Twenty-Two a Day: A Tragedy in Three Acts

By Mark A. Bodrog and Hunter Haskins

Mark and Bettz, two friends and Veterans of both the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, make it their personal mission to end the epidemic of Veteran suicide. Over a period of twenty-four hours, the reader will join the two characters on a tragic journey that leads them from Mark’s simple home with his wife and newborn daughter, right into their Congressman’s office. Throughout Mark and Bettz’s tragic journey, the reader will come face-to-face with twenty-two Veterans who have taken their lives and gain a deeper understanding of the trials and tribulations that many Veterans encounter when they return back home from service in the military.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781532071577

Mark A. Bodrog

Mark A. Bodrog is a U.S Marine Corps Infantry Captain and Veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He earned a master’s degree from Rutgers University. He is the author of the book, Second Platoon: Call Sign Hades: A Memoir of the Marines of the Combined Action Company. Visit his website at www.facebook.com/callsignhades. Hunter Haskins, call sign “Geico,” is a U.S. Marine Corps Captain and CH-53 pilot. He is a Veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

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Copyright © 2019 Mark A. Bodrog and Hunter Haskins.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-7158-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-7157-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019906821

iUniverse rev. date: 05/15/2019

CONTENTS

Cast of Characters

Author’s Note

ACT I

SCENE 1

ACT I

SCENE 2

ACT I

SCENE 3

ACT I

SCENE 4

ACT I

SCENE 5

ACT II

SCENE 1

ACT II

SCENE 2

ACT II

SCENE 3

ACT III

SCENE 1

ACT III

SCENE 2

ACT III

SCENE 3

This play is dedicated to the 22 Veterans no longer

with us today. May their families find peace.

Exclusively for Always

Faithful LLC

Cast of Characters

MARK: He is in his early thirties. Tall and slender with an athletic build. Physically fit with a deep cold stare that could pierce through anyone. He has recently returned home from another deployment to Afghanistan. Each time Mark comes home, a little more of who he was is gone. He typically dresses professionally and usually wears khaki pants with a white undershirt, collared shirt, and nice dress shoes. Throughout the play, Mark carries a notepad, which he uses to write down the names of all the Veterans who, he learns, have committed suicide.

As a rule, he keeps most of his emotions inside and rarely speaks of his time in the military to his wife. He likes to stay professional in all settings, which sometimes presents difficulty in his marriage, as he often appears robotic.

GRACE: Mark’s wife. She is in her early thirties, petite, with an athletic build. Grace is a very energetic, loyal, and patriotic woman who senses the distance in her husband when he comes home. This leads her to constantly nag him in order to try to communicate better with him and bring him emotionally closer to her. This creates disharmony between her and her husband.

ISABELLA: Mark and Grace’s newborn baby.

BETTZ: He is a former enlisted Marine who served with Mark. While he was not in Mark’s command, they developed a friendly relationship after they both were honorably discharged from the Marine Corps. He is in his thirties. He is occasionally seen chewing tobacco and drinking alcohol. He is a highly energetic, enthusiastic, and gung-ho individual who suffers from minor Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He loves to tell war stories and misses his days in the military. Bettz and Mark are a perfect balance. Whereas Mark is usually cool and calm, Bettz is loud, aggressive, and comedic. Bettz has a slight Southern accent, usually wears camouflage pants, has long hair, and likes to wear military insignia and Marine Corps hats. He is a homeless Veteran.

ROCCO: He is the bartender at MoJo’s Tavern. Rocco plays a small role in the play in Act 1. He is in his forties.

UNCLE HARRY: He is a United States Army Korean and Vietnam War Veteran who fought in the notorious Tet Offensive. He is a large man with a beard and occasionally may wear dark aviator sunglasses throughout the play. He is seen wearing a hat that says Vietnam War Veteran. This hat is covered in ribbons and medals from his unit. He dresses in an old, baggy, camouflage Army fatigue blouse. Over his blouse he wears a vest with medals and ribbons from the military units he served with. His jeans and sneakers look worn. He is a highly motivated and energetic character. He brings his experiences into his conversations. Uncle Harry is the homeless man in Act I, Scene IV.

CONGRESSMAN SMITH: Politician in his late forties or early fifties. Well-dressed, smooth, charismatic, and suave individual. He wears a business suit and tie, has very good grammar, and is known for his leadership on military and Veterans’ issues. He comes off as down-to-earth and a people person. The audience should have the impression that he comes from a simple background, but has led an exemplary life. Congressman Smith genuinely tries to be honest, dedicated, and truthful, which are rare qualities, as politicians in this current era are generally corrupt, dishonest, greedy, and selfish.

DR. PETERS: He is in his late fifties or early sixties. He is the doctor at the VA facility. He wears a white lab coat and has a stethoscope around his neck. Dr. Peters is a professional and a very hard worker. The audience will get the sense that he is caring and extremely busy.

OFFICE AIDE: Plays a small role in Act 2. The Office Aide dresses business casual.

ROUGH LOCALS 1, 2, 3: Play a small role as instigators outside of MoJo’s Tavern in Act 1.

PARAMEDICS 1 and 2: Play a small role in Act 1.

RECEPTIONISTS: Play a small role at the VA in Act 2 and Act 3.

Author’s Note

The time is the present. When action begins, the time on the set for the first scene is 2:22 p.m. This should be displayed and narrated for the audience.

There will not be an intermission.

The majority of the play takes place in a small, older looking two-story, two-bedroom condo. Due to size of stage, the play could be set on one floor with separate rooms.

Mark, the main character, is upstairs. His wife Grace, and his new born daughter Isabella are downstairs. Mark and Grace are the typical New Jersey family, trying to save money for a bigger home, but because of their extremely high property taxes, this strategy has taken a lot longer than they anticipated.

The couple does not have a strong East Coast accent. The director must not stereotype the main characters as being from New Jersey, as this would alienate the audience. Their home is the focal point of the play, and the characters must seem like real people.

When the play changes in ACT I, Scenes 3, 4 and 5; ACT II, Scenes 1 and 3; and ACT III, Scene 1, this set should be dimmed to draw another set in, if possible. The stage crew will need to be able to conduct changes to the set.

The downstairs area of the house has a main room and a kitchen. The kitchen is small, with an area to cook, multiple cabinets with food and spices, a microwave, a sink, a dishwasher, and a large refrigerator.

The living room has a small dinner table, and the television is in the corner of the room. In the living room, blankets and pillows cover the furniture. The living room of their home is the typical mess that a room would be with a newborn baby. There is a crib, stroller, baby bottles, diapers, clothes, presents, towels, bibs, books, blankets, and baby swing. This leads to a lot of clutter in the room.

The timeline of the play takes place over a twenty-four-hour period. This timeline is significant because it will symbolize the twenty-two Veterans each day that will commit suicide in a twenty-four-hour period. The number twenty-two is significant throughout the play because it symbolizes the twenty-two Veterans who will commit suicide every day.

At the beginning, middle or end of certain scenes, the names of military Veterans who have taken their lives in acts of suicide will be mentioned. These names come from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans’ Suicide Archive, and public sources that publish the names of Veterans who commit suicide. (These names can change, depending on the director of the play. Names may be changed or altered to respect the privacy of the families of the military members who have committed suicide.)

Twenty-one United States military Veterans who