Scene 1 from Intimate Relay<\/p>\n
by onom\u00e9 ekeh<\/p>\n
Dramatis Personae
\n(In Order of Appearance)<\/p>\n
Lucretia, our heroine
\nMiss Eleggua a.k.a. \u201cLegsy\u201d, a young girl and our sometime referee
\nViktor & Rolf, the dandies next door
\nEdgar & Violet a couple
\nBritannicus & Octavia, twins in the garden
\nBaron Samedi
\nGreat Aunt Brigitte
\nA Baby<\/p>\n
SCENES:
\n\u201cA No-Man\u2019s Land\u201d; Viktor & Rolf\u2019s Living Room; Violet & Edgar\u2019S Living Room; A Garden<\/p>\n
I.I
\nLUCRETIA stands immobile center stage. Wearing a very elaborately (even baroquely) bustled and collared black velvet Edwardian get up (replete with a top hat, veil tossed carelessly to the side) she is arched and twisted so that for a while we can only see her in profile. She lets us take her in and finally she turns\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nIt usually comes in a white envelope.
\nThe information is passed in whispers from one party to another until it is left for the last person to relay the contents of the envelope.
\nThe object of the game is not to repeat the contents of the white envelope verbatim, rather the challenge is to transform the information\u2014using metaphors from your own life.
\nSo we end with a tale that is different from the first. However, the moral stays the same. This is how it is played\u2014Intimate Relay,<\/p>\n
LEGSY a young girl prances on stage rolling a large hoop. She wears a white frock and an impish grin. LUCRETIA is not amused by LEGSY\u2019S presence at all, LEGSY skips around LUCRETIA with her hoop, making LUCRETIA antsy\u2014<\/p>\n
LEGSY:
\nIt seems to me the game can\u2019t start without a vital piece of information\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nOf that, I am well aware\u2014<\/p>\n
LEGSY:
\nSo in fact the game can\u2019t start without me\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nVery well, out with it then\u2014<\/p>\n
LEGSY, to LUCRETIA\u2019S great dismay and discomfort extracts a white envelope from LUCRETIA\u2019S bosom. LUCRETIA tries to snatch it back unsuccessfully, she is forced to stand in the background as LEGSY opens up the white envelope and reads\u2014<\/p>\n
LEGSY:
\nAdventures In Crossbreeding.
\nA group of scientists have a stallion copulate with a zebra. Nothing happens, a small matter of obstinate XY chromosomes and a difference in genetic structure. The stallion is sent home where he mates with a mare. A few months later the mare gives birth to a striped foal\u2014
\nAn urban myth no doubt, nevertheless\u2014 let the games begin!<\/p>\n
She tosses the envelope back at LUCRETIA, who attempts to catch it\u2014but it mysteriously turns into a bird and flutters off. LEGSY curtsies and takes off in the other direction with her hoop. LUCRETIA regains her composure\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nI suppose it is time to meet our players.<\/p>\n
1.2
\nShe traipses over to the extreme left of the stage. Lights come up on Viktor and Rolf, two elaborately groomed dandies seated in their living room, having tea. There is something extremely balletic about their movements; the entire teatime ritual is a complex of flourishes and juggling acts. In between pouring tea and passing teacups they manage to adjust cravats, timepieces, part hair, smooth gloves with wonderfully elastic timing. Together (within their habitat) they constitute an elegant and seamless machinery.<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nMeet Viktor and Rolf. A unit unto themselves\u2014
\nShe extracts some crockery from their tea tray; confusing the duo\u2014making them juggle and swoop the apparently flying objects from the air. We realize LUCRETIA is invisible to them. Lights dim on VIKTOR and ROLF\u2014 but not completely, we can still watch them if we want.<\/p>\n
1.3
\nLUCRETIA moves on to the upper part of center stage into VIOLET and EDGAR\u2019s living room. VIOLET and EDGAR sit on separate ends of a sofa, not speaking. LUCRETIA sweeps in, VIOLET cocks her head a bit\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nMeet Violet and Edgar, another unit.
\nVery exciting isn\u2019t it Violet? Who was it that said\u2014
\nGeteilte Freude ist doppelt Freude?
\nDouble pleasure? Let\u2019s see about that\u2014<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\n(Turning to EDGAR) Excuse me?<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nWhat?<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\nI thought you said something\u2014<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nI didn\u2019t say anything<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nIt wouldn\u2019t be like you, would it now?<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nWhat was that?<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\nWhat?<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nFine\u2014<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\nDo you have something on your mind?<\/p>\n
He is about to respond but then the phone begins to ring. Two short rings and then stops. Dread registers on their faces, EDGAR and VIOLET freeze.<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nWe will leave the married couple for now\u2014
\nThe lights dim on VIOLET and EDGAR, but like VIKTOR and ROLF\u2014not completely, we can make out their machinations in the half light.<\/p>\n
1.4
\nShe steps down to the extreme right. Lights come on two young children seated on a bench in the garden. BRITANNICUS and OCTAVIA wear horned and primal looking masks and seem to be playing some sort of computer game. They too seem oblivious to LUCRETIA\u2019S presence, however\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nAnd now for the jewels in the garden, or should I say the combination gems? Meet Britannicus and Octavia\u2014my pride and joy\u2014<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\n(Pulling her mask back over her head)
\nHello Aunt Lucretia.<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nHello my darling. And what about you Britannicus, does your auntie get a kiss?<\/p>\n
BRITANNICUS:
\nRemember the game you gave us the other time?<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nYes sweetie, is that what you\u2019re playing?<\/p>\n
BRITANNICUS:
\nI reprogrammed it.<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nI beg your pardon?<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nIt\u2019s a whole different game now!<\/p>\n
BRITANNICUS:
\nCombat!<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nAnd what do you know of the art of war, little ones?<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nWe\u2019ll show you Aunt Lucretia\u2014<\/p>\n
Computer game noises. Lights come up on VIOLET and EDGAR; they are in vicious kung-fu fighting mode, moving as though computer generated. OCTAVIA controls VIOLET\u2019S movements, while BRITANNICUS mans EDGAR\u2019s\u2014<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nPig dog! I will make you squirm like a worm! Then I will squish you into dust\u2014<\/p>\n
BRITANNICUS:
\nDishonorable and worthless enemy, your arrogance is pathetic! Observe true mastery as I destroy you\u2014<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nFool! I will teach you to speak dribble in the presence of humans\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\n(Clapping her hands with delight) It\u2019s wonderful! You brilliant darling children! Remarkable!<\/p>\n
Lights go down on EDGAR and VIOLET.<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nYou like it Aunt Lucretia?<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nLove it, love it\u2014<\/p>\n
At this, OCTAVIA and BRITANNICUS pull on their masks and communicate in some arcane private language, which involves a good deal of whispering, chirping and some headknocking\u2014which seems to indicate the presence of telepathy\u2014<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nThen will you take us somewhere Aunt Lucretia?<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nWhere would you like to go poppet?<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nI dunno, somewhere, anywhere\u2014 We\u2019re always here.LUCRETIA:
\nDo you not like it here?<\/p>\n
BRITANNICUS:
\nIt gets old.<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nSoon my brilliant kinder, soon. I must be off now, give your auntie a kiss\u2014
\nThe two children dutifully kiss LUCRETIA. The lights dim on the garden.<\/p>\n
1.5
\nLUCRETIA pays a visit to VIOLET and EDGAR. The couple, exhausted from fighting, is slumped on the sofa. VIOLET is crying\u2014<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\nWe can\u2019t keep doing this \u2014<\/p>\n
EDGAR is silent. He lights a cigarette and takes a puff. As an afterthought he passes it to VIOLET, she accepts it. He lights another one for himself\u2014<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\nWhat happened to us? Were we always this way?<\/p>\n
EDGAR is about to reply, but he is distracted\u2014LUCRETIA pries his cigarette from his fingers and smokes it. He looks at his empty fingers\u2014<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nThat\u2019s weird\u2014<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\nWhat?<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nI\u2014 Oh never mind\u2014<\/p>\n
He lights another cigarette and takes a long drag\u2014<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\nCan we talk about this Edgar? Do you want to talk about this?<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nSure, I just\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA interrupts again. This time she kneels beside him, almost whispering into his ear and magically steals the cigarette from him. Like she were extracting a kiss. EDGAR is stunned.<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\nYou just don\u2019t really want to talk about this\u2014<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nOf course I do! It\u2019s just that\u2014<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\nJust what?<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nViolet, you\u2019re badgering me. There\u2019s a time and a place for everything\u2014<\/p>\n
VIOLET:
\nAlright Edgar. What time and place is this then?<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA, content with her level of mischief, leaves them.<\/p>\n
1.6
\nThe lights dim and she walks through VIKTOR and ROLF\u2019S living room, making a few objects fly. The elegant boys juggle all the flying flotsam back into place.<\/p>\n
BLACK.<\/p>\n
2.1
\nLUCRETIA stands immobile center stage as if deep in thought, she is distracted when a hoop circumnavigates her and LEGSY with it. LEGSY once again extracts a white envelope from LUCRETIA\u2019S person, she opens it up and reads:<\/p>\n
LEGSY:
\nFrom \u201cAn Unknown Correspondence\u201d:
\nYou pierced my heart
\nMy heart was stunned
\nMy breath a shiver
\nMy thoughts a haze
\nMy heart was blazing
\nThe heat,
\na knife\u2014
\nMy heart is torn<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA, clearly unsettled, attempts to snatch the poem from her. No sooner than it reaches her hands it turns into glittering nothingness, LEGSY and hoop rolling away\u2014<\/p>\n
2.2
\nLUCRETIA makes her way to the garden where the children sans masks are busy with their computer game\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nHello my sweet things!<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nBritannicus upgraded the program\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nHe did what?<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nNow we can pick our own poison!<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nOctavia!<\/p>\n
BRITANNICUS:
\nWhat she means is that we can change the terms of combat\u2014it doesn\u2019t always have to be kung fu or jujitsu\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nVery well, let\u2019s see what you have\u2014<\/p>\n
Lights come up on VIOLET and EDGAR. This time she is pinned to the wall while EDGAR throws knives. The way BRITANNICUS and OCTAVIA play it, she has to exact lightning moves for EDGAR to create complex patterns with the knives\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nBravo! What a wonderful idea! You children are so clever, guess what your auntie brought for you today?<\/p>\n
BRITANNICUS:
\nTravel vouchers?<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nOh Britannicus, so clever yet so disagreeable\u2014<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nWhen do you think we\u2019ll be ready to go somewhere?<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nAll in good time liebchen, all in good time. I brought you some butterscotch, your favorite Britannicus\u2014<\/p>\n
BRITANNICUS:
\nI\u2019ve outgrown that\u2014<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nNonsense poppet! You never grow, I should know\u2014 Give your aunt a hug, I must be off–<\/p>\n
OCTAVIA:
\nCan I come?<\/p>\n
LUCRETIA:
\nOh sweetheart, I\u2019ll be back before you notice\u2014<\/p>\n
The children put on their masks and confer by knocking heads and making strange chirping noises. LUCRETIA takes her leave and wanders into EDGAR and VIOLET\u2019S living room.<\/p>\n
2.3
\nVIOLET stands in the corner crying. EDGAR is at the other end, watching her helplessly.<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nDarling I\u2019m sorry, I didn\u2019t mean a word of it\u2014 I can\u2019t explain what came over me\u2014<\/p>\n
VIOLET only sobs more intensely.<\/p>\n
EDGAR:
\nViolet, please\u2014<\/p>\n
He walks over to hold her but is intercepted by LUCRETIA. He is just a hand span away from touching her. The phone begins to ring, two short rings and it stops. VIOLET turns around slowly, some sort of realization has come upon her. She stares at EDGAR coldly, LUCRETIA still between them, EDGAR retreats. The lights dim.<\/p>\n
Intimate Relay \u00a92004, 2013 onom\u00e9 ekeh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Scene 1 from Intimate Relay by onom\u00e9 ekeh Dramatis Personae (In Order of Appearance) Lucretia, our heroine Miss Eleggua a.k.a. \u201cLegsy\u201d, a young girl and our sometime referee Viktor & Rolf, the dandies next door Edgar & Violet a couple Britannicus & Octavia, twins in the garden Baron Samedi Great Aunt Brigitte A Baby SCENES: \u201cA No-Man\u2019s Land\u201d; Viktor & Rolf\u2019s Living Room; Violet & Edgar\u2019S Living Room; A Garden I.I LUCRETIA stands immobile center stage. Wearing a very elaborately (even baroquely) bustled and collared black velvet Edwardian get up (replete with a top hat, veil tossed carelessly to the side) she is arched and twisted so that for a while we can only see her in profile. She lets us take her in and finally she turns\u2014 LUCRETIA: It usually comes in a white envelope. The information is passed in whispers from one party to another until it is left for the last person to relay the contents of the envelope. The object of the game is not to repeat the contents of the white envelope verbatim, rather the challenge is to transform the information\u2014using metaphors from your own life. So we end with a tale that is different from the first. However, the moral stays the same. This is how it is played\u2014Intimate Relay, LEGSY a young girl prances on stage rolling a large hoop. She wears a white frock and an impish grin. LUCRETIA is not amused by LEGSY\u2019S presence at all, LEGSY skips around LUCRETIA with her hoop, making LUCRETIA antsy\u2014 LEGSY: It seems to me the game can\u2019t start without a vital piece of information\u2014 LUCRETIA: Of that, I am well aware\u2014 LEGSY: So in fact the game can\u2019t start without me\u2014 LUCRETIA: Very well, out with it then\u2014 LEGSY, to LUCRETIA\u2019S great dismay and discomfort extracts a white envelope from LUCRETIA\u2019S bosom. LUCRETIA tries to snatch it back unsuccessfully, she is forced to stand in the background as LEGSY opens up the white envelope and reads\u2014 LEGSY: Adventures In Crossbreeding. A group of scientists have a stallion copulate with a zebra. Nothing happens, a small matter of obstinate XY chromosomes and a difference in genetic structure. The stallion is sent home where he mates with a mare. A few months later the mare gives birth to a striped foal\u2014 An urban myth no doubt, nevertheless\u2014 let the games begin! She tosses the envelope back at LUCRETIA, who attempts to catch it\u2014but it mysteriously turns into a bird and flutters off. LEGSY curtsies and takes off in the other direction with her hoop. LUCRETIA regains her composure\u2014 LUCRETIA: I suppose it is time to meet our players. 1.2 She traipses over to the extreme left of the stage. Lights come up on Viktor and Rolf, two elaborately groomed dandies seated in their living room, having tea. There is something extremely balletic about their movements; the entire teatime ritual is a complex of flourishes and juggling acts. In between pouring tea and passing teacups they manage to adjust cravats, timepieces, part hair, smooth gloves with wonderfully elastic timing. Together (within their habitat) they constitute an elegant and seamless machinery. LUCRETIA: Meet Viktor and Rolf. A unit unto themselves\u2014 She extracts some crockery from their tea tray; confusing the duo\u2014making them juggle and swoop the apparently flying objects from the air. We realize LUCRETIA is invisible to them. Lights dim on VIKTOR and ROLF\u2014 but not completely, we can still watch them if we want. 1.3 LUCRETIA moves on to the upper part of center stage into VIOLET and EDGAR\u2019s living room. VIOLET and EDGAR sit on separate ends of a sofa, not speaking. LUCRETIA sweeps in, VIOLET cocks her head a bit\u2014 LUCRETIA: Meet Violet and Edgar, another unit. Very exciting isn\u2019t it Violet? Who was it that said\u2014 Geteilte Freude ist doppelt Freude? Double pleasure? Let\u2019s see about that\u2014 VIOLET: (Turning to EDGAR) Excuse me? EDGAR: What? VIOLET: I thought you said something\u2014 EDGAR: I didn\u2019t say anything LUCRETIA: It wouldn\u2019t be like you, would it now? EDGAR: What was that? VIOLET: What? EDGAR: Fine\u2014 VIOLET: Do you have something on your mind? He is about to respond but then the phone begins to ring. Two short rings and then stops. Dread registers on their faces, EDGAR and VIOLET freeze. LUCRETIA: We will leave the married couple for now\u2014 The lights dim on VIOLET and EDGAR, but like VIKTOR and ROLF\u2014not completely, we can make out their machinations in the half light. 1.4 She steps down to the extreme right. Lights come on two young children seated on a bench in the garden. BRITANNICUS and OCTAVIA wear horned and primal looking masks and seem to be playing some sort of computer game. They too seem oblivious to LUCRETIA\u2019S presence, however\u2014 LUCRETIA: And now for the jewels in the garden, or should I say the combination gems? Meet Britannicus and Octavia\u2014my pride and joy\u2014 OCTAVIA: (Pulling her mask back over her head) Hello Aunt Lucretia. LUCRETIA: Hello my darling. And what about you Britannicus, does your auntie get a kiss? BRITANNICUS: Remember the game you gave us the other time? LUCRETIA: Yes sweetie, is that what you\u2019re playing? BRITANNICUS: I reprogrammed it. LUCRETIA: I beg your pardon? OCTAVIA: It\u2019s a whole different game now! BRITANNICUS: Combat! LUCRETIA: And what do you know of the art of war, little ones? OCTAVIA: We\u2019ll show you Aunt Lucretia\u2014 Computer game noises. Lights come up on VIOLET and EDGAR; they are in vicious kung-fu fighting mode, moving as though computer generated. OCTAVIA controls VIOLET\u2019S movements, while BRITANNICUS mans EDGAR\u2019s\u2014 OCTAVIA: Pig dog! I will make you squirm like a worm! Then I will squish you into dust\u2014 BRITANNICUS: Dishonorable and worthless enemy, your arrogance is pathetic! Observe true mastery as I destroy you\u2014 OCTAVIA: Fool! I will teach you to speak dribble in the presence of humans\u2014 LUCRETIA: (Clapping her hands with delight) It\u2019s wonderful! You brilliant darling children! Remarkable! Lights go down on EDGAR and VIOLET. OCTAVIA: You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,16],"tags":[17,19],"class_list":["post-90","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-excerpt","category-theater","tag-drama","tag-intimate-relay"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":555,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions\/555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}