for a creative writing class had to write a dream like sequence for the stage, nothing spectacular here but thought I'd share (also, if the formatting is still off, my apologies, it was a pain in the arse enough to italicize the necessities)
[Untitled.]
Narrator A boatsmen
Dozens of Children Steve
A Pirate A blind man
[The Narrator standing alone centre stage with a bed, nightstand, dresser, and other bedroom decoratives.]
Narrator: It used to be that I’d keep a dream journal, jotting down my invented exploits be them dreams of day or night. Imagined conversations with flavours of the week, explosive confrontations with likely antagonists (I of course always the victor), and once or twice heated interrogations leading to fantastic action sequences; explosions, gun fights, and beautiful women falling into my arms. Although, much has slowed regarding the content of my “dreams”, the explosions and fist fights and what have you, while the frequency at which they come to me has not. In fact, it is this reason that I’ve stopped making record of them at all, for I’ve neither the time nor volume of paper to record such happenings, for the intervals in which they occur has become outstanding – no, not outstanding – impossible!
[Lights dimming gradually, leaving just the Narrator illuminated.]
Narrator: Waking or drifting into slumber, I know not which is the truer. At first I thought they were hallucinations, but it soon became obvious that that was hardly the case. My “dreams” you see, began happening while awake. I’d find a relaxed state and I’d be pummeled with images, but not images. I still don’t know what exactly they are, whether fabrications from my fantasy have taken life, or if I really am sleeping, or [pausing as if coming to a realization] other.
[Lights quickly fill stage, revealing the Narrator standing in a street.]
Narrator: You see. It is much beyond my own conscious control.
[Dozens of children wearing bunny costumes run across the stage. One final child runs across as if left behind, though all leaving the Narrator completely untouched.]
Narrator: [checks watch, lifts to ear] I don’t know why they’re in such a hurry, it’s been Twelve thirty-five for eternity.
[Enter pallbearers carrying a coffin over their shoulders.]
Narrator: Often times the events that occur will mean nothing to me, only leaving impact in their queerness. What is an impression though unless it be a lasting one?
[The pallbearers at this point should be much close to the Narrator, and thus the coffin lid will burst open. A bird flies from the coffin.]
[Exit pallbearers.]
[A bang is heard and feathers fall from the sky.]
Narrator: [Reaches out allowing a feather to land in his palm, pausing to stare at it until pirate enters.]
[Enter a pirate.]
Narrator: [noticing pirate] My, that is quite the get-up you’ve got their friend. What should I call thee?
Pirate: Yar, I am but a lonely pirate searching fer -
Narrator: [interrupting] Treasure I’m sure. I’ve heard it all before.
Pirate: [disappointed] Yar.
[Lights dimming, leaving only the Narrator lit.]
[Exit Pirate.]
Narrator: [Calling after the pirate] Good luck with that! [To the audience] I’ve seen the
very same pirate before searching for companionship, though he says treasure. And no, I refuse to be said companion; my existence is much too weird as it is. However, rampant children, exploding birds, and even pirates are tame in comparison to what I’ve seen. Walking downtown Toronto one cool winter day I noticed that each snowflake adorned a halo, and when they landed on me, as they melted, the snowflakes screamed in agony.
[Stage right, upstage spotlight reveals costumed giraffe and elephant. Two persons wearing business suits and enormous masks, one an elephant the other a giraffe. Their actions will reflect the dialogue. When the elephant reaches to slit the giraffe’s throat the light will be gone, leaving them in darkness.]
Narrator: Once while strolling through the park I saw an elephant playing chess with giraffe, and upon losing the game it reached across the table and slit the giraffe’s enormous throat. There was blood up to my waist. A hooded figure in a boat floated by carrying passengers from one side of the bloody river to the other.
[A light reveals a boat stage left with the hooded boatsmen at the helm.]
Boatsmen: Need a ride across?
Narrator: ‘But I’ve no tokens’, I told him. He ignored me and continued on, at which point I became overwhelmed and slipped under, finding myself back home, sitting on my bed.
[The lights conceal the boat but reveal upstage; the room in which he began. The Narrator walks over to the bed.]
Narrator: I rose from my bed, believing I had just awoken from a dream, yet at my feet pooled bubbling blood.
[Narrator begins slowly to approach front stage.]
[Enter Steve, dressed as a stage hand, wearing a tool belt, blue jeans, etc.]
Narrator: Hey Steve.
Steve: [passively] Yo.
Exit Steve.
[Lights again fade to dim lighting.]
Narrator: Most recently I was met by a man with no eyes, yet I’m sure he could see greater than I. From his eyes he took two seeds and planted them at our feet from which a handgun and a dagger blossomed.
[Two spotlights reveal two flowers at his feet, one with a dagger the other with a gun.]
[Enter blind man.]
[Blind man motions for him to choose from one of the flowers.]
Narrator: I’ve always had problems with knifes – gory instruments of death. I saw my father once cleaning a fish freshly after being caught. Even after he cut into it, the damned thing still flapped around. So I chose the gun.
[The spotlights on the flowers fade.]
[Narrator toying with the gun]
Blind Man: [goes to speak but white noise sounds when he opens his mouth.]
[Exit blind man.]
Narrator: With the blind man’s advice, it occurred to me that if I am dreaming, then I’m immortal in my illusions, and if not, then death is the only answer to my insanity. And so I decided that truth, rather than fantasy, would be more beautiful than anything I could ever imagine.
[Narrator cocks the gun with ease, lifts to his head and closes his eyes. The lights immediately go off followed by a resounding bang.]