The Anti-Hero As Social Critic: Two Original Scripts

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The Anti-Hero as Social Critic: Two Original Scripts

Jeremy W. White, M.A., B.F.A.

A Dissertation

Fine Arts - Theatre

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Approved

Norman Bert Chair of Committee

Dorothy Chansky

William Gelber

Brian Steele

Michael Stoune

Dominick Casadonte Interim Dean of the Graduate School

December 2013

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Over the course of writing this dissertation there have been many people who have provided assistance. I would like to thank my dissertation committee of Norman

Bert, Dorothy Chansky, William Gelber, Michael Stoune and Brian Steele for their invaluable feedback and encouragement as this process moved from rough idea to completion.

I would also like to thank the cast and crew of The Solution for their hard work which helped mold the play into its final form which is presented here in this dissertation, especially director Cheramie Howe for her tireless efforts in bringing the script to life.

I would also like to thank Dorothy White, Mary Margaret White, and Gwendolyn

Balboa for their unceasing personal support throughout this process.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... ii

ABSTRACT ...... iv

I. THE UN-HERO ...... 1

II. EXAMPLES OF THE UN-HERO IN THE THREEPENNY OPERA AND A DOLL’S HOUSE ...... 22

III. THE CREATION OF THE SOLUTION ...... 47

IV. THE CREATION OF AGGROCULTURE ...... 62

V.CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH ...... 80

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 90

APPENDICES A. FULL TEXT OF THE SOLUTION ...... 93

B. FULL TEXT OF AGGROCULTURE ...... 195

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ABSTRACT This dissertation will demonstrate how anti-heroic characters found in dramatic literature can serve as catalysts for a change in social discourse through questioning the nature of the social mechanisms which create the real-life antagonistic forces they struggle against. It focuses on a specific type of anti-hero which I have dubbed the un- hero, a dramatic protagonist who, whether by circumstances of birth or association (or lack thereof), finds himself situated in the position of outsider. The forces which relegated this character to this position often take the form of social norms and cultural hegemony, an assumed righteousness and rightness that places the character in the minority or in the position of the oppressed. From that position, the playwright uses the un-hero to wage war against the system through the dramatic narrative, exposing the inherent unfairness of the system with an eye toward altering the status quo, both in the world of the play as well as the real world of the viewing audience. As per the requirements for a Playwriting specialization PhD., two original full-length play scripts will be created to demonstrate the concepts examined in this dissertation.

Chapter 1 investigates the concept of the anti-hero in its various incarnations and the theoretical basis for the anti-hero as social commentator. Chapter 2 shows the historical basis for the dramatic anti-hero as social commentator through examples of dramatic works, focusing on two plays featuring prominent anti-heroic protagonists:

Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera. Chapter 3 describes the writing process which led to the creation of The Solution, an original play.

This piece was written and produced before the bulk of the research for this dissertation was compiled and analyzed, and represents an early generalized attempt at creating an iv Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013 anti-heroic character. By comparison, Chapter 4 details the creation of the second original script, Aggroculture, which will incorporate the concepts discussed in the first two chapters of this dissertation regarding the un-hero. Chapter 5 draws conclusions and speculates into possibilities of continued research with the ideas presented in previous chapters. The scripts of the two original plays are included in the appendices.

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CHAPTER 1

THE UN-HERO

“Even the wholly anti-social can be a source of enjoyment to society so long as it is presented forcefully and on a grand scale.” – Bertolt Brecht (“SOT” 187).

The origin of this dissertation is rooted in my love of villains. Even from early childhood when I would watch professional wrestling on television, I found myself truly enjoying the performances of the “heels” (the bad guys) much more than the “babyfaces”

(the good guys). In films I often find myself more engaged with the antagonist rather than the heroic protagonist. If one were told to think of the Star Wars film series and then asked to name the first thing that pops into his or her head, chances are the answer would be the evil Darth Vader rather than the heroic Luke Skywalker. Great villains, to paraphrase an old dramatic writing adage, are what make great heroes. They create the conflict that the hero must overcome in order to win the day, rescue the princess, save the galaxy. The greater, more fully-realized the villain, the greater the conflict.

It was this love for villainy which provided the spark for the first play in this dissertation, The Solution. As I began writing the script, admittedly before much research on this topic was done, the problem was simple: can I write a play where the audience will cheer for a thoroughly “bad” character? The Solution, very much succeeded in pulling the audience along and having them identify with, at his very best, a morally dubious protagonist or anti-hero. While I feel the process and production of writing The

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Solution was overall a success, as I began to research I discovered (somewhat to my dismay) that Klaus, the protagonist, only represented one aspect of the anti-heroic mode.

True, he is certainly a morally “bad” person, but could he have been something else, something more than simply bad? Could the anti-hero be more than just a bad guy we root for?

As I delved into the material on the subject from both the literary and dramatic fields, the scope of the anti-hero became far more vast than I had originally imagined, and new questions began to arise: why is the anti-hero “anti,” and to what is he or she the antithesis? What dramaturgical purpose or function does the character type serve? Are there aspects of the anti-hero which can more effectively serve a dramatic/social need than the traditional hero? The conclusions I have formulated stem from these questions.

This dissertation will demonstrate how certain anti-heroic characters found in dramatic literature can serve as catalysts for a change in social discourse through questioning the nature of the social mechanisms which create the real-life antagonistic forces they struggle against. Chapter 1 investigates the concept of the anti-hero in its various incarnations and the theoretical basis for the un-hero. Chapter 2 shows the historical basis for the dramatic anti-hero as social commentator through examples of dramatic works, focusing on two plays featuring prominent anti-heroic protagonists:

Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Chapter 3 will describe the writing process which led to the creation of The Solution, an original play. This piece was written and produced before the bulk of the research for this

Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

dissertation was compiled and analyzed, and represents an early generalized attempt at creating an anti-heroic character. By comparison, Chapter 4 will detail the creation of the second original script, Aggroculture, which will incorporate the concepts discussed in the first two chapters of this dissertation. Chapter 5 will compare the two plays, discuss the implications of the two applications, and draw conclusions.

For the purposes of this dissertation the term “anti-hero” and “un-hero” will be designated gender-neutral. The use of the term “anti-heroine” to describe a female character with anti-heroic traits would be inappropriate because the root term “heroine” is most often used to describe a female supporting character that is attached to the masculine hero, usually as the object of affection or desire. As we will see throughout, the anti-hero is most certainly un-attached to anything except him or herself. Though I will make use of the nominative “he” extensively in the pages that follow, it should be understood that “anti-hero” applies to protagonists of either sex.

The term “anti-hero” is often found to be nebulous and fleeting in definition, changing over time, its meaning and application reflective and reactive to contemporary social practices. The term seems to describe the character exactly how one would think; a character who is the opposite of “heroic,” in whatever form that may take for a particular time and place. If we only scratch the surface of this character type, the anti- hero is a character that rejects traditional modes of heroic selflessness in favor of very unheroic selfishness. To put another way, the simplest definition of an anti-hero is a “bad” hero.

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Therefore, I shall begin with the basic question: what exactly is an anti-hero? In surveying scholarly writing about the subject, one finds that the definition eludes solid consensus. Over the years, literary scholars have created a fairly extensive taxonomy in order to classify the multitude of anti-heroic types by specific virtues which the individual characters possess, including non-hero, romantic hero, intellectual hero, impossible hero, absurd hero, existentialist hero, unheroic hero, limping hero, homo hero, villain hero, to name a few (Adams 30), as well as the Trickster archetype from folklore which Daryl Dance describes in his book Shuckin’ and Jivin. Each incarnation comes with a prerequisite set of identifying traits, often based on the goals of literary mode, genre, or specific author from which it was brought forth.

While all of these types certainly fall under the broadest description of “anti-hero” and tend to meet the general requirements for the label, they almost always are in reference to literary rather than dramatic characters. Often, however, what is absent in literary depictions of anti-heroes is the presence of conflict, resulting in a type of character whom theorist Jo Brans describes as a dawdler, a self-serving character incapable or unwilling to take a course of action (56). This character type is quite content to let the world pass him by without concern. In literature, anti-heroes are often above the fray because they simply do not care or have absolved themselves from taking a stand or having any goals which would require engagement with an opposing force. This creates a problem when it comes to dramatic representations because the vast majority of

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drama hinges on the concept of action and direct conflict. With few exceptions, it is tantamount to torture to subject an audience to a play where nothing happens.1

In light of this, I am forced to create a new subcategory of anti-hero, who we will call the un-hero, a character who possesses many of the qualities of the literary anti-hero but is also infused with the dramatic drive. The un-hero is a dramatic protagonist who, whether by circumstances of birth or association (or lack thereof), finds himself situated in the position of outsider. The forces which relegated this character to this position often take the form of social norms and cultural hegemony, an assumed righteousness and rightness that places the character in the minority or in the position of the oppressed.

From that position, the playwright uses the un-hero to wage war against the system through the dramatic narrative, exposing the inherent unfairness of the system with an eye toward altering the status quo, both in the world of the play and also the real world of the viewing audience.

Often the term “anti-hero,” as it relates to traditional dramatic interpretations, is associated with the concepts of “bad” or “amoral.” Two of the most well-know popular anti-heroes, Al Pacinio’s titular Tony “Scarface” Montana and Breaking Bad’s chemistry-teacher-turned-drug-kingpin Walter White (played by Brian Cranston), are

1 There is an obvious caveat to this statement when discussing some plays that fall under the genre of Theatre of the Absurd. It is fully acknowledged that Theatre of the Absurd, for example Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, avoids the outward appearance of traditional dramatic action and yet still remains an exquisitely effective piece of theatre. This is an inconsistency that will not be addressed in this dissertation. For further details, refer to Camus’ introduction to The Rebel, where he discusses the difference between the position of the absurdist and the rebel.

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prime examples of this type. Both begin as outsiders of meager means and, through a ceaseless onslaught of despicable and amoral acts, achieve great power. We as the audience enjoy watching these characters time and time again beat the system as they amass more wealth and authority, and we gleefully follow along as they commit more and more heinous acts with each passing moment or episode. However, in these depictions of the traditional dramatic anti-hero it is often immediately assumed and accepted, rightfully so, that what they are doing is morally wrong. The traditional depiction of the dramatic anti-hero rarely questions if there is any real substantial justification for their actions. Instead, we the audience assume that, despite any justification given, these characters are simply “bad people.”

In the 1970s we began to see an explosion of the anti-hero in popular entertainment. This anti-hero was one who upheld fundamental social mores but whose methods bordered on villainous. The conflicts of these characters often centered around making amoral choices to achieve a goal, usually a sense of justice or retribution for a crime (Michael). Spurred on by the perception that normal avenues of punishment were ineffective at the time due to a sense of distrust of authority and rapidly rising levels of street crime, writers took to creating characters who were not bound by the constraints of the law, and instead sought a more primal justice through violence and vigilantism

(Dirks). Clint Eastwood’s Harry Callahan of the Dirty Harry franchise and Charles

Bronson’s Death Wish series epitomize this particular take on the anti- hero, as well as the character of Frank Castle from popular comic book The Punisher. In each of these examples the protagonist, who was originally a law-abiding citizen, and in the case of

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Callahan and Castle, police officers, is compelled to go beyond the scope of the law in order to punish villainy. In other words, they use the methods of the villain in order to achieve the unquestioned greater good. In these cases, systemic issues which may have caused the rise in crime are rarely questioned, and if so are dismissed in favor of the fulfillment of escapist revenge fantasies.

The un-hero, on the other hand, is situated on the far more contentious battleground of public debate. The un-hero, like the anti-hero, occupies the position of outsider. However, the forces which have created this outcast status are systemic, created and maintained by hegemonic thought and traditional belief. Unlike the anti-hero, the un-hero is arguably ethically and morally justified in their rejection of the system which has rejected or oppressed him, and is used by the playwright to highlight logical and ethical flaws in that system which are the cause of the oppression. The un-hero is not a unique case, but rather the example of an individual part of a larger group who suffer under the same hegemonic thought system.

To understand the un-hero, it is necessary to delve in to the past for further illumination regarding the anti-hero in general, and differentiate the un-hero from his literary cousins. The origin of the anti-hero is an issue of some debate, and this discourse sheds some light on the varying perceptions of the character type, whilst simultaneously revealing intersecting points of agreement. Some literary scholars point to the title character of Cervantes’s Don Quixote as the first true anti-hero (Adams 31). The delusional knight with a penchant for dueling with windmills has been reinterpreted

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multiple times since first published. In his time he would have been considered a buffoon, a mockery of traditional heroic values associated with the chivalric knights of his day. Yet, in Cervantes’ culture, where the myth of the hero was suspect at best, it would seem that, as Elias Rivers says, “...the only acceptable hero is revealed to be a vulgar anti-hero2” (27).

But others trace the roots of the anti-hero back even further to the Greeks.

Rosette C. Lamont pins the origin of the anti-hero to the origin of the epic itself.

Odysseus, Lamont argues, embodies many of the values of the anti-hero in his use of guile and subterfuge rather than strength to defeat his foes. Even his most famous achievement, the concoction of the Trojan horse, is an act of deception which ultimately wins the day. Where Agamemnon fails to breach the walls of Troy with his mighty army, and Achilles ultimately fails with his god-like combat prowess, Odysseus succeeds with trickery and clever speech. Lamont goes on to argue that The Odyssey itself is rife with

Odysseus’ non-heroism (13).

A prime example is Odysseus’ escape from the lair of the Cyclops. By blinding the monster while it sleeps and then escaping under the bellies of its sheep, Odysseus manages one of the great literary getaways, proving his superior intellect against the beast; however, the methodology used seems to be in direct defiance of other traditional heroic depictions which value strength, animal fury, and direct confrontation (Lamont 8).

2 For a further explanation of how Spanish literature deviated from traditional heroic modes see Rivers’ article “The Anti-Hero in Spain.”

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Furthermore, one could imagine that, were the genre descriptor of epic removed from the story, this scene would play out quite comically.

We see the anti-heroic tendencies of the character at work again in The Odyssey at the climactic moment of the story, where Odysseus returns to Ithaca and slays the suitors in waiting. Whereas a typical hero, armed with “animal power coupled with righteous anger,” the key ingredients of the classical hero (Lamont 8), might have charged in recklessly, Odysseus once again makes use of guile and subterfuge by disguising himself as a beggar to infiltrate the city before ultimately springing his trap.

Though Odysseus’ exploits showcase some of the traits of anti-heroism, specifically the use of cunning and guile rather than strength and brute force to achieve his goals, many are hesitant to cast him in the light of the anti-hero because, ultimately, he still acts. Oddly, in some ways this makes the character of Odysseus more in line with the type of anti-hero being discussed in this dissertation. However, there is more to the anti-hero than simple cunning: there is a self-centered perspective which sets him apart from his more heroic equal. Jo Brans, when comparing the traditional hero to the anti- hero, puts it this way:

...the hero is he who embodies and preserves the highest

values of the community, the anti-hero is he who marches,

or dawdles, to a different drumbeat, the cadence of his own

iconoclastic sensibility. (437)

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As mentioned before, the word “dawdles” is of importance when it comes to differentiating the literary anti-hero from the dramatic. Literary anti-heroes are often unable to engage in society and therefore tend to reject (or be rejected by) normative social practices completely. The result of the isolation from the mainstream is a character that is self-centered and egotistical, often to the point of displaying symptoms of narcissism, and who likewise often refuses to engage in any sort of meaningful, willful action.

Lillian Furst, in her article “Romantic Hero, or is he Anti-Hero?” describes the romantic hero, a precursor to the modern anti-hero, as an ironically detached and self- absorbed character that is unconcerned with serving any cause greater than himself.

His [the anti-hero’s] overwhelming presence is the

expression of that total self-absorption that makes his

universe--and that of the work in which he appears--pivot

entirely on his idiosyncratic ego. (56)

This rejection of traditional values is a key trait of anti-heroism. But the rejection, whether self-imposed or forced upon the anti-hero, maintains an odd correlation with that of the hero. It is not because the anti-hero isn’t special or unique that he finds it so hard to fit in to his social surroundings, but rather the anti-hero refuses to embrace the values championed by his heroic counterparts. The hero and anti-hero are two sides of the same

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coin, both exhibiting similar traits of exceptionalism. The anti-hero is the embodiment of heroism unfulfilled, however, as Jo Brans aptly states, “a failed or disillusioned or untimely hero” (435).

What sets the anti-hero apart is a rejection by the community, despite exceptional gifts which might, in other scenarios, warrant a heroic reception. When describing the anti-hero’s plight, Donald Buck gives us the following:

The anti-hero is similar to the hero in several respects. He

too is singled out by society for his deeds and is

distinguished from the norm by his superior abilities. In

the anti-hero’s case, however, his outstanding

characteristics are extrinsic to the established social order,

and his individuality is condemned as a negative example

for that society. Whereas the hero conforms to the ideal of

his society, the anti-hero is a non-conformist who flaunts

society’s conventions and is alienated from it. The anti-

hero’s relationship to society is therefore antagonistic.

(255)

The anti-hero, either by choice or by circumstances of birth, is situated outside the bounds of proper society. He or she stands in defiance of the accepted hegemony; a rebel fighting against a world which makes little sense. This defiance is often predicated on a

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sense that the rules do not apply, a realization the anti-hero has come to after a lifetime of experience within the system. The system does not make sense, and the anti-hero in purest form retreats into a self-absorbed state of detachment from the system. But this does not necessarily mean that the anti-hero cannot inspire the respect of others like his or her heroic cousin. Buck goes on to say:

Yet, his superior abilities inspire admiration just as much as

do those of the hero. The difference is that the anti-hero

also provokes a combination of fear and envy in the society

since his ‘anti-heroic’ qualities emanate from without

rather than from within the established social structure.

(255)

Through benefit of superior abilities, and situated outside the bounds of normal society, the anti-hero is poised as a keen observer and commentator, whose insights are unfettered by codes of ethics or social mores. The anti-hero is able to see the system for what it is and is thus in a position to unearth the flaws, hypocrisy, or unfair practices within by the status quo. Through the course of the drama he presents these flaws to the audience in a manner which is, though perhaps blasphemous, certainly poignant. The anti-hero’s lack of a fixed moral perspective, along with an avowed adherence to a unique personal brand of morality that has been cultivated through experience rather than handed down via

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establishment, allows him to navigate the pitfalls of heresy, all the while laughing and joking.

The position as outsider offers a defense for the anti-hero should things go awry.

If what the anti-hero concludes is found to be untrue or entirely unsavory by the audience, the actions of the character can simply be written off as a joke, a low-brow attempt to rile the masses in which, after a thorough rebuke by the viceroys of social authority, the anti-hero (and, by extension, the creator of the anti-hero) returns to his natural state of outsider, rejected once again. Social morality is upheld, and the world moves on.

Morality, as it is perceived by society at large, is the antagonist of the anti-hero.

This is not to say that the anti-hero is always amoral or immoral, though it certainly can be the case, but rather that the anti-hero is one to whom social constructs of morality and civic virtue are tertiary concerns, taking a back seat to individual moral stances created through real-life experience. This places the anti-hero in a position to question and criticize the very social mechanisms and hand-me-down moral frameworks which the hero blindly adheres to and defends. Because the anti-hero’s concept of the world has been forged in the struggles of the day-to-day, dramatists will find the anti-heroic protagonist, despite whatever deep and perhaps undesirable character flaws are presented, has the ability to reach out to an audience who live in that same world. To put it another way, while the hero seeks glory and immortality, always with the stamp of approval from the social and moral powers that be, the anti-hero is simply trying to pay the rent, or better yet, trying to figure out how to live rent free.

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This audience identification functions differently for the anti-hero than it does for the traditional hero. Whereas the traditional hero often embodies virtues we aspire to, the anti-hero embodies what we are, with all the faults and vices that come part and parcel with everyday living. If we take the typical moral conundrum “Would you steal a loaf of bread to feed a starving child?” the hero may go either way depending upon the current moral climate. Does adherence to the law and established social order outweigh the suffering of those in need? The hero’s path is clearly defined by social constructs to conform to a vision of black-and-white morality, of clear cut good and evil, which is where the hero finds strength through the defense of established virtue. The anti-hero, rather than immediately choosing a predetermined path, may simply ask, “What’s this kid going to do for me?” It is in the ability to question the nature of society that the anti-hero finds his power, and though the motivations of the character are more often than not entirely selfish, the questions have broader implications for everyday life. These questions shed light on social constructs which we often blindly follow, and the anti-hero, whose existence is one of outward defiance and detached individuality brought about by life experience, is the perfect candidate to bring such questions to the forefront of social discourse.

Intelligence, an individualistic perception of reality, and a sense of the inherent unfairness of the world are defining traits of the un-hero. These qualities are obtained through a lifetime of navigating through a world which the anti-hero has discovered never lives up to the ideals preached from pulpits and expounded in patriotism. Instead, the anti-hero comes into being via a rejection of the fantasy ideology which the world

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around him embraces, and instead opts to trust in direct observation and knowledge gleaned from experience rather than relying on traditional or hegemonic values. He is not the defender of the status quo, but rather a crusader of self.

The question of the un-hero is a question of value. When it comes to heroic values, Western cultural currency has shifted from the European Christian virtue which dominated the heroic modes of classical texts, to a post-modern chorus of multiple perspectives and values competing for dominance. It would seem that the traditional hero has come up against a beast which he cannot slay: our own shifting perception of the world. If we accept Joseph Campbell’s well-known analysis of the traditional hero, we discover that this type of protagonist is often incapable of dealing with the issues of everyday existence. While the traditional hero is well-equipped to charge into battle in the name of a nebulous “good” against a rather generalized “evil,” that said perspective is still derived from the dominant thought of the culture which birthed the hero. But what happens when the moral integrity of the system of values itself comes into question?

It should be noted at this point that this dissertation will not be concerned with the superiority of one value system over another. Rather, what is far more imperative is how the un-hero serves as a usurper of traditional thought, whatever it may be at the time, when a contentious social issue rises to the forefront of socio-political discourse. It will be argued that the default stance of the un-hero is on the side of the negative, the questioner, the insurgent who seeks to topple the hegemony and replace it with a new set of values which are derived from experience rather than hand-me-down wisdom. As with the anti-hero, the un-hero lives in the real world. His battle is not with titans, monsters,

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mad-geniuses or conquering armies, but rather with the real social circumstances which have rejected him. In other words, for the un-hero, the antagonistic enemy is not simply morality, but ultimately reality; the status quo that both he and we (the audience) exist in day to day. It is in our reality that the un-hero finds himself situated, battling against the same forces which seek to oppress both the fictional he and the very real us.

But can the detached anti-hero, who it seems would be perfectly content with letting the world go about its merry way so long as it leaves him be, also be the catalyst for social reform? Can the anti-hero serve as an example or, at the very least, shift the discourse of the time to issues present in drama? Are anti-heroic protagonists often equally suited (if not better equipped) to examine, comment upon, and offer solutions to real world issues within the dramatic text compared to the traditional heroic protagonists?

David Simmons, literary theorist and author of The Anti-Hero in the American

Novel, provides the groundwork and direction for my answer to the question above. In his analysis, he argues that the literary anti-heroes of the 1960s represented “...dissident, subversive individuals opposed to the ideological mores of the establishment,” who feed into and off of a culture rife with political and social turmoil (Simmons ix).3 Taking a cue from Simmons, I will look to the works of philosopher, novelist, and playwright Albert

Camus for guidance with the question.

In his book, The Rebel, Camus argues that revolt is central to achieving social justice. He tells us that revolution and the struggle for personal freedom are inevitable

3 Simmons postulates extensively the link between Camus’ theories of rebellion and literary anti-heroes in his book. It is fully acknowledged that the link between rebellion and the anti-hero draws from his work. The primary difference between his work, however, and this thesis is the concept of performance as the medium for demonstrating the act of rebellion as a means to comment upon social issues. 16

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aspects of human existence, though our efforts must be tempered by a humanistic awareness of shared suffering. The rebel ultimately takes action for the sake of the greater good when he determines that authority has usurped perceived natural rights:

It is for the sake of everyone in the world that the slave

asserts himself when he comes to the conclusion that a

command has infringed on something in him which does

not belong to him alone, but which is common ground

where all men—even the man who insults and oppresses

him—have a natural community. (12)

Indeed, this sense of community is the very thing that drives the rebel, who sees no delineation between oppressor and the oppressed, or as Camus says, “The community of victims is the same as that which unites victim and executioner. But the executioner does not know this” (12). The rebel, through the act of rebellion, seeks to rectify grievances which potentially affect all within the social group, regardless of relative social status. It is for this reason that the rebel shifts from self-absorbed detachment, which occupies his pre-rebellion existence, to the benefactor of all.

We see that the affirmation implicit in every act of

rebellion is extended to something that transcends the

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individual in so far as it withdraws him from his supposed

solitude and provides him with a reason to act. (12)

The structure of the dramatic presentation itself, which ultimately requires a character to take some sort of action in order to hold the audience’s attention, is the springboard for the anti-hero’s act of rebellion. The un-hero exists in the world of the play, and a play requires action to be an effective piece of theatre. Like the rebel, the anti-hero begins in solitude, withdrawn and self-obsessed, but is driven to action not only by the injustices of the status quo in which he exists, but by the very nature and structure of traditional drama itself. Therefore, the solutions presented by the anti-hero are a result of both the conditions set forth in the story and the necessities of the dramatic act.

Though the anti-hero may act for self-centered reasons, the suffering he or she experiences is also the experience of the audience. If we accept the Horatian adage that the purpose of theatre is “to teach and to please,” the un-hero becomes the teacher of the audience. However, the lessons imparted through the course of the play, while providing immediate pleasure through the act of dramatic performance or reading, ultimately serve to provoke a feeling of displeasure with the circumstances presented. Through the guise of the dramatic act, the un-hero imparts such a feeling of displeasure with the status quo, which the audience/community recognizes as similar or identical to their own status quo, that they are compelled to rebel. Because it is in our nature to rebel against perceived

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injustice in favor of an ideal, though limited according to Camus,4 the un-hero is the high priest in a humanist communion of suffering with the audience, and through his actions and experiences the audience is awakened to the sense of injustice which the un-hero rails against and may discover aspects of the same injustice in their own lives or in the lives of others. Thus, the un-hero becomes the rebel, and through rebellion exposes the truth about us all.

Camus posits that rebellion is a natural response to feelings of oppression and isolation. Through the act of rebellion, the rebel will inevitably take a position of “all or nothing” whereby grievances, no matter how insignificant, become equivalent to crimes against humanity (Camus 11). The rebel rejects the system which has rejected and oppressed him, and invokes ownership over his own destiny by standing up to those who would control him regardless of the personal costs, believing that his resistance is the summation of a superior position.

It is because the power of the un-hero lies not in action, which is a requirement of the drama itself, but rather in demonstration, that the un-hero is capable of becoming the catalyst for change. Brecht states that the theatre should entertain “with wisdom that comes from the solution to problems, with the anger that is a practical expression of sympathy with the underdog” (“SOT” 186). For the un-hero, the latter half of Brecht’s statement is far more important. Through the dramatic lens, the un-hero showcases and

4 Camus remarks that the rebellious thought is in a constant state of tension with the memory of the very oppression he seeks to overturn. The two are in constant tension. Camus warns the reader several times that the rebel can easily slip into the role of the oppressor if he does not recognize and respect the limits of rebellion.

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comments upon the issues which are the cause of his reclusion from society. The action of the play, while required for the purposes of creating a piece of entertainment, should not rely on the ability of the un-hero to fix what is wrong in society. It is not necessary or in some cases even wise for the un-hero to “solve” the problem presented. Rather the un- hero is most effective when he or she demonstrates the reality of the problem to the audience through the dramatic act. Whether or not a workable solution is discovered throughout the course of the play is irrelevant. The act of rebellion itself is enough to create both the framework for social criticism and the requisite conflict for a piece of drama.

Because the un-hero simultaneously exists in and is removed from the very same reality as the audience, the un-hero finds himself, through the process of the performance, as detached critic/tour guide and ultimately “Act-er,” revealing to the audience the absurdity or unfairness of the current social situation. The audience, who will hopefully identify with the rebellious nature of the un-hero, then takes up the struggle against the identified agents of oppression. In other words, the un-hero creates rebels.

It is with this in mind we will, in the next chapter, look to two plays featuring un- heroes that fit the profile discussed above and analyze how these characters’ perspectives and actions were used to undermine traditional hegemonic thought of their time. The characters of Mack the Knife from Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera and Nora from

Ibsen’s A Doll’s House are as morally divergent as possible: Mack is the career criminal who is only interested in self-preservation, and Nora is the dutiful housewife who realizes the truth of her place in society, yet, what they both share is the rebellious tendency. This

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tendency, which culminates in different ways in the respective texts, shares a common thread of battling against dominant cultural thought. Analysis of the rebellious tendencies of the un-heroes depicted in these works will illuminate the concepts outlined above and show how an un-hero can serve as a harbinger of social change, a voice for the voiceless, and a commentator on social issues.

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CHAPTER 2

EXAMPLES OF THE UN-HERO IN THE THREEPENNY OPERA

AND A DOLL’S HOUSE.

In an effort to demonstrate how the un-hero functions in a dramatic text, I have chosen to examine two of the best-known anti-heroes in drama: Mac the Knife from

Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera and Nora from Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Though the characters fundamentally differ in world-view and the specifics of the situation in which they find themselves, both embody the traits of the un-hero in that they rebel against the established social order for personal gain in the context of the story presented. Through the demonstrated/performed act of rebellion, the characters act as inciting agents whose actions reveal the nature and scope of the oppression they face. The audience members, through the action of the play, are forced to examine their own understanding of the social issue being presented. For Brecht, the issue is the adherence to codified morality in the face of starvation and poverty; for Ibsen, it is the masquerade of the modern marriage in the face of gender inequality. Both problems stem from the adherence to social norms, and both are brought to light by an outright rejection of those social norms by the protagonists.

The Threepenny Opera and A Doll’s House serve as two dynamic examples of un- heroes’ effectiveness for social criticism. Both exhibit the features described in the previous chapter. In looking back at the historical outcome of the productions, however, there seems to be a marked difference in the manner in which the audiences received and

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then acted on the issues of the plays. It is ironic then that Brecht’s work, considering his

Epic Theatre is built around the concept of didacticism as a catalyst for social change, actually appears to be the less successful attempt of the two in regards to creating a transformative cultural effect.

When The Threepenny Opera opened in 1928 it heralded a radical shift in performance standards for German theatre and became the basis for Bertolt Brecht’s theory of epic theatre. Taking its cues from vaudeville, the musical was a radical departure from other dominant modes of modernist theatre such as the self-flagellating expressionist movement as well as the tried and true melodramatic modes which were standard fare for the more populist German palate. The show became a runaway hit with the German bourgeois audience, and elevated Brecht and composer Kurt Weill to stratospheric fame in the German theatrical scene. As John Willett puts it, “The

Threepenny Opera hit the German theatre at one of its peak moments, when an open- minded middle-class public was prepared to accept new formal ideas and unexpected shifts of level, and at the same time willing to look self-critically at the life and times around it” (Weimar 118). Blending popular modes of musical expression with an ultimately melodramatic plot, Brecht’s landmark drama was a breath of fresh air for the

German theatre-going crowd. Yet, despite its apparent reliance on convention, the play makes use of innovative staging techniques which became the hallmarks of Brecht’s Epic

Theatre. I will direct my efforts toward the presentation of two anti-heroes found in the play, the protagonist Mac the Knife and the semi-antagonist King of Beggars Mr.

Peachum, and their respective calls for social rebellion.

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Both these characters display elements of the un-hero. In the dastardly Mac we find elements of the traditional dramatic anti-hero: a self-absorbed sociopath who flagrantly scoffs at any semblance of law and order for his own personal gain; and

Peachum, the mastermind of an organized beggar protest against the excesses of the bourgeois. While the plot of the play brings these two into direct conflict over Mac’s dubious marriage to Peachum’s daughter, Polly, the synergy of the two anti-heroes creates a call for the struggling poor to lash out in rebellion against the status quo.

The Threepenny Opera, an adaptation of the eighteenth century The Beggar’s

Opera by John Gay, depicts the story of an infamous underworld character Macheath, or

Mac the Knife, a crime lord in the seedy underbelly of London, and his rivalry with the so-called King of Beggars, Mr. Peachum. The conflict begins when Mac marries

Peachum’s daughter, Polly, throwing Peachum into a rage, who then plots to have his vengeance. Mac’s connections with the authorities run deep, however, namely the Chief of Police Tiger Brown, Mac’s old army buddy, and prove to be an impediment to

Peachum’s efforts. Finally Peachum is able to have Mac arrested and charged with a slew of offenses that will result in his execution, but as Mac is marched to the gallows,

Brown rides in with an official royal pardon. In a completely self-conscious deus ex machinae ending, Mac is cleared of all charges and released.

Brecht’s intention with the production was to challenge of the bourgeois mindset.

For Brecht, Mac was not meant to be depicted as a lowlife, but rather a reflection of the bourgeoisie itself: “The bandit Macheath must be played as a bourgeois phenomenon.

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The bourgeoisie’s fascination with bandits rest on a misconception: that a bandit is not a bourgeois. This misconception is the child of another misconception: that a bourgeois is not a bandit” (Brecht “Notes” 92). By equating thievery with middle class ideals and capitalist notions of ownership and the methodology used to attain property, Brecht’s criticism is leveled at the bourgeois German theatre-going class which was prospering at the time after World War I. He sought to directly bring to their attention the plight of the lower working classes, who were suffering greatly from unemployment and devastation caused by the war, and whose suffering was compounded by an established economic system which favored the wealthy. It does not take much to connect the social issues of the working poor in Germany with Brecht’s growing interest in Marxism at the time, a philosophy which would define his work both theatrical and theoretical (Manheim xv).

The opening song that is the play’s prologue, “The Ballad of Mac the Knife,” establishes the villainy of the title character. In nine verses we learn that Mac is accused of a slew of horrific crimes such as theft, arson, multiple murders, and rape (TPO 3-4).

Mac also has a penchant for whore-mongering, which leads to his eventual arrest, and seems generally unable to control his baser urges. He is also shown to take credit for crimes committed by his underlings, as depicted in this comedic exchange between him and his crew of thieves:

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MAC: [...] Last week you suggested it was you set the Greenwich

Children’s Hospital on fire. If such a thing occurs again, you’re out. Who

set the Children’s Hospital on fire?

MATTHEW: I did.

MAC to the others: Who set it on fire?

THE OTHERS: You, Mr. Macheath.

MAC: So who did it?

MATTHEW sulkily: You, Mr. Macheath. At this rate our sort will never

rise in the world. (TPO 38)

In establishing the depravity of Mac the Knife, Brecht lets us know with no uncertainty the type of character we are dealing with: a scoundrel of the highest degree. Yet, Mac is man who does what he must to survive, and compares his own illegal enterprises with the legal trade of business itself. In effect, he draws a parallel between the thief and the businessman, claiming that it is those who engage in legal activities who are far more amoral than the bandit:

MAC: [...] We lower middle-class artisans who toil with our humble

jemmies on small shopkeeper’s cash registers are being swallowed up by

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big corporations backed by the banks. What’s a jemmy compared with a

share certificate? What’s breaking into a bank compared with founding a

bank? What’s murdering a man compared with employing a man? (76)

Indeed this sentiment is echoed throughout the play, most notably in the song What

Keeps Mankind Alive at the finale of the second act: “Mankind is kept alive thanks to its brilliance/ In keeping its humanity repressed” (55). Mac’s motivations are based on his situation and the basic human need for survival; all thoughts of morality are secondary:

“Food is the first thing. Morals follow on” (56).

Mac’s anti-heroism stems from a clash between the hegemonic bourgeois morality and the very real need for basic survival. His rebellion against the established values of society comes from the personal realization of the inequity that exists in that society, a factor Camus points out as one of the major causes of rebellion (Camus 14).

For Mac, morality as defined by the bourgeois is indeed amoral, and his response is to become the antithesis of that morality to meet needs which he deems far more important: the avoidance of starvation. For Mac, however, the quest is solely for personal gain, which is at odds with the idea of rebellion for the good of all. Only when his actions are viewed juxtaposed to the actions of his chief rival, Mr. Peachum, do we see Brecht’s call for rebellion take full shape.

Peachum is cast as an opportune entrepreneur with a unique if not questionable business model: outfitting beggars with cosmetic deformities in order to “arouse human

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sympathies” from wealthy Londoners (5). In the first scene Peachum is seen coaching his beggars in the fine art of eliciting sympathy for cash, explaining in a dry manner the types of human suffering that will gain the most coin. For Peachum, suffering equals money, and he has established himself as the master of pulling heartstrings, imparting his wisdom to an army of beggars in exchange for a portion of the proceeds.

Despite the clear illustration of Mac’s villainy, which takes the form of a more traditional anti-hero, in some ways it is Peachum who exhibits the qualities of the un- hero. We learn that Peachum has concocted a plan to seed the streets of London with scores of beggars during the Queen’s parade in order to bring attention to the plight of the poor citizens of England. This act of rebellion, of public embarrassment, is in direct contrast to how Brecht envisioned Mac, as evidenced in his notes: “To Macheath the kind of affront to public order with which Peachum menaces the police would be profoundly disturbing” (“Notes” 92). While Mac is content to continue his selfish criminal enterprises, it is Peachum that takes up the banner of the social rebel. His organized resistance against the bourgeoisie is meant to draw attention to the suffering of German poor in Brecht’s own time. To this end, the act of organized and rational resistance to the status quo for the good of the masses falls squarely on Peachum’s shoulders, while Mac slinks away in the night. Peachum, however, is the antagonist, and his campaign to bring attention to the city’s poor is overshadowed by the audience’s desire for a victorious

Mac.

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The conclusion of the play brings together both aspects of rebellion to draw sharp criticism against the bourgeois that the play satirizes. As Mac is marched to the gallows,

Peachum watching in earnest as his rival is about to meet his end, Tiger Brown arrives on horseback with a royal pardon for the criminal. At the last minute, Mac is saved by the very social institution he and Peachum openly rebel against. Brecht shifts the tone of the finale from the ridiculously melodramatic to a serious condemnation of bourgeois morality with the final exchange to the audience:

MRS PEACHUM: So it all turned out nicely in the end. How nice and

easy everything would be if you could always reckon with saviours on

horseback.

PEACHUM: Now please remain all standing in your places, and join in

the hymn to the poorest of the poor, whose most arduous lot you have put

on stage here today. In real life the fates they meet can only be grim.

Saviours on horseback are seldom met with in practice. And the man

who’s kicked about must kick back. Which all means that injustice should

be spared from persecution. (79)

Brecht is making a point about the inherent unfairness of the system. Mac, a stand-in as the bourgeois/bandit, is pardoned by the Queen herself. Brecht draws a parallel to the

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privileged class, whom had access to the same sort of preferential treatment as our rogue anti-hero Mac, and then immediately undermines the ridiculously melodramatic moment in the last lines of the play. Mac is saved because he is a character in a work of dramatic fiction; the real poor are never as lucky, but perhaps they are more deserving.

The success of Peachum’s (and Brecht’s) rebellious effort is unclear, however, because at first glance the lasting effect of the play seems to have had more of an effect on staging practices than on society. According to Willet and Manheim, “...if it gave them (the middle class) an increasingly cynical view of their own institutions it does not seem to have prompted either them or any other section of society to try to change these for the better” (xv). While Brecht does make clear the underlying philosophy of

Peachum’s rebellion and Mac’s villainy, it has been argued that Brecht himself was not consciously making a concerted effort to incite rebellion when he and Kurt Weill created

The Threepenny Opera. At this point in his career, as suggested before, Brecht was still developing his views as a Marxist. Furthermore, Willet and Manheim point out that

Brecht’s notes on the play, where we find much of the advocacy for social reform, were written two years after the premiere (xvii). If this is the case, then the social agitation in the play is a result of Brecht’s experiment with Epic Theatre form rather than a conscious effort to reform. The basis for the un-hero is present in the characters of Peachum and

Mac.

A second factor that may have hampered the rebellious effects of the play is that the audience that would have watched the premiere would have been composed of the

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very same bourgeoisie that the play criticizes. Due to the somewhat farcical nature of the characters it is possible that the middle class theatre-goer of the day failed to fully connect with the issues being presented. It is clear that, while the play appealed to the middle-class theatre patron, Brecht’s (alleged) intent of social criticism fell on deaf ears

(Manheim xv). Erika Fischer-Lichte points out that the audience “celebrated” the play’s protagonists, and that “there was certainly no productive reception in the Brechtian sense, so that Brecht felt the productions had no effect on society” (318). Thus, the rebellion fails to take hold because the audience who bore witness to Peachum’s plot and Mac’s plight found themselves unaffected by the circumstances of the characters. One reason is perhaps Camus’ “the mere spectacle of oppression,” which can be the catalyst for rebellion, was not sufficiently present in the text. Mac is presented as almost a happy-go- lucky rogue type who is able to circumvent the system without truly calling out the inconsistencies of that system. Peachum, who’s actions put him far more in line with the idea of the un-hero, is nevertheless a subordinate to the jolly Mac in the audience’s mind.

Therefore, the shared sense of suffering that Camus advocates is not present. Instead, the audience becomes enamored by the more or less typically anti-heroic Mac and dismisses questions as to why Mac must be this way. It is only in comparison to another work which did have the reaction intended by the playwright that we may discern whether the flaw was in the creation or the reception.

While the reception of The Threepenny Opera did not arouse the spirit of social reform that Brecht intended, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House inspired the rebellious spirit to such an extent that it not only radically altered theatrical practices by introducing

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Modernism/Realism to most of the Western world, but more importantly became a rallying cry of the women’s rights movement. I will examine the character of Nora and how her position as un-hero signaled a call to rebellion which resonated throughout the

Western world and continues to do so in places where women face gender-based oppression.

Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House signaled the arrival of the modernist movement in theatre and challenged the melodramatic modes which dominated the theatre of the late

1800s. Scandinavian theatre at this time began to emerge from a “vogue of Nordic romanticism and historicism that flourished at mid-century” and was looking toward new and more cutting edge stage representations (Marker 137, 162). At this time, much of

Scandanavian theatre bowed to the pressures of an educated and conservative elite who were satisfied with a heavily censored and “hollow, declamatory theatre, which drove out the last traces of relevance and intellectual stimulation from the classics and stuffed them with boring texts” (Fischer-Lichte 244). In the midst of this drudgery private theatres, whose performances were only available to paying members and thus could circumvent government censorship, began to stage far more radical and innovative works by a new generation of dramatists (245). The result was a ready-made conflict of ideology between traditional values held by a large portion of the public and a newer, more abrasive aesthetic. The radical performances of the art-theatres elevated the

Scandinavian stage into a public forum where the bourgeois was “confronted with, and invited to discuss, the problems which actually moved them,” perhaps none more so than

Henrik Ibsen (247).

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The depiction of the Helmers’ crumbling middle-class marriage and the shocking finale left theatre-goers and critics sharply divided, prompting the explosion of Modernist methods in theatre with an eye toward examining and solving real-world social issues through the medium of performance. As Toril Moi points out, it is the sudden shift from the melodramatic mode to the unforgiving analysis of realism that helped fuel the wild popularity of the play, as well as create backlash in both social and theatrical circles.

It [A Doll’s House] contains a devastating critique of idealism entwined

with a turn to the everyday, a celebration of theatre combined with a fierce

analysis of everyday theatricality (A Doll’s House is teeming with

metatheatrical elements) and a preoccupation with the conditions of love

in modernity. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen mobilizes all these features in a

contemporary setting and in relation to a fundamentally modern theme:

namely, the situation of women in the family and society. The result is a

play that calls for a radical transformation [...], not just, or not even

primarily, of laws and institutions, but of human beings and their ideas of

love. (256)

A Doll’s House tells the story of Nora Helmer, a middle-class Norwegian woman who plays her role as housewife in typical 19th century fashion. Her husband, Torvald, is a recently promoted banker who treats his wife and children as play-things, as dolls for

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his amusement, and often fancies himself as a dashing hero and all around modern man.

At first the Helmers seem an ordinary family with a strong patriarch in Torvald and flighty mother/housewife in Nora, but when nefarious forces act upon the idyllic family unit, the illusions of marriage roles are revealed as quickly as they begin to crumble.

Nora finds herself the victim of blackmail from the unscrupulous loan shark

Krogstad after she forges her late father’s signature in order to receive a loan so her husband, Torvald, can receive life-saving medical treatment. Krogstad, believing himself slighted by being passed over for the promotion which Torvald received, discovers the illegal nature of Nora’s loan and threatens to disgrace Torvald by revealing Nora’s actions unless payment is made. Due to her tenuous legal position as a woman in late

1800s, having very little in the way of legal rights, Nora finds herself at the mercy of

Krogstad but refuses to confess to her husband. Looking for a way out, she turns to her friend Kristina Linde, Krogstad’s one-time object of affection, for help. Ultimately, through Kristina’s actions, Krogstad relents from his threats of blackmail and absolves

Nora, but only after he sends a letter to the Helmer household detailing Nora’s transgression.

Torvald, on the other hand, sees himself as a hero, claiming he would swoop in to the rescue like a hawk should Nora or the children ever find themselves in danger (Moi

264). But this heroic picture is shaken to the core upon the discovery of the initial letter from Krogstad, which Torvald believes will ruin his reputation completely. In a fit of rage, Torvald strikes Nora, destroying the image of romantic hero who will swoop in and

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save the day in both the eyes of Nora and the audience. In a moment of pure melodrama, however, a second letter arrives from Krogstad who, thanks to the persuasion of Kristina, recants his threat and declares the matter settled. Torvald is relieved and promptly offers a condescending apology to his wife, who has disappeared offstage, telling her that he forgives her transgressions because that’s what a husband is supposed to do. The audience is led to believe that this will be the final moment, that through the wonders of the melodramatic mode all will be well and life will go back to normal - that is until Nora re-enters.

In the final scene of the play Nora is now stripped of her once deeply held belief that Torvald will do anything to protect her from harm. Nora confronts Torvald and proceeds to demolish his, and much of the audience’s, deeply held beliefs regarding the state of the Helmers’ marriage and the role of women in society. Realizing that the life of a housewife will no longer satisfy her, Nora walks out on the family, slamming the front door and embarking on a quest of self-actualization.

Nora, in many ways, is the perfect candidate to illustrate the concept of the un- hero as rebel. In the opening scenes she is depicted as a flighty housewife and mother whose concerns do not seem to stray far from the everyday concerns of domestic life.

Her behavior, with prompting from Torvald, is compared to that of a young child. On the surface the family seems happy, and Nora appears content with her role in life. But she struggles with two forces which seek to place her in the role of subordinate: specifically her legal standing as a woman and her role as housewife.

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As the plot begins to unfold we see glimpses of the rebel come to the surface through intermittent acts of defiance or subterfuge. We learn that Nora forged her late father’s signature on a loan promissory note, an illegal act, in order to secure funds to treat Torvald’s sickness. Aware of her tenuous position and the ramifications of the act were it to come to light, Nora still maintains the righteousness of her actions and contends that it is society which is wrong for not allowing her the means to save her husband:

NORA: Hasn't a daughter the right to protect her dying father from worry

and anxiety? Hasn't a wife the right to save her husband's life? I don't

know much about the law, but I'm quite certain that it must say

somewhere that things like that are allowed. (175-176)

Like Mac the Knife and his position on starvation versus morality, Nora’s initial secret act of defiance echoes Camus’s idea that the rebel comes into being because he discovers true inequality in a supposedly equal society (Camus 14). For Nora, the fact that a wife is powerless to take action in order to save her husband is unacceptable, and therefore she opts to act outside the bounds of acceptable social behavior for what she considers to be a moral imperative.

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One of the first examples of rebellion we see is Nora’s wild interpretation of the

Tarantula dance. The magnitude of her situation and Krogstad’s blackmail scheme weigh heavily on her mind, though Torvald is still unaware of the plot. The incriminating letter which will expose Nora’s act has arrived, however, and Torvald goes to open it. Hoping to distract Torvald from the inevitable consequences she will face when he reads the letter, Nora begs him to help her rehearse her dance so that she will not be embarrassed at the party they will be attending the following evening. Torvald, ever ready to come to his meek wife’s rescue in these tiny moments of crisis, concedes, ironically unaware of the real crisis with which Nora struggles. With Torvald playing accompaniment on the piano, Nora proceeds to perform the dance in an erratic manner, despite Torvald’s

[Helmer] disapproval and in defiance of his directives:

HELMER: (as he plays): Slower – slower!

NORA: I can only do it this way.

HELMER: Not so violently, Nora!

NORA: This is how it should go.

HELMER (stops playing): No, no, that’s all wrong. (204)

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As family friends Dr. Rank and Kristina look on, Rank now playing the accompaniment on the piano, Torvald takes a more direct approach and begins to bark specific instructions on how to perform the dance. Nora continues to ignore his orders, throwing herself into a frenzy of wild movement antithetical to Torvald’s controlled interpretation. The group watches as Nora proceeds to behave in a manner unbefitting a woman of her day and status, allowing her hair to fall down over her shoulders (204).

Torvald, Rank, and Kristina are shocked by what they see, but Nora no longer cares. She has bigger concerns:

NORA: Oh, this is fun, Kristina!

HELMER: But, Nora darling, you’re dancing as if your life depended on

it.

NORA: So it does.

HELMER: Stop, Rank. This is sheer madness – stop, I tell you! (204)

The dance symbolizes her inner conflict and is directed toward one of the major sources of oppression in her life: her husband Torvald. The effect is a culmination of the psychological quagmire she finds herself in due to the deception with the forged loan signature, and the lifetime of playing a role she has never been comfortable playing. We see examples of this role-playing throughout the script, where Torvald’s treatment of

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Nora is comparable to a parent’s treatment of a child. As Ibsen scholar Joan Templeton puts it, “Patriarchy's socialization of women into servicing creatures is the major accusation in Nora's painful account to Torvald of how first her father, and then he, used her for their amusement . . . how she had no right to think for herself, only the duty to accept their opinions. Excluded from meaning anything, Nora has never been subject, only object” (142). Indeed, Nora makes the claim at the climax of the play that she has always been treated in a child-like fashion by the men in her life, beginning with her father:

NORA: ...When I lived with Papa, he used to tell me his opinion about

everything, and so I had the same opinion. If I thought differently, I had

to hide it from him, or he wouldn’t have liked it. He called me his little

doll, and he used to play with me just as I played with my dolls. (225)

And later in the same exchange, she directs the same criticism at Torvald:

NORA: You arranged everything to suit your own tastes, and so I came to

have the same tastes as yours...or I pretended to. I’m not quite sure

which[...] I’ve lived by performing tricks for you, Torvald. That was how

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you wanted it. You and Papa have committed a grievous sin against me:

it’s your fault that I’ve made nothing of my life. (226)

Nora’s desperation, brought about by the secret she has been hiding from her husband, has led to a public act of symbolic defiance against Torvald’s carefully constructed vision of marital bliss. Torvald, sensing Nora’s actions are a result for apprehension about Krogstad’s letter, agrees that he will forgo reading it until after the party. This small victory, this moment of triumph through rebellion, sets the stage for the far greater act of rebellion that comes at the climax of the play.

It is in the final two scenes where we see Nora fully become the un-hero. After the physical confrontation Torvald, knowing he has acted in a manner unbecoming of his self-image, returns to his chivalric talk as a means to comfort his wounded wife. He even goes so far as to graciously forgive her for her indiscretions, a moment which plays as sourly condescending to the audience:

HELMER: [...] You can rest safely now, and my great wings will protect

you. Oh, Nora, how warm and cosy our little home is; it’s your refuge,

where I shall protect you like a hunted dove that I’ve saved from the talons

of a hawk. Little by little, I shall calm your poor fluttering heart [...]

There’s something indescribably sweet and satisfying for a man to know

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deep down that he has forgiven his wife – completely forgiven her, with

all his heart. It’s as if that made her doubly his. (223-224)

Throughout this speech, Nora is offstage. In this moment of dramatic crisis, Nora retires to her dressing room to take off her “fancy dress,” the genesis of her symbolic metamorphosis from housewife to anti-hero (222). It is here that Nora concludes she can no longer accept the current status quo, thus removing the party dress of the housewife, sometimes translated more poignantly as “masquerade costume,” igniting the act of rebellion to follow (Moi 265). When she reemerges in her travelling clothes, much to

Torvald’s confusion, Nora embraces the rebel mantra of “all or nothing.” She is now convinced that her marriage has been nothing but an act which has stifled her development as a human being, and she quite literally gives up all for the sake of what she now deems to be most important: her ability to choose her own path. Thus, the solitary anti-hero is born, and then promptly slams the door as she walks out on her family, children included, leaving the shattered illusion of her marriage behind.

The abandonment of her children in the final scene of the play represents a shift from the normative assumption of the warm and caring mother to the cold and calculating individual which Nora becomes. As Julie Holledge points out, rather than Nora abandoning her children in a fit of hysteria, which would have only reinforced gender stereotypes of the day, Ibsen instead “...severed the emotional and physical attachment between a mother and child by means of logical and rational thought, and thus attacked

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one of the cornerstones and justifications of gender divisions in numerous cultures: the natural and indivisible bond between mother and child” (18). In rebelling against what is considered to be a fundamental biological imperative, the connection of mother and child, through reason fueled by a personal quest for self-discovery, Nora embodies Camus’s all or nothing rebel in a way which reaches to the core of the viewing audience. Through reason, Nora sets herself apart from the accepted social order and creates a defensible position to justify an act which many would consider unthinkable.

HELMER: But to leave your home – your husband and your children. ...

You haven’t thought of what people will say.

NORA: I can’t consider that. All I know is that this is necessary for me.

HELMER: But this is disgraceful. Is this the way you neglect your most

sacred duty?

NORA: What do you consider is my most sacred duty?

HELMER: Do I have to tell you that? Isn’t it your duty to your husband

and children?

NORA: I have another duty, just as sacred.

HELMER: You can’t have. What duty do you mean?

NORA: My duty to myself. (227-228)

And later:

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HELMER: Before anything else, you are a wife and mother.

NORA: I don‘t believe that any longer. I believe that before everything

else I am a human being - just as you are... at any rate that I shall try and

become one. I know quite well that most people would agree with you,

Torvald, and that you have warrant for it in books; but I can’t be satisfied

any longer with what most people say, and with what’s in books. I must

think things out for myself and try to understand them. (228)

This is where Ibsen makes his argument for social revolution, specifically a case against the unfair treatment of women in both political and familial arenas. Perhaps the most powerful statement comes at the resolution of Nora and Torvald’s conversation, when the inherent unfairness that is the focus of Nora’s rebellion is made clear in the following exchange:

HELMER: Nora, I’d gladly work night and day for you, and endure

poverty and sorrow for your sake. But no man would sacrifice his honour

for the one he loves.

NORA: Thousands of women have. (230)

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It is this statement which encapsulates both the socially reformative thrust of A

Doll’s House and the struggle of the anti-hero who assumes an ultimate good and is willing to sacrifice him or herself for that good, because the alternative is unacceptable

(Camus 11). This is the moment when the theatrical clichés, the ideal scripts, are cast aside. No longer does Nora live in the world of romantic fantasies. She has learned first- hand the nature of reality, her place in the world, and the laughably false ideals she held about marriage. Unable to abide her situation, she rejects it in all forms, choosing to lead a life which will undoubtedly be viewed as disgraceful for a woman in her position because, as far as she is concerned, it is better than the status quo.

It was this status quo that millions of women suffered under for generations, and to the playwright Ibsen, it was unacceptable. In his eyes, the potential benefit of elevating women’s social position from second-class citizens was not merely a question of gender equality; it was imperative for the human race as a whole:

I have been more of a poet and less of a social philosopher than one

generally appears inclined to believe. [I] must decline the honour

consciously to have worked for the cause of women. I am not even quite

clear what the cause of women really is. For me it has appeared to be the

cause of human beings . . . My task has been to portray human beings.

(Ibsen “Ved norsk” 417) .

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A testament to both the power the play still wields, and the titanic forces of inequity the play targets, is the fact that Nora is now viewed not as an anti-hero but rather as a hero. Through the ultimate act of rebellion, the eschewing of familial or “sacred duty,” as Torvald puts it, Ibsen’s un-hero questions the very nature of her existence and place in society. When Nora walks out she ignites the flame of rebellion in like-minded audience members, women who have suffered the same injustices she has suffered, who saw through her blasphemous and seditious act that there might be another option. Given the radical social change in regards to women’s rights that has occurred in the century since the play first premiered, Nora’s rebellion is now viewed not as an act of sedition but as an act of heroism. It is only when you view the play in its original social context that

Nora the un-hero emerges.

It would seem then that the rebel Nora has proven to be victorious, and unlike her counterpart in Mac the Knife, has elicited the lasting social change both characters sought to bring to their respective times. One reason this may be are the differences between the audiences who would have viewed the plays at the time of their premieres. For The

Threepenny Opera, the audiences of well-to-do bourgeois felt more of a connection with the exploits of Mac and less with the suffering of the paupers and thieves depicted in

Brecht’s work. Because of this dissociation, the audience would not have felt the call to rebellion, for their suffering was not the suffering of the characters. In contrast, A Doll’s

House showcased a systemic issue directly affected a large portion of the audience. This direct connection with the suffering of the character proves to be the spark with which the conflagration of rebellion erupts. While Mac and Peachum’s calls for social equity fell

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on ears deafened by class-based indifference, Nora’s call for gender-equity would have, and continues still, to reach those who feel the sting of disparity. In Nora, the revolution lives on every time she slams the door.

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CHAPTER 3

THE CREATION OF THE SOLUTION

The Solution began with a simple concept as described by the title of this dissertation: can I get the audience to root for the bad guy? While this idea is by no means a groundbreaking concept in the world of drama or literature (as explained in the first chapter with the discussion of historical anti-heroes), it represented a personal challenge to me as a playwright. In taking on this challenge, my goal was to explore how an audience would react to a character or characters who engage in clearly vile acts if the acts were justified as retribution for another vile act. In other words, my initial hypothesis was that the audience would clearly cheer for a villain if that villain sought to destroy another equally or more evil villain. The question then became how does one strike a balance of evils that ultimately sways audience sympathies toward the protagonist without alienating that audience?

The Solution is a product of bits and pieces gathered from pop culture and thrown into what I like to call “The Brew,” a writing habit I have developed whereby I spend weeks or months contemplating a scenario and all its possible outcomes. This brewing process allows me to imagine the universe I wish to create at its most infinite, with no idea initially off the table. After multiple inevitable false starts a basic plot and theme become clear. During this time any notes I take are usually simple reminders of an idea

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I’d like to incorporate, written down in one of many personal journals. There is no particular rhyme or reason to the order of the journals, so reconstructing an exact writing process is next to impossible. In the following pages I will give synopsis of the plot, descriptions and inspiration for characters, and the overall process involved in getting the audience to cheer for a villain.

The Solution is the story of Klaus, an old man who has a dark secret. For the last thirty-five years Klaus has been in hiding because of his horrific past. Very quickly we learn that Klaus is a former Nazi scientist who, along with his “brother” Josef (who may or may not be related to Klaus), has been on the run for several decades. We learn that the reason for the assumed identities is because the two men conducted a series of inhumane genetic experiments during World War II under the banner of Nazi eugenics. Their goal is to find a universal cure for all human ailments and sickness and to create a super-man immune to all forms of disease. The formula, however, has eluded the two men for years.

Now Klaus is having trouble recalling how they reached this dead end. Klaus still believes that his experiment, despite the unethical nature by which the data was obtained; nevertheless has the potential to make a real impact on the world for the betterment of humanity. We also learn that Klaus is suffering from pancreatic cancer and is motivated by a sense of self-preservation. He and Josef have been continuing their experiments in a limited capacity while in hiding. Due to a lack of proper equipment and test subjects, the two elderly men have put together a hodge-podge laboratory in their basement, where they conduct their experiments on homeless vagrants.

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Because of their roving nature and need for secrecy Klaus and Josef have no friends. The only person Klaus is close to is a young girl named Sara, a neighbor whom he has hired to run errands for him, such as purchasing groceries. Sara also has a secret: her victimization at the hands of her sexually and physically abusive father, Briggs. Both

Klaus and Sara are adept at keeping secrets, and both desire to be free of their torment:

Klaus is seeking redemption for the atrocities he has committed, Sara from the torment and abuse of her father.

Vindication has eluded Klaus, however. In the third scene the audience witnesses the latest round of Klaus and Josef’s failed bid to create their formula, resulting in the death of yet another homeless man. Klaus has reached a new low and is ready to give up on his work, believing there is no formula and that their work has been in vain. Josef convinces him that they are very close to a breakthrough and that Klaus needs to refocus on the problem. When a young police detective, Wade, arrives and begins asking questions regarding the disappearance of homeless men in the area, Klaus and Josef must cover their tracks. They successfully divert the detective, using their intellect and aptitude for lying to throw Wade off their scent and make him doubt the facts.

Sara has also been investigating, though her purposes are different. After interviewing Klaus for a school presentation about World War II, she does some research at the library and discovers a picture of Josef in a book about Nazi war criminals. She questions Klaus about the similarity, and Klaus is narrowly able to avoid her suspicion, but Klaus has now reached his limit. In an explosive argument with Josef, Klaus declares

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that he quits and will no longer continue with the research, claiming the stress of the situation. He will never find the absolution he seeks and is now determined to accept his fate.

Fate, however, has a different plan. Sara appears late one night in a state of horrified panic. She reveals that her father has sexually assaulted her and now she has nowhere to turn. Klaus makes a decision: if he is unable to help the world, then he will help Sara, the only person who still thinks he has a shred of decency in him. Klaus abducts the girl’s father from his bedroom. In the climactic scene of the play we witness

Klaus begin to skin Briggs alive in retribution for his acts against his daughter. The final scene of the play shows Klaus in a police interrogation chamber after the incident, telling his story to a stunned Wade. The play ends when Sara rushes in and thanks Klaus for freeing her from her wicked father. Despite being a monster, Klaus has succeeded in helping one person.

If I were to try to point to a germinal image that eventually spawned the play, it would be one that I doodled in a notebook of a faceless figure standing over a burning trashcan. In the figure’s hands are papers which he is tossing into the fire. The slumped shoulders of the figure indicate a sense of defeat, as if he finds himself suddenly devoid of purpose and is left only with the bitter taste of failure. Indeed, this very image was appropriated into Scene 6 of the play. Early in the writing process I realized that this image represented the moment of change in whoever this character would become; it was the moment that person gave up.

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Fig. 1. Germinal image for The Solution.

From the drawing I knew that the nature of the work being destroyed was scientific, an experiment that had consumed this figure’s life for years or decades. It was also around this time that I had developed my overall mission statement for this play: root for the bad guy. Therefore it seemed natural that the play should revolve around a scientist who was somehow evil or unethical, a “mad scientist” type who would take his ideas beyond the bounds of acceptable methodology in an attempt to create something truly astounding. Very quickly my attention was drawn to the horrific experiments of

Nazi scientists, and I realized that my protagonist, the faceless figure in the drawing, should somehow be associated with that period in history.

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To be fair, most of my inspiration is far more fictional that historical. Films such as Marathon Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier, the story of a history graduate student who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy involving stolen diamonds and ex-Nazi doctors, provided some grounding as to how to approach the story. It also helped my decision to set my story in the 1970s. This was due in part to two factors: the first being that investigative technology was still fairly primitive and time-consuming, thus making it conceivable that a war criminal could hide out in America unnoticed, and secondly, the age and physical capabilities of the character would conceivably come into question should the events occur any later, possibly leading to the audience being unable to suspend their disbelief. While some other general information was referenced, I consciously decided not to be pinned down by an excess need for historical accuracy.

Instead, I decided to take the basic premise of the Nazi doctor and allowed creative license to reign over the details.

I began to call the protagonist Klaus, at first as a placeholder name because it simply sounded über-German to my ear. I had originally intended to change his name to

Friedrich, another fine German name, but decided to keep Klaus because, by the time I reached the point where a name change would have been implemented, “Klaus” simply read better on the page in my mind. His surname Meyerhold was the name of the

German teacher from my high school. As far as inspiration, I can honestly attest that there are no real-world analogues to the character Klaus. A few ideas referenced the life of infamous Gestapo Commandant Klaus Barbie, specifically his penchant for torturing victims, as well as the fact that Barbie ultimately died in prison from cancer.

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It became obvious that, in order to gain audience support for Klaus, his primary goal in the story should be one that is altruistic at its core. The development of a “superman” formula, long the staple of Nazi fiction, particularly in comic book and pulp representations, seemed a worthwhile fictional super-objective to pursue. I did not, however, wish to follow the well-trodden path of the Nazi mad scientist trying to develop a serum which would create a specific superior race which would rise to dominance over all other races and ethnic groups, as is often the case in Nazi mad scientist stories found in popular fiction, for instance the 1978 Laurence Olivier film The Boys From Brazil or any number of classic comic books such as Captain America and Superman. I knew that if the audience was going to sympathize with Klaus, his goal must be all-inclusive. I therefore decided that his formula should be one that would benefit every living human being by eliminating all known forms of sickness. By establishing this, I felt reasonably assured that no matter what horrible acts the protagonist perpetrated, the audience would still have, at the very least, a touch of sympathy for his quest.

Still, a touch of sympathy would not suffice in reaching the goal of having the audience identify with my villainous hero. I imagined a scene that would show Klaus performing an unspeakably horrific act for a benevolent cause, though at this point the details of the scene still eluded me. What was needed was an act that would motivate the audience to choose to support Klaus. While the goal of curing all human ailments was certainly noble, the germinal image of the figure burning the papers had already prophesized that Klaus would fail at that endeavor. What was needed was something

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immediate, a goal which he could accomplish that would be seen as selfless while simultaneously pulling from his darker side.

I began to toy with the idea of Klaus defending someone who was truly helpless and did not have the strength or power to fight back against the oppressive force which terrorized him or her. A child seemed to be the likely candidate to me, and I began to fill in details about this child and his or her relationship to both the abusive parent as well as

Klaus. It seemed natural for Klaus, in order to become the audience’s preference, to take on the role of surrogate parent to this child. I began to fill in Klaus’s back story with the idea that he had lost his own child during World War II, which would serve as justification for his compassion toward this new child. I decided that the child should be suffering multiple forms of abuse, including sexual, from his or her father, a calculated risk which I believed would sway the audience to take Klaus’s side. After some debate, I decided that the character should be a young girl, Sara, who would serve as stand-in for the daughter Klaus lost so many years ago, as well as the key to his redemption.

Josef, Klaus’s partner, was developed primarily for Klaus to have a foil to whom he could speak openly. I was not content to simply let Josef be the recipient of Klaus’s thoughts however. Josef, in a sense, had to be the reflection of what Klaus once was. He is a detached scientist who views his subjects not as people but as numbers and, perhaps more to the point, potential results. In many ways, Josef is the realist of the group, yet at the same time is the one who keeps pushing Klaus to continue the experiment. When creating the pair, I envisioned them similar to an old married couple who knew every

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detail of each other’s lives, who had grown sick and tired of the other’s companionship, but who could not survive without each other. In Josef we see a cruel, calculated nature that complements Klaus’s compassion. Though the two men are equally guilty of committing horrific crimes, it is Josef who is the true believer and the one who will do anything to survive.

In order to draw a further distinction between the two, I decided that Josef had managed to assimilate himself into American culture far more effectively than Klaus. I showed this primarily through the use of language. Josef’s speech more closely resembles a naturalized American’s, making use of contractions, such as “we’re” instead of “we are”, as opposed to Klaus, who still maintains a more formalized speech pattern. I also indicated that Josef engages in more social activities, such as going to bars, with the implications that he may have friends and acquaintances other than Klaus. I wanted to give the sense that, while Klaus was isolated and obsessed with his project, Josef was far more sociable, even a greater risk-taker of the two in social situations. Josef prefers to hide in plain sight, as opposed to Klaus, who prefers solitude.

I established the past relationship between the two as Klaus being the lead scientist and Josef being the assistant. This power struggle often sees Klaus dictating terms when it comes to procedure in the experiments, much to Josef’s frustration. After all this time in hiding, Josef believes he is just as qualified to handle the experiments as

Klaus, but Klaus will not give up his role as the boss. At the same time, I also imagined

Josef as the more cunning and pragmatic of the two, the one who would do whatever it

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took to maintain his freedom. I realized that it should be Josef who was the one who could decide instantly whether lethal action was required to protect their identities, whereas Klaus would be more hesitant and attempt to talk his way out of a potentially dangerous situation. This created a nice dichotomy between the two: while Klaus is a more brilliant scientist, Josef possesses “street smarts” as well as a more cold-hearted logical predisposition. I imagined and tried to make clear, at least to the actors via the script and through discussion, that Josef was by far the more dangerous of the two.

Admittedly, the character of Detective Wade did not fully develop as I would have liked, but I believe this lack of development is an unfortunate side-effect of the dramatic experiment of rooting for the bad guy. I felt that there should be an external conflict, a source of antagonism that threatened to destroy everything that Klaus and

Josef had worked toward. Since I decided that the two men would be using homeless men as their test subjects, it seemed very plausible that the authorities would eventually become involved. On the other hand, I could not risk the audience identifying with the police rather than my protagonist; therefore, the conscious choice was made to have the police detective be fairly inept at his job in order to insure that our anti-hero would believably evade capture until the proper moment in the script. However, when reflecting on the overall production, I now feel that Wade was too weak of a character.

He posed almost no challenge to Klaus, and in many ways was merely a footnote in the action. While there were some nice scenes that played well and the actor did a good job with what was given, I now believe that Wade should have been more aggressive in his

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pursuit of Klaus. If I decide to revise the script at a later date, the development of Wade will be the top priority.

As mentioned earlier in this dissertation, The Solution pre-dates the formulation of the thesis proposed in the first chapter regarding the socio-critical function of the anti- hero. Klaus is perhaps more akin to the term “villainous hero” rather than the un-hero because he does not find himself oppressed by a social construct as does Nora. Nor is he exactly like Mac the Knife ,whose willing participation in criminal enterprises is for ultimately selfish purposes. Instead, Klaus’s character is one to whom the ends justify the means. He truly believes, or perhaps believed at one point, that his research would benefit all of humanity. At the same time, I attempted to show that he is motivated to redeem himself for his multitude of inhumane acts committed in the cause of bettering humanity. Klaus, unlike his partner Josef, is not a man without conscience; he is a man without recourse. He knows his experiments are ethically and morally reprehensible, but he has no other options. He is ultimately spiraling downward ethically, grasping at straws in hopes that one of them will turn out to be the branch with which he can pull himself back from over the cliff’s edge.

To attempt to shove a social context into The Solution at this point would be a fruitless and ultimately ham-fisted act, as there was no effort to do so during the process of creating and producing the play. If one could extract a greater social criticism it might be that “child molesters are bad,” not exactly an earth-shattering statement when compared to the socially reformative critique presented in A Doll’s House.

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I focused instead on making Klaus, this evil mad scientist, somehow likable to the audience. I accomplished this by giving him a sympathetic past, the loss of his family in

World War II and, on the surface, what appears to be a noble goal in the creation of a cure for all human ailments. I also focused on creating the semblance of a father/daughter relationship between him and the character Sara, one which was by far more nurturing and loving than her actual relationship with her real father. I also attempted to show Klaus’ relationship with Josef, his partner in atrocity, to be like that of an old married couple who cannot stand each other and yet cannot function on their own.

The result was several humorous exchanges and moments of sympathy between the three characters (Klaus, Sara, and Josef), which gave their relationships a complexity to which audiences would be drawn.

In order to sway the audience to the side of Klaus, I chose to reveal the extent of his cruelty in full and then juxtapose this with the two more heinous crimes that occur later in the play: Sarah’s rape and Klaus’s skinning of Briggs. The scene where he and

Josef experiment on a homeless man is designed to show Klaus for what he is and allow the audience to see him in all his horrific glory. By showing the experiment, the audience is able to concretely conceptualize the extent of his crimes in their entirety. The sexual abuse experienced by Sara, on the other hand, is only partially revealed toward the end of the play, never fully shown to the audience.

This demonstrates the dramaturgical technique that a concealed act can be far more powerful than a revealed one. I borrowed this technique from the thriller genre of

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film, which often times employs reporting acts of violence as a means to make the acts seem more horrific. Of course this technique is far older than film, one example being

Italian Renaissance artist Alberti, who argued in painting that “strategic omission might sometimes be more effective than an effort at direct representation” (Grafton 142). This seems to go against the old playwriting adage of “show, don’t tell,” yet in this case leaving the actual act hidden from the audience became an effective method of creating tension.

For The Solution I took this concept and twisted it by showing Klaus’s experiment in the third scene of the play. In doing so, I hoped that revealing his actions would give a sense of concreteness to his crimes, giving the audience, in a sense a limit, to what Klaus was capable of doing. By contrast, Briggs’s sexual assault of his daughter is reported, though the results are shown plainly by the use of a blood-soaked night gown. At the play’s climax, I again revert to the unseen act of horror as the lights fade on Klaus closing in on a bound and helpless Briggs, a knife in hand. Klaus proceeds to explain in monologue the effects of removing skin from the human body in medical terms. The screams of pain from Briggs echo into the darkness, and the audience is left to imagine his fate, knowing full well that what Klaus had just previously described was happening as the lights went out.

This second to last scene demonstrates that Klaus is still a monster. His act of vengeance is a product of necessity brought about by plot and character, and his fate is bound by the need for audience reclamation. When creating the script, I could not

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imagine Klaus escaping his eventual punishment. Considering the heinous nature of his actions, and for fear of audience rejection, I chose to create a recuperative ending where

Klaus faces justice. Ultimately I decided that Klaus’ solution was to accept responsibility for his actions rather than find forgiveness. This type of ending is more consistent with earlier forms of the anti-hero, specifically the 18th century villainous hero who, after a lifetime of flaunting society’s rules, is ultimately forced to answer for his crimes (Adams

40).

This reaffirmation of the social order of right and wrong, a throwback to

Enlightenment literary modes where the concept of right and wrong did not exist on the shaky discursive grounds on which it resides today, is at odds with the un-hero. The un- hero seeks to overthrow the order of things but finds his or her actions grounded in the fact that society is the enemy. Should the un-hero lose, the status quo continues. This concept does not apply in the case of The Solution because Klaus is not fighting against an unfair system that has marginalized him, he’s fighting against himself.

As discussed in the first chapter, the un-hero/rebel can be created through the act of witnessing a wrong act committed against a fellow man (Camus 11-12). By witnessing the wrong, the viewer is compelled to take up the cause of rebellion against the offending party. In the case of The Solution, however, many of the wrongs are committed by the protagonist Klaus, and it would seem to follow that there would be an inevitable backlash against the character should the audience perceive he was acting for his own selfish reasons or with an unfettered sense of cruelty. Therefore, the challenge

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was to present an alternate set of vile acts committed by another character so that Klaus’s infractions seem like the lesser of two evils. In the case of Briggs’s wrong, the audience witnesses the aftermath when Sara enters with a blood-soaked nightgown. Klaus’s act, while described in detail, is still hidden. In doing so, the audience is forced to make a judgment between two bad guys.

Through these methods I believe the script and production were successful in achieving the initial goal: getting the audience to root for the bad guy. As stated before,

The Solution does not illustrate the concept of the un-hero because Klaus is not a rebel.

He does not take up the cause of the greater good against the status quo, nor does he experience the oppression of the outsider. The Solution represents an attempt to create an anti-hero in a general sense of the word without regard to the socio-political considerations that make the un-hero unique. In the next chapter, I will show how I took some of the ideas that were successfully employed in The Solution and applied them to the creation of a truer un-hero in the protagonist of Aggroculture.

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CHAPTER 4

THE CREATION OF AGGROCULTURE

As stated in Chapter 1, The Solution was created as an early attempt to explore the idea of the anti-hero. Aggroculture, on the other hand, represents a concerted effort to apply the ideas presented in chapters 1 and 2 in order to create a un-hero. At this point, because the play is still a draft, the results of the efforts can only be at best speculated.

Until the play receives a production, it would be difficult to judge the overall effectiveness of the work in galvanizing an audience. At this time, theorizing with form must suffice.

Aggroculture has been a labor of love/voice in my head/constant annoyance for many years. It is, without a doubt, the single most elusive and difficult story I have ever tried to write. Even in the time between the proposal for this dissertation and the submission, the play has undergone radical re-writes to the point that it no longer resembles the original idea. The present chapter seeks to unearth how those changes came about, beginning with early conceptualizations, and then moving on to how the current version come into being. I then will examine the choice made in regard to character and plot in order to create a play that represents my best effort to demonstrate the un-hero.

I shall begin by examining the original rough concept of the play that had been brewing in my head for many years, even before I arrived at Texas Tech. As a young

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man I found myself involved in the skinhead scene in San Antonio, Texas. How I arrived at this point in life is a long story which holds little relevance to the current discussion.

Though I’m sure the details would interest some readers, I am not predisposed to giving those details at this time. Instead, simply understand that, as far as my personal reasons go, it seemed a good idea at the time.

I first began thinking of writing a story about skinheads as a way to combat what I and many of my friends saw as a one-sided presentation of the subculture in the media, specifically the presentation of all skinheads as racist neo-Nazi radicals, an image that still persists today. What was not being reported or portrayed was the other side, what we liked to refer to as “the real skinheads”: the non-racist, multi-ethnic skinheads that made up the majority of the San Antonio scene and can be found all over the United States and indeed the world.

The original idea took the form of a screenplay. I toiled for some time with how to tell the story, ultimately deciding that this early draft should be a battle between two forces: the sense love and security provided by “the scene” (i.e. skinhead subculture), and the desire for a future free of the day-to-day conflict and struggle that goes hand-in-hand with the subculture. The original protagonist, Eric, was a Latino skinhead who finds himself and his friends embroiled in a turf war with the local Nazi-skinhead crew. Eric had lived a rough life but managed some degree of achievement. Unlike many of his friends, he was college educated and showed a great deal of promise in the field of art and graphic design. A combination of inner-demons, self-doubt, and unshakable loyalty

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to his friends, who had basically raised him, prevented him from moving on, trapping him in a violent limbo of day-to-day existence within the subculture. Only when he meets a young woman, Anna, does Eric finally get the push to imagine something more in life.

Fig. 2 Notes for early version of Aggroculture.

Of course, his past will not let him be. As the early, unfinished script progressed,

Eric found himself pulled back into the conflict between his friends and the Nazi crew, led by the enamoring Jefferson, for control of the scene. Though the story ended up being shelved, I had originally intended for the screenplay to end with Sam, Eric’s best

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friend, being killed after a final battle with the Nazis and Eric leaving the lifestyle forever. I thought it was a pretty good story.

I had originally titled the script Aggroculture: A Skinhead’s Story after a friend had suggested the name in a conversation. I thought it a perfect description of the tone and mood: aggro, shortened slang for “aggressive,” had been a term long associated with the skinhead and punk rock subcultures. The combination of Aggro-Culture also gave a hint of southern-ness that I liked, alluding to the farming and ranching that are often associated with popular images of Texas. I believed I was on the way to creating a story that would both captivate on and provide a much needed counter-point to films like

American History X, a film which had become one of the go-to popular references for defining skinhead culture.

American History X tells the story of Derek Vineyard (Edward Norton), a reformed Nazi skinhead who tries to keep his younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong) out of the gang he used to lead. In a series of black-and-white flashbacks we see how

Derek rises from typical middle-class suburbanite kid to one of the most polarizing street leaders of the Venice Beach Nazi movement. After serving a prison stint for the brutal killing of a black man, Derek comes to the realization that the white supremacist rhetoric he once so passionately embraced only leads to a never-ending cycle of hatred. He leaves prison ready to make amends to his family and cut off ties to his former gang for good, but Danny, who idolizes Derek, resists his brother’s new perspective. Only after Derek reveals how his views were radically altered in prison, again through a series of

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flashbacks in which Derek’s preconceptions are challenged by another prisoner (Guy

Torrey) and culminates in a shower rape by his so-called white brothers, does Derek manage to convince Danny that he is following the wrong path. But the victory is short- lived as moments later Danny is murdered in his school by a black gang member with whom he had a confrontation at the beginning of the film.

Norton’s Oscar-nominated performance and the film’s powerful, gruesome imagery played a huge part in the reception of the film. A critical success, the film helped cement the popular view of “skinheads-equals-Nazis” in the minds of the public.

The absence of even a mention of other types of skinheads was a major omission as far as

I was concerned. Thus, it was then that I began to contemplate Aggroculture as a possible corrective measure to the problem.

Then came the 2007 film This Is England by director Shane Meadows. My first viewing of the film was simultaneously inspiring and heartbreaking: inspiring because someone had finally managed to tell the story of skinheads in a way that was both artistic and brutally truthful, and heartbreaking because Meadows had managed to tell the story I secretly wanted to tell in a way that was far superior to my own efforts. This Is England takes place in 1983 and is the story of a twelve-year-old boy named Shaun whose father was killed in the Falkland War. After being beaten up by the school bullies, Shaun is befriended by a multi-ethnic group of teenage skinheads who quickly accept him and become a positive influence in his life. Woody, the leader of the gang, and Milky, the

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son of Jamaican immigrants, quickly become his primary role-models, and for the first time in a long time Shaun feels like he belongs.

But everything changes when an older skinhead, Combo, returns from a prison sentence for assault. Combo is one of the original skinheads from the 1960s and garners a great deal of respect from the younger boys. It quickly becomes apparent that prison has changed Combo, and his new outlook includes racist ideology which does not sit well with Woody and Milky. The other boys, however, become enamored with Combo’s charismatic racial idealism, and Shaun, lacking a father figure, attaches himself to Combo as sort of surrogate father.

The movie then explores the origins of the split between the original non-racist skinheads and the rise of the Nazi skinhead movements. Meadows deftly shows the subversive seduction by the National Front, a political party in England at the time whose primary goal was to advocate white, native-English supremacy, and who used patriotic rhetoric to lure in young, impressionable skinheads as foot soldiers to be used to further their own violent agenda. Shaun falls for it completely, and what was once a close-knit group of friends shatters into two rival factions. Woody, Milky, and a few of the other boys and girls distance themselves from Shaun and Combo, and the newly formed right- wing group begin a systematic harassment of non-whites in their town.

Shaun, still not-fully understanding his new mentor’s level of hatred, innocently invites his friend Milky to “peace-talks” with Combo, hoping the two can heal the rift between them, but Combo, so consumed by rage from his prison experiences, attacks and

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brutally beats Milky, sending the young man to the hospital. Shaun finally sees Combo for what he is: a broken and hate-filled man. Shaun makes the decision to leave the lifestyle after realizing that everything Combo had told him was a lie.

The reason I bring this film up is that it was exactly the story that I had been planning to tell. Though the details of the story are different, Meadows’s efforts capture exactly the mood and tone, while explaining what needed to be explained in a way that could only come from someone who had experienced these events first-hand. While I thought I could still manage to write a play that told the story of skinheads based on my own experience, as was my original plan from the proposal from this dissertation, I found all my efforts to be derivative, cumbersome, and uninspired. The shadow of This Is

England, the story I wish I could have told, always loomed.

The major pitfall of the early version of the script was the need to explain the difference between the two types of skinheads would be an inescapable aspect of the story. Since I could not rely on the audience having watched This Is England as a prerequisite, I felt required to make clear that my protagonist was a skinhead of the traditional variety and not a hate-mongering “bonehead” (a derogatory term used by traditional skinheads to describe their Nazi counterparts). But as I experimented with various drafts, I always found the explanations lacking, as if they were an obligatory warning notice but did nothing for the story. I could not find a way to incorporate these necessary but cumbersome explanations in a manner which helped move the action and did not read like an apology, something I did not want. It seemed that, unlike This Is

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England, which was able to explain the difference within the unfolding of the plot itself, my play would be incapable of such a feat. I came to the conclusion that Aggroculture had to change.

I knew I still wanted to keep the title and wanted to write about, in some way, the punk rock scene in which I had grown up. The solution dawned on me that my characters should become present-day punk rockers who missed the early days of the movement. I liked the idea that they somehow imagined themselves to be brave pioneers in a land that had already been discovered, cultivated, and drained of resources long ago by those who came before them. They were the leftovers of a movement whose day had long passed.

Best of all, punks require no explanation: the subculture has had a prominent place within the bounds of popular culture for years, and I believe whatever negative stigmatism that came attached to these characters would work in my favor rather than potentially against me.

In order to create the un-hero, I needed a real-world issue that could become the centerpiece of the play. Originally, I had intended to use the bank mortgage crisis as that issue. I had imagined the characters taking up an active rebellion against corporate

America, which would culminate in them burning down several branches of a bank which had wronged them. Over time the crisis faded, however and seemed to be relegated to the background noise and eventually had become mostly forgotten. While the issue still exists, I felt that its shelf life in the public mind had expired. With A Doll’s House as my prime example, I knew I needed to find an issue that had a sense of lasting controversy,

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whose proponents and adversaries had been entrenched in a debate for ages. I knew it required an underdog whose position on the topic was, by means of hegemonic consensus, perceived to be fundamentally wrong. It did not take long before I discovered the topic that became the focal point of the play and the impetus for my new un-heroes: marijuana.

After decades of prohibition, it seems that right now the debate about the legalization of marijuana is entering a new era. With legalization in various forms occurring in multiple states, while other states continue steadfastly to prohibit the use, the timeliness of the topic cannot be more appropriate. Rather than delivering a preachy sermon about the relative usefulness or harmfulness of the drug, however, I decided that a more subtle approach was needed. I wanted to avoid becoming an advocate, and instead

I wanted to tell a story of character in a particular situation. Again, with A Doll’s House as my guide, I calculated that a story about a character attempting to navigate the status quo would better illustrate the argument of the dissertation and ultimately make a better play, rather than a ham-fisted, thesis-style argument for or against. With that in mind, the new Aggroculture began to take shape.

The play tells the story of a down on his luck punk rocker named Steve who lives with his more motivated sister Anna. Steve, a thirty something relic of the nineties punk rock resurgence has no goals in life other than to see his sister graduate from law school.

Recent cutbacks at his job have placed his meager livelihood, and his sister’s chances of success, in danger. Without medical insurance, Steve will no longer be able to afford his

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sister’s insulin to treat her diabetes, which he has managed to secure by lying on his insurance forms and claiming he and his sister are married. If the insurance stops, Anna runs the risk of becoming too sick to finish. Needing a quick influx of cash, Steve and his friend Sam, a rowdy punk with delusions of grandeur, come up with a plan.

For years, Steve has been growing small amounts of marijuana in his basement for his own personal use. His latest batch is revolutionary; a quick-growing, high- potency plant that is unrivaled by anything currently on the street. After Sam takes some samples and distributes them at a concert, creating a street buzz about this new plant, the boys come up with a plan: grow a large quantity of the plant and sell it for a massive profit. Since it grows quickly, thanks to both selective breeding and a special formula

Steve learned from his late mother, an amateur botanist, the two surmise that the profit potential is enormous, but in order to do that, they must find someone who is willing to buy it in bulk.

Using his connections in the drug underground - meaning he asks a bunch of his druggie friends - Sam is able to make contact with a high-level drug supplier that is willing to deal with them. Much to the two punks’ surprise, the contact ends up being

Anna’s boss, a high profile attorney named Mr. Lewis. Maybe not so coincidentally,

Lewis has given intern Anna a huge assignment in his latest case where the firm is defending a drug cartel hitman known as “El Carnicero” (The Butcher), with whom Sam seems to have an unhealthy and twisted obsession. Thanks to Sam’s bragging about the

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fast growing nature of the strain Steve has developed, Mr. Lewis has given them a nearly impossible quota to meet. With no other options, Steve begins his grow.

With the deadline approaching, Steve is concerned that they will not be able to make their quota and is fearful of what is going to happen to himself, Sam, and most importantly, Anna. Despite his intentions, he has indirectly involved her in this plot, which could at the very least ruin her chances of becoming a lawyer and possibly even get her killed. Even with his fast-growing strain and his secret formula they are going to be short. Meanwhile, we learn that the case against the Butcher has been tossed out because of an improper search warrant.

The day of the handoff finally arrives, and Steve is indeed short on the quota. He and Sam will attempt to persuade Lewis that he has asked for the impossible, but Steve is certain that this is the end for him. There is a knock at the door, and Sam opens it to discover El Carnicero himself on the doorstep. Mr. Lewis follows behind, and it becomes clear that the boys aren’t going to get out of this. Disappointed that they were unable to deliver the amount of product agreed upon, Mr. Lewis demands some other form of compensation. Steve, in a desperate attempt, offers the grow formula, which

Lewis surprising accepts eagerly. Steve, shocked and relieved that Lewis was so accepting of his counter proposal, quickly realizes that he has made a massive mistake in giving the formula away. Lewis explains the formula is worth far more than the marijuana because it is legitimate. He has plans to patent it and sell it for billions. With a smirk, he leaves the two young men with their now rather meager compensation.

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My new anti-hero, Steve, is a close-to-middle-aged punk rocker with not much going for him. I decided that his backstory would be that of a farm boy whose family lost everything because of some rather poor choices by his father, specifically engaging in the transport of illegal immigrants across the border. With his father locked up, Steve and his family were forced to move to the city so his mother, now the only provider, could find work. The farm that he loved was sold off at auction to pay back what was owed to the bank. In this loss, Steve became disillusioned and fell into a negative mindset which eventually caused him to embrace the punk lifestyle, a culture in which negativity and nihilism are the common bond. But Steve dreams of one day returning to the simple farm life, either by buying back his old family farm or even a new piece of land that he can call his own. To help cope with the loss of the life he once had, he has taken to growing marijuana in his basement, experimenting with different strains and utilizing the horticultural skills his mother passed down to him.

Following the lead of the slew of stoner films that have come before, it was an easy choice to go toward a more comedic tone with the play. I also knew, however, that the situation should not be so ridiculous that it was outside the realm of possibility. Often the stoner comedy goes beyond any sort of plausible situation for the sake of laughter, as exemplified in the film Up In Smoke, where the characters become unwitting drug smugglers in a van that is entirely made of marijuana. The ridiculous nature of the situation, while often a hallmark of the stoner comedy, would not serve to demonstrate the thesis of this play. In other instances, the stoner comedy takes a nostalgic look at the past when marijuana was seen as a part of the coming-of-age experience, such as in the

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film Dazed and Confused, which is the story of a young man’s first party experience on the last day of his eighth grade school year. But nostalgic waxing would not meet the criteria for the un-hero, as the problem he faces must be something in the present. In order to meet the criteria, in order to create a more true representation of un-hero, the situation itself had to be both believable and currently relevant. That is why this play departs from the often tried and true formula of the stoner comedy and attempts to make the situation more desperate. That being said, I would still categorize Aggroculture as a comedy, with the focus on what these characters, who are representations of actual people rather than comic stoner stereotypes, do in this strange situation.

Given the real-world constraints of growing and harvesting marijuana, a small element of science fiction had to be introduced. This is undoubtedly a personal habit of mine when it comes to writing. As a fan of science fiction I find the introduction of fantastic elements into my stories gives them an interesting twist which allows for a certain degree of artistic freedom and creativity, and though it would seem to contradict some of the concepts I have put forth in this dissertation, I felt the need to include that fantastic element order to make the story feel like it was my own, rather than a dull and constrained “thesis play.”

Much like the formula in The Solution, I found myself gravitating toward a fantastic element which would serve as an engine to speed up the action of the play and eventually become the focal point for an ironic ending. In this case, the fantastic element is a super-grow formula which Steve learned from his mother. The formula becomes

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Steve’s bargaining tool at the end, allowing him to escape a rather sticky situation when he fails to produce the agreed upon amount of product. This choice, while perhaps not quite within the spirit of presenting the un-hero in the real world, was necessary for both the progress of the plot and also provides a thematic connection with The Solution. In the case of Aggroculture, however, the formula works.

Very early I decided that the central action of the play would be Steve following in his father’s lack of good judgment by attempting to grow and sell a large quantity of marijuana which he would grow in his basement. This serves as the central through-line for the play. I also decided that Steve should be woefully unprepared for dealing with the business side of the drug trade. Rather than use the well-worn trope of a character who would rise in the ranks of the narcotics underworld, for instance Tony Montana (Al

Pacino) in the film Scarface, Steve would be frightened of the prospect of dealing with hardened criminals. What was needed was a reason for him to take this action. While the personal desire to regain his family’s land is a fine goal, I felt that something more immediate was needed to drive the action.

I took a character from an earlier version of the play, Anna, and reintegrated her into the new script as Steve’s sister. Immediately I wanted to establish a relationship where Steve sees himself as her protector. Anna is the one with the future ahead of her.

She has struggled to put herself through law school and has now entered into her final year before she is eligible to take the Bar exam. Anna, in Steve’s eyes, represents the hope of a normal life and success, something Steve does not believe is available to him.

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Instead, he puts his own efforts into supporting Anna by providing a home and medical insurance through his job; however, Steve’s methods in providing that support are rather questionable. He lies on his insurance forms and claims Anna is his wife so that her diabetes medication can be covered through the insurance, knowing that his meager paycheck will not cover full-priced medication. This illegal act is quite telling of our anti-hero: Steve is willing to do whatever it takes in order to provide, even if it means breaking the law. Initially, as far as Steve is concerned, the ends justify the means.

Sam, the second protagonist, is the epitome of punk rock. Crude, rude, and aggro to the core, Sam is an amalgam of several of my friends from my younger days.

Sam is an idea man, a man of great vision but almost no motivation or ability to carry out that vision. He sees himself as a major player in the scene, someone who should command respect, but his general lack of intelligence, foresight, or skills make him somewhat useless. The one area where Sam excels is talking: convincing others to follow him in his schemes.

Sam serves the punk rock scene, but does so expecting something in return, namely a high status amongst his peers. He envisions himself as a entrepreneur and future club owner, and states that his goal is to buy the night club where he promotes his shows.

For Sam, the scene is the be-all-and-end-all of life. His only motivation is to rise to the top of the subculture, to earn what he thinks is legitimacy and respect. His penchant for crazy ideas and violence constantly gets him into trouble, but his charisma allows him to escape from most conflicts unscathed.

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Mr. Lewis is meant to represent what Steve, Anna, and Sam desire to be. While outwardly he appears to be a model of success, Mr. Lewis’s behind the scenes involvement in nefarious activities is the true source of his monetary gain. As a mob lawyer, Mr. Lewis knows the ins and outs of the criminal underground and has been able to use this knowledge to prop himself up as a major player in the drug trade. While he may come across as a hypocrite, he justifies his involvement with the line that I submit is the heart of the play: “The problem with this business is the business.” Lewis, like Steve and Sam, does what he must do to survive and thrive. He just happens to be much more adept at crime than our two anti-heroes.

The final character to appear in the play is Miguel “El Carnicero” Salazar, a notorious mob hitman who is on trial for the killing five men in a retaliatory mafia hit.

Most of the information about Carnicero is relayed through a series of voice-over newscasts which report grisly details about the murders and the state of his trial. (I’ve attempted to make it quite obvious that he is guilty of these crimes through these voice- overs so that when he is finally revealed in the last scene the audience will know exactly what type of man he is and also that Steve and Sam are in serious trouble.) El

Carnicero’s serious crimes also serve as a comparison to the criminal activities of Steve and Sam. He is meant to point out the irony and unfairness of a justice system which doles out severe punishments to the poor for relatively harmless crimes, and yet a truly dangerous person with money will be exonerated.

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Though it would take little effort to derive my personal stance on the issue of marijuana prohibition from the content of the play, I can honestly say that my goal was not to directly advocate any particular political position. Instead, the attempt was made, first and foremost, to place the characters in a situation whereby an act of rebellion would be necessitated by their needs. In this case, to keep his sister alive and healthy, Steve is forced to commit multiple felonies and risk his life in a dangerous gambit. I find this a far more interesting approach than if the play were to be a didactic spewing of facts and figures that argue one position against the other.

Of course, the danger of the situation does not come from the drugs themselves, but rather the course of action necessary to make a profit. As mentioned earlier, the thematic drive of this play and the source of the rebellion against social standards can best be summed up by the line, “The problem with this business is the business.” In this case, the business of growing is where the potential disaster waits, not the actual use of the drug. At no time does the actual ingestion of marijuana pose any threat to our characters. This, of course, can be attributed to my personal belief, but I took great care to avoid “preaching.” Even El Carnicero is not explicitly judged. He, like Steve, does what he must do to survive.

Simply put, I believe that the most effective plays consist of characters in complex situations which then show what those characters do to resolve their dilemmas, leaving the moral/ethical implications to be evaluated by the audience. In the case of

Aggroculture, the play is simply about a man trying to help his sister and his friend. It

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just so happens that his answer to his dilemma involves a rather dangerous act of social rebellion against the norms of society.

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

Throughout this dissertation I have attempted to show the un-hero as one who, through circumstance, is at odds with the real-world status quo. In the very best examples the un-hero’s rebellion against the establishment serves as a focal point for those who find themselves under the same oppressive hegemonic boot. It urges the audience to enact real rebellion and seek to transform those social practices which are the root of the oppression. If the fictional act of rebellion is successful, and the root of oppression is killed, the socially traitorous un-hero transforms into hero in the minds the audience, who then should be inspired to take the fight from the theatre and into the street. If the un-hero fails and the oppression continues, it is still a victory for the forces of rebellion, for the problem has been exposed and the costs of tolerating the oppression laid out for all to see. Either way, the un-hero and the rebellious cause win.

The dissertation in its present form serves as a springboard for further research into the concept of the un-hero and the effect this type of character can bring about in eliciting real-world change. I acknowledge that the reliance on A Doll’s House and The

Threepenny Opera as the primary examples for a historical context does not delve deeply enough into the subject to be definitive. I believe the basic concept presented in this dissertation, however, is worthy of follow up research, and with this in mind I would now like to offer a few thoughts on where this research could potentially go next.

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One possible line of questioning would center around whether the reception of the un-hero as rebel is bound to what the viewers (or readers) believe when they initially sit down in the theatre, or if those perceptions have truly changed when the viewers leave the theatre. In chapters one and two I demonstrated how the un-hero can, from his or her position as outsider and through a dramatic act of rebellion, wage war against the forces which oppress him or her, but can the un-hero, through the fictional dramatic act, actually effect real change, or is the un-hero’s power limited to merely framing the argument and letting the audience and society sort it out on their own, for better or worse? At this point, I tend to lean toward the latter.

There are a few hearsay examples of drama changing the minds of the viewers in some small way. One such is a legend of an English factory owner who, after viewing a performance of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, was moved to give his workers more benefits after identifying with Ebenezer Scrooge. Even if this example were true, which I cannot verify at this point, it would indicate that drama can only affect individuals who see themselves as the oppressors, as the ones perpetrating the unfairness. In the case of A

Christmas Carol, our protagonist Scrooge is the oppressor rather than the oppressed. It is not an act of rebellion which brings about change but rather a metaphysical experience in which he realizes the error of his ways, embracing the populist belief in charity as the path to a fulfilled life. Dickens does not examine the root cause of Scrooge’s greed in terms of the greater social framework; he instead attributes it to a flaw in the individual rather than a systemic issue. Though Scrooge is, in the end, transformed into a generous philanthropist, it is only through what could be called an act of divine providence instead

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of active resistance and rebellion. Perhaps if Bob Cratchit had decided to burn down

Scrooge’s grain silos to protest the unfair wages and terrible working conditions we would be closer to the mark.

Another question that has arisen through the course of writing this dissertation is whether or not illegality is a necessary component of the un-hero’s act of rebellion. In the two examples presented in chapter 2, both Nora’s and Peachum’s actions bear a degree of direct opposition to established laws of the day. True, it was not necessarily illegal for a woman to divorce her husband, though certainly frowned upon. Nora’s forging of her father’s signature to receive the loan which saved her husband’s life, which serves as the inciting incident for the narrative, however, certainly was against the law. Peachum’s entire begging enterprise is at best questionable, as it resembles organized racketeering, and while begging in and of itself has had a checkered history in regard to legal acceptability, there can be no doubt that Peachum’s embarrassing protest against the monarch would have brought about serious ramifications. It may be that the un-hero’s act of rebellion must in some way take opposition to actual state-sanctioned laws, thereby making his or her actions illegal. It may not be enough that the unfairness the un-hero struggles against merely exists, but that the unfairness is codified within the legal system. This argument is at best speculative at this point. It is possible that having the backing of the law simply creates a more effective and powerful force of antagonism whereby the anti-hero is battling not just public attitudes but the mechanism of the state itself.

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While I was writing this dissertation, it occurred to me that there are several similarities between what I have presented here and realism/naturalism. Was not one of the goals of naturalist theatre to dissect the everyday life in order find the roots of social problems (Zola 716)? Was there not a push to show human beings for what they truly are and the social and environmental circumstances which shaped their lives and world view, or as Emile Zola put it to take a “...natural man, put him in his proper surroundings, and analyze all the physical and social causes which make him what he is” (715)? Didn’t the naturalist believe, once the problems were identified by the audience through this showcase, that the same audience would be moved to find a solution to those problems?

As you can see, it would appear that, when I describe the un-hero, I might be simply talking about a re-envisioned form of naturalism/realism. Even more so, I also seemed to have backed myself into a corner by using as my primary example the most famous

Realist play (A Doll’s House) ever created! I would like to address this potential criticism now.

While it might appear that the goals of realism/naturalism are in synch with the conductive force which drives the un-hero, the primary differences lie in both the aesthetic requirements (or lack thereof) and the modes of storytelling. At this stage, I would suggest that the difference between naturalism and the ideas in this dissertation is the requirement of environmental materialism which is so firmly rooted in our perception of naturalist art - in other words, the concept of “slice of life.” The naturalists sought to examine how heredity and environment affect the individual in order to discover the root of social problems, with an eye toward objective analysis. The artistic world, however,

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particularly the world of script-based performance, is seemingly antithetical to the concept of “experimentation” as the naturalists would have wanted, simply because the play is sculpted from the mind of the playwright and executed by actors. No matter how objective the playwright or actors attempt to become when creating the work, the personality, belief-structures, and self-evident conclusions of those involved will inevitably infiltrate. In short, naturalism as advocated in its perceived purest form is an artistic impossibility when it comes to the creation of what we typically think of as a play.

Furthermore, in practice the grand ideas put forth by Zola of transcribing reality to word were rarely adhered to, even in the novel, the place of naturalism’s dominance.

Pam Morris, in her analysis of realism, states “...there is very little evidence to suggest that the majority of realist writers of the nineteenth century ever saw their goal in terms of a one-to-one correspondence with a non-verbal reality” (5). While the strength of theatre vis-à-vis the novel is its ability through representation to showcase a hyper- realistic setting through staging practices, more accurately and efficiently than the novelist could ever hope for, there is still the problem of representing people. Again, because of the confines of the script itself and the audience demand for dramatic action, a work truly representative of naturalist theatre concepts is impossible if the performance wishes to maintain that most fundament purpose of theatre: to entertain (Brecht 180).

Ultimately, as Brecht points out, fidelity to the real world is a non-concern; instead he opines that internal consistency, even in the face of unrealistic improbability, is far more desirable so long as the performance succeeds in entertaining (182).

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It is possible, in certain types of experimental forms of theatre, to show a person

“living everyday life” - perhaps a performer will invite an audience into his or her house to observe his or her everyday existence in all its mundane glory - but these types of performances forgo the examination of social issues in favor of playing in the uncommitted material now for the voyeuristic benefit of an audience - uncommitted in the sense that the script is simply whatever needs be done by the “performer” to create the sense of real-life, without any regard to dramatic need. When word is put to page by the hand of a playwright, the goal of natural observation is circumvented. When the audience is invited to see the actor in his or her environment “as is,” the social criticism is lost.

A play featuring a un-hero, on the other hand, simply accepts as a given that a specific social problem exists, readily identifies it, and through the actions of the character, attempts to show a fictional conquest of the problem. There is no need to examine an issue in scientific detail because, as stated in Chapter 1, the un-hero’s dilemma is one that is shared by members of the audience. The un-hero does not rely on observation because the audience has already observed the issue in real life. Due to the proliferation of perpetual news cycles and the internet, access to the facts of an issue are merely a few keystrokes away. The audience is already aware of the issue to varying degrees, either through direct experience of the oppressive nature of the problem or via media outlets which constantly offer analysis and opinion and are (usually) grounded in the facts. Even on the off chance that an audience member is completely unaware of the social issue presented in the performance, information is already at their fingertips. Thus,

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the status quo presented both in the dramatic work and buttressed by the never-ending river of media coverage in all forms outside the theatre are more than sufficient to give the audience everything they need to know.

The question that is asked is not “what is the problem” but rather “what are we going to do about it?” In this, the performer becomes the agent of solving the problem, even if the solution is always one of dramatic extremes: a complete rejection of the status quo which has oppressed him or her culminating in an attempt to destroy the status quo.

The un-hero does not so much observe reality as acts upon his or her own reality in whatever way will bring about victory over his or her “natural” circumstances. The rejection and attempted coup against the status quo is an attempt at a systemic cure via a very personal quest. In the final scene of A Doll’s House, Nora’s list of grievances against Torvald come not from statistical analysis but rather from the oppression she personally experiences. Whereas Torvald constantly attempts to use social pressures to convince Nora that she is wrong, reminding Nora of her “sacred duty” and warning that she hasn’t “thought of what people will say” (DH 227). Nora, on the other hand, responds to these claims with the only argument she has, her direct experience.

Nora: I know quite well that most people would agree with you, Torvald,

and that you have warrant for it in books, but I can’t be satisfied any

longer with what most people say, and with what’s in books. I must think

things out for myself and try to understand them. (228)

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Even if we consider Nora’s conclusion, perhaps summed up in the phrase “she knows what she doesn’t know,” we cannot separate the personal emotional factor in her response. Nora is not rebelling simply because society is unfair, but rather because she herself has been treated unfairly. This personal adversarial connection to the issue is enough to sway the audience members who have experienced the same oppression to her side.

I wish to conclude by examining a more practical aspect of the concepts illustrated in this dissertation, namely how can the idea of the un-hero be a useful tool for contemporary playwrights? Contemporary western culture, specifically in the United

States, appears to be going through a period of growing pains as evidenced by several contentious social issues which have made their way to the forefront of cultural discourse. Examples such as gay marriage, the legalization of marijuana, the extent and scope of fair business practices, religious freedom, and personal privacy issues tend to dominate the daily news cycles; any issue where the once hegemonic thought which served as the foundation for the creation of the status quo is a target.

The playwright, seeing a problem inherent in the status quo, can use the concept of the un-hero to both frame the issue and suggest a course of action via the actions of the protagonist. Even if the protagonist fails to create the change in the system he or she desires, the audience has been made aware of the extreme unfairness of the status quo and might be prompted to take action against it in the real world. The rebellion, now alive in the hearts and minds of those who have witnessed the un-hero’s struggle, is carried into the streets.

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As stated before, Aggroculture is a more direct attempt to create an original un- hero using the ideas presented in this dissertation. The script presented here, however, is not a final product. At this point I would consider the play a solid first draft, but still in need of rewrites and fleshing-out in certain areas in order to bring the scope of the marijuana debate more clearly into frame. An argument which could be developed in the play is an examination of disproportionately harsh sentences for marijuana possession. I envision this developing as a story Steve tells Sam of a friend from the punk rock scene who was arrested in possession of a small amount of marijuana and charged with a felony. Steve would then compare their friend’s situation, who possessed an amount for personal use, to the massive amount they are growing, and draw conclusions about the possible penalties they are facing. Not only would this clarify the stakes of the story and their actions, but would serve as a commentary about those squandering away in prisons for what is ultimately a victimless crime.

I also would like to increase Anna’s role in the story somehow. As of now, while overall I am happy with how the character turned out, I believe she can be developed further to play a more pronounced part in the overall plot, rather than just be the object to be saved. I am still considering the possibilities of what to do with her, but at this time there are no concrete ideas.

The un-hero has been and continues to be used as a tool to explore the underpinnings of the status quo and thereby seek to extract it by the roots through an act of outright rebellion, regardless of aesthetic practice. Brecht and Ibsen, two sides of the aesthetic spectrum, both managed to create this type of character in their respective

Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

works. I venture to say that the protagonists of the Expressionists, for instance Mr. Zero in Elmer Rice’s The Adding Machine, would fit the description as well. The works of

Neil Labute, whose self-destructive anti-heroes serve to criticize the mindset of American consumerism where even people are seen as disposable objects, would certainly be worthy of further examination to see if these characters possess the qualities of the un- hero (Dickson). Do the capitalist sharks in David Mamet’s Glengary Glen Ross represent a call for systemic change in the business world? And if this is the case, what form does their rebellion take and how effective is it? Or do they actually rebel at all against social norms? Instead, could these characters still be considered un-heroes who manage to arouse public demand for reform through demonstration without actually engaging in some form of rebellion, and instead create discussion by simply showcasing their harsh realities? These outstanding will be the subject of further research.

The un-hero is not bound by artistic genre, but rather by social circumstances. As society engages in debates and challenges which threaten or promise to drastically change our understanding of the world and ourselves, and as aesthetic tastes morph from one artistic practice to the next, the un-hero as rebel will be there to question, undermine, and rip apart the status quo.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adams, Percy G. “The Anti-Hero in Eighteenth-Century Fiction.” Studies in the Literary Imagination. 9.1 (Spring 1976): 29-52.

American History X. Dir. Tony Kaye. Perf. Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D’Angelo. 1998. Film. Brans, Jo, "The Dialectics of Hero and Anti-hero in “Rameaus Nephew” and Dangling Man," Studies in the Novel 16.4 (Winter 1984): 435-447 .

Brecht, Bertolt. “A Short Organum for the Theatre.” Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic. Ed. And Tr. John Willett. Hill and Wang: New York, 1977. pp. 179-205.

--. “Notes to The Threepenny Opera.” Reprinted in The Threepenny Opera. Trans and Ed. Ralph Manheim and Joseph Willet. Arcade Publishing: New York. 1994. Print. Brecht, Bertolt and Kurt Weill. The Threepenny Opera. Trans and Ed. Ralph Manheim and Joseph Willet. Arcade Publishing: New York. 1994. Print. Buck, Donald C. “Juan Salvo y Vela and the Rise of the Comedia de Magia: The Magician as Anti-Hero.” Hispania. 69. 2 (May, 1986): 251-261.

Campbell, J. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1973. E-Book.

Camus, Albert. The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt. trans. Anthony Bower. New York: Vintage Books, 1992. Print.

Dance, D. C. Shuckin’ and Jivin’: Folklore from Contemporary Black Americans. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978. Print.

Dazed and Confused. Dir. Richard Linkletter. Perf. Jeremy London, Ray Cochran, Wiley Wiggins. 1993. Film. Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Amazon Digital Services, 1843. Kindle eBook.

Dickson, Mary. “Who’s Afraid of Neil Labute?” Salt Lake City Weekly 12 Sept. 1998.

Dirks, Tim. “The History of Film in the 1970s: The Last Golden Age of American Cinema (the American “New Wave”) and the Advent of the Blockbuster Film.” Filmsite.org. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.

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Fischer-Lichte, Erika. History of European Drama and Theatre. Trans. Jo Riely. Routledge: New York, 2002. Print.

Furst, Lilian, "The Romantic Hero, or Is He an Anti-hero?" Studies in the Literary Imagination. 9.1 (Spring 1976): 53- 67.

Grafton, Anthony. Leon Battista Alberti: Master Builder of the Italian Renaissance. Hill and Wang: New York, 2000. Print.

Holledge, Julie. “Addressing The Global Phenomenon of A Doll’s House: An Intercultural Intervention.” Ibsen Studies. v 8.1. Rutledge. 2008. Pg 13-28. Print.

Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. A Doll’s House and Other Plays. Penguin Group: New York, 1965. p145 – 232. Print. --. ‘‘Ved Norsk Kvindesagsforenings Fest I Kristiania 26. Mai 1898 [At the Norwegian Women’s Cause Association’s gala evening].’’ Artikler og Taler [Essays and Speeches]. Ibsen, Samlede Verker. Vol 15: 417–18.

Lamont, Rosette C. “From Hero to Anti-Hero.” Studies in the Literary Imagination. 9.1 (Spring 1976): 1-23. Print.

Manheim, Ralph and John Willett. “Introduction to The Threepenny Opera.” The Threepenny Opera. Trans and Ed. John Willet and Ralph Manheim. Arcade Publishing: New York. 1994. Print. Marker, Fredrick J. and Lise-Lone Marker. A History of Scandinavian Theatre. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1996. Print. May, Trevor. An Economic and Social History of Britain 1760–1970. Longman Group: London, 1987. Print.

Mayhew, Henry. “A Visit to the Cholera District of Bermondsey.” The Morning Chronicle. 24 Sept. 1849.

Michael, Jonathan. “The Rise of the Anti-Hero.” Relevance. 26 Apr. 2013.

Moi, Toril. "’First and Foremost a Human Being’: Idealism, Theatre, and Gender in A Doll's House.” Modern Drama, Volume 49, Number 3, Fall 2006, University of Toronto Press: Toronto. pp. 256-284. Print.

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Morris, Pam. Realism. Routledge: New York, 2003. Print.

Simmons, David. The Anti-Hero in the American Novel: from Joseph Heller to Kurt Vonnegut. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print.

Templeton, Joan. Ibsen's Women. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1997. Print

This Is England. Dir. Shane Meadows. Perf. Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley. 2007. Film. Up In Smoke. Dir. Lou Addler. Perf. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. 1978. Film. Willett, John. The Theatre of the Weimar Republic. Holmes & Meyer: New York, 1988. Print. Zola, Emile. “Naturalism on the Stage.” The Experimental Novel and Other Essays. Tr. Belle M. Sherman. The Cassell Publishing Co.: New York, 1893. Reprinted in Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greeks to Grotowski. Ed. Bernard F. Dukore. Heinle: Boston, 1974. Print.

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APPENDIX A

THE SOLUTION

93 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

CHARACTERS:

KLAUS - Male, seventies, German. JOSEF - Male, late sixties, German. SARA - Female, early teens. WADE - Male, late twenties. BRIGGS - Male, forties.

TIME: 1978-1979.

PLACE: A small city in the U.S.

SETTINGS: Living room; police interrogation room; park; basement.

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SCENE I

(A police interrogation room. A phone and an old reel-to-reel tape recorder sits on a table. A water cooler sits in the corner. KLAUS (seventies) sits in a chair behind a table, handcuffed. WADE (late twenties), enters carrying folders with papers inside, some strange looking surgical tools in plastic bags. He places the items on the table one at a time, staring at Klaus the entire time. Short pause.)

WADE (Turns the recorder on.) You want some water, Mr. Meyerhold? (Pause.) Okay. (Speaking into the recorder.) This is Detective Daniel Wade, January 21st, 1979, initial interview of Klaus Meyerhold. (Turning back to Klaus.) Could you confirm that you’ve waived your right to have an attorney present? (Pause.) Mr. Meyerhold?

KLAUS (Speaks with a German accent.) Yah. No attorney.

WADE Very well. Now, you said you are a janitor at Franklin Hospital, correct?

KLAUS Retired.

WADE Ah, retired. So you get a pension?

KLAUS Yes.

95 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

WADE So tell me, what is a retired janitor doing with these? (Indicates the stack of paper.) What are these?

KLAUS Papers.

WADE Wanna be a little more specific?

KLAUS No.

WADE What’s in them?

KLAUS Read them for yourself.

WADE I would, except they’re in German.

KLAUS That is too bad.

WADE Care to illuminate me?

KLAUS Do you mean illuminate them?

WADE Whatever. Hey, you turned yourself in. Now you’re gonna sit here and play games? You know, most retirees go play bingo or hang out at the lodge. Maybe golf. But not you. These, they look like some kind of, I don’t know, chemistry stuff. Look, I’m just trying to make sense of what happened. (Slight pause.)

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KLAUS They are my life’s work. My research.

WADE What kind of research?

KLAUS Hyper-immunology.

WADE Hyper-immunology?

KLAUS Yes.

WADE Tell me about it.

KLAUS You...would not understand.

WADE Well...I don’t know about that. I’m a pretty smart guy.

KLAUS Yes, you’re intellect is astounding. You are cunning predator! That is why you managed to catch me so quickly. Oh, I am mistaken. I forgot that I surrendered myself to you.

WADE We would have found you. Believe me.

KLAUS Yes, you were just waiting for the proper moment to spring your trap upon me, correct? (Pause.)

WADE So you gonna tell me what this stuff is?

KLAUS It does not matter. 97 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

WADE Why not?

KLAUS It never worked.

WADE So...what, these is some sort of, ah, some sort science experiment?

KLAUS Yah.

WADE For what? What was it?

KLAUS The cure.

WADE The cure? Right. Cure for what? For cancer? The measles? The common cold? I got a rash on my dick, will it cure that?

KLAUS Everything.

WADE What do mean, everything?

KLAUS I mean everything. (Pause. Wade laughs.)

WADE Ok, ok. I see. So this little science project is the miracle cure, some kind of snake-oil?

KLAUS I’m telling y ou the truth. But, as I said, it never worked.

WADE Well it obviously didn’t cure you’re dementia, old man.

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KLAUS What?

WADE Cause you gotta be out of your mind if you think I’m going t o sallow that line of crap. What is it? Tell me the truth.

KLAUS I am.

WADE You been cookin’ up something for the kids, huh? Something to get their rocks off? You wait outside the school in that beat up old T-Bird, slip ‘em a little happiness for five bucks. Is that it?

KLAUS No.

WADE Is this what you’ve been using on those homeless guys? (Pause.) You might as well tell me cause the lab is already going through it right now. One way or the other I’m gonna find out what this is.

KLAUS (Slight pause.) It is a catalyst to create a hyper-immuno response in the human blood means of an artificial multi-purpose phagocyte, specifically designed to instantly adapt to foreign antigen markers without the normal coordination from other cells and without the necessity of previous exposure.

WADE Well, thanks a lot, that really cleared everything up.

KLAUS It is like this: imagine your police force as the immune system of this city, and crime as the sickness. Normally, justice comes in multiple stages, each with their own problems and limitations? No police officer can be there for every crime, correct? Sometimes you arrive after a crime was committed, and detectives like you must find the evidence to track down the criminal. And it must all fit together for you to arrest the correct criminal.

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If you arrest the wrong one, there are problems, and crime continues. And what if you find evidence you cannot explain? What do you do then?

WADE That’s why we have a lab. Incidently, the same lab that’s gonna tell me everything you’re saying is horse shit. But go ahead.

KLAUS Ah yes. The lab. Another step in the process. They will spend weeks trying t o discover the meaning, all the while crime continues. Growing, festering. And then, once they are arrested, you must go to trial with judge and jury to determine innocence or guilt, another chance for the criminal to escape, or for the innocent to be wrongly imprisoned. It is most inefficient. What my formula does is make a police officer that is also detective, judge and...executioner, together in one.

WADE Yeah, I bet that’s the part that really blows your skirt up, isn’t it? The executioner?

KLAUS In summary, it streamlines the process of the immune response. Efficient, without the need to coordinate. When a pathogen or other foreign material enters the body, the artificial phagocyte will instantly adapt and destroy it. Sickness is cured before it takes hold. (Pause.) As I said, it never worked properly.

WADE (Chuckle.) Yeah, no shit. Look, I'm no scientist, but isn't that impossible? What, are you going to make everyone like...Superman or something?

KLAUS That was the idea. Without the flying, of course.

WADE Oh, of course. We wouldn’t want to go crazy would we?

KLAUS (Pause.) May I see her? I need to see if she is all right.

100 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

WADE Not right now. What about these? (Points to the medical equipment.)

KLAUS Tools.

WADE What are they for?

KLAUS Surgical operations.

WADE Is this what you used? This one? (He holds up a bag containing a strange saw-like knife. There is a hint of blood on the blade.)

KLAUS I used all of them. (Pause.) This must be exciting for you, eh Detective?

WADE What do you mean?

KLAUS I simply mean that, this is you big break, as they say. Your first big case.

WADE I don’t think about that.

KLAUS Ah, you are excited. The thrill of discovery. Yes, you remind me of me, when I was young.

WADE What is that supposed to mean? (Pause.) What about your brother?

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KLAUS What about him?

WADE Where is he?

KLAUS I do not know.

WADE Mr. Meyerhold, don’t think me an idiot.

KLAUS I would never think such a thing.

WADE You have no idea of your brother’s whereabouts? (Pause.) You aren’t gonna say anything?

KLAUS I would not worry about him.

WADE Well, I beg t o differ--

KLAUS You will not find him. He’s too smart.

WADE We’ll see about that. (Pause.)

KLAUS I’d like to see her.

WADE We’ll see. While were on the subject, why don’t you tell me about the girl.

102 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS What about her?

WADE When did the two of you meet? What’s your relationship?

KLAUS She helps me. Buys groceries. I pay her ten dollars a week. And help her with school work.

WADE And when did she start working for you?

KLAUS One year and three months ago.

WADE Did you ever have sexual relations with her? (Slight pause.)

KLAUS No. Never.

WADE Are you sure?

KLAUS Yes, I am sure!

WADE Well, see, I’m a little confused here. You see, I’ve got this medical examiner who works down at St. Mary’s. Now he tells me he’s one-hundred percent sure, one-hundred percent, that she was--

KLAUS I did not do anything like that!

WADE Well what did you do? Hmmm? You want to answer that? (Pause.) Look, you’re not going t o see the girl until I get some answers. All right.

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The girl can wait, this can’t. That guy down on the slab. Down in the morgue. That girl’s father...I don’t even know what to call that. I only heard of stuff like that in Nam, and that was a war. This...this is some real sick shit, pal. So you really...you really need to start talking. Who are you? Really. Because I don’t buy it. I don’t believe your bullshit about being a janitor with a pet science project. I knew you were lying t he moment I met you.

KLAUS Why didn’t you arrest me then? (Pause.)

WADE Well, it’s like I told you. You didn’t fit the profile. (Pause.) Listen, if you won’t tell me about yourself, then tell me how the girl was involved. At least do that.

KLAUS She had nothing to do with it.

WADE Bullshit! I’m tired of listening to you. You’ve done nothing but jerk my chain. Now you listen. Listen good. Right now, she’s not clear. You understand? She is in this deep. Now, you’re saying she had nothing to do with it. Prove it. Tell me what happened. Tell me your story. If you care about her, then you’ll do this. You’ll help her. (Pause.)

KLAUS I have done everything I can for her.

(End scene.)

104 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE II

(A few pieces of furniture indicate that this is a living room/dining room. Josef is in a chair reading the newspaper. Klaus is sitting at the table shuffling t hrough a stack of papers. Both men speak with German accents.)

KLAUS We’ve tried raising t he enzymes. We’ve tried lowering the enzymes. We’ve tried different enzymes. It's obviously not the enzymes.

JOSEF Well done.

KLAUS Feel free to help anytime, huh?

JOSEF I am taking a break.

KLAUS You’ve been taking a break for the last thirty five years. It is time to work.

JOSEF Gott im Himmel.

KLAUS English, please. (Pause.)

JOSEF Listen to this: The city is attempting to remove homeless transients from under the bridge. (Slight pause.) It says “due to a recent string of deaths attributed to disease and exp osure, the safety of the homeless citizens is top priority for the city.” (Pause.) So what do you think of that?

105 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS I think it is time you help me decipher what we are doing wrong.

JOSEF Ah, work, work, work. Is that all you think about?

KLAUS Yes, actually. I would like to finish before I die.

JOSEF Oh, I see.

KLAUS Yes, you do. While I do all the hard work, you sit there and read the comics.

JOSEF For your information, I am researching.

KLAUS Oh, researching?

JOSEF Did you not hear what I just read?

KLAUS Yes I heard it. So what?

JOSEF Ha! And I was the assistant. Bring it to me. Let me see. (Klaus brings the paper to Josef. He examines it for a second, makes a few marks, then hands the paper back to Klaus, who examines it closely.)

KLAUS (Under his breath.) Scheisse.

JOSEF Always the significant digits. Never fails.

106 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS I do not need this from you. Do something useful and make me a drink.

JOSEF The war is over, you know. You can’t treat me like your assistant anymore.

KLAUS So it is. And you’re right. I should not treat you like my assistant...Now, bring me a fucking drink. (Pause. Josef gets up and moves toward the exit.) With ice...please. (Josef stops, takes a breath, then exits.) Shaken, not stirred.

JOSEF (O.S.) Yeah, I’ll show you shaken. I should grab you by the neck and shake you.

KLAUS What?

JOSEF (Returning with a bottle of soda.) Nothing. Here!

KLAUS I meant a drink drink.

JOSEF Well, this is what you get. And be thankful that I am such a good friend that I put up with you. And be especially thankful of your condition, or I would not lift a finger for you.

KLAUS Yes, everyday I get down on my knees and thank God I developed lymphatic cancer. Very thankful for it. For without it, I would not be stuck with you. And without you, who knows how I would survive.

JOSEF You wouldn’t get one thing done without me. You’d be the one living under the bridge. Look at this place. It’s a pig-stye. 107 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Yah, yah.

JOSEF I pick up after myself. I do that.

KLAUS Josef, if you do not like it, you can leave any time you wish.

JOSEF I could live just fine.

KLAUS Really? Then go. (Pause.) That is what I thought. Now, will you go and make a proper drink for me?

JOSEF Fuck you, Klaus! Blode Fotze! I can’t believe I put up with you for all of these years. (A knock at the door.)

KLAUS Who is it?

SARA (O.S.) Sara.

KLAUS One moment. (To Josef.) Take these to your room.

JOSEF I was reading t he paper!

KLAUS Josef!

108 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF Fine, fine. (Gathers up the papers.) I’m going t o my room, and I am going to figure this out, and if you need anything, fuck off and die! (Josef exits.)

KLAUS Yes, come in. (Sara enters with a small sack and a tote bag with her school work. She is wearing a long-sleeve shirt.) Ah, Sara, you have the things I asked for. Great.

SARA (She removes a bottle of liquor from the bag.) Yeah, and it's getting a little tough to get it.

KLAUS Just tell him it is for me.

SARA It doesn’t work that way Mr. Meyerhold. This is nineteen seventy eight. Thirteen year- olds can’t just buy liquor and say it's for someone else anymore. You know, drinking age.

KLAUS Bah! Back in Germany they serve children beer.

SARA Yeah, well, this isn’t Germany. And another thing, Mr. Collins says that he can’t put any more on your tab. I had to pay for this cash.

KLAUS What?! I have been his best customer for years.

SARA Well, still, cost me ten bucks. (Pause.)

KLAUS What? (Pause.) 109 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

All right, all right. (Reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wad of cash.) Here, ten dollars. Do not shake me down anymore. I know people, you know?

SARA (Takes the money.) You’re a funny guy, Mr. Meyerhold.

KLAUS Yah, regular Jerry Lee Lewis. (Klaus pours himself a drink.)

SARA You shouldn’t drink, you know. It’s bad for you.

KLAUS I am an old man. When you are an old man you get to do what you want without giving a shit. Excuse my language.

SARA Well, I don’t think I’ll end up being an old man anytime soon.

KLAUS Sounds like you are the comedian.

SARA Listen, when are you going to have time to do the thing?

KLAUS What thing?

SARA You know...the interview?

KLAUS The...oh, that. Yes, for your history course, correct? Well...I do not know...I am very bu...I am very busy right now.

110 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA Mr. Meyerhold, I really need it. The paper is due in a few weeks.

KLAUS Yah, but...I do not have any interesting stories to tell and--

SARA But you were in the war? Right?

KLAUS Yah, I was in the war. But I worked in a...in a hospital. Never saw any fighting, you know?

SARA Even still, I mean, I don’t care if you never saw anything. Surely you’d have something interesting t o say. The other people in my class, you know, they won’t have the chance to interview a real live German.

KLAUS Do you not have a grandfather you could interview?

SARA He’s dead...in the war.

KLAUS Oh, yah, sorry. What about an uncle, huh?

SARA They were all too young. You’re the only one. Please, I’m begging you.

KLAUS I...I am sorry, I cannot. I would...I would cause you to do poorly. I am a terrible storyteller. Perhaps...perhaps your father could help you? (Pause.)

SARA No, that’s okay. You know what? I’ll figure it out my myself. Listen, I...I need to go. I have things to do.

KLAUS Wait, you just got here. Stay! 111 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA No, no, I have to go do stuff--

KLAUS Please--

SARA You, just...Look, I’ll check back with you tomorrow.

KLAUS No, Sara, please! I have upset you. I did not mean anything. Yah? I...I am sorry. But please. I have some pie, apple. Very good. Very tasty. You leave and you miss out. (Pause.) All right, I tell you this: you stay and have pie, and I...

SARA Yes?

KLAUS (Pause.) Yah...dammit, I will answer your questions. All right?

SARA Yeah, pie sounds good.

KLAUS Okay, good. I will go get it.

SARA No, no, let me.

KLAUS Ah, I am fine. Just...sit. (Klaus exits. Sara sits down and looks at the paper.)

SARA Did you see this story about the city clearing out the bums under the bridge?

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KLAUS (O.S.) What?

SARA Did you see this story about the city clearing out the bums?

KLAUS (O.S.) Oh...uh, no. I did not.

SARA They say they are dying from exposure. Or drugs maybe.

KLAUS (O.S.) Yes.

SARA Well, anyway, it gave me an idea for a story.

KLAUS (O.S.) Oh, a story is it?

SARA Yeah. Listen to this: What if they aren’t dying of drugs? What if it’s a murderer? (Klaus enters. Pause.)

KLAUS Hmmm.

SARA A guy who targets homeless people. Poisons them. But he’s smart. Or better yet, she’s smart. Oh yeah, that’s good. (Takes out a small note pad and writes.) Yeah, a woman, whose was attacked by homeless people, and now she’s out for revenge. That’s good.

KLAUS Would it not be better to have a man do this?

SARA Why can’t a woman be a psychotic killer? Huh?

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KLAUS It is only, typically, all serial killers have been men.

SARA What about Lizzie Borden?

KLAUS Who?

SARA Nevermind.

KLAUS No, no. Listen this. This is good. What if your killer is an escaped mental patient. Huh? And goes around slashing baby sitters. And, and, he wears a mask. Scary, huh?

SARA That’s the plot of Halloween.

KLAUS You have seen the movie? (She nods.) Damn. Well, go ahead. Make your crazy female serial killer. No one will believe it anyway.

SARA They will because I am a great writer.

KLAUS Yes, I am sure. But now, correct me, I thought you wanted to be a veterinarian.

SARA Well, yeah. I want to be everything. Vet, writer, President.

KLAUS President?

SARA Yes. I want to be the first woman President. Who is also a veterinarian and a writer.

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KLAUS Well--

SARA What? You don’t think I can do it?

KLAUS I am sure you can. It is just...not what young girls typically want to do for a living.

SARA I am a young woman, Mr. Meyerhold. And things have changed. Women can do whatever they want now.

KLAUS Sorry, sorry. You are right.

SARA Uh-huh. Don’t you forget it, mister. (Josef barges in.)

JOSEF I’ve got it! I’ve done it Klaus! Hah! You thought I was stupid, but I-- (Notices Sara.) Oh. Hello Sara. I...I didn’t realize you were still here. How are you?

SARA I’m fine, Mr. Meyerhold.

JOSEF Oh...good. Ah, Klaus, may I speak to you?

KLAUS Please, can you not see that we have company?

JOSEF Klaus, es ist sehr wichtig.

KLAUS Es kann warten. Und hör auf Deutsch zu sprechen.

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JOSEF Nein. Ich habe heruausgefunden--

KLAUS Es kann warten! (Pause.) Sara, pardon us. My brother gets over excited when he comprehends a joke.

JOSEF What...

KLAUS Yes, I tell him the one about the priest, the minister and the rabbi at the golf course.

JOSEF Oh, yah, ha ha, that was a good one Klaus. Real knee slapper.

KLAUS Yes, you see what I have to deal with every day? Now, Josef, I must do this interview for her school project.

JOSEF Interview? About what?

KLAUS About the war, Josef. It for her school.

JOSEF The war? Really? And this is for, what? History class?

SARA Yeah. We’re doing a unit on World War Two. Mr. Meyerhold said he would tell me anything I want to know.

JOSEF He did, did he? Well. I hope he can remember everything. He’s getting old Sara, sometimes his brain does not work as it should.

KLAUS Josef, you worry about things you should not be worrying about. 116 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF I am not worried. I simply do not want her to come away with the wrong impression of us.

KLAUS Nothing like that will happen. I will only tell her the truth.

JOSEF Of course you will. Fine, I will take my leave. And then, when you are finished, I need to talk to you.

KLAUS Yes, yes. Of course.

JOSEF All right then. Sara, do not take seriously the ramblings this old fart. He is a well-known liar.

KLAUS Josef. Please.

JOSEF Do not believe him! (Josef exits.)

KLAUS Well, let us continue.

SARA What was that all about.

KLAUS Nothing, nothing. He’s just being difficult self. So, you have questions? Right. Well, let us do this thing, as they say.

SARA Okay, let me get my...I’ve got a mess in here. (Sara digs through her backpack.) I checked out a bunch of books about World War Two and Nazi War criminals. You wouldn’t believe how much stuff they have on ‘em. 117 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS I hope you do think I’m some sort of war criminal.

SARA Oh, no! Just for background, you know. I still need to read them-- (She pulls her arm out wincing.) Owww!

KLAUS What is wrong?

SARA Nothing.

KLAUS What happened to your arm?

SARA I had an accident.

KLAUS Let me see--

SARA No, really, it’s okay.

KLAUS Let me see--

SARA I’m fine, Mr. Meyerhold.

KLAUS If you want me to answer your questions, you will show me your arm. (Pause. Sara extends her arm. Klaus rolls the sleeve back to reveal a severely blistered burn.) Gott im Himmel. What the hell happened?

SARA I told you, I had an accident. 118 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS On what?

SARA Look, it’s not important--

KLAUS On what? (Pause.)

SARA On an iron, all right?. I was ironing my shirt. It was an accident.

KLAUS This is a serious burn.

SARA Yeah, well... didn’t notice at first. (Pulls her sleeve down.)

KLAUS Sara, you can tell me what happened.

SARA It was an accident. (Pause.)

KLAUS Fine. (Pause.) Well, you have questions. I have answers.

SARA Okay... (Pulls out her note pad and pencil.) All right, let’s see. What is your full name?

KLAUS Klaus Fredrich Meyerhold.

119 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA Okay...and where were you when the war started?

KLAUS In 1939 I was working in a hospital in Berlin called Poliklinik Haus der Gesundheit. It means Center for Health.

SARA And...uh...what did you do?

KLAUS I was a medical assistant.

SARA Is that like a nurse?

KLAUS Similar, but not exactly. More like, how you say, paramedic?

SARA Paramedic. And did you serve in the German Army?

KLAUS Yah. I was recruited in 1940.

SARA Ok. Let’s see, now...(reading from the paper.) Describe your feelings about your service both before and after the war?

KLAUS Ah. Well, I suppose I was as proud as, well, any German when I was recruited. I was serving my country.

SARA And how did you feel after?

KLAUS Somewhat differently.

120 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA Why do you think the Nazis were able to get the whole country behind them like they did?

KLAUS That is a very good question. We believed in what our leaders told us, at the time. You must understand, there was great suffering before the war. The economy of Germany was in ruins and many Germans were very poor, starving even. When the Nazis told us they could make it better, that this person or that group of people were the problem, most felt that, well, anything had to be better than what was happening right then. So they chose to believe.

SARA And what about people that didn’t believe? Did they speak up?

KLAUS They did not speak it out loud. If they did, bad things would happen to them.

SARA Like what?

KLAUS They would be taken away. Disappear. Very smart people found themselves agreeing out of fear, or they had convinced themselves that what they were doing was right.

SARA I just don’t get it. No offense but, you guys did some pretty horrible things to people. I’m sorry, I don’t mean you specifically--

KLAUS It is all right. Much of what came out after the war was unknown to the average German at the time. In our minds, we were chasing a dream. Some truly believed they would make a better world.

SARA Did you?

KLAUS Yah, at first I did.

121 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA But after you found out you didn’t agree, did you? What was it like, when you found out what you...you’re leaders had done?

KLAUS It...it is difficult to speak about. I’m sorry, I’m not entirely comfortable discussing this part of our history.

SARA I’m sorry...if you don’t want to answer--

KLAUS No. Could we perhaps move on to something else, yes? (Slight pause.)

SARA Yeah, okay sure. So what did you do during the war?

KLAUS I served in the Wermahcht medical-- (A knock at the door.) Hold one moment please. (Klaus goes to the door and opens it. BRIGGS enters.)

BRIGGS Is my daughter here?

KLAUS Yes, Mr. Briggs. Please, come in.

BRIGGS That’s all right. Sara, time to go home.

SARA But, dad, I’m doing my school work.

BRIGGS Well, you’ll just have to finish it later. Let’s go.

122 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS It is no problem really. We were doing an interview for her school history class--

BRIGGS I’m sure. Sara, I’m waiting.

SARA All right. Coming. (Sara packs her bags up.)

KLAUS Mr. Briggs I really would like to thank you for allowing your daughter to come over here, and I just want to say what a fine young lady she is.

BRIGGS Yeah, she’s great. Sara, move your ass. (Sara stands and moves to the door.)

SARA I’ll see you later Mr. Meyerhold.

KLAUS Same time tomorrow.

BRIGGS Now you head home and go straight to your room. And don’t be loud. Your mother’s sleeping.

SARA Yes, sir. (Sara exits.)

KLAUS Listen, I was thinking, if it was all right with you, perhaps I can take her to a sporting event, or the carnival? It would really be a pleasure.

BRIGGS Carnival, huh?

123 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Yes, I think it would fun for her.

BRIGGS I don’t think so.

KLAUS It really is no problem.

BRIGGS Look, just save it, all right.

KLAUS It would be a reward for all the hard work she does.

BRIGGS Hard work? This is hard work? You work, Meyerhold?

KLAUS No, I am retired.

BRIGGS Retired. Yeah. That’s nice. Real nice. I bet you get great benefits, huh?

KLAUS I don’t understand.

BRIGGS Oh, sorry. What? You don’t habla, comrade?

KLAUS Excuse me?

BRIGGS Must be real nice for you foreigners. Able to come here, work at a good job for a few years, then spend the rest of your life taking American dollars from American social security, put there by American workers. That’s a good deal. Very communist, if you ask me. But you must be used to that, right?

KLAUS Have I done something to offend you?

124 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

BRIGGS Listen, I don’t care what kinda big-wig y ou were back in Mother Russkie land, or wherever the hell you came from. I don’t like you. I didn’t spend a year in the jungle dodging gook snipers to come home and take shit from some old Russian.

KLAUS I am German.

BRIGGS German, Russian, fucking Pygmy. Whatever. Just remember one thing, you don’t belong here. And another thing, I don’t like the ideas you’ve been putting into my girl’s head. You know what she did? She came home and started talking about where she wanted to go to college...to my wife, of all people. And you know what that means?

KLAUS What?

BRIGGS It means that I have her crawling up my ass about it now.

KLAUS Well, I apologize for that. I did not realize that you were having financial problems.

BRIGGS Who the hell said I had problems? Hell, she dresses better than most of the other kids at that school. But college. No, college ain’t for her. She’s not college material. (Josef enters with a stack of papers.)

JOSEF Klaus! Let me show you...Oh. Hello.

BRIGGS Oh, another one? Where you from, Kaiser?

JOSEF What?

125 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

BRIGGS What? What? Is that all you know how to say? Huh? They don’t teach you English when you get here? This is something. I swear. You boys share the same room? Huh? Maybe shower together?

JOSEF What the fuck is this? Who do you think you are, you--

BRIGGS What? Huh?

JOSEF Sie koennen nicht zur mir rein--

BRIGGS Sp eak English, Commie.

JOSEF You can’t talk to me like that in my--

BRIGGS You can’t come to my country and--

JOSEF --house! I will smash your face you fucking lout--

BRIGGS --order me around. Oh smash my face? Well--

KLAUS Gentlemen! Please. (Pause. To Briggs.) I did not intend any harm. We were only discussing her future plans.

BRIGGS She’s got no future plans other than to graduate high school and get out of my house. You...you caused a real pain in my ass, old man.

KLAUS (Pause.) Please. Accept my apology .

126 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

BRIGGS Look, I’ll make it simple so you can understand it, okay? She comes over here, she serves you food, buys you groceries, and watches the TV. No more late nights. And no more putting ideas into her head. You just mind your own business and let me raise my daughter. Or else you’ll find my foot kicking y our sorry ass back to whatever boat you got off of. Both of you. Got it? (Pause.) Good. You boys have a good night.

(Briggs exits.)

JOSEF Fucking p rick.

KLAUS I am in agreement.

JOSEF Thinks he can come in here and...what did we do to him?

KLAUS Do not worry about it. He is just a fool.

JOSEF You should have let me slit his throat.

KLAUS You know that we cannot do that. Just calm yourself.

JOSEF I’m going t o remember that prick. If he steps foot in this door again I’m going t o smash his skull with a shovel. (Pause.) I came in to tell you something. What?...Oh, yes. Hah! I don’t believe it. You see, I was so blind. It was right there.

KLAUS What the hell are you talking about?

127 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF What else? I’ve done it! I’ve solved the formula!

KLAUS (Pause.) That is what you said last time.

JOSEF Well, this time it's for certain.

KLAUS Again, that is what you said last time.

JOSEF Do you want to see it or no?

KLAUS Yes, yes, let me see it. (Josef hands Klaus the papers.)

JOSEF You see. I cannot believe we never noticed. It was right there.

KLAUS Yes, yes...

JOSEF All this time and now--

KLAUS It cannot be that.

JOSEF It is, I tell you.

KLAUS We tried this before.

JOSEF But not without compensating for the...ah! You see. (Pause.)

128 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Yes!

JOSEF Ha ha! I told you.

KLAUS So you are saying that all this time--

JOSEF Yes. It's that simple. It is so simple a child could have seen it.

KLAUS Well, a child with a doctorate in biochemistry, but...you’re right. We should have seen this.

JOSEF Ha ha! Ah, Klaus, after thirty-five years...I cannot believe it. (Begins to sing “Das Lied der Deutschen.”)

KLAUS Do not sing that song!

JOSEF Come on Klaus. It is time to celebrate. We’ve done it!

KLAUS No, we have not. First, we need to test it.

JOSEF Yes, yes, you’re right. Of course. Science first.

KLAUS And if it works--

JOSEF Oh, it will work!

KLAUS Let me finish...If it works, then...well, we have the other issue to deal with.

129 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF That won’t matter. Not with a breakthrough like this.

KLAUS I do not know.

JOSEF Klaus...this is everything we have worked for our entire lives. This is everything medicine, humanity itself, has worked for. The cure. The single, ultimate cure. And we have it. We have it. It is ours! Surely, the benefits will outweigh whatever they accuse us of. Klaus...this is it. We’ve done it. (Pause.)

KLAUS You’ve been this sure before. We can’t have it like last time.

JOSEF That was then. This time, it will work. (Pause.)

KLAUS Get started. (Josef moves to the exit.) And Josef. No mistakes. (End scene.)

130 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE III

(A dark room. No furniture save a chair and a small table with medical instruments laid out upon it. A MAN in his underwear is tied to the chair with a hood over his head. He is not moving. Klaus stands next to him checking his heart rate with a stethoscope. Josef stands at the table taking notes.)

KLAUS Eighty eight.

JOSEF Eighty eight. (He writes the number down. Klaus retrieves a blood pressure band from the table and wraps it around the man’s arm, then begins pumping it up.) What are you cooking for dinner tonight?

KLAUS It is your turn.

JOSEF No it’s not.

KLAUS Yes, it is.

JOSEF I cooked last night. Spaghetti, remember?

KLAUS That was the night before. Last night we had roast beef.

JOSEF Bullshit! Sp aghetti.

KLAUS Bullshit, bullshit! You are going senile.

131 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF It that so?

KLAUS Yes it is! You forget everything. You would probably forget your head...if it was not jammed up your ass!

JOSEF At least I haven’t forget to stop pumping.

KLAUS What? (Klaus looks over at the man’s arm and realizes he has put too much pressure in the sack.) Shit! (He releases the pressure and takes a reading.) You are always distracting me.

JOSEF Yah, yah, yah. Like a broken record.

KLAUS I will show you broken. One eighty over ninety.

JOSEF One eighty over ninety. How long is this going t o take? (Josef writes the number down. Klaus takes his stethoscope and listens to the man’s chest.)

KLAUS Why? Do you have something more important to do?

JOSEF I wanted to get a drink at Rolando’s before it closes.

KLAUS We have drinks here.

JOSEF Yes, but I wanted to get out of the house. 132 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS What, are you meeting a woman or something?

JOSEF Yes, Klaus, a woman. A woman with large breasts and she’s mute! Which makes her ten times better than you.

KLAUS Are you saying am whining?!

JOSEF Yah. You’re an old nag.

KLAUS Was? Du kannst doch nicht so mit mir reden--

JOSEF Blah, blah, blah.

KLAUS Und ich wërde dir den schadel brechen!

JOSEF Also, warum probierst du es nicht, du altests furtz?

KLAUS Moechtest du das?

JOSEF Ja! Kommst du heran! (The man in the hood begins to moan.) He’s waking up.

KLAUS Why...you...just write. Okay. Can you do that?

JOSEF I’m doing it.

133 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Then shutup. (Pause. Klaus grabs a syringe from the tray and takes blood from the hooded man. To the man:) Just relax. Everything is going to be fine.

JOSEF (Muttering.) Fick dich doch ins Knie.

KLAUS Halt. (To the hooded man.) You will feel a slight discomfort but that will pass. Stay still.

JOSEF Just give him the injection and hurry up.

KLAUS This is a medical experiment. We will follow proper procedure to insure our findings are correct.

JOSEF You don’t have to baby him.

KLAUS Josef! Maybe this is some kind of game to you, but it is very serious to me. Very serious. I did not spend thirty five years of my life, my life, to hurry up. We are going to do this correctly.

JOSEF Do this correctly? Tell me, does doing this correctly involve drinking a half a liter of vodka before the procedure? I don’t recall that in any of the text s.

KLAUS Josef--

JOSEF We should make a wager, Klaus, on what is going to kill you first. Your alcoholism or your cancer. My bet is on the alcohol.

134 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS If you are finished--

JOSEF Just don’t fall asleep on any train tracks. It would break my heart. Really it would.

KLAUS (Moves nose-to-nose with Josef, holding the syringe up.) Are you finished? (Pause.) C,3,6,8. (Pause.) Josef? (Pause.) C,3,6,8. (Pause. Josef grabs the syringe from Klaus and a vial from the table. Josef takes a marker and writes the number on the vial, then deposits the blood into it.)

JOSEF C,3,6,8.

KLAUS Subject appears to show signs of jaundice, high blood pressure, and malnourishment. Discoloration of the eyes indicate the possibility of hepatitis. (Josef writes this down.) We are ready to proceed. (Klaus goes to the table and picks up a second syringe, this one containing a bright blue liquid. He tests the flow, then moves to the hooded man’s side. Klaus swabs the hooded man’s arm with alcohol.) Injecting serum. Start the time. (Josef activates a stopwatch. Klaus injects the fluid into the hooded man’s arm and stands back. Pause. The man’s arms begin to shake, and after a few moments he begins to convulse violently. A stream of vomit gushes from underneath the hood.

135 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

Klaus attempts to hold the man’s arms at his side.) Josef! Help me!

JOSEF What for? He’s already gone.

KLAUS Dammit Josef!

JOSEF I’m keeping t he time. It needs to be accurate. (The convulsions begin to wane, and the hooded man slumps in his chair. Klaus checks his pulse.)

KLAUS Damn.

JOSEF (Stopping the time.) Hmmm. It was much quicker this time. I guess it wasn’t the enzymes. (Josef writes in the file.)

KLAUS You said you fixed it.

JOSEF It’s obviously not what we were thinking. We’ll have to take it back to formula phase again. (Klaus removes his lab coat and gloves.) Are you upset?

KLAUS What the hell do you think?

JOSEF I don’t see the problem here.

KLAUS (He begins to rub his head a cough.) The problem, Josef, is that we do not have control. We do not have a proper laboratory, equipment! We are using materials over forty years old! We are working blind!

136 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

And this... (Points to the dead man.) ...this is unacceptable.

JOSEF What else are we going to use? Who else are we going to use?

KLAUS We need to find better equipment--

JOSEF What? Should we apply for a grant? That’s a fantastic idea.

KLAUS Do you even care about this project?

JOSEF You are childish--

KLAUS Do you care?

JOSEF Yes Klaus, I care! I have dedicated my life to this. As have you. So stop whining! With your complaining and drinking I’m starting to think you are the one who doesn’t care. (Pause. Produces a pill bottle and hands Klaus a pill.) This is science, Klaus. Experimentation. It does not matter where we do it, or with what equipment. All that matters, in the end, is that it works. You told me that once.

KLAUS I know what it is.

JOSEF Then what is the real problem? (Pause.)

KLAUS Nothing. Go...go do something. I will take care of this. (Gathers his the papers and moves to exit.) 137 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF Nein, nein. You...you go clear your head. I will clean this mess. And Klaus, don’t lose faith. We are very close. (Josef exits. Klaus stands for a moment. He removes his stethoscope and places it on the tray.) (End scene.)

138 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE IV

(A park is indicated by a bench and a garbage can. Klaus sits on the bench with Sara.)

KLAUS Beautiful day.

SARA Yeah. It’s alright.

KLAUS How is school?

SARA It’s okay. (Pause.) It sucks.

KLAUS Sara, you should not use language like that.

SARA Why not. You’ve said worse in front of me.

KLAUS Well, it is--

SARA What? I’m a girl.

KLAUS Well, yes. Girls should not speak like that.

SARA I can say whatever a damn well please. And it’s women, not girls.

KLAUS Okay. Fine. So tell me, why does school suck?

139 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA You wouldn’t care.

KLAUS Yes, actually I would.

SARA (Pause.) I won a contest.

KLAUS That is good.

SARA No. No it’s not. I was the only one who entered.

KLAUS Oh. What kind of contest?

SARA A writing contest.

KLAUS So what is the problem?

SARA It was crap. My story. They gave me the prize on a technicality.

KLAUS Well, so what? You won. You should be proud.

SARA I should throw it away.

KLAUS Is this the story about the...uh...murderer.

SARA No, no. It’s about...look it’s just bad. I don’t want to talk about it.

140 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS May I see it?

SARA You don’t want to.

KLAUS Yes I do.

SARA I’m telling y ou, it’s bad.

KLAUS Please let me see it.

SARA (Pause.) Okay. But I warned you. (Sara reaches into her backpack, pulls out a stack of papers, and hands it to Klaus.) Here. (Klaus studies it a few moments, then rips the pages and wads them up in a ball. He tosses them in the garbage can.) Hey! What the hell?

KLAUS You were right. It was terrible.

SARA But--

KLAUS Sara. You did not like it. Why are you holding on to something that is not up to your standards?

SARA Well I might have wanted to keep it.

141 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS For what? Sentimental reasons? Sara, when something does not work, you get rid of it. You throw it away. You cannot hold on to things that are of no value. People waste their lives holding on to things. In the end it is never worth it.

SARA I worked along time on that.

KLAUS So? What good did it do? Hmm? Now it is gone. It will not bother again. Now, what is the real problem?

SARA (Pause.) This dumbass boy.

KLAUS Tell me.

SARA His name is Ricky. He’s a...he’s a complete jerk.

KLAUS A jerk, eh? What did he do?

SARA He makes fun of me. Because I’m...flat.

KLAUS Flat? (She points at her chest.) Oh. I see.

SARA He calls me “Sara T. Board.” Jerk.

KLAUS Well, women develop at different times. It is a biological fact. Just because your breasts are small right now does not--

142 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA Hey!

KLAUS No, I did not mean that--

SARA Jeez, you really know how to raise someone’s self esteem.

KLAUS Verdammte Scheisse… (Klaus produces the flask and takes a drink.) Sara, I am sorry. Listen, this boy, Ricky, sounds like a complete idiot. And the truth is, all boys are idiots at this age. In fact, many of them will always be idiots. It takes time for young boys to mature into men, and some of them never do. I know that I was a real jerk when I was a young man...until I met my wife.

SARA Where is she?

KLAUS She died.

SARA I’m sorry.

KLAUS It was a long ago.

SARA What was she like? (Pause.) Nevermind, you don’t have to--

KLAUS She was very beautiful. I know all husbands say that about their wives, even if it is not true, but she was. She had long brown hair, light skin that glowed in the sun. She became more beautiful when she gave birth to my daughter. Those were good times. And then, the war came.

143 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA What happened?

KLAUS We lived in Dresden. The British fire-bombed the city. Destroyed everything. She died in the bombing. As well as my daughter. She was only four years old. I was away at the time. We had a memorial service. I could not have a funeral because...nothing left to bury.

SARA I’m sorry.

KLAUS Yah. I should have been there. Or she should have come with me. She could have, but I...I was so involved with my work that...I told her she would only get in the way.

SARA So you never remarried?

KLAUS No.

SARA That’s really...I don’t know...I don’t what I’d do. Well, at least you still have your brother.

KLAUS Yes. I still have him. (Pause. Klaus produces the flask from his coat and takes a drink.)

SARA You’re gonna drown yourself.

KLAUS What does it matter to you? (Pause.) I’m sorry.

144 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA I just...I don’t like it when people drink.

KLAUS Well, some people need it.

SARA Why?

KLAUS Something they...sometimes they need to forget.

SARA What do you want to forget?

KLAUS Everything. (Pause. Klaus takes a drink.) Besides, it will not matter much soon.

SARA Why not?

KLAUS Because...well, because I am...I am sick.

SARA Oh. (Pause.) Is it...serious?

KLAUS Yah. (Pause.) So, here’s to forgetting. (Takes another drink.) Sara, I wanted to talk to you about something. I am a little concerned about...well, about that burn on your arm.

SARA What about it?

145 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Well, to be honest, I do not think you burned yourself.

SARA Yeah, well, I’m accident prone.

KLAUS There is no need for lies Sara. I know...something, something is going on.

SARA Look, I don’t...you wouldn’t understand.

KLAUS Why not?

SARA Because...You never...you never had to--

KLAUS What?

SARA You never had to--

KLAUS What is it?

SARA You...look, I just have some problems. I’m dealing with them.

KLAUS Is it your father? (Pause.) Okay, you do not have to tell me. (Pause.) You know, my father, he was not an easy man to be around. He was very demanding. If I did not receive good marks in school he would beat me. He would slap my mother if dinner was too hot or too cold. Things like that. Once, when I was young, about twelve, I brought home a dog. It was a stray. I knew, I knew I would be in trouble. But, I wanted the dog. He was just a puppy. So I took him home and snuck him up to my room. My father came home late that night. He was drunk. 146 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

He spent several nights a week at the tavern with his friends from the lodge. Masons, you know. Well, he came home and started yelling at my mother for some reason, I don’t remember. I hid the puppy in my closet but...well, it started crying. Loudly. I don’t know why, maybe it heard all of the noise downstairs and got excited. Maybe it was scared. But my father heard it. He stormed through the door and said “What was that noise?” I said, “I do not know.” The puppy cried again. My father went to the closet, opened the door, and saw the puppy. He just stared at it for a while, then he turned and looked at me with eyes like...like he hated me. Like I had committed some crime. He grabbed the dog and held it up right in front of my eyes. Then he broke the dog’s neck. I was sobbing, of course. Then he threw the puppy’s body at me and said “You like dogs? Do you not know that dogs sleep outside?” He picked me up, took me to the back door, threw me out on my face. It was February. The winter snow was two feet deep. He locked the door and left me outside until morning. I did not sleep one minute. I just held my puppy, for hours. I could not bury it. The ground was frozen. So I just held it. In the morning, he opened the door and threw my book bag at me and told me to get to school. I took my puppy and, couldn’t do anything with it, so I found a dust bin and put him inside and walked away. So, freezing, dirty, in the same clothes I had worn the day before, I walked to school. And I did not say a word. I just sat there, in class, trying to disappear. (Pause.) I got home and...he...he actually asked me how my day was.

SARA Jesus.

KLAUS Anyway, he died a year later. He got drunk at the tavern and, apparently, got into a fight. Someone smashed his skull with a brick. I wish I could have met the man who was responsible. I would have thanked him. (Pause.)

SARA Sometimes I think he works too hard. He hates his job, but he spends all of his time there. All day long. So, he comes home and...well, I just try to stay away from him. But sometimes you can’t, you know? Sometimes, he’s just pissed off and looking to blow off steam. Sometimes, at night, he’s... (Pause.)

147 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Go on.

SARA Nothing. Don’t worry about it. It’s my problem. I’ll deal with it.

KLAUS But, Sara I do not think--

SARA I said I’ll deal with it. (Pause.) But thanks anyway. (Pause.) Listen, I need to ask you something. I was looking into where you worked. The uh...Poli...Poli...

KLAUS Poliklinik.

SARA Yeah, that’s it. Well, anyway, I couldn’t find much about it, but I was looking through some other books and I found this. (Reaches into her bag and produces a book. She opens the book and points at a page.) Look. (Long pause.) I...I don’t know...I swear this guy looks like...well, he looks a lot like your brother. Like a young version of him.

KLAUS Where did you get this?

SARA The library. It was one of the books I checked out.

KLAUS May I see it?

148 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA Yeah. (She hands the book to Klaus, who flips through the pages.) You ah, going to look up some old friends? (Pause.) I’m sorry. That wasn’t...that wasn’t right for me to say. I’m sorry. I know you didn’t have anything to do with that stuff...Did you?

KLAUS Well, the resemblance is there, yes. This is true. But, as you can see, the name is completely different. In addition, my brother and I served in the German Army. This man, whoever he may have been, is not wearing an army uniform.

SARA Yeah. I know. That’s an S.S. uniform. I looked it up. Those were the really bad guys. (Slight pause.)

KLAUS Yes, they were. May I borrow this?

SARA Why?

KLAUS Well, I met some of these men. I can...tell you about them. For your history class.

SARA Okay. Yeah, that would be great. Well, it’s getting late. I should get you home.

KLAUS You go on. I will be fine.

SARA You sure?

KLAUS Yes, I can take care of myself.

149 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SARA Okay. I’ll see you later. (Sara gathers her things. Slight pause. She gives Klaus a kiss on the cheek.) You really are good guy, Mr. Meyerhold.

KLAUS I wish that were true.

SARA It is.

(Sara exits. Klaus remains on the bench, staring at the book in his hand.) (End scene.)

150 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE V

(Living room. Klaus sits in his chair with the book in his hand. He gets up, looks outside, then goes back to his chair.)

KLAUS Damn! Damn! (The door opens and Josef enters.) Where the fuck have you been?!

JOSEF Good to see you too.

KLAUS Answer me!

JOSEF I went down to the bridge.

KLAUS What?

JOSEF Yah, I went down to the bridge. What’s the problem?

KLAUS What is the problem? Look at this. (He shows Josef the book.) You see that?

JOSEF Hmmm. They got my bad side.

KLAUS This is not a joke.

JOSEF Klaus, Klaus, why are you making a fuss over this?

151 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Are you stupid? This is a picture of you in an S.S. uniform!

JOSEF So?

KLAUS So? So? Are you mad?!

JOSEF What, you think someone will recognize me? Look, look at this. (He takes the book.) This was taken in 1937. I’ve gained sixt y pounds. My hair is gray. I don’t have a mustache. No one will recognize me.

KLAUS The girl did.

JOSEF Did she? (Pause.)

KLAUS Well...not exactly. But still. It is right here, in the library. Christ, how could we have been so careless?

JOSEF About what?

KLAUS About...you said that you checked. You said there were no pictures.

JOSEF Yah, well, I checked three years ago. This is a new book.

KLAUS Is everything t his simple for you? Do you not care?

152 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF That’s because there is nothing to care about. Rip the picture out and burn it, if it will make you feel better.

KLAUS That is not the point--

JOSEF What is the point? Huh, Klaus? What is it? (Pause.) The FBI, the Israelis, none have even been close to finding us.

KLAUS What about Connecticut? (Pause.)

JOSEF Well, we took care of that, didn’t we? (Pause.) We can certainly do it again.

KLAUS You are unbelievable.

JOSEF I know. It’s part of my charm. Well, now that we’ve solved this, would you like to hear about our real problem?

KLAUS What problem?

JOSEF It's a minor setback, really. Not a real problem.

KLAUS What? What is it?

JOSEF You know that article in the paper? The one about the homeless people being removed. It’s true.

153 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Oh God.

JOSEF Yah, not a soul down there. All gone. We’re going t o have to look for a new supply.

KLAUS No...how are we supposed to work like this?

JOSEF Klaus--

KLAUS No! This is unacceptable! What are we supposed to do?

JOSEF I don’t know. What should we do? Huh? Write a letter to our Congressman? Dear Sir, I am writing to complain about the removal of homeless people from under the 14th street bridge because it interferes with my illegal medical experiments--

KLAUS Enough--

JOSEF ..and by the way, I happen to be a wanted international--

KLAUS Enough! (Pause.)

JOSEF You are such a simple thing, my friend. What, you’re going t o rant and rave about this? This is just a minor issue. There are plenty of other possible test subjects out there in the world.

KLAUS You make it sound like...

JOSEF Like what? 154 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Like it is nothing. Like it is all part of some divine plan.

JOSEF Perhaps it is.

KLAUS Oh, that is bullshit and you know it!

JOSEF Klaus, what’s really bothering you?

KLAUS When is it going t o end? Tell me that? When are we going to be allowed to walk the streets without fear of being recognized? We are trying t o do something for the good of mankind!

JOSEF I know, I know it’s been rough for you. For us. I have been with you the entire time.

KLAUS I do not need your sympathy.

JOSEF All right, you won’t get it. You think I haven’t suffered? You think I wouldn’t like to be working at a University? In a lab? Bettering mankind? That’s why I became a doctor. That’s why you became a doctor. Klaus, the only thing that keeps me going is the results. The potential of the project. (Pause.)

KLAUS We should have used rats. Then we wouldn’t have to do all this sneaking around. I am an old man.

JOSEF We already used rats. Remember? (Pause.)

KLAUS Is that supposed to be a joke? 155 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF No. (Pause.) We need to find more test subjects.

KLAUS (A knock at the door.) It is late. Who the hell is that?

JOSEF I don’t know. (Another knock.)

KLAUS Put that away. (Josef exits. Klaus goes to the door and opens it. Wade is standing there. He’s a man in his late twenties and wears a cheap suit.)

WADE Mr. Meyerhold?

KLAUS Yes?

WADE Klaus Meyerhold?

KLAUS Yes, what is this about?

WADE Sorry to bother you at this hour sir. I’m Detective Wade. (Wade flashes his badge. Slight pause.)

KLAUS What can I do for you detective?

WADE I just wanted to ask you a few questions. May I come in? 156 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Questions regarding what?

WADE Well how about I come in and exp lain it to you? (Pause.)

KLAUS Yes, of course. Please. Excuse the untidy state of our home, my brother is--

WADE Oh, your brother...Josef...yes, I was wondering if I could talk to him as well.

KLAUS Well, he is currently-- (Josef enters.)

JOSEF Who is it Klaus?

KLAUS Ah, Josef, ah, this is Detective...

WADE Wade. How are you Mr. Meyerhold? (Wade extends his hand and to Josef. They shake.)

JOSEF Detective? What brings you to our home?

WADE Oh, nothing much sir, just had a few questions for you both.

JOSEF What about? We didn’t--

KLAUS Josef--

157 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF No, but why is he here? We haven’t--

KLAUS Josef! Sei kein scheisskopf.

JOSEF Er ist ein Bull, Klaus. Wir sind am Arsch. (Slight pause.) Toten wirihn.

KLAUS Nein. Beruhigdich. Sp iel ein fach mit. (To Wade.) My brother is upset. You see, the Knicks lost today. He is a big Knicks fan.

WADE Knicks, huh? You like basketball?

JOSEF Oh, yes. Very much. I like the bouncing and the shooting, and...Those damn Kel-tics, you know?

WADE Kel-tics? You mean Celtics? (Pause.)

KLAUS Josef, go and make us a cup of tea. Would you like some tea, Detective?

WADE Thank you. That would be nice. (Josef exits to the kitchen.) So, just you two live here?

KLAUS Yes.

WADE How long?

158 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS This will be eight years in November.

WADE Eight years. Where are you from?

KLAUS Germany. But we came here from Nashville. Actually, a little town not far from Nashville.

WADE Nashville, huh? Yeah, I’m originally from Iowa. Just moved here myself. I like this town. You know, nice and small. Quiet. So what do you do for a living?

KLAUS I am retired.

WADE Oh...I mean, what did you do?

KLAUS I worked in a hospital.

WADE Hospital. In Nashville?

KLAUS Yes.

WADE Which one? (Pause.)

KLAUS I am sorry, why are you asking all these questions?

WADE You said you’re originally from Germany, correct?

159 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Yes.

WADE Where abouts?

KLAUS Dresden.

WADE I can tell. I have a good ear when it comes to accents. I can tell where people are from just by listening to a few seconds of speech. I was stationed there when I was in the Army.

KLAUS That is quite a talent.

WADE Yeah. Yeah. When did you come to the US?

KLAUS Twenty years ago. Why?

WADE And you went to Nashville?

KLAUS No, I lived in Connecticut for a few years.

WADE Then Nashville?

KLAUS Yes.

WADE You know, that’s a great car you have out there. What is that, a ‘66 Thunderbird?

KLAUS Yes. What--

160 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

WADE Wow. What color is that? (Pause.) I’m colorblind, it looks black to me.

KLAUS Dark green. What exactly is going on?

WADE Oh, nothing, nothing...

KLAUS Why are you asking all of these questions?

WADE I’m sorry, is this bothering you?

KLAUS Well, yes, I mean, you show up at my door, you do not tell me what is going on--

WADE Did you fight in the war? (Pause.)

KLAUS Why do you want to know?

WADE Just curious.

KLAUS Yes. Well, not actually. I served in the Wehrmacht. Medical corps.

WADE Wehrmacht, that’s the army, right?

KLAUS Yes.

161 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

WADE Yeah, see I enlisted when I was eighteen. Thought I was going t o ‘Nam. Ended up in Germany as an MP. But hey, gave me a career direction. Right?

KLAUS I see. Did you recently leave the military?

WADE No, I got out a few years ago.

KLAUS Really? You look very young. Not old enough to be a detective.

WADE Yeah. Well, I’m the youngest one on the force. (Josef enters with three cups of tea and serves Wade.)

KLAUS How long have you been a detective?

WADE Thank you. Excuse me?

KLAUS How long have you been a detective?

WADE (Slight pause.) Long enough.

JOSEF No more than a month, I bet.

KLAUS I agree.

WADE You guys are pretty good. All right, six weeks. Yeah, I’m kind of a rookie.

162 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS Well, you will only get better with time.

WADE Thanks, hope so. (To Josef.) What did you do?

JOSEF What?

WADE During the war. What did you do during the war?

JOSEF I served in the Wehrmacht. The medical corps. (Silence. Wade puts his tea down.)

WADE Either of you ever go down to 14th street?

JOSEF No.

KLAUS Not unless we can help it. It is quiet dangerous.

WADE Yes, yes it is. In fact, you might have heard about this, that recently there have been a string of deaths. Homeless men.

KLAUS Yes, I read the paper. It is very nice to see the city has the interest of the poor in mind. Very admirable.

WADE Yeah, very humanitarian. You sure you never make it down there?

KLAUS Yes.

163 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF Yes, why?

WADE

WADE Well, it’s just that several of the men we transplanted claimed that, on the night of some of these deaths, they saw a dark green ‘66 Thunderbird in the area. (Pause.)

KLAUS Forgive me detective. I am not quite sure what you’re saying. I was under the impression that these men died of exp osure.

JOSEF Is that not the case?

WADE Yeah, see that’s just it. The medical examiner, he’s been finding some strange things...chemicals, in the bodies.

JOSEF Do you mean drugs?

WADE No. It’s some sort of toxin. We think it was put there intentionally.

JOSEF You mean...those men were murdered?

WADE That’s what we think.

JOSEF My god.

KLAUS So, how does this pertain to us?

164 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

WADE Well, nothing right now. You certainly don’t fit the profile. But your car did raise a red flag.

JOSEF Oh dear...well, detective, I can assure you that we had nothing--

KLAUS Surely there are more people who own this model of automobile in this city?

WADE Oh, yes. Yes there are.

JOSEF Exactly. There are a lot of those vehicles on the road.

WADE I know.

JOSEF So... so what are you saying? Are you saying t hat we are suspects? Detective, we are old men. My brother has cancer. It takes a toll on him. He does not have the stamina he had in his youth. Nor do I.

WADE But you do have medical backgrounds?

JOSEF Detective, listen. We understand. We do. It is no insult. You are just doing your job, as you should. As a good detective would. You investigate every possibility. But honestly, do you really think that two old men, one sick, would be capable of subduing men, homeless men. They are like animals. They would fight back. We could not subdue them, much less tie them up and kill them.

WADE No. No, like I said, you don’t fit the profile.

JOSEF If you need proof you can search the car. It is quite all right.

165 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

WADE No, that won’t really be necessary. Uh...well gentlemen I...I have a lot of leads to check on. I better get going.

JOSEF Are you sure? Would you like some more tea? We can make--

WADE Thank you, but no. I’ll just be moving along. Sorry to bother you two. You have a good night. (Wade exits.)

KLAUS Well, that is just great.

JOSEF What?

KLAUS Did you hear what you said?

JOSEF Yes, I did. So what?

KLAUS You are a fucking idiot.

JOSEF Are you losing y our mind in your old age? What are you babbling about?

KLAUS He never said the victims were tied up. (Pause.)

JOSEF Bah. So?

KLAUS He never said it. It was not in the papers. You fucking idiot.

166 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF Klaus--

KLAUS Just shut up! I do not want to hear your voice again. Just...just shut up. (Pause.) Let me think.

JOSEF If he had suspected anything he would have arrested us. Stupid American cop could not find his ass while sitting on the toilet.

KLAUS You are lucky he is stupid. If he had a brain we would be--

JOSEF Don’t worry Klaus.

KLAUS How is that you can just stand there--

JOSEF What--

KLAUS --just stand there and pretend none of this is happening?

JOSEF Because I am not a whining child like you. Like you have become. What happened to you? You used to always look at the whole picture. That’s why you were in charge of the project. Remember? Now...I don’t know. You’re spineless. Eine qualle.

KLAUS Josef, they will be watching us.

JOSEF Not two old men. They wouldn’t waste their time.

KLAUS What are we going to do? What do you suggest? We keep going down to the bridge?

167 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF There is no one there anymore. We need to find a fresh supply.

KLAUS No. (Pause.) We must stop.

JOSEF Now I know that you have gone crazy.

KLAUS It is too much.

JOSEF You’re just willing t o let it go? Just like that? When we are this close?

KLAUS We do not even know--

JOSEF What?

KLAUS If...God...

JOSEF What Klaus? We don’t even know what?

KLAUS You do not even know if it will work! (Pause. Klaus begins to rub his head and cough.) When I was in the park today something occurred to me. What have I ever done? Can you tell me? What have I ever done that...name one thing I have done that has helped anyone? I cannot think of anything.

JOSEF Klaus, stop it. We are on the verge of the greatest medical breakthrough ever. In history. What do you mean, what have you done?

168 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

KLAUS It does not work, Josef. It never worked. I just...I wanted it to. I truly wanted that. Because, maybe, if it did work, well...

JOSEF What? What, Klaus?

KLAUS That I could, one day--

JOSEF What? Be forgiven?

KLAUS I--

JOSEF (Produces the pill bottle and hands Klaus a pill.) Men like us do not receive forgiveness. Never. Not without something in exchange. We did what we did. We did what we did because we believed in it. We believed that what we were doing was right. Was good. For mankind. And it still can be. We can still do something miraculous. We have the chance to cure humanity. And if we have to...make sacrifices...well, that’s the price. Nothing good is ever created without risk. Without sacrifice. (Pause.)

KLAUS It is too great. I quit.

JOSEF You...you are a stupid man, Klaus. (Josef exits.)

(End of scene.)

169 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE VI

(Living room. Josef enters with a stack of files and a rolled up piece of cloth humming “ Das Lied der Deutschen.” He sets them down at the table, the begins to sit, realizes he has forgotten something, then exits back into the kitchen. He reenters with a slurpie drink and sits down. A knock at the door. Josef goes to the door and opens it. Wade enters.)

WADE Mr. Meyerhold. How are you this evening?

JOSEF Detective. What can I do for you?

WADE May I come in?

JOSEF Of course. Please. May I get you something to drink?

WADE No thank you.

JOSEF A bourbon and soda, perhaps? I put a hint of lime in it for taste. Very good.

WADE Not while I’m on the clock.

JOSEF Fine. So what brings you here?

WADE I was wondering if I could speak to your brother.

JOSEF He is not here right now.

170 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

WADE Where is he?

JOSEF I’m not really sure.

WADE Uh-huh.

JOSEF We had a bit of an argument a while ago. He hasn’t spoken to me. He’s being a child.

WADE I see. Well, maybe you can help me. Does then name Godard mean anything to you? (Pause.)

JOSEF Godard?

WADE Yes.

JOSEF No. Why?

WADE You sure? How about Schultheiss?

JOSEF No. I’m sorry. Wait a minute. I knew this woman when I was young, I think her name was Schultheiss. Or was is Schroeder? She had very large breasts, and sometimes when she ran--

WADE That’s okay...well, doesn’t really matter. Just checking, you know. Whatcha working on? (Picking up a file from the table and examining it.)

JOSEF Oh, nothing. Just...looking at some old medical records. 171 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

WADE Hmm. This stuff was always way over my head. You gotta be a real egghead to get it. No offense. (He opens the roll of cloth to reveal the set of surgical tools.) And what is this stuff?

JOSEF Oh, that. They are souviners. From my service during the war.

WADE Really? The German Army just let you walk off with this stuff.

JOSEF Yes, well, you know. Many soldiers walked off with military items at the end of the war. No one really tried to stop us. A man I knew had a working Panzerfaust hanging over his fireplace.

WADE Panzerfaust?

JOSEF It is like a rocket launcher. For tanks. He would show it to anyone who came over for dinner. There it was, just hanging t here. Surprised the crazy bastard didn’t blow himself up.

WADE (Picking up a strange looking saw.) What’s this for?

JOSEF It is used for field amputations.

WADE Yeah?

JOSEF Well, it is a somewhat antiquated form of treatment. Rarely used after the Second World War. (Josef picks up alarge knife.) 172 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

You see, these two are used in conjunction. The knife is used to cut through the skin and muscle. But it will not cut through bone. That is what the saw is for. You see, long ago, before the turn of the century, when a solider is seriously wounded in battle a field doctor will be forced to remove the afflicted limb. This is to prevent infection. Gangrene, trench foot, things of that sort. Here let me show you. (Grabs Wade’s arm.) You see, what he does, is he takes the knife and, above the wounded area, he cuts through the skin and muscle. (Holds the knife above Wade’s arm and demonstrates.) Now this only takes a few moments, you see. Muscle is quite easy to cut. But bone offers a bit of a problem. It is much too hard to slice through with a knife. So you have to use the saw. (He grabs the saw and demonstrates.) You know, detective, men who have lost limbs on the battlefield say that the sawing is the worst part. Strangely, it is purely psychological. You see, though the bone itself has no nerves for sensation, you can feel it. It is the sound of the sawing. A horrible noise, like a thousand fingers on a chalkboard. It is visceral. Real. The mind cannot ignore it, not when the victim knows what is happening. It is the most horrific pain one can ever experience. And yet, physically, you exp erience nothing. Is that not fascinating? (Pause. Josef puts the instruments back into the cloth.)

WADE That’s...that’s really something...Listen, can I ask you something?

JOSEF Of course.

WADE What did you really do? In the war.

JOSEF I don’t understand.

WADE We did some researching. There’s no record of any Josef or Klaus Meyerhold ever serving in the Wehrmacht. (Pause.)

173 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF What are you saying detective? That I am not who I say that I am?

WADE Why don’t you tell me.

JOSEF Have you ever heard of a man named William of Occam? He was an English philosopher and scientist. Very intelligent. He developed a theory called Occam’s Razor. Have you heard of this?

WADE No.

JOSEF It is a...well...a method for analyzing a problem when there are multiple answers. It says that all things being equal, the simplest answer is usually correct.

WADE So?

JOSEF So...the fact that there are no records of my service indicate one of two solutions. The first is that I am not who I say that I am. Perhaps I am really some war criminal. Perhaps...perhaps I was some sort of mad scientist who exp erimented on prisoners. Horrible experiments. In which case, I am responsible for the deaths of hundreds or...maybe thousands. And, after the war, I fled to this country, changed my name, and assumed a simple life in order to hide from the authorities. That’s one explanation. The other is that perhaps, because Germany’s infrastructure was utterly destroyed by the war, the records of my service were simply lost. (Pause.) Now, which one would you say is the simplest answer? (Pause.)

WADE Yeah.

JOSEF Well, I’m certainly glad I could help.

174 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

WADE Occam’s Razor. I’ll have to remember that.

JOSEF Would you like some tea now?

WADE No. No I should be on my way. I’m sorry to disturb you. (Klaus enters from the front door.)

JOSEF Oh, look, there he is. Klaus, the detective had some questions for you.

WADE No, no, I’m pretty much done. I was just checking up on something.

KLAUS I see. How is your investigation going?

WADE Well, so far so good.

KLAUS I certainly hope you find whoever is responsible.

WADE Yeah. Well...uh...you have a good evening.

(Wade exits. Klaus notices the surgical equipment on the table, looks a Josef, then sits on the couch and picks up the paper. Silence.)

JOSEF Anything interesting? (Pause.) Klaus? Hello? (Pause.) Fine. Read your paper. (Longer pause.) If your trying t o break your record of not talking t o me you’re halfway there. 175 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

Only one more month to go. Maybe you just shouldn’t talk to me anymore. I should be thankful I finally get a break from your incessant complaining. Don’t think I don’t appreciate it. (Pause.) By the way, I need to borrow the car tomorrow. I hope you don’t mind. (Pause.) I’ll take that as a yes. (Pause.) Do you want to know what the detective said? (Klaus lowers the paper and glances at Josef, then goes back to reading.) (Pause.) You know, I was thinking, maybe we should move. Yah? It’s time for a change of scenery. I was thinking Las Vegas. You know what they call it? Sin City. Huh? Sounds pretty good to me. We could gamble, meet pretty girls. Dancing girls. You know, disappear for a while.

KLAUS Josef, are you ever going shut up?

JOSEF Ahh, he speaks. This is good. For a second I was getting used to talking t o myself.

KLAUS Well, I have nothing to say to you.

JOSEF But you just said something. Come on, say something else.

KLAUS No.

JOSEF Hey, you just did! This is good. Keep going.

KLAUS Josef...I have no desire to talk to you.

176 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF That’s too bad. And you were doing so well. I thought your going to break your record.

KLAUS Sorry to disappoint.

JOSEF Well, no matter. So, now that you’ve decided to talk to me, would you like to hear what I have to say?

KLAUS No.

JOSEF Klaus, this city is no longer useful to us. Let’s go. Let’s, as they say, ditch this joint. Huh?

KLAUS No thanks.

JOSEF Well, that’s too bad. Because I bought two bus tickets. We could be there in two days. All of this behind us.

KLAUS You must be joking.

JOSEF Why? Why not?

KLAUS Because--

JOSEF Because what?

KLAUS Well, because--

177 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF Because what? Huh?

KLAUS Would you shut up? I am not going. This is my home. My things are here.

JOSEF What, this? This isn’t exactly living in luxury, Klaus. Besides, these are just things. And shitty things at that. We could be living in paradise.

KLAUS And how will we afford that?

JOSEF We could sell the car.

KLAUS What?

JOSEF I know a man who will pay one-thousand five hundred dollars. That’s a good price, no?

KLAUS You are such a...are you serious?

JOSEF Yes. I’m serious.

KLAUS All right, I will entertain this notion for a moment. What would we do? Hmm? What is your plan?

JOSEF We’ll see. We’ll find something.

KLAUS And just when you had my interest peaked. Hah, I knew you were full of shit. (Pause.) You are really serious about this?

178 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF Yah, serious. (Pause.)

KLAUS No.

JOSEF Wait, wait, wait....just...think about it. We could get a job at a casino. I could be a bartender. You, you could, I don’t know, work the front desk. A restaurant, something. Order people around. You’d like that.

KLAUS What if they catch us?

JOSEF Who?

KLAUS The casino. They have a lot of money, you know. You think they do not check on people?

JOSEF Klaus, Klaus, don’t you ever watch movies? The whole city is run by the mafia. Do you honestly think they are going t o check on us. Please.

KLAUS You have seen The Godfather too many times.

JOSEF Even still. We’re two old men. A couple of krauts. No one will ever notice us in that city. People come and go. Tourists, businessmen. People can just...disappear in a city like that. You know? No one notices. (Pause.) It’s a chance Klaus. A chance to leave all of this. To start over. For good.

KLAUS Thank you Josef, but no.

179 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

JOSEF Fine, fuck off. Enjoy your life.

(Josef exits. A knock at the door. Klaus opens the door and Sara enters. She’s dressed haphazardly in her pajamas and has robe wrapped around her. It is clear that she has been beaten.)

SARA I’m sorry, Mr. Meyerhold, I know it's late, but...I didn’t--

KLAUS Sara, what is wrong?

SARA I...didn’t know what to do.

KLAUS What is wrong? What happened to you?

SARA I just...that...fuck, I don’t know!

KLAUS Sara, calm down. Take a deep breath. (Pause.) Now, tell me what happened. (Sara opens the robe to reveal a blood stain around her groin.) Good God. Who did this to you? (Pause.) Who did this? (Pause.) Was it your father? (Sara nods.) Hurensohn. Sit down. (Sara sits while Klaus examines her face.)

SARA I was asleep. I didn’t hear him. It...he was drunk. I could smell it. He punched me...then he held my face down in the pillow, by the back of my hair, and then he...

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KLAUS Shhh. It is all right. You are safe. Josef! Josef! (Josef enters.)

JOSEF What? What do you wan...Oh my Lord. What happened?

KLAUS Would you get some ice, please?

JOSEF What the hell is this?

KLAUS Josef, snell!

JOSEF Yes, of course. (Josef exits to the kitchen.)

KLAUS Open your mouth. Let me see. (Sara does so.) Your wisdom tooth is chipped. We will fix you, do not worry. (Josef reenters with ice wrapped in a towel and hands it to Klaus.) Here, put this on your face.

SARA Thanks. (Pause.) You’re not going t o call the police? Right?

KLAUS (Pause.) Would you like us to?

SARA No. Please, please don’t...I don’t...I don’t know.

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KLAUS They could meet you at your house, if you want.

SARA No. I...I don’t want that. I couldn’t...I couldn’t live with myself. Other people would know.

KLAUS What can we do, Sara?

JOSEF Klaus--

KLAUS Shut up. (To Sara.) What can we do?

SARA Nothing. You can’t do anything. (Pause.) Why? Why does he do this. He just...I hate him, but...I don’t know what to do. (Pause.)

KLAUS Sara, please, you...just...try to relax. Josef, fetch us a drink, please.

JOSEF Was? Klaus, sie ist ein Kind.

KLAUS Bringen sie mir das verdamte Getrank.

JOSEF (Exiting.) Scheissekopf.

SARA I don’t want to go back.

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KLAUS Well--

SARA I’m not going back. Not ever.

KLAUS All right, all right. Listen, you are safe now.

SARA No, I’m not!

KLAUS Sara, he can’t get you here.

SARA That’s not what I mean. (Pause.) I’ll never be safe. Never. Not until I’m gone, or he’s gone. That’s it. That’s the way it is.

KLAUS Sara, have you...tried talking t o him?

SARA (Slight laugh.) You know, you’re usually a pretty smart guy. (Pause.) It won’t work. It never worked. Oh, yeah, he’s said plenty of times “oh, I’ll never do it again.” Yeah. We’ve talked to him. Never stops. Maybe a month or two will go by, but then...he just gets drunk and it happens again. He won’t change. People don’t change, Mr. Meyerhold. Not who they really are deep down. (Pause. Josef enters with a glass of whiskey and hands it to Sara.) Thanks. (She takes a drink and winces at the taste.) It’s good. Thank you.

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KLAUS Sara, you need to go to the hospital.

SARA No, no, no, I--

KLAUS Sara, you might have internal injuries. I can help you, but you must trust me. Do you trust me? You need to go. You do not need to say anything if you do not want. Understand. Just keep quiet and let them treat you. Do you understand? (Sara nods.) I promise you, everything will be fine. (Pause.)

SARA I was just kidding about you not being smart. You really are smart. (Pause.) What should I do?

KLAUS Go to the restroom and clean yourself. We will drive you to the hospital.

JOSEF Wait a min-- (Klaus stares at Josef.) Yes, of course. (Sara rises and moves to exit.)

SARA Thank you. (Sara exits.)

JOSEF What are you thinking, Klaus?

KLAUS We have to Josef.

JOSEF This is not our concern!

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KLAUS That girl needs our help.

JOSEF The risk is too great!

KLAUS Josef! We are doctors. I cannot operate on her here. We do not have the proper equipment. She must go to the hospital. Now, goddammit, do your duty!

JOSEF I don’t like this Klaus. They will come for us. Asking more questions. You know they will. And this time it will be many police officers. We cannot take the risk of them finding out who we are. Now think, please.

KLAUS (Pause.) You’re right. What time does the bus leave? The one for Las Vegas?

JOSEF Twelve-forty five.

KLAUS All right. Listen carefully. Here is what we will do. You will take her to the hospital.

JOSEF Klaus--

KLAUS Just listen. You will take her. Make sure she gets treated. I will stay here and gather our things. When you return, your bags will be packed.

JOSEF What if she tells them who we are?

KLAUS She will not. (Sara reenters.) Sara, listen. Josef is going t o take you.

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SARA No, I want you--

KLAUS Sara, I cannot. Josef will take care of you. You will be fine. Trust me. There is something I need to do. Now listen, because this is very important. When you are there some police officers are going t o come and ask you questions. You must not tell them that you know us.

SARA But why?

KLAUS I...I cannot explain. I am sorry. Please, you must listen. You do not know who we are. You have never seen Josef before. He found you on the side of the road running from your house. Can you remember that?

SARA Yes.

KLAUS Good. You are a very brave woman Sara. (Sara embraces Klaus.)

SARA I’m scared.

KLAUS No, no. Everything is going to be fine. Trust me. Now, you must go. (Josef and Sara walk to the door. Sara stops and turns back.)

SARA Thank you.

KLAUS (Pause.) Hurry. Go. (Sara exits.)

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JOSEF Klaus--

KLAUS Go Josef. Your things will be packed when you return. (Slight pause. Josef exits. Klaus walks over to the table. He picks up the files, then stops. He looks down at the surgical equipment.) (End Scene.)

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SCENE VII

(Stage is dark and empty save one chair and a small workbench or table. A man is chained from the ceiling, dressed only in boxers and a white T-shirt, a pillowcase over his head. His feet barely touch the floor. Klaus enters with a rolled cloth. He circles the man, sets the cloth down on the table, then returns to the man and pulls the pillowcase off his head to reveal Briggs, who is gagged.)

KLAUS Mr. Briggs. How are you this evening? You really should not drink so much, you know. It dulls the senses. You never know when some stranger is going to come sneaking into your house. But, then again, your drinking is precisely the reason that you are here, among other things. Do you know why you are here? (Briggs shakes his head.) Come now, do not play stupid with me. You know why you are here. You’re...behavior? Is that clarifying the situation a bit? (Briggs shakes his head.) Oh, playing innocent? Yes, I understand. You never touched her, right? Yes. Is that it? You would not lay a hand on her. Always the same excuse. You know, I had a daughter, once. I had a wife. I loved them very much. I do not blame anyone for what happened to them. It was war. Things happen. I try not to think about the fact that the incendiary bombs your planes dropped burned them alive, until they were nothing but ash. I try not to think about that. Instead, I try to remember the love, and the wonderful experience of being a father. And you know, I can honestly say that they are all good memories. (Klaus moves to the table and unrolls the cloth to reveal an array of medical tools. He picks one up, examines it, then puts it down. Repeat as he continues to talk, making sure that Briggs sees each one.) And nowhere in my mind are there any memories of me laying a hand on either one of them. I would not dream of it. You see, my daughter had beautiful skin. She got it from her mother. I could not damage such a beautiful thing such as that. (Klaus picks up alarge, sharp surgical probe.) You see, my medical career was spent trying to end pain. But, in order to end it, one must know what causes it, in all forms. And believe me, I have done extensive research into the cause of pain. Thousands of...case-studies.

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You may have heard of pressure points. No? They are specific points on the body, the neck, the groin, in the armpit, soft places, where if you apply enough pressure or create some sort of trauma the pain is nearly unbearable. The worst one, is right here, between the neck and the shoulder. (Klaus jabs the probe into that area. Brigg’s body seizes in pain and he screams.) You see, you can feel it. If feels like your spine is about to break. Try to move. Go ahead. Try. You see, you cannot. Every muscle in your torso has frozen. And if I twist it ever so slightly. (Klaus does, Briggs screams again. Klaus removes the probe and returns to the tray of surgical equipment.) Do you know that the skin is the largest human organ? Oh, yes, it is true. Many people think it is the lungs but, in fact, it is the skin. You see, the skin serves a very special purpose. Not only is it a wrapping which holds the body together, but it is also protection. It is the first line of defense against disease and infection. (Klaus picks up asurgical knife.) It is a proven fact that the body can only survive a few minutes without the skin. The reason being, not because of a loss of blood, which is what one might think, but because of the excruciating p ain. Every nerve in the body suddenly exp osed directly to air. The sensation overloads the brain, causes it to shut-down. In every case I saw where fifty percent the skin was removed the subject lived for approximately five minutes. Remove less, they live slightly longer. In many ways, my wife and child had a much easier death than these subjects. You see, when one is burned severely, the nerves die. The most serious burns are actually quite painless. So I take comfort in that thought. It is one of the few things that gives me comfort. I know that, if there is a God, he will not forgive me. Not after all of things I have done. I used to remember some of their faces. But now, they all just merge into one. One face with thousands of mouths, screaming. Screaming for me to stop. But I do not stop. (Pause.) My life is a complete failure. My work is a failure. I have never, in all of my days, done anything t o benefit mankind. I am a monster. And I will die a monster. But I do not intend to die without doing one good deed, without helping one person. (Pause.) You should have never touched that girl. (Klaus begins to cut away skin. Blackout.)

(End scene.) 189 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

190 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE VIII

(Same as the first scene. Klaus and Wade sit at the table. Wade stops the tape recorder. There is a long moment of silence.)

WADE Jesus Christ.

KLAUS So, detective. What shall we do now?

WADE I need some water. (Wade walks to the cooler and pours himself a cup. He gulps it down quickly.) So I’m confused. You’re admitting to the murder of William Briggs, the murders of fourteen homeless men in this area over a period of eight years, and you are also telling me that you’re wanted as a war criminal?

KLAUS That is correct.

WADE Anything else you want to add?

KLAUS Such as?

WADE Were you the second gunman on the grassy knoll?

KLAUS I do not understand.

WADE This is insane. So...so why turn yourself in? Huh? You’ve avoided being caught for so long. Why now?

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KLAUS I have my reasons.

WADE Fuck it, that’s it. I’m through with you old man. You wanna sit there and act like this. Fine. I’m finished.

KLAUS You do not believe me?

WADE Let me tell you what I believe. You ever heard of something called Occam’s Razor? Simplest answer is usually right? I think that you’re some perverted old man with a science fair project. I think that you raped that girl, and her father found out, and you skinned him alive. I think that this whole story of secret experiments, murdering homeless people...bullshit. Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing. If you think you’re getting off on an insanity plea I got news for you. I will make it my mission, my life’s mission, to see you go down for this. You raped that girl, didn’t you?

KLAUS No.

WADE And then, when her father found out, you killed him.

KLAUS No.

WADE Stop lying! Tell me the truth.

KLAUS I have told you everything.

WADE You have lied to me since the moment I met you.

KLAUS I promise you this is the truth.

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WADE Then why? Huh? Why now? Why turn yourself in? (Pause.)

KLAUS When I was a child--

WADE Stop it! I don’t want to hear this. It’s just more--

KLAUS I’m trying to tell you--

WADE --you’re just going t o bullshit me more! (Pause.) Fine. Fine.

KLAUS When I was a child my father killed my dog.

WADE Yeah, I know. I heard this already.

KLAUS He killed it because he could. No other reason. All I wanted to do was help the dog. To love it. That is all I have ever wanted to do. Help.

WADE Who were you helping? You did all of this, who were you helping?

KLAUS The world. At least, that’s what I, that’s what I thought.

WADE Yeah. Well, “F” for effort, pal. (The phone rings. Wade picks up.) Yeah...they’re ready? Alright. (He hangs up the phone.) Well, its been entertaining M eyerhold. I’m going t o go see what these guys want. When I come back we’ll talk about what really happened.

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(Wade moves to the door.) You know, you’ve got a really twisted idea of what it means to help. Real twisted. (Wade exits. Sara bursts past him and runs to Klaus. She grabs him as Wade tries to pull her off.) Hey! Kid, you can’t be in here. (Sara lashes out at Wade. Klaus pushes Wade away.)

KLAUS Detective please, you’ll hurt her.

WADE She can’t be in here.

KLAUS Sara you must leave.

SARA (To Klaus.) Is it true?

KLAUS Sara...

SARA Is it true? (Pause.) Thank you. (She embraces him. Wade pulls her off.)

WADE (Calling O.S., pushing Sara through the door.) All right, all right. Get her out of here! (Sara exits. Slight pause. Klaus and Wade stare at each other, then Wade shakes his head and leaves. Klaus looks at the files on the desk. He reaches up and touches the folder, opens it, then closes it. He pushes the files away. A slight smile.)

(End of Play.)

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APPENDIX B

AGGROCULTURE

195 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

CHARACTERS

STEVE MALE 30s SAM MALE 30s ANNA FEMALE Late 20s MR. LEWIS MALE 50s EL CARNICERO MALE 30s-40s NEWSREPORTER MALE or FEM ALE (VOICE ONLY)

SETTINGS Steve's Living Room Steve's Basement

TIME Present day.

196 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE 1

A modest house. Sp arse furnishings. Messy. STEVE sleeps under a pile of trash on a beat- down sofa with a color scheme which would have been pushing t he boundaries of good tastes when it was made thirty years ago. Now it’s a wreck of its former self, held together only with duct-tape and some as-of-yet undiscovered laws of the universe. A TV is on.

NEWSREPORTER (VOICE) ...at the scene on the twenty three hundred block of St. Mary’s street, where several hours ago police made a grisly discovery. To recap, at least five dismembered bodies have been found in what appears to be a gang-style execution. Police are not forthcoming with any new information.

A banging at the door.

SAM (OFF STAGE) Hey! Steve! Hey dickhead! Wake up, guerro! Don’t be sleepin’ in puke-rocker. Open up, it’s the police! We heard there was a gigantic douche on these premises! Come out with your pants around your ankles!

FEMALE VOICE (OFF STAGE) Keep it down!

SAM (OFF STAGE) (cont’d) Chupa mi verga, puta! Go back inside with your cats and loneliness!

Steve rises from the sofa, the garbage spilling onto the floor. He is in his early 30s and has spiky bleached-blonde hair. His garb is typical punk- rock chic: pants worn at the knees, t-shirt missing sleeves and collar. His arms are heavily tattooed.

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He rises and moves to the door and opens it to reveal SAM, Hispanic and late twenties with a shaved head, wearing a spiked denim vest, jeans, and combat boots. He shoves a paper bag into Steve’s chest and then barges inside.

SAM (cont’d) Merry Christmas, guerro.

STEVE What’s this?

SAM Breakfast man.

STEVE Fuckin’ A.

Steven rips into the bag, pulls out a taco wrapped in foil, and begins to devour it.

SAM Damn, dude, you didn’t have to clean up on my account.

STEVE Yeah, well you know.

SAM (Indicating t he TV) Hey, did you hear about this?

STEVE What?

SAM Bunch of dudes got chopped up couple of blocks over. All gnarly style. Heard they snitched on some big-time mob guys. Got their heads chopped off, arms and legs. Messed up man.

STEVE I wasn’t really paying attention. 198 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Your sister here?

STEVE Yeah.

SAM How’s she been?

STEVE Good. Kickin’ ass at school.

SAM I’m praying for her man.

STEVE You better be prayin’ she’s not the prosecutor next time you get arrested. She’ll throw the book at you.

SAM Whatever, she’s still got a soft spot for me. She remembers all the lovin’ I gave her.

STEVE Shut up about my sister.

SAM Haha! Been missing you dude. Where you been these last few weeks? Thought you might have moved back to the farm or something.

STEVE I was working.

SAM Oh yeah. How’s that warehouse treating y ou?

STEVE It’s all right. Well. You know. It is what it is.

199 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Yeah man. Well, we all miss you dude. Scene ain’t the same without big Steve. Oh man, that reminds me, you’ll never guess who came out the other night.

STEVE You out of the closet.

SAM Haha, shut up. Nah man, Jefferson!

STEVE No shit?

SAM Oh yeah, dude. Dude and his boys showed up at the Anti-Rejects show. A show I spent a month promoting, by the way, and neither you or your sister showed up to. Sellout.

STEVE Yeah, been busy. So what happened?

SAM Okay, so like he and his boys come rollin’ in, all decked out. Head’s all bic’d down and smooth, those knee-high combat boots they wear, all puffed up and white- powered out. And then, you know how those dudes are, they was all sittin’ in the corner, getting smashed, yelling t heir shit over the crowd between songs. All seig hails, and yellin’ the fourteen words and shit. And there was like ten of ‘em. And then, fuckin’ little Zeke, he’s all on the edge of the pit, all away from them and hidden. And out of nowhere he throws a bottle and boop! Nails Jefferson right in the head. And all those dudes rush the floor, and it’s all chingasos everywhere. And like the whole crowd swarmed ‘em. Dude, everybody was getting their licks in. These three fuckin’ chicks had that dude, you know Bobby, that big ol’ Aryan poster boy, they had him on the ground just stompin’ his shit. And he stands up and like throws those chicks off of him all Hulk style. And me and Pete all rush in and start wailin’ on him. And we’re like bam, bam, bam! And then Zeke, he comes out of nowhere, and he’s got the fuckin’ cash register from the bar all held up over his head, all like fuckin’ John Cusak in Say Anything, and he runs up and paaah! Smashes it over Bobby’s head! And the dude’s all mangled now, blood running out on the floor. I was like, oh shit. So then, we all beat it and run for the car, me and Pete, and Zeke, and Marisol. 200 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

So we all peel out right as like every cop in the city is pulling up and pew! Split. Dude, every one of those Nazi’s got busted. That was a fuckin’ badass show.

STEVE Damn.

SAM Yeah, those dudes won’t be coming out no more.

STEVE Sucks I missed it.

SAM Ah, well, other than that the show sucked. Only like fifty people there. Nobody comes out anymore.

STEVE Yeah. Well, I guess punk really is dead.

SAM It’s terminal, that’s for sure. It wasn’t like this when I started. I’d put on a show and there would be five, six hundred people there. Now, everything is all Justin Bieber and shit. Can’t get nobody to come.

STEVE Times change man. Nineties are gone.

SAM Yeah, and it’s lame. No new blood. Wish you had been there, though. Coulda showed Jefferson what’s up.

STEVE To be honest I’m trying to keep it on the straight and narrow for a while.

ANNA (OFF STAGE) Stevie! Stevie for fuck’s sake.

STEVE What?

201 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

There is a loud crash. ANNA stumbles onto the stage. She is in her early thirties and dressed in comfortable pajamas.

ANNA Jesus, you think you could keep the trash out of the hallway. You ever gonna pick this place up?

STEVE Hey you live here too!

SAM Hey chicka. Que pasa?

ANNA Feeling like I’ve been run over by a train.

SAM Here come sit down.

ANNA I’m fine! I’m okay now. Just...just need to sit.

She lowers herself onto the couch.

SAM Hey, you lookin’ good girl.

ANNA Cut the bullshit, Sam. I look like caca.

SAM Even still, you look better than that Sasquatch you call a brother.

STEVE Hey!

ANNA Long night. I thought we used to drink alot. Man, law students put us to shame.

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STEVE Her new friends down at the school. Apparently they party like it’s going out of style.

ANNA You would not believe how many car-bombs these guys drank.

SAM Shit, bunch of college boys got nothin’ on me.

ANNA My head. You wouldn’t stand a chance. They get all crazy after finals. Steve, you said you were gonna clean this place up. I’ve got friends coming over tonight.

SAM Yeah, clean punk!

ANNA I’ll get the bedrooms, but please pick up the living room.

STEVE Jesus. Fine.

Steve begins to pick up the trash around the room.

ANNA And the kitchen!

STEVE Man, slave driver here.

ANNA It’s your fuckin’ house.

STEVE Yeah, I remember that the first of every month when I pay the rent and you get to go screw around at the campus all day.

ANNA Love you bro. 203 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Shut up.

Steve takes a load of trash off to the kitchen.

SAM So how you been?

ANNA Stressed out. Only one more year and then I graduate, take the BAR. It’ll be good to be done. But overall I feel good, doing good. Except this morning. Feel like I’m gonna puke out my stomach. It’s like that New Years party two years ago at Filthy Phil’s place, where you and me killed that bottle of Scotch.

SAM Oh yeah. Man his toilet needed to be taken out and shot! Good times.

ANNA Yeah. It’s the same feeling.

SAM You and your bro still getting along?

ANNA Yeah. He’s really good to me. Really helped out a lot. Man, I feel sick.

SAM Maybe you just need something to eat. Here, potato only taco just for you.

Sam reaches in the paper bag and pulls out a taco. Anna sniffs it and gags.

ANNA No, no. I don’t think I could have anything now.

SAM You sure?

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ANNA Yeah if I eat it it’s just going to redecorate the walls. But thank you, Sam. I appreciate it.

SAM I’ll just leave it here.

ANNA Just, give me a minute.

SAM You need a good bowl of menudo.

ANNA Oh fuck no.

SAM I’m serious, best thing ever for a hang over.

ANNA No, just thinking about the smell.

SAM Mmm. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

ANNA Okay, stop.

SAM Sizzling p ink sausages. Eggs...runny.

ANNA Dude, if you don’t stop I’m gonna smack you.

SAM (Pause.) Bacon. Ext ra greasy.

Anna swipes at Sam’s head.

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ANNA That’s not funny! Seriously, my stomach is barely hangin’ on.

SAM Okay, damn. Sorry!

ANNA God. No wonder I broke up with you in high school.

SAM Damn. Sorry. Okay, I’m a jerk.

ANNA You are a jerk.

SAM It’s part of my Latino charm. Come here.

ANNA What?

SAM Come here! Give me a hug.

ANNA No, Sam I--

SAM Come on!

He gives her a big hug.

ANNA Oh God, Sam, I think I--

SAM Still got the hots for me?

ANNA I’m gonna throw up.

206 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

She runs for the bedrooms just as Steve enters to see her off. Gagging noises.

STEVE Anna? Are you ok?

ANNA (OFF STAGE) Fine.

More wretching.

STEVE What did you do to her?

SAM Nothin’ man! Damn, always blaming me.

STEVE You need to go easy on her. She was all freaked out about her finals yesterday. Just blowin’ off some steam.

SAM What’s she freaked out about?

STEVE That school is like hard core. Kick you out for making a B. It keeps her up at night. You know her. Gets all overly worried over everything.

SAM Yeah, I do.

Anna enters.

ANNA All done.

SAM Hey, baby, I’m sorry.

ANNA Just stop talking, Sam. You’re giving me a headache.

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SAM I know, I know. I talk out my ass. But if it makes you feel better, I know one thing for sure. I know you’re gonna pull through. You’re the smartest person I know. And when you’re through with law school you’re gonna be all Judge Dredd. “I am the law!” I know it. Ain’t nothin’ keep Anna Hellcat down!

ANNA Thanks. You’re still an asshole.

SAM Yeah, well. Try to forget that if I ever get busted again. Oh, hey speaking of getting busted...

He reaches in his vest pocket and pulls out a joint.

SAM (cont’d) Bam!

ANNA Really? Sam, I just woke up.

SAM Shit, you already behind girl! It’s my own special blend. Call it “Kicked In The Head.” I grow it in my closet. Got two little plants, male and female. I’m gonna breed ‘em. You watch.

ANNA Sam, I don’t want to get high right now. I feel like shit.

SAM Well what better time is now? It’s Saturday. Summer is starting. School’s out baby! Relax a bit. It’s a celebration.

ANNA Oh, God.

SAM What, you gonna go straight-edge or something? It’ll be fine. And it’ll help you feel better. Ain’t nothin’ better for a hangover than a royal fatty.

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Anna takes the joint and looks for a lighter. She lights it up.

SAM (cont’d) There ya go. See this is what I’m talkin’ about.

ANNA What did you call this?

SAM “Kicked In The Head.”

ANNA More like “Shit In Your Mouth.”

She passes it over to Steve who takes a hit and grimaces.

SAM Damn, throw it in my face! You know how hard it is to grow quality closet?

ANNA I’m just sayin’. It’s nothin’ to write home about.

STEVE Damn, dude. Did you microwave this or something?

SAM No. (Pause). Only for like a minute. What you got better?

ANNA Hells yeah. Steve’s got better stuff growing in the basement.

STEVE Jesus Christ, Anna!

ANNA Oops.

209 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Whoa, bro! Wait, wait, hold for a representative! You growin’ your own? Here?

ANNA Yeah. And it’s the most dankiest dankity dank ever.

STEVE Anna!

ANNA Sorry.

SAM Dude, why holdin’ out on me?

STEVE Look, I just didn’t want anyone--

SAM Bro, you got your own home grown and you ain’t sharin’ it?

STEVE I was waiting t ill it was ready.

ANNA You’ve had it drying for two weeks.

STEVE You know. You really need work on this whole confidentiality thing if you’re gonna be a lawyer!

ANNA Just go get a nug and the pipe. I wanna try it.

SAM Yeah, she wants to try it!

ANNA You been bragging about it for weeks. Let’s see if you remember what mom taught you.

210 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE All right. All right. Fine.

Steve exits.

SAM Damn, your mom taught you how to grow herb?!

ANNA No. No. She taught us how to grow indoors. You know, like gardening. She had a greenhouse in the back of the farm where we grew up.

SAM No shit.

ANNA Yeah. Stevie was always better at it than me. He used to spend hours out there helping her. Don’t tell him but I think he’s a little homesick for the farm.

SAM Really?

ANNA Yeah. He misses it. I think that’s why he started his little atrium in the basement.

SAM What’s he got down there?

ANNA Just one plant. Water pump. He’s growing it hydroponically. It’s all crazy laboratory down there. Some new strain he’s been working on. It would be uber- nerdy if it wasn’t weed.

SAM Damn, all big time.

ANNA Yup. He’s really good at it. Don’t tell him I said that.

SAM And let his head get all bigger than it is? No way. Gotta keep him in his place. 211 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

Steve reenters with a pipe.

STEVE All right. Don’t judge it too harshly.

SAM Let me see. (He sniffs.) Exquisite bouquet! Ha! All right, guerro, let’s see what this bullshit’s got.

Sam takes a big hit and holds it.

STEVE Well?

SAM Odelay chingada!

ANNA Told ya it was good.

SAM Holy shit. Dude, I gotta sit down. Aye, goddamn, what is this shit?

STEVE Just a little hobby.

SAM Little hobby? Did you breed it with airplane glue? Shit!

STEVE Just something I’ve been working on.

ANNA He’s been working on it for six months. (She takes a hit.) Oh, yeah. Oh this is way better than the last crop. Good job, baby bro.

SAM How many crops have you had?

212 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Let’s see, this is the tenth generation.

SAM Tenth? In six months? Bullshit.

STEVE It’s new.

SAM How’d you do it?

STEVE Cross-breeding some fast-bloom strains with some potent strains. Kept at it until I hit the jackpot. Now I got a never ending supply.

SAM Damn, dude. Damn. That’s...there’s no words. I have no words. Words. This is the greatest shit I’ve every smoked in my life!

STEVE Yeah. It’s all right.

SAM All right? Dude, that’s like med grade. You could fill a prescription with that!

STEVE Well, you know.

SAM Hey, aint’ you gonna smoke with us?

ANNA Steve has to work today.

STEVE No, I’m off.

ANNA I thought you were on.

213 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE No, they...they switched the schedule. I’m off for the next few days.

ANNA Oh. Okay. Well whatcha waitin for bitch?!

STEVE Funny.

Steve takes the joint and smokes, then passes it around.

SAM Dude, my eyeballs are numb. You grow this back on the farm?

ANNA Not really. Dad didn’t believe in the stuff. The Marine Corps clean living was embedded in him.

STEVE Yeah. He said that if he ever caught us smoking anything he’d lock us in the chicken coup, all POW style.

ANNA One time he caught Stevie with a cigarrette. Made him dig fence posts holes for like ten hours, then made him fill in all the holes.

STEVE Yup.

ANNA And then he says, he says “You wanna be outta breath? You achieve that by doing work.” That was his motto. Always achieve. Always work.

STEVE Semper Fi.

ANNA Semper fuckin’ Fi. You don’t want to know what he did when he caught me making out with Bradley Singletary in the barn. 214 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Sounds sexy .

ANNA Yeah, not really. Excuse me, I think I need to freshen up. All this memory lane shit is really killin’ my buzz. Again, good job bro. Oh, and don’t forget I need your insurance card to run and pick up my insulin. Running low again.

STEVE Yeah. Okay.

Anna exits.

SAM So he was pretty hard core, huh?

STEVE Who dad? He was full of shit. All this “Always achieve, always work.” Then he gets busted transporting illegals across the border.

SAM Really?

STEVE Yeah. He’d been doing it for years. Making extra cash. See the farm, it was about thirty miles past the BP checkpoint. So when dudes would cross, they come hang out at the farm for a couple of days, then he’d drive em up to San Antonio or Houston, sometimes Louisiana. They’d pay him a thousand bucks a pop. Thousand bucks for a two, three hour ride. Pretty good racket.

SAM How’d he get busted?

STEVE Taillight. State trooper stopped him. Found six dudes in the camper of his truck. That was it for the farm. He went away for four years. Mom split from him, moved us to San Anto. That was that. Haven’t seen him since he got out. By then, well, she was...fuck it. Ancient history.

215 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Well, hey at least you got off that farm. Man I couldn’t live like that. City life for me baby.

STEVE Yeah, it was different.

SAM Yeah, no thanks. My great grandpa worked on a farm.

STEVE Yeah?

SAM Yeah. Beans. That’s what my grandma told us. That’s what he picked. Fuckin’ stereotype, I know. Back when she was still around, I remember Thanksgiving dinners. She’d never serve beans. It’s cause that’s all they ate, everyday, when she was a kid. She hated them. Never touched ‘em. Wouldn’t serve it for meals. The rest of my family, they loved the stuff. I asked her why she didn’t like beans, and she told me that peasants eat beans. We’re not peasants.

STEVE Peasants. My dad used to talk about the nobility of farming. I never saw it. I don’t miss it at all. Well, I do miss the green house. I liked hanging out in there. You could get lost, hide when dad was on a rampage. You know, my mom was really great at it. She was really good at horticulture. Used to grow these hydroponic tomatoes that were as big as softballs. Would make her own fertilizer and growth formulas. I think it pissed my dad off cause her small little tomato crop would sell way faster than all his corn. She had flowers, rare ones. It was nice. Peaceful.

SAM Where’d she learn that?

STEVE She went to school. For a while at least. A&M Kingsville. Agriculture and organic chemistry. But the farm took a hit in this drought so she had to quit before she graduated. But she learned a lot. I helped her study, you know?

SAM Yeah?

216 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Only college I ever had. Good times. It was fun, working in the greenhouse. The nutrient solution I used on the weed, that was hers. She showed me how to make it. I used to brew up batches for her. That’s the secret you know. Mom’s formula.

SAM What’s in it?

STEVE Wouldn’t be a secret if I told you, now would it? But yeah, made those tomatoes grow like, like they were rockets. Sure wish I had a...bah.

SAM What?

STEVE It’s nothin.

SAM It’s something. I can tell. You always have this look. I see it.

STEVE It’s nothing.

SAM Bullshit. Come on.

STEVE It’s just--

SAM What?

STEVE Nothin’ man. No need to worry about my problems.

SAM What man? You can tell me.

217 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE They’re cutting back at the warehouse. I’m on the block.

SAM Shit. Damn, sorry dude.

STEVE Yeah.

SAM You know what, fuck that place. Hey, you could come work with me at the shop. Greg will hire you. Me and that dude are tight.

STEVE It’s more complicated than that.

SAM How so?

STEVE They cut my insurance. They cut everybody’s.

SAM So what?

STEVE So Anna was on my insurance for her insulin. Now, we gotta pay full-price for it.

SAM Damn. That sucks man. Yeah, my grandma had diabetes. The fat kind, not the Steel Magnolias kind like your sister has. Rough stuff man.

STEVE I can’t believe you made a Steel Magnolias reference.

SAM Wha?

STEVE Seriously.

218 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM It’s a good movie....sad...don’t judge me. So, so she don’t have her own? What about that lawyer she’s working for?

STEVE It’s an internship. Till she’s done with school. She’s on mine.

SAM How’d you manage that?

STEVE Told ‘em she was my wife.

SAM Dude, you married your sister?! Ewwwwww!

STEVE No fuckhead, but that’s what I said on the forms. We got the same last name. I just, you know, for a while thought it would help. Get her the treatment and the meds she needs. But now, man, I won’t be able to afford it.

SAM Damn, dude, I knew you were a farm boy but, shit that’s takin’ it all the way. Though, I understand. Your sister is fine.

STEVE Shut up man.

SAM Shit, dude, why don’t she just get her some Obamacare?

STEVE It hasn’t kicked in. Plus the boss being all retarded Republican with it. Holding out. He’s an asshole. These people, man. They don’t get it.

SAM Fuckin’ Texas.

219 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Fuckin’ Tex-ass. Thing is, the boss is cutting people because of Obamacare. Like out of spite. It’s fucked. Hey don’t tell anyone about me and my sister and the insurance.

SAM Hey man--

STEVE I’m serious. I could get into a lot of trouble. Some serious shit if they insurance company finds out. Plus, Anna would be...

SAM Hey, man. I got ya. I ain’t sayin’ nothin’.

SAM (cont’d) Man, I tell ya. Dudes like us can’t win.

STEVE Tell me about it.

SAM I mean, these rich motherfuckers, all they do is leach. All they do, off people who work for them. They got no soul.

STEVE I just... I wish there was some way I could just have enough. Security. My dad used to talk about the farm being t he security. He said the land will always provide. Then he got locked up and mom took us here. So much for security.

SAM Man, fuck the farm. The city is where it’s at. Honestly, do you really wanna go back to that Green Acres shit?

STEVE It wasn’t so bad. I used to hate it but...

SAM But what?

220 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE It felt like you were always doing something instead of just waiting around. You plant the seed, the crop grows, you harvest, you sell. You see it through from beginning to end. You just can’t get that sort of cycle in a warehouse or in a city. Everything is...what’s the word?

SAM Fuckin’ “lame”?

STEVE No....uh...compartmentalized. It’s like...like you’re just a gear in the machine. On the farm, you were in control. You’re the boss. Sure, things like weather and prices you can’t control, but you were making something worthwhile. Something people needed.

SAM I hear that. I wish you still had that farm. Cause man, let me tell you something, see this shit right here?

Points to the joint.

SAM (cont’d) This shit is about to be the next thing, man. It’s already legal in like five states. You know who’s gonna be rich in the next twenty years? Dudes who grow this.

STEVE I suppose.

SAM It’s true. That’s why I’m starting now. Sure, it’s just me and my closet with halogen lamps, but one day I’m gonna sell my strain and live like a king. That’s how every great success story begins, yo. A man comes here with nothin’ but the clothes on his back and an idea and then makes something the world needs. That’s America, man. Al Capone wasn’t a gangster. He provided what people wanted. That’s how everything great in America begins.

STEVE And you’re gonna be what? The next great weed baron?

SAM Hell’s yeah. Kicked In The Head is gonna be big, guerro. You just watch.

221 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Keep dreaming.

SAM Man, you too?

STEVE Anna’s right. It’s a little weak and it tastes like roadkill.

SAM You’d know, redneck. You watch, I’m gonna hit big.

STEVE Not with that shit.

SAM So you said you cross-breed your stuff? Fast-bloom?

STEVE Yeah.

SAM How long does it take?

STEVE Oh, about two weeks.

SAM Two weeks? How the hell’d you manage that?

STEVE Told ya. Mom’s formula.

SAM Shit how much have you grown?

STEVE I don’t know. Couple of ounces.

222 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM In two weeks?

STEVE Yeah.

SAM Damn you’re like the Weed Whisperer. Well shit, hook a vato up.

STEVE How much you want?

SAM What do ya got?

Steve reaches into his pocket and pulls out a sack.

STEVE Got about, looks like, an ounce and a half.

SAM Sold!

STEVE Hey man!

SAM Come on dude, throw me a bone!

STEVE That’s like half my stash.

SAM Half? Shit man, you’ll have more in a few days. You said it yourself.

STEVE Goddammit. All right well give me some money for it.

SAM Aw man!

223 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Hey man, I gotta go get some stuff. Okay? I gotta pick up the insulin, that’s gonna cost me.

SAM But dude, we’re bros.

STEVE Yeah, well your bro needs seventy five bucks for the meds.

SAM Seventy five dollars!

STEVE Hey that’s a good deal for an ounce and a half of quote The Greatest Shit I’ve Ever Smoked In My Life, end quote.

SAM Man.

He reaches in his wallet and pulls out the money.

STEVE Thank you, sir.

SAM You’re lucky I like you. So what do you call this shit?

STEVE It doesn’t have a name. Why?

SAM Nothin’. No reason. All right bro, well peace be with you and shit. I’m out of here.

STEVE You leaving?

SAM Yeah, gotta hit the club. Set up for the show tonight.

224 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Yeah, all right.

SAM Later, dork.

Sam exits and Steve follows him through the door.

STEVE And stay out!

SAM (OFF STAGE) Fuck you, puto!

ANNA (OFF STAGE) Stevie! Have you seen my insulin?

STEVE It’s in the bathroom.

ANNA (OFF STAGE) I can’t find it. I’m out.

STEVE Okay, hold on.

Anna enters.

ANNA I need it. Now.

STEVE Okay. Hey help me look.

They scamper around searching.

ANNA Oh, man. My head.

STEVE Eat something.

225 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

ANNA No, I...I need my shot.

STEVE Okay, just relax. Let me find it.

Steve runs off. Anna sinks into the couch.

ANNA Please, hurry.

STEVE (OFF STAGE) Okay, okay. It’ll be fine. Got it!

Steve runs back on with a small, half-filled vial.

STEVE (cont’d) Here.

Steve opens up an end-table and produces a syringe in plastic. He unwraps the syringe and fills it with the insulin. Then injects it into Anna’s side.

ANNA Ahh. Thank you Stevie. I’ll call in my...I’ll get some more this afternoon.

STEVE Yeah. Okay. Listen, you just relax. I’ll go pick it up.

ANNA Are you sure?

STEVE Yeah, no prob.

ANNA I’m just. I’m just gonna sit here for a while.

226 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Okay, just relax sis.

Steve covers her with an old blanket.

Lights fade.

227 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE 2

NEWSREPORTER (V.O.) Breaking news: police have just made an arrest in the brutal slaughter of five local gang members who were found dismembered in a home on the west side three weeks ago. What’s become known as the St. Mary’s Slaughterhouse, the gruesome scene was discovered when the landlord of one of the victims entered the home after his tenant had failed to pay rent...

Steve is on the phone.

STEVE Yes...Yes...I understand...Look, I promise I’ll have the rent tomorrow. Look just give me a chance...You know about my sister’s condition...well, she had an episode...Yeah...I promise...I know, and you’re right...okay. Later. (Hangs up the phone.) Shit.

Anna enters. She is dressed in a smart pants suit. She walks to a mirror on the wall and begins to apply her make up.

ANNA Who was that?

STEVE Uh, no one. What are you all dressed up for? It’s Saturday.

ANNA The firm just called. Gotta big case.

STEVE Awesome! What’s the case?

ANNA You heard about the St. Mary’s Slaughterhouse, right?

STEVE Yeah. Sort of. Bunch of guys got hacked up with an axe, right? 228 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

ANNA That’s the one. Well, yesterday the cops arrested a suspect, and now the law firm of Lewis and Pratchett has been hired as the defense. This is huge!

STEVE Oh, yeah? So, who is the guy?

ANNA Get this: M iguel “El Carnicero” Salazar.

STEVE His nickname is “The Butcher”?

ANNA Yup.

STEVE Well, clearly it’s a frame job.

ANNA Our job is to represent our clients despite any personal feelings...or preponderance of evidence.

STEVE So I’m guessing he’s pleading out.

ANNA You’d be wrong bro. Mr. Lewis tells me the client is pleading not guilty. This is going t o trial.

STEVE You’re kidding.

ANNA Nope. And guess who got selected for the research and prep team?

STEVE No way!

229 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

ANNA Eeeeeek! This is a major. Mr. Lewis has given me a huge responsibility, and if I do well, I’m positive they’ll hire me once I pass the BAR.

STEVE That’s...fantastic. Are you sure about this?

ANNA About what?

STEVE About defending a...well, this guy.

ANNA Jesus, I’m not going t o ask him out. That’s how the system works. We represent our client to our full ability, even if he is a full-blown raging psychopath. How do I look?

STEVE Ready to dispense some justice.

ANNA Oh, hey, me and some of the girls on the team are gonna go out later so don’t wait up for us.

STEVE Okay.

ANNA Also, would it be cool if I took a little pinch from your stash? I think after today we’re going t o need it.

STEVE Uh. Yeah. Yeah, okay. (He retrieves a joint from the end table drawer.) Here take this.

ANNA Okay, great. Don’t wait up.

230 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Hey, don’t drink too much.

A knock at the door. Anna opens to reveal Sam.

SAM Hey Hellcat.

ANNA Hey Sam. No time, gotta run!

SAM Okay, I miss you already!

ANNA Oh, Stevie, I left a list of a few essentials I need from the grocery store. Would you stop by and pick them up sometime today?

STEVE Um, sure. Hey Anna...

ANNA Yeah?

STEVE (Pause.) Good luck.

ANNA Thanks, Skeevy Stevie. I’ll see you later. Bye Sam.

SAM Bye. (Pause). I love you. (Steve gives him a look.) What?

STEVE Nothing.

SAM It’s Saturday. What’s she doing?

STEVE They got a big case.

231 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Holy shit? Is it El Carnicero?

STEVE That’s the one.

SAM Dude! That’s crazy! Hey, you think she could get his autograph?

STEVE That dude hacked up five people!

SAM Uh, that dude’s gonna be famous man.

STEVE You’re a sick fuck.

SAM Man, don’t be such a square, vato.

STEVE Whatever man. So what’s up? How was last night?

SAM Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.

STEVE Something happen? Jefferson show up again?

Sam walks to the table and drops a pile of cash on it.

STEVE (cont’d) What the fuck is that?

SAM That’s your cut. Minus the seventy five from yesterday.

STEVE What are you talking about? (Pause.) Holy shit you didn’t! 232 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Yup.

STEVE Dude, that was for you. It’s not for sale!

SAM You don’t understand, man. We got some shit here.

STEVE I don’t care! I don’t want you selling man! I can’t believe you did this.

SAM Did you not hear me, guerro? Baby, it was flying off the shelves. I barely believe it myself. We made eighteen hundred in one night.

STEVE Eighteen hundred?

SAM Yeah.

STEVE Holy shit. How’d you manage that?

SAM You know the band that was playin’, Anarchy Jihad?

STEVE Yeah, yeah.

SAM Well, we were backstage hangin’. And homeboy from the band, the singer, he starts askin’ where he can score. So it hits me. Bing, lightbulb. And I’m like, baby I got what you need. So, I start thinkin’, like, this dude’s gonna be more down with this if I give, you know, a little sampler. So bust out with one pinch, load his pipe, hand it over. This dude takes a hit and pssshh! He’s flyin’, warp speed, guerro. Fuckin’ time traveling. He opens his eyes a couple of seconds later and he looks at me all crazy, then he tells the bass player to come over and try it. Bass player puffs, boom gone. Like he just got mauled by tiger, man. 233 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

He’s all, damn dude, they aint’ got shit like this in Cali. Then they call the drummer, and the guitarist. And all of em, they swear it’s the best shit they ever smoked. So then, the singer, he turns and he’s like, hey man, you got any more? I’m like yeah. And he’s like, how much bro? And right there, ese, I know I got em. I just make it up. So I’m like, fifty bucks a gram.

STEVE Fifty agram? That’s crazy.

SAM I thought so too. I put it up there thinkin’ we’d negotiate. But dude looks at me, reaches for his wallet, pulls out two hundred dollars. Then the rest of the band, they start doing the same. All the sudden, there’s a thousand dollars on the table. I’m like all right then. Square the deal. It ain’t gettin’ no better than that. And the singer, he gets my number, and he’s like, next time we’re in town he’s gonna call me. And he’s gonna give my number to every band they play with so when they come rollin’ into town they can get the hook up.

STEVE Damn, dude.

SAM That’s not all. So then, little while later, the club manager, Tina, comes back, and she’s like hey what’s up? I’m what’s up with you girl? And she sees what’s going down, and I’m thinkin’ I’m out. She’s gonna boot me. No, she’s like, hook me up. I’m like, ok. And then she tells me I can sell it back here, I just need to keep it down, you know. And I’m like cool. Next thing I know, there’s a line of kids, all wanting to score. Dude, I was out in like forty five minutes.

STEVE Holy shit.

SAM Dude, this shit is the bomb. The whole scene is talkin’ about it. Everyone wants to know when I’m gonna have more. Dude I’m taking orders already.

STEVE That’s crazy man.

234 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM So, check it. I had another idea. See, way I figure, we got green gold here. All we got to do is get whole bunch of it. I mean like, ten pounds. Then, we keep selling, selling, selling. Keep hustling it. By the time we run out, a new crop will be ready and we start all over.

STEVE Ten pounds?

SAM What?

STEVE There’s no way.

SAM What, scared?

STEVE No, I’m sane. You know how long it would take to grow ten pounds even with the plants we got.

SAM I don’t know. How long?

STEVE Hell if I know. But way longer than what you’re talkin’.

SAM Okay, so we just keep it low for now, we sell what we have, build up the crop.

STEVE Nah, man. This plan is psycho.

SAM What’s wrong with it?

STEVE Oh, where do I fuckin’ start? First off, you’re talking about a felony. Several felonies in fact. I can’t have that. If we get caught-- 235 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM We ain’t gonna get caught.

STEVE With you out there slingin’ yourself? Shit, only a matter of time. And then what? We’d both be locked up. It’d ruin Anna, man. I can’t do that. She depends on me right now.

SAM All right, so... what if... what if we sold everything at once?

STEVE You know someone that’s gonna smoke ten pounds of weed at once? Whose gonna pay up front?

SAM Maybe a dude.

STEVE What dude?

SAM You know. A dude.

STEVE What the fuck is a dude?

SAM A fuckin’ drug dealer, vavoso. Like a big time one. Like the Ventura’s or the fuckin’ Kings or something.

STEVE And, what you’re gonna knock on their door. Scuze me sir, you don’t know me but would you like to buy a shit-load of weed? That’s a good way to get shot.

SAM No. But I know a bunch of people.

STEVE Like who? 236 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM People, man!

STEVE Like who?

SAM Mike Thompson.

STEVE “Mef-Toof” M ike? That’s your contact?

SAM He’s knows people.

STEVE He’s a fuckin’ meth-head, man. It’s in his name.

SAM Exactly. Who do you want me to ask, my fuckin’ guidance counselor?

STEVE No, no way. This is too crazy.

SAM Why?

STEVE You’re talking about being a supplier. All right? You know what that means?

SAM Look at that stack of cash right there. That’s what it means. Stacks and stacks of money. This is our shot man. Our chance to leave this sucker’s life of workin’.

STEVE Well why don’t you sell your stuff?

SAM Dude, they don’t want Kicked In The Head. They want the Aggro.

237 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE The what?

SAM The Aggro. Aggroculture. That’s what I called it. Pretty good, right?

STEVE Aggroculture?

SAM Yeah. Tight, right? Shit, it’s all about a brand baby. Aggroculture is a brand name. It’s a hit man. Even the band said they thought it was awesome.

STEVE Where’d you come up with that?

SAM You, man! Grown by the farm boy punk rocker himself. It’s agriculture, from the scene, yo. Agri, aggro. An aggressive high. Like a punch to the mouth. This shit is home-grown punk rock.

STEVE That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard.

SAM You know what you’re problem is? You dream small, guerro. Yup, that’s exactly it. You dream way too small. Oh, I gotta have insurance. Oh, I hope I get a job where I work sixt y hours a week and hot-ass warehouse. Boy that would sure be swell. That’s how suckers talk, man. This is ours for the taking. Ain’t nobody got green like this. Nobody. We could be kings.

STEVE Yeah, some kings got their heads cut off too. That’s something I’d like to avoid. It’s not worth the risk.

SAM Man, this country was built by people taking risks. That’s one thing t hose Republicans got right. It was built on risk. Take a look around. Everyone who ever made anything of themselves did it because they took a risk. They gambled. Look at these putas on Wall Street. They make money literally out of nothing. 238 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

It’s like magic. They make money out of thin air. They gamble, they play the odds. They work the system, then they work around the system. I want to work that system too. And the difference between us and them is that we got something real. Something you can hold in your hand. They got nothing but numbers and computer programs. We have an actual product. It’s pure capitalism. We are on the edge, guerro. The cutting edge. This shit is going t o be legal everywhere in a few years, and we can be set to deliver.

STEVE You trying t o inspire me or something? Fuck this country, fuck the Republicans, fuck the system. That’s what I say.

SAM That’s what I say too, man. Cause those same folks that got the money now, they don’t want dudes like us with money too. Cause then you gotta listen to what we say. And they don’t wanna hear what we gotta say. But things change, guerro. Like the guy who found oil in Texas. He was just broke dirt farmer, diggin’ holes in the ground. But some other dude invented a car that needed oil. All the sudden, this shit he just dug up is worth a fortune. Now, people gotta listen to what he has to say. Now, oil runs everything. It’s in everything.

STEVE Where you going with this?

SAM All I’m saying is that there is a need, a desire for what we got. Just like oil and the car. We’re the new oil, man. Green gold. That’s what we got. And what we sell, ain’t nobody ever started a war over, or used it to bomb a country. What we have is pure good, vato. You and I, we can be part of it.

STEVE (Slow clap). That’s beautiful. You should write books.

SAM Fuck you, dude. I’m serious.

239 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE All right, let’s just say, for argument sake, that everything you said comes true. Let’s just say that. It still doesn’t solve the issue of what we can do now. Because we don’t know shit about how to do this.

SAM I got it baby. These big dudes, all they care about is can they make a profit. We keep it simple.

STEVE I don’t know.

SAM It’s worth taking a shot. You’ve got money problems, man. You’re not gonna be able to afford your rent, your sister’s meds on what you make. It’s just a shot. Let me talk to Mike. Come on.

STEVE Fine. Fine, talk to Mike. It ain’t gonna do no good. Whatever, waste your time.

SAM All right. Hey bro, this is gonna solve all your problems. Now, let me have a little more.

STEVE For what?

SAM So Mike can vouch for it. Also to spread the word. I gotta plan.

STEVE Fuck it. I don’t wanna know. Fine here. (Reaches in the drawer of the end table , produces a small bag, tosses it to Sam.) Take it. Great, now all you left me with is a single joint. Thanks a lot.

SAM Yeah, if only you knew somebody who could grow this shit.

STEVE Shut up dude.

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SAM Hey, you made the right choice. I promise you, nothing will happen. Aggroculture is going t o be the shit, man.

STEVE Whatever man. Just...go do your thing.

SAM Laters, bitch!

Sam exits. Steve sits down on the couch with the joint.

STEVE Aggroculture. Stupid.

Lights fade.

241 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE 3

NEWSREPORTER (V.O.) More details emerge in the growing case against Miguel “El Carnicero” Salazar after a search of his home turned up blood-stained clothes and a possible murder weapon. We’ll have more for you as it develops. Now’s heres Sandy with tips on turning that dead garden into a Zen garden.

A few days later. Steve emerges from the kitchen and plops down on the couch. He looks exhausted.

ANNA (OFF STAGE) Stevie!

STEVE What?

ANNA (OFF STAGE) Mr. Lewis just called. There’s an emergency meeting with the team. He’s coming by to get me.

STEVE He’s coming here?

ANNA (OFF STAGE) Yeah, so would you clean up a little?

STEVE Why’s he coming here?

ANNA (OFF STAGE) Pick me up. We’re having a lunch meeting. Something about the case, some problem. Gonna be a long day.

STEVE Hey a little warning would be nice next time.

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ANNA (OFF STAGE) This is your warning, dumbass. He’ll be here any minute.

STEVE Christ.

Steve rises and starts to gather the trash. A knock at the door.

STEVE (cont’d) Yeah.

Sam enters.

SAM Hey hey, cavrone. How yafeeling?

STEVE Fuckin’ beat man. Hey, help me pick this place up.

SAM Yeah, you looked like hammered caca.

STEVE That’s not too far off. Work shifts have been kicking my ass.

SAM Yeah I hear that.

STEVE When do exp ect to hear from Mef-Toof?

SAM Already did.

STEVE Well?

SAM Dude’s on his way. 243 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Who? Mike?

SAM No, the dude, dude.

STEVE The dude? The dude’s coming here?

SAM Yeah.

STEVE The guy is coming here? Now?

SAM Yeah. He wants to meet us.

STEVE Why the fuck would we meet him here?

SAM What’s wrong with here?

STEVE Are you... are you fucking retarded or something?

SAM What?

STEVE I don’t want the dude here.

SAM Well the dude’s coming. Relax it’ll be fine.

STEVE He can’t come here. Anna’s boss is coming here.

244 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM What?

STEVE Why does he have to come here?

SAM Because that’s the way this shit works, man. He’s gonna come check us out. You know, like vet us and shit.

STEVE This is not good. Not good man.

SAM Okay, okay, small problem. When’s Anna’s boss gonna be here?

STEVE Any minute.

SAM Shit. Okay, we gotta handle the business. Keep it cool.

STEVE Handle the business? Some fuckin’ Mexican mafia gangster is about to come in my house, where I live, where my sister lives, where we have our fuckin’ grow, where her boss, one of the biggest lawyers in the city is about to be standing in the same room, and your response is to keep it cool.

SAM Man, fuckin’ relax. It’s the way this shit works. We can do this.

STEVE What do you mean it’s the way this shit works? When the fuck have you done this before?

SAM Look man, he’s just gonna swing by, see that we’re good for it, and that’s it.

STEVE I don’t believe this shit.

245 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM What is the problem?

STEVE First off, he knows where I live.

SAM Dude, they’re gonna find that out anyway. They’re gonna find out everything about you and me. So best just get it over with, be cool, and everything will be fine.

STEVE What if he robs us? What if he’s setting us up? What if they come in and hack us up like they did those meth heads?

SAM Man, calm the fuck down! You need to get your shit together. He’s gonna be here in a few minutes.

STEVE Fuck! Fuck! Anna is gonna kill me.

SAM Yeah, look. Just go get a sample. Get it ready, I’ll do all the talking. Okay?

STEVE Yeah, okay. We got this.

SAM Fuckin’ Aggro, dude.

STEVE I hate you man.

Steve exits.

SAM Wait till we’re rich, you’ll change your tune.

Sam checks himself in the mirror. Then strikes a tough pose. 246 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM (cont’d) (To himself). ‘Sup homes? ‘Sup, homes? ‘Sup homes. Sup, cavrone? No need for names. Let’s get down to business. That’s not enough, ese. This is some quality shit.

A knock at the door.

SAM (cont’d) Oh shit!

Anna enters.

ANNA Sam, what are you doing here?

SAM What are you doing here?

ANNA I fuckin’ live here.

She opens the door. LEWIS is standing there. He’s in his fifties dressed in a sharp, expensive suit.

ANNA (cont’d) Mr. Lewis please come in, I’m almost ready. Sam, This is Mr. Lewis. My boss. Mr. Lewis, this is Sam.

LEWIS Hello, young man. How are you?

SAM Yeah. Okay. ‘Scuze me a second, por favor.

LEWIS No hay bronca.

SAM Right. 247 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

Sam exits.

ANNA You’ll have to excuse him. He’s my brother’s friend. Kind of a strange guy, but mostly harmless.

LEWIS It’s not a problem. Nice place you have.

ANNA Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so embarrassed. Steven was supposed to clean it up.

LEWIS Don’t be. You’re just starting out, Anna. I remember when I was starting out lived in one room no bigger than this living room and slept on the floormat. It was good. Builds character and desire. Makes you want for something better.

ANNA Well, I do want it.

LEWIS That’s why I picked you, Anna. I know what you want. Sp eaking of which, where would you like to eat? M y treat.

ANNA Oh, I don’t know. Wait, aren’t we meeting with the team?

LEWIS No, they’re out running around gathering files. This is more of a research meeting. We have some things we need to go over. The search warrant and arrest report.

ANNA Oh, ok.

LEWIS How ‘bout The Plaza?

ANNA What?

248 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

LEWIS The Plaza. Downtown.

ANNA I’ve never been there.

LEWIS Well, time you try it. They have the most amazing roast duck. It’s to die for.

ANNA Oh, I really couldn’t.

LEWIS Please, I insist. Think of it as a reward for all the good work you’re doing. And fuel for continued good work. Also, Anna, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.

ANNA Anything, of course.

LEWIS Well, as you might have heard Ray is going to have to take a leave of absence. For personal reasons. How would you like to head up the research team?

ANNA Oh, my God. Oh, my God are you serious?

LEWIS What do you say?

ANNA Yes! Yes! Oh, thank you! I will work every second of every day to make sure we win.

LEWIS That’s what I want to hear. Now you’ll be working with me a lot, so better get ready for some long nights.

ANNA I am one hundred percent there. I can’t fucking believe this! Oh, excuse my language.

249 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

LEWIS Not a problem. You wouldn’t believe how often I’ve called Judge M asterson an arrogant dickhead. Well, in my head of course.

There is a commotion and Sam shoves Steve onto the stage. Steve, now holding a bag of pot, hides it behind his back before Anna and Lewis notice.

STEVE Anna? Hey, what’s a...what’s going on?

ANNA Mr. Lewis, this is my brother Steven. Stevie, this is my boss Mr. Lewis.

LEWIS Hello, Steven. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you. Nice hair.

STEVE Hey, hello. How are you? Very nice to meet you so unexp ectedly. Anna talks about you all the time.

LEWIS I hope it’s all good.

ANNA Oh, it is definitaltly all good. Stevie, Mr. Lewis just told me I’m heading up the research team!

STEVE Oh yeah, yeah. That’s great stuff. I know you deserve it.

LEWIS She most certainly does.

STEVE Anna, could I talk to you real quick?

He pulls Anna over to the side.

250 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE (cont’d) So what’s, what’s going on?

ANNA Uh, nothing, Mr. Lewis just promoted me and now is taking me out to lunch. But other than that Jack shit.

STEVE No, no, I mean how long are you going to be here?

ANNA Why?

STEVE No reason. Just wondering.

ANNA What the hell is the matter with you?

STEVE Nothing, nothing--

ANNA It’s okay if I invite someone over to my house, right?

STEVE Yes, of course. It’s just--

ANNA Cause, you know, I thought maybe there was a problem.

STEVE No, it’s just, well... we’ve got a... backed up sewer. So... I hope you don’t have to... you know.

ANNA Backed up sewer.

STEVE Yeah.

251 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

ANNA Right.

STEVE I’m serious.

ANNA Uh-huh.

STEVE Yeah. Fine. Peachy. Where you guys going?

LEWIS The Plaza downtown.

STEVE Oh, the Plaza? Fancy place. You don’t want to be late.

ANNA What?

STEVE Can’t keep him waiting.

ANNA (Pause.) Okay, what the fuck is going on?

STEVE Nothing, Jeez. Why does something have to be going on?

ANNA You are acting really weird.

STEVE I’m acting weird. You’re the one who’s all bringing a strange man over.

ANNA Strange man?

252 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Yeah.

ANNA He’s my boss.

STEVE Well, I don’t know him.

ANNA Yeah, that’s because I’ve never introduced you to him cause of exactly this kind of shit right here.

STEVE What? It’s a serious problem. Any second now the pipes could blow...and it’ll ruin your clothes, and get all over your boss.

ANNA Just stop it. I don’t know what the hell you’re doing, but you’re embarrassing me. In front of my boss. Got it. Stop acting like an idiot.

LEWIS Hey, Anna. We should probably get going. Why don’t you go grab those files?

ANNA Yes, of course Mr. Lewis. Let me just get that and fix myself up a bit.

She exits, glaring at Steve. Silence.

LEWIS Well boys.

SAM Hey.

LEWIS So. Let’s see it.

Pause.

253 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE See what?

LEWIS The shit.

STEVE I don’t know if you wanna go in the bathroom--

LEWIS Not that, moron. The shit. That your friend Mike told me about.

STEVE What? Oh that shit! Wait, you know Mike?

LEWIS He’s a frequent client of mine.

SAM Aww man.

STEVE You mean that shit!

SAM He’s the dude!

STEVE You’re the dude!

SAM Dude!

Sam tries to hug Lewis.

LEWIS Get your fuckin’ hands off me.

SAM Sorry, sorry. Sup?

254 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Yeah. The shit. Here ya go.

Steve pulls out the baggy . Lewis opens it up and examines the contents carefully.

LEWIS And this is the famous Aggro?

STEVE Yes, yes it is. Though we’re not sold on the name.

SAM Yes we are.

LEWIS You boys made quite an impression in a real short time.

STEVE Uh, thank you?

LEWIS Everybody’s been talking about this stuff. Say it’s the best.

SAM Hey, my man here is the man with the green thumb.

LEWIS The people I represent have certain concerns. They don’t like the fact that you’ve been going outside the normal system. Understand?

Pause.

SAM Well, that’s why we wanted to talk to you. Cause, you know, we don’t want to do anything t o upset the system.

STEVE No, we like the system.

255 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Hooray the system.

LEWIS That’s very wise. So how much will you have?

STEVE I could have a pound in three weeks. With what I have already plus the new batch.

LEWIS One pound?

STEVE Yeah. Easy.

LEWIS The people I represent, they don’t go small. So we’ll need to set our sights a little bit higher.

STEVE Well, we’re sorta limited. Well, how much were you talking?

LEWIS We’re going t o need twenty.

STEVE Twe-Twenty?

LEWIS Is that going to be a problem?

STEVE Well, it’s just--

SAM No, no problem. We can do that.

LEWIS Good. Good. And if this is as good as they say it is, you boys stand to make a quite a profit. 256 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Hey, that’s what it’s all about, right?

LEWIS Right.

STEVE Wait, there is a problem. There’s no way I can grow that amount in a week.

LEWIS (Pause.) Well, how long are we talking?

STEVE It’s not that... I just don’t have the space or the supplies to make that amount in one go.

LEWIS Boys, we’re not playing nickle and dime bullshit here. Now, how long would it take to do twenty?

STEVE I might be able to do it in two, maybe three months.

LEWIS Might?

STEVE I can. If I had all the stuff. And the space.

LEWIS You have six weeks.

STEVE Six weeks? Mr. Lewis, I don’t think...

LEWIS You know what the problem with this business is boys? It’s the business. That’s the dirty part. The product, basically harmless. But you don’t approach people about doing a deal and then pussy foot around it.

257 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

Now, I’m gonna walk out that door, and you two are gonna be stuck holding your dicks and a dime bag, with no way to distribute, unless you tell me straight up the right answer. Cause we know who you are now. Understand. This, this won’t be on the streets anymore unless it’s through my clients. So, one last time, can you do twenty in six weeks?

STEVE (Pause.) I think I could do that.

He takes out a notepad and pen and scribbles on it.

LEWIS Here’s a number to contact when it’s ready. Don’t call me directly. And here’s a... more interesting number.

He rips off the paper and hands it to Steve. Steve and Sam stare at the paper.

LEWIS (cont’d) You boys keep your end of the deal up and we stand to do really well. Now, if you decide that you want to back out or can’t make the count, well, my clients are...very sensitive. They may take that as a personal insult. You understand me? (Steve and Sam nod.) Good.

Anna enters.

ANNA Okay, found it.

LEWIS Oh, good. Let’s get going t hen.

ANNA Okay, well see you two later.

LEWIS Nice place you have here boys. We’ll be seeing y ou around. Oh, and make sure you take care of that sewer issue quickly. You wouldn’t want any problems. Oh, and don’t worry about your sister. I’ll look after her. 258 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

He places his arm around Anna and walks her out the door. Silence.

STEVE Well. Thanks a lot man.

SAM Yeah, that was pretty crazy.

STEVE Fuck you asshole!

SAM What?

STEVE Do you know what you’ve just done to me?

SAM Uh, I just made you a metric-ass load of money.

STEVE You’re gonna get us killed! Six weeks?

SAM You said you could do it.

STEVE I said I could do it so we wouldn’t be decapitated.

SAM Hey man, stop worrying.

STEVE Stop worrying? You just signed our lives away!

SAM Look at this number. (He holds up the sheet of paper.) You count the number of zeroes? That’s six z eroes man. For each of us.

259 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE That’s not the point!

SAM Well what is the point? You’re always bitching about how you never have enough. Now you got a chance to have more than you’ll ever need and you’re whining. Yeah man, I’m scared. These dudes, they’re serious players. But we can be too. Like it or not, you’re in now, guerro. You better come up with something.

STEVE So I’m the one that’s gotta do everything? This was your idea! You grow it.

SAM I can’t. You’re the only one. You gotta do it for both of us.

STEVE Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity fuckfuck.

SAM If you didn’t want to do this why did you tell me to talk to Mike?

STEVE Cause I didn’t think...

SAM What?

STEVE I didn’t think you’d come through, all right. I thought you’d fuck it up like always.

SAM Oh. I see. That’s it, then. Old Sam the screw up. The guy who dropped out of high school, can’t do more than work on cars. You thought you’d teach me something, huh? What was it, you...you thought I’d learn my place? That I was all talk?

STEVE Man.

260 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM I don’t have a place, man. Don’t you get it? Everybody has been bringing me down my whole life. I’m not a peasant. And I don’t believe that you are either. So if that was your lesson well, guess what, I failed it again just like school. And you know what else? I’m proud I failed it. You failed too. You had a chance to walk away. He gave it to you on a platter. But I saw your eyes. You want this as much as me.

STEVE This is not what I wanted.

SAM Bullshit. You ain’t no peasant. You’re just as tired of getting the shaft as me. Way I see it, we gotta do what it takes man. So you can either sit here and do nothing, or you can get to work. Either way, these dudes, they gonna expect their product. So what’s it gonna be?

STEVE (Pause.) I’m gonna need a few things.

SAM All right then. Let’s get started. (They walk toward the exit.) Damn, I should have asked about the autograph.

The two exit to the basement. Lights fade. End of Act I.

261 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

ACT II

SCENE 1

NEWSREPORTER (V.O.) As the trial of Miguel Salazar is set to begin, both the prosecution and the defense seem confident in their chances. Defense attorney Mark Lewis had this to say:

LEWIS (V.O.) We are one-hundred percent sure that the charges against our client will be soundly defeated. One-hundred percent.

NEWSREPORTER (V.O.) Strong words. And this comes just one day after Judge Carrie Wiess was recused after prosecutors filed an injunction citing evidence that she had received money from associates of the defendant. You’ll remember that bloody clothes and the alleged murder weapon, a fireman’s axe, was found in the apartment of the defendant. So we’re left to wonder, how exactly is Mark Lewis going t o do to get his client off? When asked to comment, District Attorney Paul Anderson said “This is a textbook example of an open-and-shut case.”

The basement. Walls are covered in reflective material. Sp arse furnishings, most notably several long tables with twenty potted marijuana plants under halogen grow-lamps. The plants are tall and fill the background. Steve is examining t he plants carefully.

Sam enters.

SAM Hey, hey, how’s it going Martha Stewart? Gotdamn! That is a beautiful sight!

STEVE Well...it’s going okay.

262 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM (Singing). In the jungle, the stinky jungle, the Sammy smokes tonight! Weeeeeeeeee!! Come on, sing along with me.

STEVE No, no.

SAM Whatever. Lame. What’s the verdict?

STEVE I uh, I don’t know. I think so.

SAM You think or you know?

STEVE Look, the buds are just starting to come in.

SAM Okay. Well we’ just have to see.

STEVE Yeah. So what’s going on?

SAM Just chillin.

STEVE You know you could help.

SAM What do you want me to do?

STEVE You know... nevermind.

SAM Damn, dude, what crawled up your ass?

263 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Look, I’m just under a lot of pressure all right?

SAM What you want a backrub or something? M an up. Or sit down and take a break. (Steve drops the clipboard and sits). Gotta admit dude, that miracle formula is pretty sweet.

STEVE Yeah, works good huh?

SAM Hell yeah. I can only imagine those tomatoes your mom used to grow.

STEVE Simpler times man.

SAM So, what are you gonna do with your cut?

STEVE I don’t know. I’m more concerned with making t he quota.

SAM We’ll be fine. Come on man, what are you going to do?

STEVE I dont’ know man. I’ve been too busy to think about it.

SAM Come on. I know you. You daydream, you’ve thought about it. Me, I’m gonna buy the club from Tina.

STEVE Yeah?

SAM Yeah, man. Gonna buy it, turn it into a real place. You know. A place for us, for the scene. No more bullshit bouncers harassing kids. It’s gonna be professional. It’ll be the premier punk-rock club of the south. We’re gonna bury Emo’s.

264 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE That’s a pretty big dream man. Have you seen Emo’s lately?

SAM Fuck Emo’s! This place is gonna be the shit. Huge floor for a pit that goes on for miles. Kids are gonna get lost in that mosh pit, never to return! Gonna be hot girls, booze, bud. Gonna do it right man. And no lame bands. None of that dubstep bullshit.

STEVE Lame bands make the money, man.

SAM I knew you’d say that shit, sellout. That shit was called Techno in high school and guess what, it sucked back then and it sucks now. No, I got an idea, check it out: we’re gonna specialize in one-time reunions of legendary bands.

STEVE One-time reunions?

SAM Hells yeah, homes.

STEVE Like who?

SAM Shit, whoever’s awesome that people always wanted to see. We’re gonna have the money to pay for it. I’m gonna get Black Flag back together with Rollins, I’m gonna get the M isfits back together with Danzig. Shit, I’m gonna get the Ramones dug up and Frankenstein em’ so they can play.

STEVE Sounds like you gave this a lot of thought.

SAM Yes sir. No more being a peasant. I’m gonna be a businessman. Gonna be somebody. I’m gonna start a fuckin’...what do ya call it? Like fuckin’ McDonald’s.

265 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Uh...like a franchise?

SAM Yeah, man. I’m gonna franchise the shit out of it!

STEVE You know what you’re gonna call it?

SAM Sure do, check this out: Play It Again, Sam’s. You like it? It’s from that movie, yo. Casablanca.

STEVE Remind me to never let you name a child.

SAM Man, there you fuckin’ go again, dude.

STEVE Seriously, your names are crap.

SAM Always with some smart shit. Always “Oh, no that’s not right.” Or “Well, it’s not exactly the blah, blah, blah.” You know what, shut up man. It’s a good name.

STEVE All right, it is a good name. Sorry.

SAM Fuckin’ A it is. Hey at least I got an idea.

STEVE What is it?

SAM First I’m gonna roll around in the money naked. Then I’m buying t he club. What you got?

STEVE I don’t know, I guess...I guess I may try to get the farm back.

266 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM The farm. You and the fuckin’ farm.

STEVE What?

SAM You serious?

STEVE Yeah.

SAM Man, you should go in with me.

STEVE I don’t want anything t o do with a club.

SAM What is it with this farm? How you even gonna get it back?

STEVE Doesn’t have to be our farm. Just a place out in the country. Quiet. It’d be nice.

SAM And what? You gonna grow corn and turnips and shit?

STEVE Maybe. Actually, I was sort of thinking about getting into crop dusting.

SAM What?

STEVE Yeah. Buy a small plane, get my pilot’s license.

SAM I don’t know about that, man. I’ve seen the way you drive.

267 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Just to be...free. From everything. Just do my thing.

SAM Man, I’d be bored to death.

STEVE Yeah, that would be nice.

SAM Well, whatever man. It’s your money.

STEVE You know I’m still pissed at you for all this.

SAM Man, you need to get over it. It’s done. It’s in the past.

STEVE No, it’s very much in the present, jerkwad. If it wasn’t for you--

SAM If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t about to be set up for life, guerro.

STEVE Yeah, and how long is that going t o last?

SAM You worry to much. We make the sale and we’re out. Simple.

STEVE You have no clue what you’re talking about.

SAM What I’m talking about is this, dude. (He flashes a baggy of pot.) You know I still got people asking me about it. It’s still the talk of the town, man. And you’re over here all whining.

STEVE You know what’s gonna happen if we don’t come through with this, right?

268 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Hell yeah, I know. (He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a small pistol.) “Say hallo to my little friend, puto!”

STEVE Jesus, man!

SAM You like it? It’s my cousin’s.

STEVE What the hell is that?

SAM A pistol, Einstein.

STEVE Is that thing real?

SAM Hell yeah, it’s real. He let me borrow it. We’re cool like that.

STEVE So why’d you bring it here?

SAM To show you, homes! Show you I got this covered.

STEVE Jesus, do you even know what kind of bullets that uses?

SAM Something like a thirty seven ought six.

STEVE Fuck.

SAM What does it matter man? It’s got five rounds. More than enough to put a punk in his place. 269 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE That place is going t o be you and me in the ground! Put that thing away!

SAM Hey, man. I’m getting a little sick of your attitude.

STEVE And I’m getting sick of how not seriously your taking t his! Have you stopped to think what’s gonna happen when they want more?

SAM Man--

STEVE No seriously. Cause I’m out after this. So what’s gonna happen when they want us to keep growing? You know who’s gonna get stuck with that fun little responsibility? Me. Me, and me only.

SAM Bro, I’m right here with you.

STEVE Yeah, doing what?

SAM Keepin’ it down, man! Keepin’ the business tight.

STEVE You’re a fuckin’ dumbass, you know that?

SAM Your shit’s gettin’ stale, homes!

STEVE What are you going to do, shoot me?

SAM Fuck you, dude. Don’t say that.

270 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE What exactly do you do?

SAM Oh ok. I see. Always complaining. That’s you man. Yeah man, I don’t know how to grow. If I could grow this myself I would, but I can’t. But I do take it seriously. I want this to work. Stay positive guerro. That’s why you need me. And fuck you for being such a punk about it. Besides, I thought you wanted to help your sister.

STEVE Leave my fuckin’ sister out of this. And fuck you dude!

SAM Fuck you, fuck you dude!

Sound of a car pulling in.

STEVE Oh shit!

SAM What?

STEVE It’s Anna. Come on! She can’t see this!

SAM You haven’t told her?

STEVE Hell no? Are you crazy? Besides, she’s barely around.

SAM Why?

STEVE She can’t know about this. She would lose her shit! She’s gonna be a lawyer!

SAM Uh, are forgetting that the guy we’re selling t o is a lawyer. And her boss. 271 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Look, just...fuck that, just go, just go!

The two exit to the side. Quick scene change back to...

272 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE 2

Living room. Anna is putting her briefcase away. Steve and Sam rush in.

STEVE Anna.

ANNA Stevie. What’s going on?

STEVE Nothing? Nothing at all. What’s a...what’s going on with you?

ANNA Ohh, crazy day. Just need to sit down and relax. Man, smells like a Jamaican Night Club in here.

STEVE Oh...

ANNA What the hell are you growing down there?

STEVE Nothing. Just, you know, working on a new strain. It’s more potent.

ANNA What was wrong with the last stuff? That was pretty great.

STEVE Nothing, you know. Science... exp erimentation. Shit like that.

ANNA Yeah. Whatever. Well you better do something to mask the smell. The whole neighborhood’s gonna get a contact high.

273 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Sure, I’ll take care of it.

ANNA Sp eaking of which, you have any more?

STEVE More what?

ANNA Of your stuff, stupid.

STEVE Uh...

SAM Yeah, baby. Got it right here.

ANNA Oh you’re a lifesaver Sammy. Thank you.

SAM No problem chicka. Sammy knows what you want.

Hands her a pre-rolled joint. She lights it.

ANNA Yes you do. Oh, you would not believe what’s happening at work. Oh, by the way, Sam. (She reaches into her briefcase and pulls out a mug shot photo.) Merry Christmas.

SAM No fuckin’ way.

ANNA Yup. And that’s the real mug shot too.

SAM Dude, check this out: “A mi mejor amigo Sam, Miguel “El Carnicero” Salazar.” Look, he even drew a little axe. Awesome, dude! Thanks Anna Banana!

274 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

ANNA Well, just remember me in your will.

SAM Shit, girl, you can have my Playstation.

ANNA And don’t share that with anyone.

SAM Oh, come on. Let me at least call my cousin Hector. He’s gonna flip.

ANNA Sam.

SAM Please.

ANNA Fuck it. All right. It doesn’t matter anyway.

SAM Hells yeah! I’ll be right back!

He runs to the front door and exits.

ANNA What’s the problem?

STEVE Nothing, me and him just had a little argument.

ANNA Awww, are you two boys fighting? That’s cute.

STEVE It’s not anything t o worry about.

ANNA I’m not. He’s your friend. 275 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Your ex-boyfriend.

ANNA For like a millisecond. What are you guys fighting about?

STEVE Nothing. Nothing at all.

ANNA What is it?

STEVE Too stupid to even talk about.

ANNA That’s Sam for ya. Well, I’m sure you two will figure something out. You’ve been best friends most of your life. God if I was still friends with some of the people I was friends with in high school I’d probably, I don’t know, shoot myself.

STEVE Yeah.

ANNA I don’t mean anything bad. You know I love Sam.

STEVE Yeah, no. I got it.

ANNA It’s just, the guy is a floater. You know? Always moving from this to that. Always with the “punk rawk” bullshit.

STEVE What’s wrong with it?

ANNA Nothing, until you want something else.

276 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE What do you mean?

ANNA I mean, guys like him, they get stuck. They only know one thing. And that thing controls everything about them. Soon, all you do is try to keep the lifestyle, no matter what. It’s like you become institutionalized, you can’t see anything that’s not the scene.

STEVE You don’t think I’m like that?

ANNA Well...

STEVE Hey!

ANNA Look, all I’m saying is that you could do better than a warehouse job.

STEVE Man, first him, now you’re gonna give me shit?

ANNA Hey, you asked.

STEVE I work that shit job for you. So you can finish your school. I don’t do it cause I love the atmosphere.

ANNA And I thank you, I really do. But Stevie I know you can be more. I hate the fact that I’m in school, pursuing my dream, and your working in some dead end hell hole.

STEVE I don’t believe this. It’s like everyone is busting my balls today.

ANNA Well, maybe they should be busted.

277 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE You know what, I don’t want to talk about this.

ANNA Stevie, you have so much going for you.

STEVE Yeah, right.

ANNA I just feel bad that you’re getting left out in the cold.

STEVE Fine. Feel bad all you want. As long as you change the subject. (Pause.) So what’s happening in the big case there, Matlock?

ANNA Okay, fine. We can talk about that. And for the record, if you are going t o use pop culture lawyer references, I prefer Atticus.

STEVE (Under his breath.) Whatever, you’re more like Robert Duvall from The Godfather now.

ANNA What?

STEVE Nothing. So what’s the story? Give me details.

ANNA I can’t.

STEVE Come on.

ANNA Attorney-client privilege still applies even to interns.

STEVE Boo! Come on. Is the guy as whacked as everyone says? 278 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

ANNA Oh yeah.

STEVE Whoa.

ANNA Tell me about it. I mean this guy...you know I thought some of the dudes you hung out with were crazy.

STEVE He’s the real deal, huh?

ANNA Stone-cold psychopath. You saw the little drawing he did on the autograph. It’s like it’s all a joke to him.

STEVE So, what did he do exactly?

ANNA Our client did nothing.

STEVE Cut the lawyer shit, girl. Come on.

ANNA I can’t say.

STEVE Come on, who am I going t o tell?

ANNA What about Sam, our client’s best friend?

STEVE I won’t say anything.

ANNA You promise. Cause I don’t want everything I’m going t o say going up on his blog. 279 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE You know he can’t read.

ANNA Ha! I’m serious. You don’t tell him anything.

STEVE Pinky swear.

ANNA Okay. So these guys that got hacked up, two of them are running a meth lab out of their house. Making some real high-grade shit. Apparently one was a chemistry grad- student and the another was his friend who moved the stuff. The three other guys were their runners who sold it on the streets. Turns out the cops have been looking for them for a while, but the Ventura family found them first.

STEVE Ventura family?

ANNA It’s the family El Carnicero allegedly works for. So anyway, according to the neighbor, who’s another junkie by the way, El Carnicero went to the door and knocked three times, real slow like this. (She demonstrates).

STEVE Why like that?

ANNA Something about he’s imitating t he ghost of Christmas Future from that Charles Dicken’s novel. It’s like a calling card for this guy. It doesn’t make sense.

STEVE Wow. That’s so completely random.

ANNA Personally I think he just watched the movie. So witness says he walks up, knocks, fire-axe in hand. One of them opens the door and bam, axe to the head. The other’s make a run for it, but the front door is the only actual working entrance. It seems these boneheads decided to “fortify” their lab against intrusions by sealing up the back door and all the windows with brick, except the one in their lab of course. 280 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Didn’t the neighbors like call the cops?

ANNA No, you can’t hear anything from inside the house. See the bricks made it totally sound proof. And since the neighbors a junkie his testimony is, well questionable to say the least.

STEVE Holy shit.

ANNA Yeah, so. There yago. But remember, no one else can know about this.

STEVE My lips are sealed, sis.

Three slow knocks at the door. Steve and Anna stare at each other, not moving.

ANNA You gonna get the door?

STEVE Maybe.

ANNA Jesus. (She starts to get up.)

STEVE No I got it.

ANNA Stevie, please.

Three more knocks. Steve walks to the door and open it slowly. Sam charges in.

281 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM El Carnicero, puto! Agggghh!

STEVE Goddammit!

ANNA Dammit, Sam!

STEVE You scared the shit out of me!

ANNA How much did you hear?

SAM Uh, only the most awesome parts. Which was everything.

ANNA Sam, you cannot tell anyone.

SAM Shit, I just posted everything on Facebook.

ANNA Sam, I’m serious! If this gets out I could be in some serious shit.

SAM All right all right. Just kidding. I wouldn’t sell you out, girl. Man I got you good.

STEVE I’m having a heart attack man.

ANNA Hey, you to morons are killing my buzz. Damn, how do you do this Stevie?

STEVE Do what?

ANNA Make this stuff so awesome? 282 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Friggin’ Johnny Appleweed, over here.

STEVE You know. Mom taught me everything.

ANNA Well, it’s amazing Stevie.

SAM You like it, huh?

ANNA Oh yeah.

SAM I bet someone could make a lot of money off this.

ANNA Oh yeah. No, you could move this by the bushel. Little brother if you sold this, you could make millions.

SAM Millions?

ANNA Millions.

STEVE Yeah, and I bet if someone did that they could get in some serious shit.

ANNA Oh yeah. Serious shit.

SAM But I bet there are ways around that, right? From a legal standpoint?

ANNA Always a way around it.

283 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE But I bet she doesn’t want to comment on such things cause she wouldn’t know, right?

ANNA Psssh, oh no. I know all about it. Took two classes on drug policy in school. And I’ve worked dozens of cases at the office. There’s always a way.

SAM Oh yeah. And what would those ways be?

ANNA Well, first off I’d have to advise myself that in Texas the growing a marijuana with the intent to distribute is a felony. Then I’d move to Colorado.

SAM Colorado you say?

ANNA Oh yeah. It’s a different ball of wax over there. Everything is up in the air right now.

SAM Cause it’s legal?

ANNA Legal to possess in small amounts. However, where it gets shaky, legally speaking, is the growing. Now, mind you, it’s no guarantee, but it’s possible that you could get away with it over there.

SAM Really?

ANNA At the very least, you could sell it only in states where it is legal. Then you just have to get it across the state lines. For that, you would need a distributer.

SAM And who would do something like that?

284 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

ANNA Oh, the Ventura family maybe.

SAM Really?

STEVE You mean the same people that hacked up a bunch of junkies?

ANNA Allegedly.

SAM Yeah, allegedly dumbass!

ANNA Yeah, they could do it. They already do, at least that’s what the cops think. In a few years the whole thing is going legit anyway. Yup, that’s what I’d do.

SAM And, how much do you think they’d pay for something like this?

ANNA Oh, depends on how much you got. Several thousand a pound probably. It’s really good. This stuff. Would probably make millions in the long run.

STEVE And what happens when these distributors decide to turn on you?

ANNA Why would they do that?

STEVE Just saying.

ANNA And ruin their profit? No way. They wouldn’t mess with you as long as they keep making money. That’s what they care about. As long as you don’t sell them out they’ll take care of you.

285 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Really? That’s interesting.

ANNA Of course, the flip side of it is that once they got you it’s over. Very hard to get out. They tend to be very protective of their assets, if you catch my drift.

STEVE What do you mean?

ANNA They’d just as soon kill you rather than let you go. Less chance for it to come back and bite them.

SAM But, you know, someone would find out right?

ANNA You have no idea about these people, do you? You’re so cute when you’re confused. No they’d make sure you’re never found unless they want you to be found. Then they’d take out your whole family, friends, pets. Yup, many adumb shits have found out too late that once you’re in, you’re in. You can’t get out unless you give them something. Most of the time, it’s your life.

ANNA (cont’d) You guys aren’t planning to become big drug dealers are you?

SAM No.

STEVE Nope.

SAM Nope, just wondering.

ANNA What do you call it?

286 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE It doesn’t have--

SAM Aggroculture.

ANNA (Nearly choking on the smoke.) Badass. Well, if you do decide to venture into the growing world of illicit drugs...you better put a retainer down for my services. (Laughs) You’re gonna need em. I’m gonna be lawyer, you know. You guys are silly. Okay, well you boys continue your scheming. I’m going t o find something to eat.

Anna exits.

STEVE Well.

SAM Yeah.

STEVE I just wanna say thanks a lot for getting me involved in this. I really mean that. Thank you.

SAM Shut up, dude.

STEVE No, seriously, I look forward to seeing t he inside of an actual prison. I would say there’s nothing to worry about, that my soon to be lawyer sister is going to take care of everything, but you, me, and her are all gonna end up in jail.

SAM Shut up, dude.

STEVE Did you really think they’d just let us go?

SAM Man, she doesn’t know anything.

287 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE That’s it, right? You know, nobody else does. Sam the gangster has it all under control. Typical.

SAM What’s that supposed to mean?

STEVE Nothing. I got work to do.

SAM Hey you got something to say?

STEVE Sam--

SAM No man, you got something to say to me?

STEVE Would you drop the aggro bullshit for one second and just take a look at where we’re at. We’re screwed. Righteously, royally, totally screwed. And why? Cause Sam had to have a plan. Sam and his get-rich quick schemes. (Pause.) You know we’re both gonna die, right? They’re gonna kill us eventually.

SAM I didn’t hear you say no to the money, guerro. Didn’t hear you come up with a better idea. You’re fuckin’ bullshit man. Typical do nothin’ punk. Talk a bunch of talk but then just sit on your ass while the world passes you by.

STEVE Man this ain’t about the scene, or punk rock, or any of the bullshit. You’re living in a fantasy. Well this is reality, the one where we end up in a cell or in shallow graves. How’s that for doing nothing? That’s a whole lot of doing nothing.

SAM Look, all right I’m dumbass. Okay? Is that what you want to hear?

STEVE It’s a good start.

288 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Fine, I’m not smart. I do stupid shit everyday. I’m the dumbest motherfucker that ever lived. And you’re my best friend. So what does that make you? (Pause.)

STEVE I guess that it makes me a dumb motherfucker too.

SAM Yeah. I guess it does.

Sam exits. Lights fade.

289 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SCENE 3

NEWSREPORTER (V.O.) A stunning development in the trial of Miguel Salazar; prosecutors have dropped all charges against the alleged St. Mary’s butcher after the defense successfully argued that all the key evidence against the defendant was inadmissable because it was obtained without a proper search warrant. The attorney for Salazar, Mark Lewis, had this to say:

LEWIS (V.O.) We are extremely pleased with the outcome. We had a great team working on this case. My client is looking forward to going home and spending time with his family. Thank you.

Several days later. Steve sits on the couch staring blankly into space. A knock at the door.

STEVE Come in.

Sam enters. A moment of silent staring.

SAM Hey.

STEVE Hey.

SAM So how’s it going?

STEVE It’s going.

SAM You hear about this shit? El Carnicero got off.

290 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Yup.

SAM That Lewis guy must be a hell of a lawyer.

STEVE That’s what I’ve heard.

SAM I knew he was innocent.

STEVE He’s not innocent. They just didn’t have any evidence.

SAM Whatever, not harm no foul and shit. So, today’s the day.

STEVE Yup.

SAM You ready? (Pause.) Hey, I said you ready, man? (Pause.) Hey, don’t look so down. Think of it this way...it’s job security.

STEVE Yeah.

SAM All right, dude. I know you’re pissed off. I get that. And, yeah, I sorta got you into this.

STEVE Sorta?

SAM Okay, I mostly got you into this. But while you’re being a little stormy cloud over there you’re missing the big picture. You’re about to be rich, guerro. Ridiculously, stinkin’, filthy punk rock rich.

291 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE I didn’t say no.

SAM What?

STEVE You were right. I could have said no. I didn’t.

SAM Yeah, okay. What is this a after school special?

STEVE I’m sorry Sam.

SAM For what dude?

Anna bursts through the door.

ANNA What has two thumbs and is the greatest intern on the fuckin’ planet? This chick right here!

SAM Hey, congrats Anna Banana! Victory!

ANNA Thank you, thank you! Oh, I don’t believe it! I can’t believe it! Let this be a lesson boys, always get a search warrant.

SAM I hear that.

STEVE So are you staying for the rest of the day?

ANNA Uh, hi sis. Great job on finding the key piece of evidence that got the biggest case of the year thrown out. Great job on securing your future with the law firm.

292 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Sorry. Congrats.

ANNA Jesus, Stevie, what’s a matter with you?

STEVE Nothing. Uh, Congrats. Good job.

ANNA What a weirdo.

SAM Hey, I’m happy!

ANNA Oh, I want to get fucked up tonight! Woo!

SAM Hey, you and all your friends should come down to the show tonight!

ANNA You know what, Sam? We just might do that. Celebration!

SAM Hell yeah, there’s gonna be lots of celebrating tonight.

ANNA Oh yeah.

SAM Yeah. I’m buying t he club.

ANNA What? Are you serious?

SAM Yup. Gonna do it. Gonna be all mine.

293 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

ANNA Sammy, that’s awesome. That’s been your dream.

SAM Gonna be the place to be. Woo!

ANNA Well, then it’s official. When I get hired by the firm at the end of the semester, which is all but certain now, we’re going t o throw a private party there.

SAM That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Free booze all night.

ANNA You think you can get Disaster Plan to play? I love that band.

SAM Anyone you want.

ANNA Sammy, you freakin’ rule.

SAM Don’t I know it.

ANNA What’s the matter Stevie?

STEVE Nothing.

ANNA Well, don’t be too excited. Jeez, you and your moods. So you guys gonna come celebrate with me later?

STEVE Uh--

SAM Hell yeah. I’ll be there. Forget him.

294 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

ANNA Come on Stevie, come celebrate with me. Everything is turning around. You’re not going t o have to work all the time for me anymore. You’re free.

STEVE I wouldn’t trade it for anything, sis.

ANNA You’re so sweet. So you coming, or what?

STEVE Well...yeah, yeah I’ll be there.

ANNA Gnarly, dude! All right, I just need to grab all the files and get out. We’re having a big lunch celebration and putting all this away. (She grabs a file tub from behind the couch.) So see you guys tonight?

SAM You know it!

ANNA Awesome. Hey, buck up Stevie. Everything is going to be fine now.

She exits.

SAM Hell yeah. Party with smart chicks. You know I would normally try to find me a sugar momma but since I’m about to be dirty filthy rich I think I’m gonna get to be a sugar daddy! Ha! Wonder if I should get some new pants. Hey what’s wrong with you?

STEVE I blew it. We didn’t make the quota.

SAM Shit. By how much?

STEVE A half.

295 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Half-ounce? Well, that’s not too bad. I mean, I think I could scrape together that. I could call my guy Frankie, we could get a half of swag from him, cut into one--

STEVE Pound.

SAM What?

STEVE A half-pound.

SAM Shit.

STEVE Yeah.

SAM Are you sure?

STEVE Yup. Just...didn’t come in.

SAM Well, okay. Maybe we could, I don’t know, add some stem it.

STEVE No. That’s not gonna work.

SAM All right, well look. Half-pound, so what. We’ll just, make up for it on the next round. You know, these things ain’t exact science.

STEVE Did you hear me? It’s not gonna work.

296 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Come on man, it’s not that bad. How pissed could he be? It was friggin’ impossible anyway.

STEVE I got rid of the plants.

SAM What?

STEVE I threw them out. Once I found out we were going t o be short.

SAM Okay, that was possibly the worst choice you could have made. What the fuck did you do that for?

STEVE I don’t know man! I just sorta freaked out!

SAM Man, that was our only leverage. Okay, so we came in a little short. We could have grown more. We could have at least had that. What were you thinking?

STEVE I was thinking that we either are gonna be forced to do this forever now, or they were gonna kill us. Either way, eventually the cops would come here. And when they found the grow op they were going t o arrest Anna. I can’t have that. So I took away the option.

SAM Dude are you crazy?

STEVE Look, the one thing I can’t have is her going down for me being stupid.

SAM What about us? What about me?

STEVE You are stupid. 297 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM No, man. Look we can fix t his. We can fix t his now let me think. Give me your watch.

STEVE I don’t have a watch.

SAM Damn, man! We need to do something!

STEVE Like what?

Three slow knocks at the door. Sam opens the door to reveal a gigantic Hispanic man with a scarred face. Sam slams the door.

SAM Oh shit! El Carnicero!

STEVE What?

SAM It’s him.

STEVE Shit!

SAM Don’t say anything about being short. Let me talk.

STEVE What?

The door is forced open and EL CARNICERO enters, followed by Lewis. Both are dressed in fine suits. EL CARNICERO looks as if he’s about to burst out of his. He carries two duffle bags. 298 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

LEWIS Hello boys. Well, today’s the day, thought we’d swing by and take care of this business. Gotta big soiree to go to afterwards. Won a big case today. You probably heard.

SAM Yeah. We heard. Congratulations. Both of you.

LEWIS Oh, yeah, and I’m sure my associate needs no introduction. Mr. Salazar, these are the boys I was telling y ou about.

SAM Sup?

EL CARNICERO You the one that wrote me all those letters while I was locked up?

SAM Yeah, that was me.

EL CARNICERO You’re a sick fuck, you know that?

SAM Uh, thanks?

STEVE Why is he here?

LEWIS Now, Steven, that’s no way to treat a guest in your home. He’s just along for the ride, make sure everyone gets where they’re going.

SAM What’s in those bags?

LEWIS That is a great question, Samuel. You see, one of them has all your dreams aspirations rolled up in tight little bundles. The other one, well... 299 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013 you don’t want him to open the other one. Now, let’s quit dickin’ around and get to business. I’m a busy man.

Steve exits to the kitchen and returns with a large bag. He sets it down on the coffee table. Lewis moves in to inspect. He removes a one pound brick of marijuana wrapped in plastic and examines it.

LEWIS (cont’d) Wow. You know, I had this crazy thought that you weren’t going t o be able to pull this off. Color me impressed boys. You really do have the magic touch.

SAM Yeah, he does. I told you my man can do it.

LEWIS And this is all of it? Twenty pounds?

SAM Yeah.

LEWIS You wouldn’t be trying to screw us over, would you?

SAM No sir. It’s all there.

LEWIS Cause we are going to weigh this when we get where we’re going. And Mr. Salazar would hate to have to come back here if it’s short. He’s had a rough couple of months and I’m afraid he wouldn’t be in the best mood.

SAM No, it’s there. Well, it’s like this--

LEWIS Like what?

300 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Well you see--

EL CARNICERO Is it all of it or not, puto?

SAM Yeah, about that--

STEVE We’re short.

LEWIS How much?

STEVE Half pound.

LEWIS Boys. I have to admit I’m a bit offended that you lied to me. Mr. Salazar is offended too. Aren’t you?

EL CARNICERO Yup.

LEWIS He takes that as a personal insult when you lie to us. Don’t you?

EL CARNICERO Yup.

LEWIS And when someone lies they usually don’t find all their body parts. Right?

EL CARNICERO Nope.

LEWIS Well, boys, what are we going to do about this?

301 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM What, what would you want us to do?

LEWIS Well, for one thing y ou sure as hell aren’t getting all your money. I suppose you’ll have to make up for it with the next crop. That shouldn’t be a problem now, should it?

SAM Well, see, the thing is, we sorta don’t have the plants anymore.

LEWIS You what?

SAM Well--

STEVE I got rid of them. There’s nothing left. This is all we have.

LEWIS Now, explain to me, something. Why in the world would you do such a thing?

STEVE I...don’t want to be part of this anymore.

LEWIS You don’t. Oh, well, that sure clears everything up then. Hell, son, I’m sorry for putting you out like this. Here’s your good citizenship badge. Hell son, you’ve inspired me. I think I’m gonna leave this life of crime and join a monastery. Find the secret of existence.

STEVE Look I know we didn’t come through and we’re sorry--

LEWIS Sorry don’t exactly fuckin’ cut it, now does it? This is the business. Now, you boys owe me. I’m willing t o grant you a very small degree of latitude because your sister did such a bang up job on the case. See, I originally thought that I’d just keep her close to me so you to dickheads wouldn’t think about ripping me off or backing out. Little did I know she was gonna come through like she did. 302 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

So, since I like her so much, and since I do think she’s gonna be a hell of a lawyer one day, I’m willing t o entertain a counter offer before I run out of patience. Now, the way I see it, I own your heads. Unless you can give me something of real exceptional value, I’m have Mr. Salazar here collect. So what exactly do you have?

SAM I got a rare LP collection.

LEWIS Shut the fuck up. I don’t know who decided you should do the talking but it was a very poor decision.

SAM Okay.

LEWIS Well? What do you got?

STEVE What do you want?

LEWIS Smart. Smart boy. Tell me, how exactly did you get these plants to grow so fast?

STEVE It’s the breed.

LEWIS Bullshit, son. I’ve been in this business since I was in high school. Ain’t never seen a breed grow that fast and that full. So what’s the secret?

STEVE I’ve got a grow formula.

LEWIS A grow formula.

STEVE Yeah.

303 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

LEWIS Your own concoction?

STEVE It was my mom’s.

LEWIS Mom’s grow formula. Hell, I like that. You like that Miguel? M om’s formula.

EL CARNICERO Yeah. Classy.

LEWIS And that’s what made them grow this fast?

STEVE Yeah.

LEWIS I’ll take that.

STEVE The formula?

LEWIS Yeah.

STEVE No.

LEWIS No?

STEVE I’m sorry I can’t do that. Is there something else?

LEWIS No, son. That’s what I want.

304 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Well, you can’t have it.

LEWIS Mr. Salazar. I think you’re gonna need your other bag now.

El Carnicero reaches into his bag and pulls out a fire poker.

SAM Whoa, whoa! Wait. Side bar, please, your honor! (Pulls Steve to the side.) What is the matter with you? Just give it to him.

STEVE No! It’s my mom’s formula.

SAM It’s like Anna said, we gotta give em something. Preferably not my balls.

STEVE No way.

SAM Dude, you gotta do this.

STEVE I can’t give away her formula. She made it herself and it’s the one thing t hat I got from her.

SAM It’s the one thing t hat’s gonna keep you alive, guerro. Give him the formula.

STEVE So he could use it?

SAM Who cares?

STEVE You know how fucked up that is? M y mom would shit herself if she were alive and found out her formula was in the hands of drug dealers.

305 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

SAM Steve, her formula is already in the hands of drug dealers! Don’t you see that? Don’t you get it? You are one. And now it’s going t o save your drug dealing ass. And I bet she would think that’s more important.

LEWIS What’s it gonna be?

STEVE Okay. Okay. I’ll give it to you.

LEWIS Excellent.

STEVE It’s downstairs. In a bottle marked with an X.

Lewis motions to El Carnicero to go get it. El Carnicero exits downstairs.

LEWIS You know, boys, there’s no shame in this. Some people just aren’t made for this line of work. I always say the problem with the business--

STEVE Is the business.

LEWIS Amen to that. You do listen. You know one day, none of this is gonna be necessary. This’ll be done at farmer’s markets instead of back alleys and seedy motels. My dad was a farmer, you know? Used to grow cotton. We had this big spread down in the Valley.

STEVE Sounds nice.

LEWIS I fuckin’ hated it. Knew I was never going to be a farmer. I realized that early on. Luckily, I had a few friends that knew some people who knew some people. Well, you know how that goes. It wasn’t the life for me. 306 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

You see, you gotta be true to who you are, or else you can’t function. Your sister, she’s true. She loves what she does. I can see it. She’s a lot like me. You, you’re more like my dad.

STEVE I don’t know what you mean.

LEWIS I’m saying you should embrace it. Cast off this costume you’re wearing and do what you want to do. He was happy, working the fields. Even in the rough times. You could be too.

SAM What about me?

LEWIS You’re a moron with a big mouth. A peasant. It’s gonna get you in trouble one day. And the thing is, you don’t even realize it.

El Carnicero returns with a spray bottle marked X. He hands it to Lewis.

LEWIS (cont’d) Ahh, very good. So this is the stuff?

STEVE Yeah, that’s it.

LEWIS You don’t have notes or something?

STEVE They were all in my head.

LEWIS (Pause.) Well, I think that’ll about do it.

STEVE What are you going to do with it?

307 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

LEWIS Well, not that it’s any of your business, but I’m going t o take this to a lab and have it analyzed. Then I’m gonna mass produce it and sell it all over the world and get dirty filthy rich.

STEVE With the grow formula?

LEWIS Do you even understand what this is? No, you don’t. Ha! Boys, you could sell this to every farmer in the country. Hell, you could sell it to governments in developing nations. Governments. You know, the people that print money. Wow, you two. All right, let’s get out of here.

He motions to El Carnicero, who drops one of the bags and kicks it over to Steve and Sam. Lewis and El Carnicero exit.

SAM Holy shit.

STEVE Yeah.

SAM We’re alive.

STEVE Yeah.

SAM We’re stupid.

STEVE Pretty much.

SAM Sorry you had to give away your mom’s formula.

308 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE It’s okay. Sorry he called you a peasant.

SAM It’s cool. Hey, at least we have the money.

STEVE Yeah.

SAM That was a good idea, though. You gotta admit. He’s the man.

STEVE That he is. I never thought about it. Selling t he formula.

SAM It was a way better idea than the weed. Man, you got a joint?

STEVE Yeah.

Steve hands over a joint from his pocket. Sam lights it up. They pass it around as they speak.

STEVE (cont’d) So you gonna still buy the club?

SAM I don’t know. I don’t think I’m much of a businessman.

STEVE I could go for a drink.

SAM I hear that. You know it sucks. We could have made a shit ton of money.

STEVE Yeah. Well, I don’t think he’s gonna make that much.

SAM Why not, he’s got the formula?

309 Texas Tech University, Jeremy W. White, December 2013

STEVE Yeah. But it doesn’t work as good without the fertilizer.

SAM What?

STEVE Mom’s fertilizer. Takes both of ‘em to really make it work. And the fertilizer works just fine on it’s own. Even better than the grow.

Silence. Steve winks at Sam.

SAM Damn, guerro. That’s fuckin’ aggro.

STEVE He’ll never figure it out.

SAM So what are you gonna do?

Steve takes a huge puff and passes the joint. He smiles.

Lights fade. End of play.

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