Copyright 2018 Do Not Reproduce I am Charlie Drama by Stephen A. Cardinal Stephen Cardinal 3566 Blue Jay Way 202 Eagan MN 55123 651-246-5432 [email protected] Copyright 2018 Do Not Reproduce SCENE ONE An empty stage except for a guitar, a mail bag, and two TV monitors (or preferably banks of monitors), one on each side of the stage. A crucifix leans against the wall stage left. In the center of the stage a gas chamber juts out from the wall. Windows on either side of door. Smoke oozes out from “leaks” in the chamber. On either side of the gas chamber the monitors play B-Roll images. We hear moderate volume from each, loud enough to be followed by anyone listening carefully. The STAGE LEFT screen now shows ‘slot machine’ images of Charles Manson, Hillary, Donald the serial killers, Hitler, Geobbels, etc. all rolling on three reels. They spin, halt one, two three, showing different images. Then they roll again. The STAGE RIGHT screen shows news images and commentary of SERIAL KILLERS. On the Right screen these images continue while the audience is seated. They may blink off, blink on, ‘change channels’, loop and start over. The images culminate with the right screen showing images of the Manson trial and the newspaper and TV reports of the Tate La Bianca murders. The lights go down, both TVs blink out to blue. Lights highlight the gas chamber as smoke billows out. TV Monitors come back to life. Charlie’s death sentence is read aloud in higher volume on the right monitor, the newspaper headline “Manson Sentenced to Death” then appears on that monitor. Right monitor then shows headline “California strikes down Death Penalty. 2. Copyright 2018 Do Not Reproduce Manson Death Sentence Commuted to Life”. Monitor then shows Charlie in cuffs, smiling, raising his arms in triumph. The left screen rolls to images of Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. Hits the jackpot. Bells ring siren sounds, lights flash. Smoke billows out of gas chamber. Charlie unseen, inside. CHARLIE Yes. Yes. Charlie lives. He can’t be killed. He can’t be silenced. (See hands grab door from inside through smoke, shake it. His head pops through the smoke like Jack Nicholson in The Shining.) CHARLIE Not even death holds sway. You saw it. I’m the reason they nixed the Death Penalty in California. Damn straight, people. I’m in control. (A slow rumble is heard from off stage left, then from off stage right, growing louder and louder. Charlie works his fingers on gas chamber door.) CHARLIE C’mon baby. C’mon. C’mon. (The noise grows grow louder. The smoke thickens.) CHARLIE That’s it baby, you can do it. C’mon, you can do it. (Charlie pushes the door open, lurches forward toward the audience and stops dead cold. He’s young Charlie Manson wearing an orange prison jump suit, barefoot. Charlie works his fingers and rubs his hands, stretches, walks toward the audience, looks back toward the chamber, then back to the audience.) 3. Copyright 2018 Do Not Reproduce CHARLIE Yes. Charlie can’t be killed, he can’t be contained. He can’t be silenced. He can’t be. He can’t be. He. Can’t. (Charlie sniffs a couple times.) CHARLIE You smell something burning? (Looks back to the chamber. Moves back, plows though smoke, disappears, reappears through smoke, holding a script.) CHARLIE What the fuck? (The monitors show what Charlie is reading off the script. The text on the monitors is in a typewriter font.) CHARLIE “I Am Charlie. The Demon of the 20th Century. A Play in Four Acts.” (Looks around.) CHARLIE What the? Where the fuck did this come from? (He tears off the page, crumples it, tosses it away. As he does so, the page crumples on the monitors and flies off the screens. Next page appears on monitors.) CHARLIE “Synopsis. Act One. Young Charlie.” (Monitors continue to show text of what’s being read.) CHARLIE “Establish Charlie’s nascent demonic character. Pulls wings off flies and legs off spiders. Two kids in fight. Establish trauma of seeing mother in bed having sex. Charlie is taken away by police. Charlie shows up at Boys Town. He escapes from Boys Town in the middle of the night.” Jesus fucking A. Christ. 4. Copyright 2018 Do Not Reproduce (Charlie shakes his head, rips page out of script, crumples it and tosses it away. Again, page crumples on TV screens, flies away. Next page appears on screen.) CHARLIE “Act 2. Charlie is locked in cell with hardened criminals. Establish he’s not afraid, he’s confident. The hardened criminals back away.” (Stops reading, leans into audience, hisses like a snake.) CHARLIE It ain’t true. (Lifts script and reads.) CHARLIE “He’s released. See him in stolen car chased by police.” Never happened. “Back in Jail. Released, Charlie holds up convenience store with gun. Back in jail. Pulls switch blade from boot. Cuts cell mate.” (Tears off sheet. Crumples, tosses it.) CHARLIE Same old B.S. (Next sheet appears on screen.) CHARLIE “Act 3. Charlie sells soul to devil in Satanic ritual.” (Charlie looks up and around.) CHARLIE Hey Satan, where the fuck is my check? “Imbued with evil powers, Charlie assembles his family of cutthroats and sex slaves.” That’s it. You know how it ends. Spooky crew terrorizes Los Angeles. Entire country gripped in fear. Who will they slaughter next? (Points to audience members.) 5. Copyright 2018CH ADoRLIE Not Reproduce You? You? (Charlie lifts script, lunges at a different audience member.) CHARLIE Who wrote this? You? (Lunges at another audience member.) CHARLIE You? (Lifts script over his head with both hands.) CHARLIE It’s all fucking B.S. (Tosses away script. Rushes at audience.) CHARLIE All of it. Hasn’t changed in fifty years. And it won’t change in a hundred. Or a thousand. (He pounds his chest.) CHARLIE But I’m here to tell ya. Charlie can’t be silenced. He can’t be muzzled. (Raises his hands, fingers splayed.) CHARLIE Ain’t nothing can stop me, understand? They had me up for death, then, poof! No more death penalty in California. Do you think it was a coincidence? Well, do you, punk? (Points at audience member.) CHARLIE Damn straight. It ain’t no coincidence. I’m in charge. I’ve always been in charge. I was meant to stay around, to be here, to be seen, to be heard, to be hated. And to be loved. Especially loved. (Walks around nodding to everybody.) CHARLIE Yes. I’m liking this. Get your groove back. Bit by bit. I am Charlie. I am Charlie. I am. 6. Copyright 2018CH ADoRLIE Not Reproduce (Monitors show a succession of prophets, not just religious, include Karl Marx, Einstein, others.) CHARLIE I’m the avatar man, the voice crying in he wilderness. Isn’t the prophet rejected in his own land? Isn’t that the rule? The new human race is being birthed. Can’t you see it? Make that path straight, Charlie. They can’t see the path Charlie. Show them the path. Get the crews ready Charlie, get them prepared, Charlie. You the man, Charlie. It’s true. I am. I can prove it. Bugliosi thought he was killing me. (Right monitor shows Cielo, left a Black Mass. Points at tossed away script. Left monitor show Bugliosi.) CHARLIE The monster that devoured Cielo. The creature from the Black Mass. Evil Charlie nipped in the fucking bud. There’s no way we’re going to let Charlie get away with this shit. End of story. Full stop. Everybody lives happily ever after on the Good Ship Lollipop. (Good Ship Lollipop on monitors, transitions to Titanic. Charlie taps his forehead, points at the audience.) CHARLIE But you were out there, weren’t you? Waiting. And you weren’t sailing on the Good Ship Lollipop, more like the Titanic. You were always out there, waiting for me to steer you clear of that iceberg. It was your energy that made it happen. I saved you. You saved me. And when you found me, and when I couldn’t be killed, then you knew. Then you knew. You knew you were right all along about Charlie, and you responded, Oh man did you respond. (Charlie moves to mail sack. Right monitor shows stacks of letters. Left monitor shows a black and white 1950s image of a teeny- bopper penning a fan letter.) CHARLIE I got letters, letters, letters. Thousands of letters, every year. (He offers letters toward audience.) 7. Copyright 2018CH ADoRLIE Not Reproduce Letters, letters, letters. (Charlie riffles through letters pulled from the sack, tosses a couple bunches in the air.) CHARLIE From you, my fans, man. All my fans, telling me you’re ready. Sending me your love and your money. Lots of bread, man. Somehow you knew I needed it. And I answered as many letters as I could, mostly from real needy fans, and I would send those folks a check for 99 bucks out of the money flowing in with the letters. That’s why you sent the money, to connect with the others, to build the community. To get ready. I couldn’t answer ‘em all myself. And even though I couldn’t answer you myself, I wasn’t going to abandon you. I hired a full crew of inmates to help me answer ‘em. I called them my X men. It was a regular prison industry. (Left monitor shows prisoner stamping out license plates.) CHARLIE Not like that, man.