From my mind

FOX

I saw a fox today.

This, in itself, would not be remarkable only that I had never before seen a fox, in the wild, that is.

It was early this morning, really early.

A fresh coating of crystalline snow had fallen overnight.

The sun was at that perfect angle... at that point in the sky where everything gleams.

It's yellow glow reflected off the new snow, lighting up the tree line like limelight.

I really don't like to use words like "bounding". It sounds so 18th Century.

But this fox, it's bright crimson red coat in sharp contrast to the almost transparent white snow, was bounding.

There is no other word.

He couldn't have cared less that he was being watched.

The field was his to use as he saw fit.

He ran up one side, over to the middle, and down the other.

He jumped, rolled, and scurried (another word from 'ago')

And I truly believe I saw him laughing as he played.

He took notice of me when I put the car in gear, making a groaning sound.

As I drove away, I saw him leave the field and disappear into the woods.

Perhaps he did care, after all.

I'm sorry that I interrupted his enjoyment.

Embarrassed that I was caught in my voyeurism.

And ashamed that I enjoyed watching him so much. Perhaps jealous.

New One Act Play for your enjoyment

ACT I
Scene 1
Curtain is up at the beginning of the play
Stage is lit with harsh white light. The stage
should look like a show just closed and the sets
are in the process of being struck. There are some
small set pieces pushed to the upstage right and
left. One chair is set downstage center.

Off-stage sounds of a truck screeching to a halt
and a loud thud.

STANLEY enters stage left as if he has been thrust
out by force.
STANLEY
Wow, that was close! Did you see that? I was nearly run
down by that truck.
(Stanley notices that he is alone in a
different place than he was a second
ago.)
Wait a minute, where am I? Two seconds ago I was
crossing Broadway on my way to an audition. (panic)
Hello! Where is everybody? The street was crowded,
hundreds of people?
Stanley crosses to the chair and plops down. He
looks around and begins to wring his hands and
shake a little.
STANLEY (CONT)
This is very confusing.
(yelling)
What the fuck is happening to me? Where am I?
(quieter and frightened)
Did the truck really hit me? Am I dead? Did I die
right then and there? Oh, my God. Shit! Oh Christ,
what the...
(He looks around secretively, glancing
here and there)
Maybe this might be a good time to stop cursing. I
mean, if I’m dead than this must be(pause) where I wait
for... "Him".
There is a loud commotion from off stage, boxes
falling, furniture scraping across the floor, etc.
2.
HEATHER O.S.
Damn it! Who put that fucking crap there?. Shit! I have
a runner in my pantyhose. God Damn it!
HEATHER enters stage right, walks directly past
Stanley, not noticing him
STANLEY
Excuse me! Hello!
HEATHER
(She stops short staring downstage, then
slowly turns to Stanley and jumps back
in fear.)
Ah! What are you doing here? How did you get here? You
don’t belong here.
STANLEY
I don’t know where "here" is and I sure as hell don’t
know how I got here. I was crossing Broadway and...
HEATHER
You can’t stay here! I mean...Who did you say sent you?
(Stanley gets up and moves toward Heather. She
takes a Karate stance)
STANLEY
Whoa, wait a minute, I’m just trying to get to my
audition. I’m not going to do anything to you. Calm
down, will ya, for Christ sake. Who are you? And how
did you get here? I mean, you seem to at least know
where "here" is.
(Heather relaxes and Stanley moves
upstage center, examining the stage
walls and back drop curtain. Heather
matches his movements as she moves cross
stage to the opposite side)
(Stanley slowly realizes he recognizes
this stage)
I’ve been on this stage before. Many years ago when I
was in community theater. This is the stage of the
Omaha Community Playhouse.
HEATHER
Well, of course it is. Where do you think you are?
Broadway?
STANLEY
Well, ya, actually I am...was in New York, just before
I ended up here.
Heather’s Cell phone rings, State Fair theme ring
tone
3.
HEATHER
(perky)
Hi, this is Heather! - Ah huh, yup (she turns to look
at Stanley) Oh! What? - I see, well this changes
things. (pause) Okay doaky... ah huh... ah huh, yep...
OK, bye
Lighting focus transitions slowly from harsh white
to softer hues which bring out the actors features
and highlights the upstage scenery.
STANLEY
Was that call about me? What’s going on, God damn it? I
want to know what in hell is happening to me. Who was
that on the phone?
Stanley crosses to Heather and she takes the
karate stance again.
HEATHER
That was the Director. He wasn’t aware that you’re
here. Ah, you aren’t supposed to be...here. You didn’t
go to orientation, did you? Um, I, ah... You’re dead.
STANLEY
I’m what! What do you mean I’m dead?
HEATHER
Well you’re not dead, yet. I mean, you ARE dead, but
you’re not supposed to be. Here, that is.
STANLEY
Well am I dead or not? And I hope you say "not".
HEATHER
Oh, I hate this part. The Director usually handles
this. Oh, shit. You were hit by a truck and died.
STANLEY
I know it was close, but I didn’t get hurt, not even a
scratch.
HEATHER
Oh, you died alright. Splattered all over Broadway.
Guts smeared on the pavement. Your head came off and...
STANLEY
OK, OK I get the picture, very graphically. (pause)
What happened to my head?
4.
HEATHER
Well, lets just say that they need a new display window
at the Manhattan Mall. Really upset some people at the
Food Court. It ended up down by the McDonald’s, almost
went into the PATH station, but some French students
started playing soccer with it.
STANLEY
Oh Jeez, are you sure you mean me? I mean, here I am,
head and all. And if I’m dead, why aren’t I in heaven
or hell or whatever.
HEATHER
(very nervous)
Well, er, you see, Oh damn, I wish the director would
get here.
STANLEY
Tell me, how did I get here? And who is this Director
you keep talking about? Was that him on the phone?
HEATHER
Oh, I really don’t think I’m the right one to tell you
this, but you deserve some answers. So, here
goes. You’re dead, but you’re not supposed to be here.
You should have gone to orientation, first. There was a
mix up.
STANLEY
A mix up! What the hell does that mean?
HEATHER
This is hard enough without your interruptions, and,
frankly I could do with a little less of your attitude.
I’m doing the best I can.
STANLEY
OK, sorry, you’re right. Go on.
HEATHER
You are dead, and you are in what you know as heaven,
this is your heaven.
STANLEY
Heaven is Omaha? You’ve got to be kidding?
HEATHER
I asked you not to interrupt.
STANLEY
Sorry, but, come on, are you expecting me to believe
that not only am I dead, but Omaha, Nebraska is
heaven? Come on, I mean...
5.
Stanley begins to pace
HEATHER
OK I told you I was new at this and I AM doing the best
I can. I, or we, er, God... you do know about God,
don’t you? (pause) Well, it doesn’t matter if you know
or not. We, er, I, well, it’s just necessary to
believe. We are here, and that is all that really
counts.
STANLEY
What in the world are you rambling on about? Do I
believe? Does "what" really matter? Who, exactly is
"we"? Look, I’m just going to leave now. I’m obviously
in the wrong place, you said it yourself, I’m not
supposed to be here.
(Stanley exits stage left)
Stage goes to black


END OF SCENE ONE

SCENE TWO
Lights up with Heather sitting on the chair
talking on the phone
HEATHER
He just walked out.
(laughing)
Okay, Doaky, you’re the boss. Yeah...Yeah... Okay. I
think I hear him now. Bye!
There is commotion from off stage. The noise
tracks from stage left around upstage and down to
stage right
Stanley enters quickly from stage right and comes
up short
STANLEY
What the hell! What’s going on here?
Heather gets up and approaches Stanley. Stanley
takes a karate stance.
HEATHER
(with a pitiful laugh)
I was going to tell you, but you left in such a hurry.
You’re here now... You can’t leave.
6.
STANLEY
What do you mean I can’t leave? Am I being held
hostage? You can’t make me stay here.
HEATHER
I just talked to the director and he told me to answer
all your questions as truthfully as I feel you can
understand.
STANLEY
That’s a little condescending. I’m finding all of this
very confusing. And I’m more than a little scared. But
I’m not stupid.
HEATHER
Sit down, and I’ll start at the beginning.
(Stanley sits on the chair and Heather
pulls down a set piece to sit on)
First, the bad news. Everything you have been taught
about death, heaven, and God is false.
STANLEY
Let me get this straight, everything I was taught in
Church, Sunday School, and from my family and friends
has been a lie?
HEATHER
Pretty much... Ya! Well, not so much a lie more like a
long series of myths and misunderstandings, perpetuated
throughout what you know as history, and relied upon by
people who need someone or something beyond themselves,
to provide social order and behavioral expectations to
their lives.
STANLEY
Huh?
HEATHER
People made all that stuff up to make people conform
and to have someone to blame.
STANLEY
Oh...If that’s the bad news, what could possibly be the
good news?
HEATHER
The good news is that everything you believe about God
is the truth.
STANLEY
What I learned about God is false and what I believe
about God is true. Is that it. That’s crazy. My
beliefs are based on what I have been taught.
7.
HEATHER
I think you are beginning to get it! Tell me about
what you have learned about God. Be specific. What do
you know about God?
STANLEY
Let’s see. God is an all powerful being who created
heaven and earth in seven days about 6 million years
ago. He created man in his image and loves us
unconditionally. He sent his son to Earth about 2000
years ago to give the people hope and direction.
HEATHER
Is that so? Well about three quarters of the people on
Earth wouldn’t agree with you. What about the millions
of Muslims who are taught by the Koran? Or the Jews and
the Torah? And what about the billion people in China
who have been taught something completely different by
Chairman Mao? Are their teachings wrong?
STANLEY
Well, ya, I guess. No, not wrong, just different. I’m
confused. What about Jesus?
HEATHER
Ah, Jesus, what a guy...Handsome and VERY charismatic!
People really got his message. But turning him into
God, that was over the top.
STANLEY
Jesus wasn’t the son of God?
HEATHER
Yes, of course he was, just as you are. And everyone
else in the universe.
STANLEY
That’s the kind of talk that would’ve got you burned at
the stake a few hundred years ago.
HEATHER
It did.
Did you ever wonder where Jesus was from the time he
taught at the Temple and his time as a prophet? Those
unreported 20 years?
STANLEY
No, not really. But I bet you’re going to tell me.
HEATHER
Where do you think he got all of that ’peace and love’
stuff he talked so much about?
8.
STANLEY
I have thought about that, actually. It seems to me
that Jesus’ message about love and peace sounds a lot
like the teaching found in ancient Persia and India.
Buddhist and Hinduism, like that.
HEATHER
Very good! Of course those teachings are older than
that, long before any form of writing emerged on
Earth. And, of course, they had it wrong, too.
STANLEY
Now I’m getting confused and more than a little pissed
off.
HEATHER
Of course you are. All of this is very confusing if you
go by what people are ’taught’. Now, when you look at
the problem from a ’belief’ point of view, things fall
into place.
STANLEY
I think I get it. I took a class in comparative
religion in college and learned a little something
about a lot of religious teachings and practices. On an
academic level I tried to understand where the
teachings came from and what they meant to the people
at the time. All of those people can’t have been wrong.
It doesn’t matter in the end what you have been taught.
What matters is what you believe.
HEATHER
Exactly! No matter what people try to teach you and
what you have learned, It’s what you believe that
counts.
STANLEY
So everybody is wrong and everybody is right.
HEATHER
Right!
STANLEY
But what about religions? They all teach something and
most teach something different than the others. Are
they all wrong?
HEATHER
Well yes and no. All of the so called organized
religions have it wrong at the base. Each wants to
think that God is on their side and God is a member of
their religion. We know that can’t be. If that was the
case, there would be no such thing as Christians.
9.
STANLEY
What do you mean? Christians believe that God sent his
Son, Jesus, for their redemption.
HEATHER
Yeah, but was Jesus a Christian? No! He was a Jew, not
just a day to day Jew, but a teacher, a Rabbi. It’s the
followers of Jesus we know as Christians. And they have
it just as wrong as all the other religions.
STANLEY
So, following along with your train of thought,
everything Jesus taught was false.
HEATHER
Not at all. Everything Jesus preached he believed at
the core of his heart. So, for Jesus, everything he
believed was true, for him. The same for Mohammad,
Buddha, Mao, Luther, John Smith, and the rest. They all
believed what they preached. So, for them it was true.
STANLEY
This is beginning to get confusing again.
HEATHER
Even some of the most crazy and evil preachers in the
world, believed that what they were saying was true and
that their behavior was righteous and justified.
Everyone from the Egyptians persecuting the Jews, the
Romans against the early Christians, the Christians
against everyone who wasn’t Christian, all the way down
to the Catholics, who at one time or another have been
against everyone else. And most recently the Muslims
demanding everyone become Muslim. All collectively
wrong and at the same time, individually right in their
beliefs.
(Heather’s cell phone rings. Amazing
Grace is the ring tone)
Stage goes black

END OF SCENE TWO

SCENE THREE
Heather and Stanley are seated on the chair and
set piece, respectfully. The lighting has softened
and the stage looks cozy and warm. Heather is
talking on the phone.
HEATHER
He’s coming around, but I still don’t understand why
you want him to stay....Yeah...No!...Noooo...I can’t do
that!...Listen, your the director, you get your ass
down here and direct.(pause) I’m sorry, but this is
just more than I can handle...Okay...Okay. Thank you,
Sir.
STANLEY
Trouble with the Boss? Directors can be such pains in
the ass... God complexes, most of them. Always
expecting the PA’s to do the dirty work and never truly
appreciating the demands of they put on them.
HEATHER
"God complex"...interesting choice of phrase...So, do
you get it now?
STANLEY
Get what? That I’m dead? Yeah. That, in the end it
doesn’t really matter what you’ve been taught, it’s
what you believe that’s true.
HEATHER
Right! Why?
STANLEY
Why? What? What do you mean?
HEATHER
I mean...Why does it matter what you believe and not so
much what you have been taught?
STANLEY
What is this, Death School? I don’t know. I guess it
matters because...(thinking) because the way we behave
is based on our beliefs, not our knowledge! We make
choices according to what we believe. Yeah! That’s it.
HEATHER
That’s it, precisely.
STANLEY
But I’m still a little hazy on how this stage in Omaha
can be heaven.
HEATHER
What do you know about heaven? Where is it? What’s it
like?
STANLEY
All I know is what I’ve been taught... Oh, I see. What
I KNOW is wrong. It’s what I believe
that’s...true. But if that’s right, I must believe
that this stage is heaven.
11.
HEATHER
Tell me about your time as an apprentice with the Omaha
Community Playhouse. What was it like.
STANLEY
Oh, it was great. I had a wonderful time. I spent every
waking minute there. Learning all about theater, from
the inside. The stagecraft tricks mixed with the
glamor and beauty of the productions... One minute I
was painting scenery and the next running lines with
the actors. (weeping a little) I loved that theater.
I felt like I was in heav...en!
Stage goes to work lights. Workers enter carrying
set pieces, scenery, etc. Heather blends in. The
place sounds like a working theater, power tools
whining, people yelling to each other, etc.
Director enters stage left. He carries a clipboard
and a walkie-talkie.
DIRECTOR
Are you the new kid? Steven?
STANLEY
Stanley... Yeah, I guess I am.
DIRECTOR
Come on then, I’ll get you started
they walk upstage

FADE TO BLACK
CURTAIN

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