Songs of a Caged Bird a Play by Christopher M

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Songs of a Caged Bird a Play by Christopher M Songs of a Caged Bird A Play By Christopher M. Lindsay Draft: 11/24/2020 1 “It's just like the Caged Bird I sing a song. Hoping they open up these bars and send a nigga home, I cry when I'm alone, I'm wondering why would God send me here? Knowing that they hate us, Knowing that they make us feel like we evil so we kill our people… Like real niggas who been stripped of our humanity, I see the judge's eyes, I know that he ain't understanding me A Caged Bird.” - J. Cole 2 In honor of… Abayama Katara Afeni Shakur Ali Bey Hassan Baba Odinga Curtis Powell Dhoruba Bin Wahad Jamal Joseph Joan Bird Kuwasi Balagoon Kwando Kinshasa Lee Berry Lee Roper Lonnie Epps Lumumba Shakur Michael Tabor Richard Harris Robert Collier Sundiata Acoli Thomas Berry Marva Kirton and everyone involved with The Black Panther Party for Self- Defense. REMEMBER THEIR NAMES… REMEMBER THEIR SACRIFICES. 3 CHARACTERS LEE BERRY – 22, Black man, army vet., a bird that sings for his love, a Black Bird. The Generational Man that believes radicalism can change the system. MARVA KIRTON – 22, Black Woman, Activist. The Generational Woman that holds everyone from falling into the system. OFFICER 1– 30’s, Man, a bird that sings to protect. The Generational Man that believes conforming can change the system. OFFICER 2 – Any adult age, man. The Generational Man that believes the system is just. INMATE 1 – 22, person, a bird that sings because he’s lonely. The Generational Man that is innocent, taken advantage of by the system, and believes he is the problem. INMATE 2– Any age, Man, a bird that sings to defend what’s his. The Generational Man that has wisdom and believes nothing can change the system. DR. JOHN CORDICE – 30, Man, Doctor MRS. DEBORAH /ENSEMBLE– 30, Woman, Nurse The Generational Woman that searches for reasons to hold on. SURGEON/WARDEN– Any age, White HOSPITAL OFFICER/ PILOT / ENSEMBLE – Any Age, any race. PLACE The Tombs – Now known as, The Manhattan House of Detention, a municipal jail in the former Five Points neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, now known as the Civic Center. TIME 1969-1971 Key … /…….. Indicates an interruption of thought and/ or Indicates silence due to a moment being experienced by character(s). MOMENT An opportunity for the actor to make a choice () Indicates stage directions. - Indicates an interruption of one Characters thought by another or by circumstance. STRIKE Indicates a moment of physicality and/or violence. CONVULSION Indicate a seizure is happening or upon us. Sometimes it could last a moment, other times much longer. Actors choice. EXPERIENCE A spiritual occurrence. 4 SIDE ONE INTRO: “GENESIS & REVELATIONS” (A ritual that signifies the 50-year generational gap from 1969-Present day and, how our problems are still the same. Repeat this as many times as needed for the ritual to feel complete. LEE, INMATE 1, INMATE 2, OFFICER 1, MARVA, & OFFICER 2 enter and start to build the world of the play.) LEE: The scars on our souls are more than-- INMATE 1: Plenty, is our load, but we still feel-- INMATE 2: Empty, are our hearts when the Angels try and-- OFFICER 1: Catch me, I’m too tired to fly to-- MARVA: Safety, an illusion, but this pain is-- OFFICER 2: Deadly, is the nighttime, I try to be-- LEE: Ready, with wide-spread wings, but gravities too heavy. SONG 1: “RULE NUMBER ONE” (DAY 23: 6am. All the INMATES are in cells asleep while LEE BERRY, is in his cell doing his routine. Sound of birds are heard from outside.) INMATE 1: Them Blue Jays I hear? LEE: 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, … 82, 8… 3 …. (MOMENT. Continues push-ups) INMATE 2 (AWAKING): No, not yet… LEE: “The first lesson a revolutionary must learn… (MOMENT. Continues push-ups) 5 INMATE 1 (To Inmate 2): Where’d you go this time? LEE: … is that he is a doomed man. (MOMENT. Continues push-ups) INMATE 2: Was lying Cape Town, while Canaries sang their blues. LEE: Unless he understands this, he does not grasp the essential meaning of his life.” INMATE 1: Man, I wish I could dream like you. (MOMENT. Continues push-ups) INMATE 2: How many times do I have to tell you, they’re not dreams- LEE: C’mon soldier… 95, … 96, … 9…7, 9……8, 99……., 100. INMATE 2: How is he not asleep right now? (MOMENT. A bird appears at his window. LEE talks between the BIRD and INMATES.) LEE: What they talkin’ about? I’m tired already. Hard to sleep when they keep the lights on. Back in basic training, I had this drill sergeant… Sergeant Knox; served in World War II, was an asshole… but, we heard he himself was a P.O.W. at one point. INMATE 1: P.O.W- INMATE 2: Prisoner of war- INMATE 1: I knew that. LEE: He’d tell us, “rule number one if captured…” that’s how he’d say it. “rule number one if captured, create a routine for yourself.” Keep the brain busy, give it a sense of normality, because when you don’t that’s when the crazy starts. INMATE 2: Hence the pushup. INMATE 1: Ha, have fun with that. LEE: Always keep the mind sharp. This is only temporary after all… I hope. 6 INMATE 1: Shit, don’t we all. How long they get you for? LEE: They didn’t say. But its been 23 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes, and- (OFFICER 2 enters) OFFICER 2: Count! (LEE & the INMATES move to the front of their cells. OFFICER 2 does a headcount.) OFFICER 2: Inmate 0034? INMATE 1: Morning. OFFICER 2: Inmate 8153? INMATE 2: Here. OFFICER 2: (To LEE) Inmate 9649? LEE: You going to tell me why I’m in here today- OFFICER 2: Inmate 9649- LEE: My name is Lee Berry. I told you yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that- OFFICER 2: Inmate 9649- LEE: Damn near three weeks, haven’t see no lawyer or judge, that is unconstitutional, Officer- INMATE 2: Let’s go. I’m hungry! LEE: Do I at least get a phone call or visitation? OFFICER 2: Your only visitation will come from me if you don’t comply. (MOMENT) OFFICER 2: Inmate 9649? INMATE 1: C’mon with this man. (MOMENT) 7 OFFICER 2: I guess Inmate 9649 isn’t in his cell. Maybe he’s escaped? Guess I have to raise the alarm- (OFFICER 1 enters) OFFICER 1: Everyone should be accounted for. What is taking so long? OFFICER 2: Soon as Inmate 9649 acknowledges himself we can move on. LEE: Lee Berry is here and accounted for. OFFICER 1: Thank you, let’s go. Before the Warden has both of our asses. (To INMATES) Your 10 minutes is already up, so eat fast. (MOMENT) OFFICER 2: (OFFSTAGE) Inmate 9649 is here. All clear! LEE: That is not my name- INMATE 1: Thank you! Shit. OFFICER 1: (OFFSTAGE) Bring the plates! LEE: Tell me why I’m in here, please? (Food is given, LEE is only given a slice of bread and tea) LEE: …Brotha? OFFICER 1: (quietly) Aye, cut it! Don’t call me that around other Officers, man. I’m only doing what I’m told. Play it cool and stop aggravating people. Whatever you all did got them shook: every Officers been given the green light. LEE: All… you mean the Panthers? OFFICER 2: Wrap it up. LEE: Wait, what’s the green light? OFFICER 1: It means, don’t be seen talking to you, or be accused of aiding a Black Nationalist. LEE: Hold on a minute! 8 (OFFICERS exit) INMATE 1: It’s a kill switch. LEE: Come again? INMATE 2: The green light, is for the deadliest inmates. You so much as touch them bars without permission- INMATE 1: And bang bang. LEE: Good to know. INMATE 1: You one of them Panther niggas, right? LEE: Panther Party member. Ain’t nothing about me that describes a “nigga.” INMATE 1: Ohhhhh, so the rumors are true! INMATE 2: (To LEE) Don’t pay him any mind. He likes to talk shit. INMATE 1: And I still won. You owe me a smoke, fool. INMATE 2: Is it true you ran some pigs out of Harlem a few months back? LEE: …You sound like a pig. Why you asking? INMATE 2: What… please- INMATE 1: We wouldn’t work for “The Man” in this life or the next. And they damn sure wouldn’t recruit his ass; even if they had no choice. He’s too uptight. INMATE 2: Shut up fool. LEE: In my experience, uptight’s the perfect description for pigs. INMATE 2: Now hold up- INMATE 1: All I know is, I’ve been in here 3 years cuz of them mothafuckas and I’m ready to go. Last time I was free, they were killing’ niggas… negros just for whistling at white people. Now Panthers are running’ them out of town like the big bad wolf. HOOOWWWWWLLLLLLLL! I can’t wait to see it. Ya know, I’m getting out of here soon, right? 9 INMATE 2: You’ve been saying that for years- INMATE 1: Man, write in yo book! (To LEE): Look, I get it, new place, don’t know who to trust…. it was like that when I first got here- LEE: Can I please have a minute too just- INMATE 1: Ok. Ok……………………… You know, looking at you I don’t see “Black Panther”.
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