Clifford Simak
John Brunner
Samuel R. Delany
Theodore Sturgeon
Monday, August 30, 2010
Some Science Fiction Authors
Here are some portraits of some sci-fi authors I admire. Next I want to do Robert Heinlein, then Philip Jose Farmer, Norman Spinrad, and Philip K. Dick.
Clifford Simak
John Brunner
Samuel R. Delany
Theodore Sturgeon
Clifford Simak
John Brunner
Samuel R. Delany
Theodore Sturgeon
Monday, August 23, 2010
I wrote this play in 3 hours
I had a submission deadline for tonight, 11:59pm or prior. Finished at around 11:30.
Meditation, flashers, floating hotdogs--it's all here. Oh, and it's lame but the "theme" had to be "feast" and the line "I can't remember the last time we were all together" had to be included.
A FAMILY REUNION
Lights up on a man sitting on the stage floor, Indian style. This is TRAVIS, and he is dressed in dirty jeans, no shirt, with long hair and a headband around his forehead. He appears to be meditating. Another man, STEVEN, walks on, in handcuffs, followed closely by a POLICE OFFICER. Steven wears cut-off jean shorts and a dirty t-shirt. The police officer leads him next to Travis, takes off the handcuffs.
POLICE OFFICER
Take a seat.
(Steven sits. The police officer goes off. Steven looks around, then looks at Travis, who, oblivious to Steven’s stares, keeps meditating.)
STEVEN
Travis? Is that you?
(Travis meditates.)
STEVEN
It’s me, Travis. It’s me Steven.
(Travis’s eyes blink open. He takes a deep breath.)
TRAVIS
Uncle Steven? Is that you?
STEVEN
It’s me, Travis.
TRAVIS
(looks at Steven)
It is you. You were in my dream just now. My meditation dream. We were out fishing together.
STEVEN
Did we catch anything?
TRAVIS
No, but there was a beautiful girl down at the end of the pier, just standing there all by herself. Just beautiful. Wavy blonde hair. She kept on flashing us.
STEVEN
A flasher? You don’t say.
TRAVIS
Every time we looked over, she’d open up this long fur coat she had on, just open it right up and show us the goods.
STEVEN
How’d the goods look?
TRAVIS
Fantastic.
STEVEN
I wish I could’ve been there with you.
TRAVIS
You were there, man. Believe me.
STEVEN
How long you been in here, Travis?
TRAVIS
Since the day before yesterday, I think.
STEVEN
Alone all that time?
TRAVIS
No, there was a drunk in here the first night. Had a pint of Evan Williams with him. Wouldn’t share, though.
STEVEN
Bastard. Must’ve been pretty lonely.
TRAVIS
I’ve been meditating most of the time. And the guard’s not too bad a guy. You know what time it is?
STEVEN
Clock out there showed just past five when I got in here.
TRAVIS
They’ll be serving dinner soon.
STEVEN
How’s the food?
TRAVIS
About good enough for a farm animal, maybe.
STEVEN
Damn.
TRAVIS
That’s what I say.
STEVEN
Hey, you think you could teach me to do some of that meditating? I wouldn’t mind getting a look at that flasher you told me about.
TRAVIS
Well, first thing is you have to be sitting like I’m sitting.
(With some difficulty, Steven sits Indian style.)
STEVEN
Okay.
TRAVIS
Now take a deep breath.
(Steven takes a deep breath. So does Travis.)
TRAVIS
Now close your eyes.
(They both close their eyes.)
STEVEN
Closed.
TRAVIS
Try to clear your head. Clear it of all thoughts. Wipe it clean and imagine a small black dot, a tiny dot about ten feet off in front of you.
STEVEN
Like a target?
TRAVIS
Just like a target. You need to focus everything in you on that target.
(They focus on their targets.)
TRAVIS
Now take another deep breath.
(They both take a deep breath.)
TRAVIS
And focus. Clear, focus.
(They both fall into a meditative trance. After a moment or two, BILL, COCO, KIM, AMBER, and KEVIN, all handcuffed, walk on, followed by the police officer, who leads them next to Travis and Steven.)
BILL
Steven?
KIM
Is that Travis?
POLICE OFFICER
(taking off Amber’s handcuffs)
Be quiet.
BILL
I know these guys.
POLICE OFFICER
I don’t care who you know. Just be quiet.
(He finishes with Amber, starts on Kim.)
COCO
They asleep?
POLICE OFFICER
(stops)
What did I just tell your buddy there?
COCO
He’s my brother, not my buddy.
POLICE OFFICER
Shut the hell up.
COCO
(points at Steven)
And he’s my half-brother.
AMBER
(points at Travis)
And that one there’s my nephew.
(The officer takes out his night stick, brandishes it.)
COCO
Yes, officer.
(The officer finishes with Kim, starts on Coco. He finishes, starts on Bill, then Kevin. Then he stops, points to the right of Travis and Steven.)
POLICE OFFICER
(to Kim and Amber)
You two, you sit over there.
(Kim and Amber sit down next to Travis and Steven. The officer finishes with Kevin’s cuffs.)
POLICE OFFICER
(to Bill and Coco)
You three gentlemen sit down on the other side.
COCO
Yes, officer.
BILL
Yes, thank you, officer.
(They sit down to the left of Travis and Steven. The police officer walks off. Kevin moves a few feet away from the others, who look at Travis and Steven. Bill waves his hand in front of Steven’s face. Kim waves her hand in front of Travis’s face.)
KIM
Nothing.
COCO
They might be drugged up or something.
BILL
Imagine that, all of us here in this cell at the very same time.
AMBER
I can’t remember the last time we all were together.
COCO
It’s a sign!
BILL
Of what?
KIM
Maybe something’s telling us we need to change our ways a little.
AMBER
Change? If we’d changed any, we wouldn’t all be together right now.
COCO
It’s a miracle! It’s a family reunion miracle!
(They all cheer. Travis and Steven suddenly open their eyes. The others stop cheering.)
STEVEN
I didn’t see her.
TRAVIS
What did you see?
STEVEN
A hotdog. A floating hotdog.
TRAVIS
Wow. Not bad.
(notices the others)
Uncle Bill and Coco?
STEVEN
(to Amber and Kim)
What are you two doing here?
(Before they can answer, the police officer returns, wheeling in a cart with trays of food.)
POLICE OFFICER
Dinner time.
(He gives each inmate a tray, then wheels the cart off.)
STEVEN
(holding up a hotdog from his tray)
The floating one had mustard on it.
COCO
(going through his pockets)
Good thing I carry some extra packets with me.
(He finds a few packets, hands them to Steven.)
COCO
There you are.
STEVEN
Thanks, Coco.
(squirts mustard on his dog)
Anybody else need some?
KIM
I could use one, Steven.
(Steven passes her the remaining packets.)
BILL
Got any ketchup there?
KIM
Nope, just mustard.
BILL
Oh well.
COCO
Not bad. These beans are hot, at least. And there’s plenty of them.
KIM
I could use something to drink.
(Amber takes out a pint of whiskey, hands it to Kim.)
AMBER
Today’s your lucky day.
KIM
I guess it is.
(She takes a drink, hands it back to Amber, who takes a drink, then passes it over to Steven.)
STEVEN
Why thank you.
(He drinks. Eventually everyone drinks except Kevin, who sits off by himself, eating in silence.)
TRAVIS
(noticing Kevin)
Who’s he?
BILL
(turning to look at Kevin)
Him? I don’t know.
KEVIN
Kevin. Name’s Kevin.
BILL
Come on over, Kevin. Everyone’s welcome in our little feast here.
(Kevin brings his tray over, sits down next to Bill and Coco.)
KEVIN
(takes out small bag of chips)
I’ve got some chips here if anybody wants some.
(He opens the bag, takes a few, passes the bag to Bill.)
BILL
(taking some chips)
That’s very generous of you.
(He passes the bag to Coco. Everyone ends up taking a few chips.)
AMBER
They’re a little crushed up.
BILL
Be grateful you even got any, Amber.
KIM
(takes out a small bag of Skittles.)
I’ve got some candy for dessert.
(They pass around the Skittles. They eat. Pretty soon everyone’s done eating.)
BILL
What are you in for, Travis?
TRAVIS
Possession of what’s called “hallucinogens.”
BILL
Huh...You by any chance have any more those?
TRAVIS
As a matter of fact, I do.
(He takes a bit of foil from under his headband, opens it up, puts a tiny bit of paper in his mouth.)
BILL
What’s that?
TRAVIS
(crawling over to Amber)
The hallucinogens.
(He goes down the line, places a bit of paper in each mouth.)
AMBER
What do we do now?
TRAVIS
We wait.
(Everyone watches Travis as he sits Indian-style, breathes in deeply, and closes his eyes. Then they all do the same. Everyone meditates and waits as the lights fade out.)
Meditation, flashers, floating hotdogs--it's all here. Oh, and it's lame but the "theme" had to be "feast" and the line "I can't remember the last time we were all together" had to be included.
A FAMILY REUNION
Lights up on a man sitting on the stage floor, Indian style. This is TRAVIS, and he is dressed in dirty jeans, no shirt, with long hair and a headband around his forehead. He appears to be meditating. Another man, STEVEN, walks on, in handcuffs, followed closely by a POLICE OFFICER. Steven wears cut-off jean shorts and a dirty t-shirt. The police officer leads him next to Travis, takes off the handcuffs.
POLICE OFFICER
Take a seat.
(Steven sits. The police officer goes off. Steven looks around, then looks at Travis, who, oblivious to Steven’s stares, keeps meditating.)
STEVEN
Travis? Is that you?
(Travis meditates.)
STEVEN
It’s me, Travis. It’s me Steven.
(Travis’s eyes blink open. He takes a deep breath.)
TRAVIS
Uncle Steven? Is that you?
STEVEN
It’s me, Travis.
TRAVIS
(looks at Steven)
It is you. You were in my dream just now. My meditation dream. We were out fishing together.
STEVEN
Did we catch anything?
TRAVIS
No, but there was a beautiful girl down at the end of the pier, just standing there all by herself. Just beautiful. Wavy blonde hair. She kept on flashing us.
STEVEN
A flasher? You don’t say.
TRAVIS
Every time we looked over, she’d open up this long fur coat she had on, just open it right up and show us the goods.
STEVEN
How’d the goods look?
TRAVIS
Fantastic.
STEVEN
I wish I could’ve been there with you.
TRAVIS
You were there, man. Believe me.
STEVEN
How long you been in here, Travis?
TRAVIS
Since the day before yesterday, I think.
STEVEN
Alone all that time?
TRAVIS
No, there was a drunk in here the first night. Had a pint of Evan Williams with him. Wouldn’t share, though.
STEVEN
Bastard. Must’ve been pretty lonely.
TRAVIS
I’ve been meditating most of the time. And the guard’s not too bad a guy. You know what time it is?
STEVEN
Clock out there showed just past five when I got in here.
TRAVIS
They’ll be serving dinner soon.
STEVEN
How’s the food?
TRAVIS
About good enough for a farm animal, maybe.
STEVEN
Damn.
TRAVIS
That’s what I say.
STEVEN
Hey, you think you could teach me to do some of that meditating? I wouldn’t mind getting a look at that flasher you told me about.
TRAVIS
Well, first thing is you have to be sitting like I’m sitting.
(With some difficulty, Steven sits Indian style.)
STEVEN
Okay.
TRAVIS
Now take a deep breath.
(Steven takes a deep breath. So does Travis.)
TRAVIS
Now close your eyes.
(They both close their eyes.)
STEVEN
Closed.
TRAVIS
Try to clear your head. Clear it of all thoughts. Wipe it clean and imagine a small black dot, a tiny dot about ten feet off in front of you.
STEVEN
Like a target?
TRAVIS
Just like a target. You need to focus everything in you on that target.
(They focus on their targets.)
TRAVIS
Now take another deep breath.
(They both take a deep breath.)
TRAVIS
And focus. Clear, focus.
(They both fall into a meditative trance. After a moment or two, BILL, COCO, KIM, AMBER, and KEVIN, all handcuffed, walk on, followed by the police officer, who leads them next to Travis and Steven.)
BILL
Steven?
KIM
Is that Travis?
POLICE OFFICER
(taking off Amber’s handcuffs)
Be quiet.
BILL
I know these guys.
POLICE OFFICER
I don’t care who you know. Just be quiet.
(He finishes with Amber, starts on Kim.)
COCO
They asleep?
POLICE OFFICER
(stops)
What did I just tell your buddy there?
COCO
He’s my brother, not my buddy.
POLICE OFFICER
Shut the hell up.
COCO
(points at Steven)
And he’s my half-brother.
AMBER
(points at Travis)
And that one there’s my nephew.
(The officer takes out his night stick, brandishes it.)
COCO
Yes, officer.
(The officer finishes with Kim, starts on Coco. He finishes, starts on Bill, then Kevin. Then he stops, points to the right of Travis and Steven.)
POLICE OFFICER
(to Kim and Amber)
You two, you sit over there.
(Kim and Amber sit down next to Travis and Steven. The officer finishes with Kevin’s cuffs.)
POLICE OFFICER
(to Bill and Coco)
You three gentlemen sit down on the other side.
COCO
Yes, officer.
BILL
Yes, thank you, officer.
(They sit down to the left of Travis and Steven. The police officer walks off. Kevin moves a few feet away from the others, who look at Travis and Steven. Bill waves his hand in front of Steven’s face. Kim waves her hand in front of Travis’s face.)
KIM
Nothing.
COCO
They might be drugged up or something.
BILL
Imagine that, all of us here in this cell at the very same time.
AMBER
I can’t remember the last time we all were together.
COCO
It’s a sign!
BILL
Of what?
KIM
Maybe something’s telling us we need to change our ways a little.
AMBER
Change? If we’d changed any, we wouldn’t all be together right now.
COCO
It’s a miracle! It’s a family reunion miracle!
(They all cheer. Travis and Steven suddenly open their eyes. The others stop cheering.)
STEVEN
I didn’t see her.
TRAVIS
What did you see?
STEVEN
A hotdog. A floating hotdog.
TRAVIS
Wow. Not bad.
(notices the others)
Uncle Bill and Coco?
STEVEN
(to Amber and Kim)
What are you two doing here?
(Before they can answer, the police officer returns, wheeling in a cart with trays of food.)
POLICE OFFICER
Dinner time.
(He gives each inmate a tray, then wheels the cart off.)
STEVEN
(holding up a hotdog from his tray)
The floating one had mustard on it.
COCO
(going through his pockets)
Good thing I carry some extra packets with me.
(He finds a few packets, hands them to Steven.)
COCO
There you are.
STEVEN
Thanks, Coco.
(squirts mustard on his dog)
Anybody else need some?
KIM
I could use one, Steven.
(Steven passes her the remaining packets.)
BILL
Got any ketchup there?
KIM
Nope, just mustard.
BILL
Oh well.
COCO
Not bad. These beans are hot, at least. And there’s plenty of them.
KIM
I could use something to drink.
(Amber takes out a pint of whiskey, hands it to Kim.)
AMBER
Today’s your lucky day.
KIM
I guess it is.
(She takes a drink, hands it back to Amber, who takes a drink, then passes it over to Steven.)
STEVEN
Why thank you.
(He drinks. Eventually everyone drinks except Kevin, who sits off by himself, eating in silence.)
TRAVIS
(noticing Kevin)
Who’s he?
BILL
(turning to look at Kevin)
Him? I don’t know.
KEVIN
Kevin. Name’s Kevin.
BILL
Come on over, Kevin. Everyone’s welcome in our little feast here.
(Kevin brings his tray over, sits down next to Bill and Coco.)
KEVIN
(takes out small bag of chips)
I’ve got some chips here if anybody wants some.
(He opens the bag, takes a few, passes the bag to Bill.)
BILL
(taking some chips)
That’s very generous of you.
(He passes the bag to Coco. Everyone ends up taking a few chips.)
AMBER
They’re a little crushed up.
BILL
Be grateful you even got any, Amber.
KIM
(takes out a small bag of Skittles.)
I’ve got some candy for dessert.
(They pass around the Skittles. They eat. Pretty soon everyone’s done eating.)
BILL
What are you in for, Travis?
TRAVIS
Possession of what’s called “hallucinogens.”
BILL
Huh...You by any chance have any more those?
TRAVIS
As a matter of fact, I do.
(He takes a bit of foil from under his headband, opens it up, puts a tiny bit of paper in his mouth.)
BILL
What’s that?
TRAVIS
(crawling over to Amber)
The hallucinogens.
(He goes down the line, places a bit of paper in each mouth.)
AMBER
What do we do now?
TRAVIS
We wait.
(Everyone watches Travis as he sits Indian-style, breathes in deeply, and closes his eyes. Then they all do the same. Everyone meditates and waits as the lights fade out.)
Friday, August 13, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
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