A Contemporary Quest for Meaning or Morality or something...

 

   A short play by Ohad Maiman


   [Trent and Crista, late twenties, spread on a couch in a post-long- conversation pause. Table with smoking paraphernalia, bottle of tequila and a few shot glasses. U2Õs ÔWhy?Õ poster in background. Three empty seats.]


   Trent:
You know what? It doesnÕt make sense,

   Crista:
What?

   Trent:
This. Us. Me and you. You telling me about youÕre goddamn purple dusted slippers you got at, did I need to know?É yes. Dolce and gabbana. We used to talk about meaningful shitÉ

   Crista:
WhatÕs youÕre..

   Trent:
You. This. You sitting here and telling me, for hours if IÕd let you, of the grayest catatonic details of your most mundaneÉ ÔChoresÕ..

   Crista
Coming off the mountain again?
ItÕs been twice this week.

   Trent
Is it fulfilling?

   Crista
Fuck you.

   Trent
IÕm serious.

   Crista
Me too.

   Trent
Tell me an interesting storyÉ


   Crista
What??

   Trent
Tell me an interesting story. Show me how youÕre still more than shopping and rumors, constant restatement of petty pseudo-facts, judgements all around, see what you think is interestingÉ tell me about love, tell me about war, tell me tragedy, hope, tell me what you think weÕre all aboutÉ tell me, if you will, what we petty god-forsaken ants on a desolate giant moth-ridden tennis ball ÔoughtÕ to do with our precious little giftÉ

   Crista
You know what I find interesting?

   Trent
I sincerely canÕt wait.

   Crista
HereÕs a story you must hear. See what you make of it.
[pause]
ItÕs about a young intelligent guy that looses his appetite for life to such an existential-crisis-derivable degree, that he begins to burst every positive bubble he can reach.

   Trent
So youÕre saying he should have let his mother and aunt and brother and friends and all, let all around him stay in the dark?

   Crista
You arroganÉ

   Trent
YouÕre in denial

   Crista
Hey. IÕm trying ok? I was there with you, remember? The fucking Walldurf, stop globalization, a Ôbrave new worldÕ; Should have read the book and save us the troubleÉ It canÕt happen. We were in college, we discovered how ÔtheoreticallyÕ everything can be fixed; but people are people, we stick to Ôhuman natureÕ; and the sooner you can get that fact through youÕre thick nihilist skull you could start being a person again, not the shadow of..

   Trent
So you went back? Dive into ignorant bliss. You canÕt go back, youÕve looked outside and know whatÕs thereÉ



   Crista
YesÉ I know how if you question every single fucking prerogative three levels back you realize everythingÕs meaningless. But dwell in it? And try to drag your friends down with youÉ what is it, getting lonely in youÕre little world of void?

Trent
Just because IÕm not as excitable as your happy pill-popping crew does notÉ

   Crista
You know everyoneÕs on their way over; keep the scene going, see what they sayÉ

   Trent
Just because IÕm not as smiley as your opinionated flock of instinct disciplesÉdoes not mean IÕve lost the appetite for life. ItÕs only that I crave for the real part of it not the mass-fabricated socially acceptab..

   Crista
Hey, donÕt even start with the whole Ôpeoples manifestoÕÉ youÕre still there goddamn it. You spent so long trying to figure it out, make it better; give it a rest. You start living like an observer, before you notice you become a bystander, you forget how toÉ how to participate. Baby, go back to loving, marveling, something, the Ôlittle thingsÕ remember? Come back to me, please.

   Trent
I can not be Ônormal,Õ average, I , I need to sift through what you all take for granted, what everyone thinks and says they think, and define it myself. I need to decide IÕm pro abortion, anti animal abuse, pro capital punishment, anti terrorism, oh, yes, and definitely mark me down for the struggle of the yellow-dotted squirrel up in Alaska against those monstrous loggers. DonÕt you see itÕs so benign, so beyond the pointÉ?

   Crista
You prick, precious little diaper dreams of changing the world and you figure you can piss on normalcyÉ I uphold normalcy, I cherish it. I ... Some people just need safety, and warmth, and love; some of us call this happiness.

   Trent
You uphold normalcy? Cherish it? Come onÉLetÕs up the fucking ante, If one of them, one, tells me an interesting story, I stay.

   Crista
And if not?

   Trent
IfÉthan god have mercy on thy superficial soulÉ

   Crista
No, really.

   Trent
Than at that very moment I willÉ
IÕll surprise you.

   Crista
You canÕt.

   Trent
I always do.

   Crista
You thinkÉ

   Trent
You act it?

   Crista
What?

   Trent
You fake it?

   Crista
You really want to know donÕt you?

   Trent
Yes.
[knock on the door gets Crista up to open]

   Crista
IÕll surprise youÉ
[Steve walks in. seems startled.]

   Trent
Just on time Stevee boy..

   Steve
I.. I just had a bad conversationÉ

   Trent
Bad? You mean bad news?


   Steve
No. A wicked mean conversationÉ guess you could call it bad newsÉ

   Crista
Well go ahead sweetheart, youÕre tearing us up here with the suspense and all..

   Steve
Ok, on my way over I stop at BarnebyÕs; ItÕs almost raining, my ex never calls me back, time for a drink right?

   Trent
Right

   Crista
SureÉ

   Steve
Ok, I smile at the bartender
[smiles at Trent]
SheÕs really cuteÉ

   Crista
Go on...

   Steve
Yea, sitting next to me on the bar is this pre-historic well-dressed man, looks all around in this intense trance, I thought at first IÕm the only one seeing himÉ ninety-four I soon find out. He looks at me, I smile politely. Then he opens his mouth and with the slowest deepest tone says "You could look into a crystal ballÉ and seeÉ The Future"É

   Trent
NiceÉ

   Crista
Did he have a ball?

   Steve
No. Just to keep the conversation going and not insult the guy I ask ÔWhat did you seeÕ, he goes "Nineteen forty two, the arrrrmy, you could look..." he tries to go on again, I ask Ôwhat army?Õ he goes " Blackthorn, Roger; tenth mountain Rangers" and then again "You could look into a crystal ballÉ and seeÉ The Future"

   Crista
Do you have to make his voice so scary?


   Trent
Let the man finish his storyÉ what did he see?

   Steve
Right. He did talk with this scary voice, hmm, right, I ask him Ôwas it beautifulÕ, the future. He looks at me as if IÕm a little brat that just called his dead mother a fat slut and says
"É YOUÕD WISH YOU WERE DEADÉ"

    [long pause as Trent and Crista are in slight awe]

   Trent
The end is immanentÉ

   Steve
Bad conversation right?

   Crista
So what you make of it?

   Steve
Duh, ÔyouÕd wish you were deadÕ?

   Crista
Yes. But in the breathtaking-beautiful or horrendous-wretched way?

   Trent
The guy has been twice around to see the whole world go A-wallÉ heÕs just smelling the stench of madness accumulating, againÉ

   Steve
Yes Crista baby, that kind of wish you were deadÉ

   Crista
Ok guys, calling on some female sanity aid..

   Trent
You. The ÔsensitiveÕ camp. You bitches donÕt really give a fuck until itÕs at your doorstep?

   Crista
While you Ôbig dogsÕ go on bragging about it? Searching for it? Maybe. Call us bitches but we fight the fight when itÕs forced on us. We do not walk around looking for it.

    [Trent and Steve look at each other, conceding she might have a point]

Steve
Say it allllll was to end a day from now?

   Trent
Yea Crista, what would be interesting, important, ÔgooodddÕ to do if in twenty-four hours it all ends?

   Crista
You first.

   Trent
You know.

   Crista
No. I know what you think is not. Not what you think is.

   Steve
Come again.

   Crista
He knows what I meant.

   Steve
Orgy.

   Crista
What?

   Trent
Go for those instincts brother..

   Crista
What did I miss?

   Steve
If we had twenty-four hours left I would organize as many people as I could for a giant Ôend of the world orgyÕÉ

   Crista
Colorful.

   Trent
Deep.

    [Knock on the door makes all jump out of brief contemplative pause]


   Crista
IÕll get it. You guys would scare anyone right about now.

    [Trent blows a kiss at Crista]
[X walks in. kisses both. Trent smiles at her. Steve looks serious]

   X
Why does he look like someone just died?

   Steve
An old man told me the world is about to end so IÕm organizing a massive orgy to celebrate. YouÕre in?

    [X blows a kiss at Steve, disregards him and sits down]

   Steve
IÕm serious.

   X
Good luck.

   Trent
I wasnÕt expecting you to be so conservative.
[X gets edgy. Crista jumps to her defense.]

   Crista
What is that supposed to mean?

   Trent
Well you knowÉ in her line of workÉ

   Steve
Line of work?

   Trent
On her backÉ
[Trent smiles viciously]

   Steve
What?
[X is about to snap at Trent]

   Crista
Babe you donÕt have to..

   X
[Explaining to Steve, then turning to Trent]
I make an extra living on my back, thank you Trent for the raunchy flavorÉ
Yes. I fuck guys. And they pay me well.

   Steve
ButÉ

   X
If I donÕt like the guy, I donÕt. WhatÕs the problem?
I like sex. I do guys I like. Trent,
[Sarcastic]
wouldnÕt you jump a sexy rich woman, and take the thousand sheÕs offering?
[Trent looks down. All are quiet for a few seconds.]

   Steve
Thousand dollars?

   Crista
Really?

   Trent
ÉNice price-tagÉ

   X
Yep, why guys, need a job? Oh noÉIÕm sorry, women donÕt need to pay for itÉwe just pluck you fresh off the tree whenever we feel like itÉ youÕre right, men are so classyÉ

   Steve
Fuck offÉ Hey, how come I never knew about this?

   X
We didnÕt think you could handle it. Can you?

   Crista
Ok, enough with the Ôbattle of the sexesÕ for tonight. ThatÕs what she does, anyone with a problem with this, suck it in.

   X
ItÕs ok baby, it takes time to show Ôem weÕre just like them if they were womenÉ

   Steve
Huh?

   Trent
SheÕs trying to say weÕre the same, just playing-out our roles along opposite endsÉ
X
So IÕm getting through?

   Trent
Barely..
[Pause]

   Crista
Now wasnÕt that interestingÉ Trent.

   Trent
What?

   Crista
An interesting story, with a, what do you call itÉ a point?

   Trent
Oh weÕre back thereÉ sure, the worldÕs about to end and itÕs ok to fuck for moneyÉwho said this isnÕt going to be an enlightening evening?

   Steve
WhatÕs his problem?

   Trent
Here we goÉ

   Crista
Trent thinks everyone around him is superficialÉ he thinks that if you donÕt talk about it twenty-four-seven, you donÕt know whatÕs ÔimportantÕ.

   X
And he does?

   Trent
What would you do if we had twenty-four hours left?

   X
Spend Ôem with my family. And you?

[Pause]
Crista
Yea Trent, what would you do?

   Steve
That better be goodÉ


   Trent
Well..

    [ with a loud sigh, all power drops, total blackout]

   X
Nice distraction, Trent?

   Trent
I am the magician nowÉ

   Crista
Steve, how long did Blackthorn say we had?

   Steve
I donÕt think thatÕs funny..

   Trent
So the old-fucker might have been right after allÉ
IÕll check the fuse box.

    [Trent walks away briefly]

   Crista
Get candles.

   Steve
And foodÉ

   X
And donÕt blow off the WaldorfÉ

   Crista
XÉ

   X
What?

   Steve
Blow off the Waldorf?

   X
[Realizing Steve doesnÕt know]

   Ooops.

   Crista
Yea..

   Steve
Why blow off..

    [ Trent comes back with candles, cuts in]

   Trent
ItÕs an all-out blackout, phones are down.
We werenÕt really trying to blow it up, thank you X. We were there for the G8..

   Steve
To É blow them ou..

   Trent
No.
[Trent lights candles]

   We planned to take over their floor and make them make some changesÉ the C4 was only for extra persuasion.

   Steve
Man. I always heard you were a little off in college, but a closet Che-Guevara?
[to X]
and you?

   X
Me? No, I feed on rumorsÉ I was never with those two..

   Steve
[back to Trent]
WhÉ how did you get into all this underground shit?

   X
Yea Trent, what was it that got you fed-up, Ôbroke your spiritÕ?

   Trent
YouÕre right, at first I thought weÕre on the right track, humanity. Then one day I have a conversation with this philosophy professor, BarnardÉ Smith-somethingÉ always wore those strange purple butterfly-bow ties or, whatever you call Ôem; made me realize we people always had too much time on our hands. Bow ties.

   Steve
Bow tiesÉ

   Trent
I tell him I believe Philosophy can change the world, make it a better place. He laughs. "A better place? I just hope it doesnÕt get worse." It all clicked. The old fucker was rightÉ

[Pause]

   X
Were all of you guys so far out, there?

   Crista
The ÔPhilosopher KingsÕ?
Oh yea, we had some spectacular ones, likeÉ Sebastian, remember?

   Trent
That over-zealous freak; went around punching pinholes in condoms on drugstore shelves all across town.

   Steve
WowÉ

   Trent
Yea. He got off on the thought heÕs making things that arenÕt supposed to happen, happen.

   X
ThatÕs one sick..

   Crista
He never really got the pointÉ

   Trent
We got rid of him.
[Pause. X and Steve wonderingÉ]

   X
So how did it work, you guys would walk around and Ôspread the loveÕ?

   Trent
No. We were practical, driven. I handled strategy, Victoria handled operations. We got a group of geniuses together, from all fields; Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Anthropology, History, twenty all together.

   Steve
Éand smoked a bowlÉ
Trent
No. We systematically solved every single problem we face as aÉ

   X
ThatÕs modestÉ

   Trent
Modesty is for little people.
[Short pause]
Steve
So you were solvingÉ

   Trent
We started from scratch. We asked how would a species with our needs make best use of a planet with such resources; We wrote up a Manifesto, blue. We had a Ôsecond optionÕ self-subsistence farm-system for anyone unwilling to play the game, anyone wanting to Ôget off the wagonÕ with their self-respect intact; we figured out how people could finally psychologically accept equality, quench jealousy; so far and promising. Then we needed to get some attention around itÉ but guess what? It just couldnÕt have workedÉ

   X
Why?

   Trent
People. Interests. People with interests, self-interests.
Sweetie, the world is as screwed-up as it is simply because we people are as screwed up as we areÉ a goddamn status quo of indifferenceÉ

    [Long pause]

   Steve
OkÉ so the C4 was only for extra persuasionÉ you took over the floor, the WaldorfÉ G8É

   Trent
Yes, we made them sign the Blue Manifesto, one by oneÉ but thenÉ

   Steve
What?

   Trent
ThenÉ

   Crista
Then a security guard pulled a backup and shot Victoria.

   Steve
Fuck. Wait, was that your..

   X
She was a beautiful soul. A proudÉ

   Trent
A fucking security guardÉ we planned for months, we frisked him, we took his pieceÉ but didnÕt check hisÉ

    [Pale woman wearing white semi-transparent rugs walks-in from dark at left stage. Trent fixes on her, the only one seeing her. He suddenly recognizes VictoriaÕs ghost. She stands in far corner staring at him]

   X
I never knew thatÕs how you lost her.
IÕm sorryÉthat explains an awful lotÉ

   Steve
Wait but, she died?

   Trent
[covering his face]
As I carried her outÉ

   Crista
The second she got shot Trent took over and aborted.

   Trent
I justÉ it didnÕt make any sense anymoreÉ the second it happenedÉ

    [Trent looks at VictoriaÕs ghost. She looks back with a soft-loving-sad gaze]

   Steve
AndÉ the Blue Manifesto?

   Trent
We tried to make the world stop and think. It answered. It turned back and shot my..

   Crista
Since Victoria died I É
I never see you really smile. CanÕt you find a way to be happy to be aliveÉ with me?

    [Trent is still fixated on VictoriaÕs ghost]


   Trent
Victoria baby, itÕs not because of her..

   Crista
ItÕs Crista

    [Trent turns violently back to Crista]

Trent
Oh baby I did not mean thatÉ fuck

    [Pale woman walks out]
[Pause]

   Steve
So whatÕs the deal Trent, itÕs been at least two years Ôcause I never got to see you with your ÔbarretteÕ onÉ

   X
Yes sweetheart, why canÕt you fucking smile by now?

    [ Trent wipes a tear, straightens back to a serious demeanor]

   Trent
NothingÕs exciting when everything becomes trivial.

   Steve
So donÕt trivialize it.

   Trent
Too late.

   X
You can always stopÉ

   Trent
YouÕre one to talkÉ

   Crista
Trent.

   X
When I trivialize, it keeps me going; youÉ itÕs eating you alive.



   Trent
I stopped smiling when I found out the world cannot become a better place. Oh, and that nothing we do matters.

   X
Is that so?

   Trent
Very much so. SeeÉ weÕve tried to outreach our own little moral envelope..

   Steve
HowÕs that?

    [Crista embraces herself with a sigh for a prolonged listening]

   Trent
WellÉ our ideals left our nature far behindÉ

   X
Give it to me; where, in what?

   Trent
We cherish life and kill each otherÉ we cry for equality and enslave half a globe, we uphold monogamy and fuck around, need some more?

   Steve
Oh. ThatÕs where weÕre getting into againÉ

   Crista
Baby come back to us. To meÉ

   Trent
Please donÕt

   Crista
You have to get it out of your system once and for all É plunge back and swim with me, I , I promise itÕs warm and, and sometimes even beautifulÉ

   Steve
Really bro..

   X
You know there are harder things to live withÉ few, but stillÉ



   Trent
Hey. DonÕt you people dare sit here, preaching me that itÕs all in my head;
I invented that shitÉ

   Crista
So the world isnÕt perfect, Ôall-meaningfulÕ. And never will be.
So? Accept it and move on.

   X
GirlÕs got a pointÉ

   Steve
Yea.

   Trent
Really? Bow down and acceptÉ wait out a gray Ôlittle lifeÕ, no thank you. I was a knight, a warrior, we had a cause, butÉ we lost.

   Crista
CanÕt you see beauty all around?

   Trent
I see misery, and pain; and fear

   Crista
So thatÕs it? No point whatsoeverÉ

   Trent
It looks like it doesnÕt it?

   Crista
So now what,
[Mimicking Trent]
ÔThan at that very moment I willÉÕ,
You said youÕd surprise meÉ

    [Trent pulls out a gun from under the sofa, X, Steve, and Crista jump back]

   X
What the fu..

   Steve
Hhhheeey brotherÉ whatÕs..

   Crista
DidnÕt youÉ

   Trent
You really thought I would eventually ÔadjustÕ? Grow old on my TV couch with a can of MillerÕs and a fucking bag of chips and moan, forever?

   Crista
Baby put it down

   Steve
Right. Yes. Listen to Crista BroÉ

   X
Spill it out Trent, fucking talk about it, come get a hug, but;
donÕt do anything stupidÉ

   Crista
Baby please put it down

   Trent
[Trent gets up, dramatic]

    Words of Enlightenment spoken Aloft,
The confined walls of knowledge, oh not at all Soft
Good thing to care;
Makes you feel so less bareÉ
Though look inside deeper, once more
And beware

    Alas from ÔRealityÕ thou apart shall not cut
For in grave agony, to the last of your days,
Alone Thou shall RotÉ

[Short pause]
Steve
E. E. CummiÉ?

   X
Nope. Another original Trent Del-Roy JuniorÉ

[X slowly claps her hands in almost-serious appreciation. Steve adds a few claps, smiles. Both manage to loosen-up for a brief second despite the gun; not fully ÔgettingÕ the poem]

   Crista
[Still worried]
Trent baby, please..

    [Trent bows to X and Steve with a smile. Turns to all three, serious]

   Trent
Thank you, friends; it has truly been a treat, butÉ stay hereÉ psyche-myself-up on petty nonsense, ÔaccomplishmentsÕÉ
Éday after dayÉ

[Abrupt stop, looks to the corner where ghost stood, looks back at them]

   IÕm sorry, but..


   I HAVE NO USE


    [Points all-around and at himself]


   FOR ALL THISÉ ANYMORE


    [Trent quickly pulls the gun up to his temple, looks straight at Crista for a split second and pulls the trigger. Loud shot. All freeze]



   Curtain Drops.