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THE HEIGHTS by Raheem J. 8/27/11 Each One reach One Playwriting Program JJC, San Francisco
Characters: SHINE, the star, 16 years old. MIDNIGHT, the moon, Shine’s brother, 25.
Setting: The Heights, a galaxy in space.
Time: 8:30PM in Space Time.
At rise: MIDNIGHT is sitting in his orbit which is shaped like a car.
Scene I
MIDNIGHT Man. Bruh trippen. He should be doin his thang so we all could shine. But instead he rather run around with all them novas, inhale gravity and drink bottles of rain. How many times I gotta tell him that his friend Milk Way is a bad way because all Milk Way do is sit around in the stratosphere, get high off gravity and attracts them starships. When Shine end up in a far away galaxy he gone regret everything. He gone get picked up by one of the starships if he keep hangin with them shootin stars in the Milky Way. The starships are gone see he aint shinin and make him a target. They gone grab him and interrogate him and treat him like a hot meteor. Do he realize if he don’t shine, I don’t shine, then we don’t shine and we all go down. We all go down. We gone break into a million pieces and separate in space. And I ain’t gone never see my loved ones again. And he not worried. He not worried ‘cause he not gone fall. He just gone get sent off to another galaxy where all the other dark stars are. He aint that type of star. He really bright. And this makes me pissed off. Arrrrgh. I’m tired of being worried. I’m tired of being depressed. Abandoned. Humiliated. Intimidated. Terrified. Shaking. And vulnerable. I’m not being noticed. I’m supposed to be the big light at night but I spend all my time chasin him around and on him about doing his job. And all he care about is chasin them novas. All he wanna do is Big Bang them novas.
(MIDNIGHT peers down at the earth.)
When I shine I feel so alive. Appreciated by earth. I been dreamin of this moment for centuries. To shine like my father. I can’t let Shine stop the family tradition. When everybody is doing their job it makes me feel relieved. Teamwork. Teamwork makes me feel fulfilled. See, when Shine shines bright, the light comes to me and my light goes to the earth so people can see. When it’s pitch black, if I don’t shine it’s chaos. Car crashes, gun shots, the murder rate rises and the earth gone shake. Makes me feel empty. And I wanna be a full moon. A full moon.
(There is the sound of static in the atmosphere. Midnight tunes in and listens.)
I just heard Jupiter shout through the airwaves. Whussup, Jupe? What? You said you seen my bruh? At a party? Tryin to impress some novas? Man that’s all he care about. I’m tired of this molecular clump. Where the party at? Right offa Pluto and Mercury Street at The Equator Lodge? Man I’m finna go to that party and embarrass that fool, cah-zin.
(MIDNIGHT leaves his orbit and spins off.)
Scene II
(SHINE is at the party.)
SHINE Dang this party is lit. I like this type of environment. Lot of bottles of rain, lot of novas and supernovas. I need to get at one of them supernovas. Look how she over there twinkling. Hey Milky hook me up with that supernova, mayne. Her. The big chunky one. She outshining everybody. I’m finna go over there and get at her. Man, pass the gravity so I could look like a big star so she can see me shinin.
(SHINE inhales some gravity.)
I don’t know why my brother don’t wanna live this life. Everybody on me at this party. I’m standin out. Cuz I be doin big thangs. I’m known around in space. I’m a factor. A hypergiant. Everybody depends on my shine. I’m all about that action. I’m highly respected and never tested. What? Midnight on his way? My big brother Midnight the moon? Here? This a 16 and under party. He’s 25 years old. Who invited that o. g.? Man he be trippen real hard. All he wont me to do is “shine so he could shine so we could shine and they don’t fall.” Man I aint got time for dat. I’m tired of stuntin. That’s too much pressure. Combining atoms, dealin with the hot gas, flexin all night. Got to go to my position, spin around and scream, deal with the nuclear fusion process. It take a long time and it gives off way too much energy. I get tired. I’m tired of being away from my friends. A star gotta shine all night. I be doin that all night while Milky Way chill back drinkin rain and inhale gravity after gravity. My brother be ashamed and embarrassed ‘cause I’m livin the party life instead of shinin. I don’t want him to tell Pops. He gone be hot. He gone blow. And he aint gone look at me as his favorite star no more. I can’t let that get to me no more right now. I gotta focus on these supernovas.
(SHINE inhales gravity. Enter, MIDNIGHT, looking dim. He sees SHINE under the influence of heavy gravity.)
MIDNIGHT What you doin here blood?
SHINE Im getting my groove on what it look like?
MIDNIGHT You supposed to be in your position in The Heights. All the other stars back home are dependin on you.
SHINE I’m trynna kick it right now.
MIDNIGHT
SHINE Don’t you see I’m tryin to dance with this nova? I’ll talk to you later about that.
MIDNIGHT It’s no time for later. The starships comin.
SHINE I’m not worried about that. That’s the last thing on my mind. I run from starships every day. You better ask somebody.
MIDNIGHT They’ll be here in the next thirty minutes. The starships are coming to get you because you affect the whole galaxy. Every time you come around me, the novas and the dwarfs you put us in danger. When you dim we’re dim. But when you shine we shine. And since you aint shinin nobody shinin, and you getting others taken away.
SHINE Bruh you trippin real hard. Inhale some of this gravity, grab a bottle of rain, and go talk to one of them novas.
MIDNIGHT When you started inhalin gravity and drinkin rain? You really losin it bruh. Look at yourself. They coming to pick up all the stars that aint shinin and they gon grab em and take em to the black hole.
(SHINE inhales gravity.)
I’m tellin you this because I care about you and because I care about mom.
SHINE Dude don’t be bringin moms into this. What you talkin about?
MIDNIGHT Oh you spendin so much time partyin you don’t know that if you don’t shine, we don’t shine and we all fall. Including mom. If the stars don’t shine all the planets will fall. I don’t want moms to fall. Thats why I’m pushin you to do your job. She gone die. She gone break and die. And its gone be over for The Heights. It aint gon be all about us no more. You aint gone live by your name. Why you think we named you Shine?
SHINE We gone do that. We gone shine.
MIDNIGHT What you mean we gone do that? You runnin out of time.
SHINE You putting it on super thick.
(SHINE inhales gravity.)
MIDNIGHT Who’s more important? Your friends or mom?
SHINE Why you ask me something like that? You already know I care about mom. What you doin here? Ain’t you supposed to be in your position? Aint yo name Midnight?
MIDNIGHT Look at me. Look at my face. I’m dim. I’m dim. I’m here because I don’t want you to go to the black hole, I don’t want The Heights to be over with, because I don’t want my mom to fall, and people on earth need my light.
(PAUSE. SHINE inhales gravity.)
If you don’t come with me right now, I’m gonna have Pops on the airwaves and tell him that you be inhalin gravity, not goin to work and chasin around novas.
SHINE You think he gon believe you over me? I’m his favorite little star.
MIDNIGHT You only his favorite star because he think you workin twenty four seven.
(SHINE inhales.)
And when he find out what you been doin you aint got to worry about the starships takin you to another galaxy because he gone ship you off to the middle of nowhere. And then we not gone be together. That’s gone make pops feel ashamed. And disappointed. So I suggest you come with me to combine them atoms spin in a circle and produce light.
SHINE All you care about is what I need instead of what I want. I want… I want to be… What do I want? (He is too high to remember. He inhales.) I want to hang with my friends, I want to be popular. I wanna feel alive joyful admired. I don’t like standin around bein in position. It makes me feel lifeless.
MIDNIGHT The starships is comin. In ten minutes. We been arguing for twenty minutes Shine and it take you five minutes to produce light. You gotta do the math. We been wastin time.
(SHINE inhales gravity.)
If the stars don’t shine all the planets will fall. I don’t want mom to fall. She gone die. She gone break and die. Jupiter too. If they don’t see all yall stars shinin, the galaxy will end. If that happens, we won’t have a home. And you and I won’t be together no more.
SHINE (To himself.) Dang that’s a lot. And I’m gravitated. (Loaded. To MIDNIGHT.) Did I use too much gravity or is you getting darker? Wait not only you everybody around here. They disappearing. Dang. They disappearing. It must be the side effects of this gravity that Milky Way gave me. (Coughs.) This the best gravity in space.
(MIDNIGHT points in the distance.)
MIDNIGHT The starships is comin! I’m gone! I told you, Shine!
(A big blue starship with black lights spinning around heads toward them. SHINE runs. In slow motion. He really can’t run because he is full of gravity. But the starships pass him by because he has gotten darker. He has no light. The star troopers jump out of the ship and starts grabbing the stars. They see Midnight hiding behind Mercury.)
MIDNIGHT Man, I’m dim. They’re coming for me. They got me surrounded. Where’s Shine? Oh, they think I’m Shine. They callin me through the airwaves to come out from behind planet Mercury but they think I’m Shine.
(MIDNIGHT spins out into the open space from behind Mercury.)
I’m not Shine. I’m Midnight the big light at night. I’m a friend of the earth. I’m not Shine. My name is—I’M NOT SHINE! That’s my brother. He went that way.
(The star troopers grab Midnight and take him to the black hole in a far off galaxy. SHINE is standing in space alone. Nothing is around him. Just black space. He inhales some gravity.)
SHINE Where everybody at? Midnight! Milky! Jupe! Mom!
(He looks around in space. No one is there.)
Hello? Hello?
THE END |
