her mid-twenties. Is friends with FUTURE, but apparently does not reciprocate his feelings for her. She often treats him like a non-entity and displays a callous nature towards him. Self-centred and aloof. Plays hockey for a sports club.
MENACE-------Hateful, pessimistic troublemaker dressed in a very smart, white suit with a black top hat.
SCAR---------Friend of FUTURE. Enthusiastic fan of women’s hockey in his mid-twenties. Has a large scar on his face.
HOPE---------Pretty, well-dressed, calm, collected, kind married woman in her late thirties.
FIGHTER------Strong, fit-looking maintenance worker in his mid-forties.
TRUTH--------Rescuer. Dressed like a doctor.
REVELATION---Voice over the intercom.
[b]Act one[/b]
[b][i]Scene one[/i][/b]
[i]Back in the days before cellular phones, Future, Past, Scar, Hope, Menace and Fighter all step into the elevator together as the doors open.[/i]
FUTURE. ([i]Presses the ‘up’ button[/i].)
MENACE: ([i]Steps forward and presses the ‘down’ button[/i]). I’m going down.
FIGHTER: ([i]Immediately steps forward after him and presses the ‘up’ button[/i]). Sorry, Buddy. I’m also going up.
HOPE: Ya, that makes three of us.
[i]Shortly after the sound of the elevator rising, it can be heard to shudder then stop, the lights flickering on and off. The lights then go out and the elevator can be heard to fall, violently coming to a sudden halt. The lights come back on again to reveal the characters lying about on the floor. One is seriously injured – Fighter, who is lying on the floor moaning, his forehead bleeding.[/i]
MENACE: ([i]Gets up with the others. Hands on hips, looks down at FIGHTER while shaking his head[/i]). Should have let us go down, ay?
([i]The others are now standing around looking at FIGHTER[/i].)
FIGHTER. ([i]Breathing rapidly, writhing and holding his chest[/i].)
HOPE: Let me have a look at him. I used to be a paramedic. ([i]Others stand aside. She performs a physical examination on FIGHTER then pulls a tissue out of her pocket to dab his wound[/i].) At least one broken rib and a punctured lung. ([i]Looks at FIGHTER[/i].) I think you’re going to be fine, but you will need to visit the hospital when you’re able to.
FUTURE: ([i]Presses the call button[/i].) Hello! Anybody there? ([i]Long silence[/i].) Hello?
MENACE: ([i]Smiles[/i].) Forget about it… It’s broken. Just accept that nobody’s ever going to hear us. If we get out, it won’t be through that thing.
FIGHTER: ([i]Laughs weakly[/i].) Oh, nonsense! Give it some time, will you?
MENACE: Ha! You think you have better ideas? Could have fooled me...
HOPE: We ought to just be patient and wait it out guys. Somebody will find us here.
MENACE: ([i]Snorts[/i].) Yeah, in a few days!
[b][i]Scene 2[/i][/b]
[i]The characters have been sitting on the floor or leaning against the railing in silence for some time.[/i]
FUTURE. ([i]Stares for a while at PAST sitting across from him. She is looking at the floor[/i].) So… looks like we’re all stuck here together, hey. ([i]Smiles[/i].) At least we’re not all strangers in here. I mean, it could be a lot worse.
PAST. ([i]Glances at SCAR who is leaning against the wall with his eyes closed[/i].)
FUTURE: PAST, you know what that’s like during your hockey games knowing that among the sea of faces watching you, there are at least two that you know.
SCAR. ([i]Perks up, opening his eyes[/i].)
PAST: ([i]Glances again at SCAR then flicks her hair back[/i].) Ya, I know what you mean.
FUTURE: And when you put on a good show, there is bound to be someone to remember. Like that time you moved around those two girls…
PAST: Dribbled...
FUTURE: Yeah, and passed to Vanity just before she scored that amazing goal, the one that basically won the game!
SCAR: Drag flick. In all the games I’ve watched, only ever seen it done a few times.
PAST: ([i]Pushes her hair behind her ear, affecting a smile while looking at FUTURE[/i].) I know hey, that was just amazing team work!
FUTURE: All the games I’ve ever watched have been won because of team work. ([i]Smiles at PAST[/i]). By the way, PAST you’re invited to a special function next week if you’d like to come. It’s a managers’ function from work.
MENACE: ([i]Chuckles[/i].) Remember… that’s IF we make it out alive!
SCAR: That’s right… Best not make any plans just yet.
PAST: ([i]Pushes her hair out of her eyes and flicks it back behind her shoulders while looking at SCAR[/i].) SCAR, you can come too.
FUTURE: Well… ah… I don’t know. I can only invite one. It’s an important function…
PAST. ([i]Gives FUTURE a look[/i].)
FUTURE: Ah… I guess we can try…
SCAR: ([i]Looking at FUTURE[/i].) Come on, it’s not like you haven’t been in an awkward situation before. When Sheep and I came back to the dorm after you had just moved in, your first time away from home, we caught you all emotional, crying on the bed because you were missing your mother. How we laughed!
FUTURE. ([i]Grimaces, looking down at the ground[/i].)
MENACE: ([i]Sniggers and looks directly at FUTURE, after PAST and SCAR have been laughing[/i].) Mommy… ([i]exaggeratedly affecting a pretend sad face[/i].)
[i]Suddenly, there is a loud, grating, shuddering noise, the lights flickering a few times.[/i]
MENACE. ([i]Bursts out into laughter as though he finds something deeply amusing and can hardly contain his laughter[/i].)
[i]The elevator drops briefly before coming to another abrupt stop.[/i]
[b][i]Scene 3[/i][/b]
[i]A substantial amount of time has passed and FIGHTER can be heard humming the song, ‘Wonderful World’. He does so for a few moments.[/i]
MENACE: ([i]Leaning back against the railing, arms folded, looking at FIGHTER[/i].) Why don’t you just accept that you might die in here today? You optimists make me sick…
FIGHTER: ([i]Smiles weakly[/i].) It’s not my time for that now, is it?
MENACE. ([i]Snorts, looking away[/i].)
HOPE. ([i]Sitting next to FIGHTER, has been looking at FUTURE for a few moments[/i].)
FUTURE. ([i]Notices her and looks up, affecting a smile at her[/i].)
HOPE: You know, we’ve all had embarrassing things happen to us at one time or another. It’s part of the growth process. What matters is what you do with it afterwards. Yours wasn’t even that bad to be honest… It’s normal!
FUTURE. ([i]Still smiling, chuckles and nods[/i].)
MENACE: ([i]Mimes an infant sucking on a thumb, side-looking at FUTURE[/i].)
SCAR: Maybe so, but that was a first for me. ([i]Winks at FUTURE[/i].)
PAST. ([i]Giggles, covering her face with her hands[/i].)
HOPE: Oh, come on! Would you like me to go to each of your mothers and request some of your baby stories? I’m sure they’d be in abundance. ([i]Silence[/i].) Yes, just what I thought…
[i]Suddenly there is a crackly noise coming from a speaker positioned above them[/i].
REVELATION: ([i]Faint, unintelligible sound of talking… then louder[/i].) Hello… hello, can you guys hear me over there?
FIGHTER: Hello! ([i]Sits up quickly from a lying-down position, wincing a little[/i].)
FUTURE: We can hear! ([i]Looking up at the speaker[/i].)
REVELATION: I see you guys are stuck in there. Someone’s coming to help you in a minute. Just stay put, okay?
FUTURE: Okay!
HOPE: ([i]Celebrates[/i].) Yes! I told you! ([i]Looks playfully at FIGHTER[/i].) I told you! ([i]Looking quickly at FUTURE, with a bursting smile[/i].)
MENACE: ([i]Smiling sarcastically at HOPE[/i].) Let’s not count our chickens before they’re hatched, huh?
[b][i]Scene 4[/i][/b]
[i]Lights have since gone out and the characters have been sitting in the dark. Someone pries open the elevator door, but the entrance to the adjacent floor is at an awkward angle. This means that the occupants will have to exert themselves significantly in order to climb out.[/i]
TRUTH. ([i]Appears in the gap with a flashlight, dressed like a doctor in a white lab coat. He shines the light on PAST[/i].)
PAST: Oh, take me out first! Take me!
TRUTH. ([i]Shines the light on SCAR. An aside to the audience[/i].) Scrawny little guy, isn’t he?
TRUTH. ([i]Illuminates MENACE with the light who quickly turns his face away and shields it with his arm[/i].) Okay, this lift is quite unstable, so we’re going to try to do this as quickly and as carefully as we can.
TRUTH. ([i]Points the flashlight at FUTURE. Seeing he is closest to the door, he reaches out his hand[/i].) Give me your hand.
FUTURE. ([i]Reaches up and takes his hand[/i].)
[i]HOPE and SCAR give FUTURE a boost as he is lifted.[/i]
PAST: ([i]Lunges forward and seizes on FUTURE’s leg as he is about to be lifted out[/i].) Don’t leave me here!
FUTURE. ([i]Pulls away and PAST lets go. He is lifted up through the gap[/i].)
[i]The stage is emerged in darkness. The curtain falls.[/i]
36-40, M
