Tied

By Crystal Rae

In 1963 the world lost "4 Little Girls" in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church, but Daniel lost his youngest daughter. This devoted husband and father has always been a tie wearing, toe the line, straight shooter, until his wife and the one daughter that survived, become the next target..

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crystal Rae
• Release date: Apr 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9780578676876

Crystal Rae

Crystal Rae received a BFA in acting and directing from Abilene Christian University and  has studied acting under famed actress Ella Joyce. A writer for the stage and screen, Rae’s newest play, Code Feet, had a reading in the prestigious Metzler New Works Festival with the A.D.Players at the George Theater in Houston, Texas on May 24, 2022. Thanks to the joint efforts of Jonathan Williams of the Jonathan Williams Center for the Performing Arts in Beaumont, Texas and the now late Van Dirk Fisher of the Riant in New York, her play Tied, a one - man play, was the recipient of the Black Seed Grant Award and enjoyed a warm reception at its world premiere produced by On the Verge theatre in collaboration with The Ensemble Theatre in Houston, Texas.  Lions, a one- woman play, written and performed by Rae was chosen for the New York New Work Festival in 2018 and also won first place in the Houston Play on Purpose competition. She is more than elated that her newest work Lil’ Man Saves Christmas has been added to The Ensemble Theatre’s Tour Education. Her writing has also been featured in Houston’s Fade to Black Festival. She leads puppeteering workshops for incarcerated youth through Houston’s Brave Little Company and is writing and directing short films starring puppets for both children and adult audiences alike.  When she isn’t hammering out writing commissions you can find her annoying her neighbors with her tap dancing and amateur playing her banjo, Ellise Pearl. This theater educator by day and writer by night,  hopes to continue telling Sunday school stories through an adult lens for a postmodern world.  To learn more about her, the puppet films, and other wild endeavors visit www.crystalraeproductions.com

Book preview

Tied

a one-man play

by Crystal Rae

© 2018

WGA: Registration Number: 2037013

Tied, a one man play is copyright © 2019 All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this material, being fully protected by Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, is subject to a royalty. All rights including, but not limited to, professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are expressly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of readings and all uses of this book by educational institutions, permission for which must be secured from the author Crystal Rae, [e-mail] Music and Lyrics are copyright © 2019 by Crystal Rae.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rae, Crystal. Tied, a one man play/ Crystal Rae ISBN- 978-0-57864-785-2

Headshot Photo by Justin Taplet

Cover Design by ViknCharlie - Fiverr.com

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Character Description

ACT 1 Sc. 1

ACT 1 Sc. 2

ACT 1 Sc. 3

ACT 1 Sc. 4

ACT 1 Sc. 5

ACT 1 Sc. 6

ACT 1 Sc. 7

ACT 1 Sc. 8

ACT 1 Sc. 9

ACT 1 Sc.10

ACT 1 Sc. 11

ACT 1 Sc. 12

ACT 1 Sc. 13

ACT 1 Sc. 14

ACT 1 Sc. 15

ACT 1 Sc. 16

ACT 1 Sc. 17

ACT 1 Sc. 18

ACT 1Sc. 19

ACT 2

ACT 2 Sc. 2

ACT 2 Sc. 3

ACT 2 Sc. 4

ACT 2 Sc.5

ACT 2 Sc. 6

ACT 2 Sc. 7

ACT 2 Sc. 8

ACT 2 Sc. 9

ACT 2 Sc. 10

ACT 2 Sc. 11

ACT 2 Sc. 12

ACT 2 Sc. 13

ACT 2 Sc. 14

ACT 2 Sc. 15

ACT 2 Sc. 16

ACT 2 Sc. 17

ACT 2 Sc. 18

ACT 2 Sc. 19

Acknowledgments

This work is in honor of my father, my brother, my nephew, uncles and the handful of men who have stood as pillars, guide posts, and umbrellas in my life. To the women of my life, my mother, grandmother, sister, niece, and aunts, and cousins galore, I hope to make you proud. Thank you to The Ensemble Theatre of Houston, Texas who has made room for my ideas in the way a mother hen makes room for her chicks. I am grateful.

Thanks to the enormous talent that is Jason Carmichael and his willingness to perform draft after draft. You sir, was God choosing to show off. I am grateful to every person who sat through readings, lent advice, and read copies of the play. Thanks to City Life Church, you are a pivotal part of my tale and that cannot be understated. Thank you my tribe of friends who have the arduous task of reading everything always, until I die, you’re awesome.

Character Description

Daniel - Age 35-65, African-American.

Time: 1964

Setting: The front porch of Daniel’s mind, Alabama. In a Negro neighborhood on a street that’s one notch above modest and headed on the road toward middle class.

ACT 1

Sc.1

DANIEL

My mother named us Moses, Joshua, Elijah, and Daniel — in that order — and folks would see my brothers, especially if they meeting us for the first time, and without fail, we could count on somebody saying: (he sings) Go Down Moses. And Joshua had Joshua fit the Battle of Jericho, and Elijah had Elijah Rock, but they’d get to me and there wasn’t no music for me. When you small, stuff like that seep into places it wouldn’t if you was older. Seem like you got more cracks in you when you small, like a soft spot on your head... except your whole heart’s like that. Now they wouldn’t sing to me, but what they would say is Oh, I should tell you my dream! So, I adapted. Set me up a small business. Kids would bring me they candy money and tell me their dreams and I was making a killing coming up with all kinds of stuff. About four months in and I had $234.45 in nickels, dimes, and pennies. Which wasn’t nothing to sneeze at, not in them days. My momma gave me the soundest beating of my whole life when she found out. When my daddy came home, he got an earful from her. And then he called me into that kitchen. Which in my house, operated like a court room whenever we was in trouble. Until then, I didn’t know my top lip could sweat. My whole top lip was a swimming pool, my nose was sweating, my eyes was sweating. Looked like I’d been baptized fully dressed.

I showed him everything. The journal with the names, the dreams kids had, my interpretations, the money I’d charged. I’d kept a record of all of it. There were repeat customers who said my interpretations were dead on, and I pretended like it was The Spirit, but some people was just easy to make out. I was 8 years old keeping my own books cause it made sense. Seem like I should know what I had told folks, in

case they needed a reminder or a refund. My daddy thumbed through every page. Sent my mother out the room. And kneeled on the floor so he and I was right here.

(He motions eye to eye.)

He says to me, I was there when you was being born. Right there in the next room, like I was for the other three, listening, pacing, probably the only time I ever prayed about something other than dinner was when y’all was being born. Yo’ momma sounded like she was being killed each time. And after a few hours of your momma screaming, Ol’ Sista’ Winston she’d say, Oh! We got ourselves a boy." And I was listening for that when you was coming. And she ain’t say that.