1
Paroled
Anthony Ehlers
Northwestern University, RTVF
Scene: A man in a prison cell. He has a bunk, a toilet and sink, a desk and a stool. On the stool is a coffee cup, and scattered papers. There should be indications of bars on either side of his cell, to indicate the presence of other cells. Occasionally he will talk to one of his neighbors, a voice offstage can answer. Two people will walk by his cell and speak with him. Otherwise it is essentially a solo performance. The lighting should be somewhat dim, especially on either side of him, only his cell is lit.
A woman walks to his bars with a clipboard.
WOMAN
Are you Anthony Moon B216173?
MOON
Yeah, what’s up?
WOMAN
The state of Illinois has decided that you have paid your debt to society. You’re being paroled. I
need you to fill this form out immediately. We need an address for you to parole to.
2
M (MOON)
Wait, what?
WOMAN
You’re being paroled.
M
When? No one said anything to me!
WOMAN
I’m saying something to you now.
M
Who did this? Why didn’t I know anything about it?
WOMAN
I don’t know, that’s above my pay grade. What I need for you to do is fill out that form and have
it ready for me when I come back.
She begins to walk away
M
Wait! Miss, hold on!
3
WOMAN
What?!
M
I didn’t ask to be paroled, how can they do this?
WOMAN
I told you, I don’t know. I just need that information from you. I’ll be back for the form
Walks away
M
(Calling after her) Wait, miss, I need to talk to you!
(She doesn’t come back)
(Voice offstage) JOE
Moon, what’s going on?
M
Man, they said I’m paroling. The paper says I leave next week!
JOE
Man, that’s good shit bro!
4
M
(Still looking at the paper) Yeah, I guess.
J (JOE)
What do you mean you guess? You get the hell out of this place!
M
Yeah, I didn’t even ask for parole. I don’t know how they can do this to me.
J
“Do this to you?” You act like they did something bad! They’re letting you go bro! That’s
fucking awesome!
M
You think so? Asshole.
J
You get to get out, eat some real food, not this dog food they serve us. Find a girl, hang out, get
drunk. You get to live!
M
(Anxiously pacing back and forth)
5
They can’t just spring this on me, it's not right!
J
Why are you freaking out? What the fuck is wrong with you? We talk about getting out all the
time!
M
Yeah, but that’s just talk, this is real shit.
J
Damn right it’s real shit! Everything we talked about you can do. You better not forget about me!
I want some pictures, and a money order now and then.
M
Bro, I don’t have anywhere to go.
J
(Pause) What? Are you serious?
M
It’s been 26 years, all my friends are gone. Most of my family is dead, the ones that are alive are scattered. I don’t know them. They sure as hell wouldn’t want some tattooed convict showing up
at their front door. Everyone I know and love is in this place.
6
J
That’s fucked up.
M
(Pause) 26 years is a long time, people got their own lives. They want to forget, they don’t want
to be dragged down by you. Their life keeps moving while we’re standing still. They keep
moving too. They leave you behind bro. I don’t have anyone out there.
J
Maybe they’ll put you in a halfway house?
M
I don’t want to be in a halfway house. Bro, do you realize how much the world has changed
since I got locked up?
J
What do you mean?
M
Bro, I’ve never held a cellphone. I’ve never been on a computer. Hell, the internet didn’t even
exist when I got locked up!
J
7
Jesus man, how old are you?
M
47. I’ve spent more time in prison than I did free.
J
What did you do?
M
It doesn’t matter. They’ve had me in this place for 26 years, now they just want to throw me out.
I don’t know anything about the outside world. My world is in here.
J
Don’t say shit like that bro. You sound institutionalized.
M
(ripping a sheet off his bed) I never wanted to be, but, I think I am. I go to chow almost the same
time every day, I go to the yard when they tell me. I get up in the morning when they tell me.
How will I know what to do when I get out there? How will I know the schedule?
(Continues ripping)
J
You make your own schedule bro.
8
M
What if I don’t know how? (Ripping sheets)
J
What the hell are you doing?
M
Making a line.
J
Bro, I know this shit isn’t easy, but, there’s no such thing as an easy life. There’s just life. It is
what you make of it. The same way you made a life in here, you make one out there.
M
I don’t know if I can. My friends and family are in here. I don’t have anybody else. There’s
nobody out there for me. (He starts braiding the strips of sheet together)
I don’t even think I know how to talk to people.
J
What do you mean? You talk to people all the time!
M
9
Yeah, in this place! Bro, This isn’t the real world. This is the fucking island of misfit toys. It’s
super aggressive and antisocial. You know what I mean?
J
Yeah, I guess.
M
I don’t want to be all aggressive and scare people, or too quiet and freak people out. I don’t know
how to communicate. This is Bullshit!
J
What’s Bullshit?
M
(Still braiding the sheet) They don’t teach you any of this shit. They don’t teach you how to talk
and communicate with people. They don’t teach you shit! They let you rot in a cage, and then
one day they want to throw you back out there.
J
It’s fucked up.
M
10
Does society think it makes them safer? I didn’t learn anything in this shithole except how to be
a better criminal, how to harbor my anger, how to plot revenge. I don’t have any skills, no
therapy or schooling. And this is what they throw back into society? I did my time, but now
what? I’m worse than when I came in.
J
No you’re not! (Pause)
M
I’m just saying… They just throw these guys back out into society then wonder why most of them come back. Society wants to punish us, “don’t do shit for them, don’t give them shit.” But
it's like they forget, these are the same guys coming back into society! They come out worse, society is not safer. You would think society would want guys in here to be better since they’re
coming back out of this place, but no one gives a shit!
J
You’re not like that though, you got your shit together.
M
Yeah, but I had to do it on my own, and I still don’t know if I can handle this shit! I’m fucking
terrified. They shouldn’t be able to do this!
J
11
None of what’s happening in this place is right bro. But you have to keep going bro, you have to
face this shit like you’ve faced everything else.
M
This is the second time I’m being torn away from my family.
(He finally braids the pieces of sheet together to reveal a rope. He begins to tie it.)
J
Bro, you have to go out there and make new friends and family, the same way you did in here.
M
You make it sound so easy.
J
It’s not, but you can do it.
M
Bro, it took me 26 years to do it in this place. (Beat) Where will I work? I’ve never had a real job in my life. What can I do, flip burgers? How am I supposed to survive off of that? And will those
burger places even want to hire a tattooed ex con?! I don’t know how to do any of that shit. I
don’t even have a G.E.D.!
12
J
What? You don’t have a G.E.D.? Why not?
M
Because when I came in, I had a boatload of time and they said I wasn’t a high priority. A guy
like me wasn’t likely to get out, so why give me an education?
J
That’s fucked up, I didn’t know they did that.
M
You don’t have a ton of time. I got to the point where I was tired of putting in for school and
classes. They never put me in anything. Now they just want to throw me out there. Bro, who is gonna help me? The state is only interested in giving me piss tests, making sure I don’t drink or smoke a joint! (Beat) Maybe I should just get out and get shitfaced so they’d send me right back.
J
Come on man, don’t think like that. It’s gonna be tough, I know, but, you can do this bro. I know
you can.
It’s finally revealed that what MOON (M) is making is a noose
M
13
I don’t think I can bro. I don’t know if I even want to try!
J
What does that mean? (Pause) Wait, what are you talking about?
M
I’m not doing it bro. (Stands up, fixes the noose to a hook high on the wall) I’m not gonna let
them send me out of here. At least not like this! I love you bro.
J
Hold on bro, what are you doing?
M
Give the guys my love (as JOE shouts at him, he climbs up on the desk, puts the noose over his
head)
Curtain comes down. We hear JOE frantically yell for the guard.
Scene.