BothAnd

By Justin Blasdel

Rene D'Cart has awoken in a dreamland where she must discover the answer to the unanswerable question of "Why?" She travels through many worlds in which she meets with the paramount of many different philosophical pillars: science, spiritualism, religion, and others. But each one brings as many problems as they do solutions, and she must put in on herself to figure out how to find the key to her personal Pandora's Box.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Justin Blasdel
• Release date: Jul 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310230820

Justin Blasdel

This is an attempt to make my works public. If you like them and want to produce them, please contact me first. Thank you.

Book preview

46

Both/And

By

Justin Blasdel

8/12/10

Version 1

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Smashwords Edition Copyright by Justin Blasdel, 2010

Characters

Rene D'Cart: Philosophically Tortured Young Woman

Cogito: Human Desire to Understand

Announcer: Traditional Game Show Host

Tindal: 1950's Mad Scientist Rock Star

Lemonade Salesman: Joe Blow Selling Lemonade

Zsuzsanna: African Witch/Warrior

Prof. Lexathor: Choral Faith Leader

Kierkegaard: Haughty Paragon of Truth

Soul: Innocence and Simplicity

Time

At night.

Place

In a dream.

PRODUCTION NOTES: The whole play is set in one person's dream world. The more fluid and softer transition of scenes, the better. Lighting and music is very important to the atmosphere. If the exact song cannot be legally acquired, then a similar second choice is preferred. The TV is important, but not completely necessary. It can be replaced with a radio or by the theatre's sound system. The gender of COGITO is written to be neutral, but either gender of actor can play the part. The LEMONADE SALESMAN can easily be played as female instead. The SOUL can be played by a young actress from five to sixteen, so long as RENE is obviously the adult between the two.

It begins in total darkness. A TV hanging upstage in the air is turned on automatically and the channel is consistently changed. What is heard and seen is a collection of advertisement catch phrases, warnings from a news station, badly acted soap operas, talk shows, etc. The volume increases, and it sounds like multiple TVs have been turned on in the distance. At the peak of this cacophony, everything goes mute.

A light shines down upon the young woman RENE, who has been lying on the ground asleep as if in HER bed. She is dressed in pajamas.

RENE is the subconscious creator of this world. SHE is a representation of HER own inability to understand reality and the purpose of existence.

COGITO, a humanoid painted and clothed completely in white except for an eye symbol on ITs chest, calmly walks into the light and turns off the TV.

COGITO is the representation of RENE's need to know. Every quest for philosophical achievement is started by this embodied desire.

IT stares down at RENE, observing HER as one would a dark, mysterious Realism painting. Suddenly, there is the sound of Noh Theatre music, and COGITO changes movements and acts more like a buzzard investigating a wounded friend. IT