Father Figures
A Dance-Theater Play
by
Scott Patrick Wagner
ACT ONE
SCENE 1
In the darkness, the opening bars begin
of KING OF THE BONGO by Robbie
Williams. As the vocal begins, LIGHTS
UP on MALE DANCER 1 in a loincloth
outfit with FEMALE DANCER 1 and FEMALE
DANCER 2 dressed like sexy cavegirls.
They perform a dance that simulates the
"Dawn of Man." MD1 throws a bone up in
the air (echoing "2001: A Space
Odyssey") and it lands in FD1's hand,
where she uses it as a cheerleader
baton.
During the second chorus break, MALE
DANCER 2 enters, dressed as a secret
agent, with dark suit, sunglasses, and
a gun. He gets into an aggressive
competitive dance with MD1.
Soon MD2 begins struggling with the
choreography, and JAMIE--30s, handsome
and wiry--enters. He pushes MD2 out of
the way and demonstrates the step
himself dancing opposite MD1.
MD2 still looks uncomfortable, and
Jamie impatiently motions "to the
booth" to cut the music.
JAMIE
Why are you having so much trouble with this?
MD2
I don't understand...why is there a secret agent is this
dance, again?
Upstage right, a Shadowy Figure (later
to be recognized as JAMIE'S FATHER)
appears dimly, detached from the action
and invisible to all onstage.
JAMIE
It's a metaphor. You symbolize the dark side of Intellectual
Man that invades the territory of Natural Man. It's as if
the gun replaces the instinct, and what was free and easy in
the jungle becomes like the Cold War, and--
Jamie loses his train of thought.
JAMIE (CONT'D)
Um...what was the question again?
MD2
Why is there a secret agent in the monkey number?
JAMIE
I don't have the slightest idea.
CROSS FADE to a tight light on BEN at a
pulpit. He is 30s or 40s, tall,
handsome, with a shining charisma.
BEN
There's a Tibetan expression: "Not knowing that you know is
best." It took me a long time to not-know what that meant.
And please don't wait for me to not-explain it to you. The
truth is that I'm not your guru. I bet you think I'm gonna
follow that with "you are your guru." Well, you're not your
guru either.
Lights fade up around him, to show
attendees seating listening to his
lecture. Jamie and SARA--30s, pretty,
elegant--are seated among the
attendees.
BEN (CONT'D)
(pointing to various people)
You don't know...and you don't know...and I don't know.
Lemme tell you something, if any of us really knew, we'd have
figured it all out a long time ago. But the part of us that
knows, really knows, is layered under so much crap and fear
and static, that it's a lifetime of discipline just to get to
it. Or...it's a moment of grace.
On another part of the stage, a column
of golden light fades up.
Quick blackout on the lecture scene,
then lights back up as golden light
goes out.
At the lecture scene, the meeting has
ended and Ben is talking with Jamie and
Sara.
JAMIE
(to Ben)
I've never introduced myself before, but I've been coming to
your lectures for a while, and--
BEN
(extending his hand)
Ben.
JAMIE
(awkward, shaking hand)
Jamie. And this is my girlfriend's first time here--
SARA
(extending her hand)
I'm Sara.
BEN
(shaking her hand)
Hello, Sara.
SARA
I'm not sure I agree with everything you say.
BEN
I'm not sure you need to.
JAMIE
Sara is a woman of science. I'm relieved that she agrees
with as much as she does.
SARA
You make me sound like some kind of lab-coated empiricist,
Jamie...I'm a Jungian. Shrinks are allowed to believe in
God.
BEN
If you're Jung at heart.
Ben looks from Sara to Jamie, who is
smiling at the joke. A moment between
Jamie and Ben.
SARA
We won't take up any more of your time.
BEN
Not to be glib, Sara, but if time existed I would be much
obliged. I do appreciate the intent, though.
SARA
Alrighty, then. Shall we, Jamie?
JAMIE
Yes, sure. Thank you, Ben.
BEN
All good blessings to you.
Jamie and Sara walk away, approaching a
cafe table and chairs at a restaurant.
They sit, and Sara picks up the menu on
the table.
SARA
Do you think he's gay?
JAMIE
For sure.
SARA
You're certain?
JAMIE
Sara, I'm a choreographer. Gaydar is part of the job
description.
SARA
Why do you suppose so many male dancers are gay?
JAMIE
Probably because the straight ones had fathers who wouldn't
let them dance.
SARA
Your dad let you.
JAMIE
That's...one interpretation.
Upstage right, LIGHTS UP on JAMIE'S
FATHER, hard to make out distinctly.
He speaks with a Latin accent.
FATHER
You want to take dance classes?
JAMIE
Yes, papi.
FATHER
You want to be a dancer?
JAMIE
Dad, I--
FATHER
Dancers are homosexual! Are you a queer?
JAMIE
No, I'm--
FATHER
Do you want a man's penis penetrating you in the rectum? Is
that what you want?!
JAMIE
No!
Jamie takes a breath as light on Father
fades out.
JAMIE (CONT'D)
No...
SARA
Your dad was a doctor.
JAMIE
Yeah.
SARA
You'd think a physician would have a more enlightened world
view.
JAMIE
He was Latin. Macho outweighs enlightenment when your son
wants to put on tights.
SARA
Your dad was a real piece of work.
Sara, after a compassionate smile at
Jamie, gets more intent on the menu.
Jamie looks at her directly. She looks
up from the menu.
SARA (CONT'D)
(self-conscious)
What?
JAMIE
You're so beautiful.
Music intro for DON'T CHANGE FOR ME by
Ben Folds. ROBBIE--a male dancer who
resembles Jamie--and SANDRA--a female
dancer who resembles Sara--enter,
dressed the same as Jamie and Sara. As
Jamie and Sara pantomime a relaxed
conversation in the restaurant, Robbie
and Sandra dance the description of
Jamie and Sara's relationship.
During the dance--which details how
Sara has been a ballast during Jamie's
bouts of self-doubt, and Jamie has been
a source of light during Sara's
darkness--small gestures between Sara
and Jamie in pantomime are echoed and
mirrored by larger movements by the
dancers.
Jamie and Sara leave the restaurant and
walk back to their apartment,
surrounded by the dancers doing a pas
de deux.
In the apartment Jamie and Sara begin
to make love, and the dancers do a
dance version of the same thing.
Eventually, though, the dancers break
apart and Robbie leaves Sandra. Though
Jamie and Sara are still making love,
Robbie begins a solo dance,
demonstrating his need and longing for
something else, something beyond the
relationship with Sara.
SCENE 2
Ben is again at the pulpit.
BEN
Do you remember that Twilight Zone episode where the guy
would turn a corner and everybody where he had just been was
now frozen...and everybody he was approaching "unfroze" just
before he saw them? He was the only one alive, and everybody
else was just a character in his story. Freaky, huh?
So lemme ask you...ever felt like that yourself? Ever wonder
if you're the only one really here, and all of "us" are just
playing things out for you? In the medical community that's
known as narcissistic personality disorder. In the spiritual
community, it's known as a definite maybe.
CROSS FADE to Jamie working in a dance
studio with Robbie.
Jamie is showing him steps, that he
picks up intermittently.
JAMIE
Okay, your entrance is as Cheryl's verse is ending, on the
last four counts of the phrase. Three fast walks on five and
six...contract...developée...and-a-down...
Robbie struggles a bit to keep up.
Jamie goes over it again with him,
patiently.
JAMIE (CONT'D)
Okay, let's go on to the next sixteen counts.
Jamie demonstrates and Robbie follows.
JAMIE (CONT'D)
Tucked on the floor on one...two, deep contract on
three...four, head isolation downstage on five, arm up on
six, arm down seven, head roll to the right on eight-and,
which gives momentum to stand--pelvis first--on
one...two...then single outside pencil turn on three, head
roll to finish the motion on four, triple inside turned-in
pirouette on the right five...six...seven, drop the leg
behind on eight to a hyperextended chest position, legs still
crossed, feet demi-relevé.
Jamie adjusts Robbie's shoulders, to
make sure they're back and the position
is correct.
JAMIE
Let's try that much with the music.
(to the "booth")
Andrew, from cue four please, just the first eight bars.
Music begins to clip of KINDER by Karen
Taylor-Good.
Jamie watches as Robbie goes through
the opening of the dance. When he gets
to the last two counts:
JAMIE (CONT'D)
--and drop the leg, shoulders back.
Jamie holds Robbie by his shoulders.
They stare into each other.
CROSS FADE back to Ben at the podium.
BEN
There is only one of us here, one mind, one connection to
God. It's an illusion that we're separate, it's an illusion we're
in a body, it's an illusion there's a planet, a universe.
God didn't make them. We dreamed them up, in a peculiar play
for individuality. And as long as you'd prefer individuality
over perfect heaven...well...welcome to your nightmare.
We're talking about a radically different thought system:
Everything here is an illusion, and only God is real. You
think you're separate from me...from your partner, your
spouse...from Kelly Ripa. I don't know why I just thought of
Kelly Ripa. But she is me. And so is Regis.
Sure, you can keep thinking there's separation. And you'll
either believe you're a victim of the shit that happens to
you, or--if you're metaphysical--that you made the shit
happen to you. But either way, you think shit happens. But
it only happens on this level. And it's really all or
nothing. Your shit...or the peace of God. Does one of those
seem like a slightly better option?
Quick CROSS FADE to Sara and Jamie
talking after this lecture.
SARA
Yeah...I didn't really get the whole scope of where this guy
is coming from after the other lecture. I don't think I'll
be coming back.
JAMIE
Really?
SARA
And I have to say something else.
JAMIE
What?
SARA
I honestly don't think you should either.
JAMIE
Gee...thanks, mom.
SARA
Jamie, the last thing you need for a "support system" is some
guy telling you the whole world is an illusion.
JAMIE
Why is that the "last thing I need"? Is this your theory
about me again?
SARA
It is my professional opinion that you exhibit mild
dissociation.
JAMIE
Jeez...
SARA
I've seen it.
JAMIE
(annoyed)
When I get mad.
SARA
When you get mad, when you get distant, when you get...moody.
JAMIE
It's a good thing all girlfriends aren't therapists. All men
would be diagnosed with mild dissociation.
SARA
Please do not minimize this. You are not like other men.
He hides it, but these words hurt him.
SCENE 3
LIGHTS UP on a Female Dancer center
stage. Music begins to KINDER by Karen
Taylor Good. Jamie stands at the side
of the performance area, watching.
FD begins a solo dance, other Dancers
enter and join the dance.
Jamie enters during the chorus and
adjusts one of FD's body positions, and
how the move should be stretched. He
exits again
Robbie enters for second verse.
As he dances, LIGHTS UP on Jamie's
Father upstage right.
Midway through Robbie's dance, Jamie
begins making angry corrections on
Robbie. He finally interrups the song,
very angry. Music out abruptly.
JAMIE
What is the matter with you?! Is that how I showed you the
movement? What am I busting my hump trying to make this shit
meaningful if you're going to dance it like you're a
paraplegic? Is there a dancer in there?!
A beat, as all the dancers avoid eye
contact.
Stage Manager comes up to Jamie.
STAGE MANAGER
Jamie, the kids are overdue for a break.
JAMIE
Fine. Let's break for the day.
STAGE MANAGER
All right, everybody. That's it for today.
Jamie remains still as everyone else
exits.
He watches blankly as lights come up on
the set for Ben's home/office.
Ben sits in his office.
Jamie crosses and enters. (The lights
on the dancing area of the stage fade
down, though a special remains on
Jamie's Father.)
JAMIE
Hello...?
Ben stands to greet him.
BEN
Jamie, come in.
Ben is directly before him.
BEN (CONT'D)
Handshake or hug?
Jamie is at a loss by the question. He
tentatively opens his arms a bit to
indicate hug. Ben reads the sign, and
pulls Jamie into his arms to hug him
warmly.
During the hug, the lights go down on
Jamie's Father.
BEN (CONT'D)
Please...sit.
Jamie and Ben take chairs facing each
other.
BEN (CONT'D)
Now, what's on your mind?
JAMIE
Well...I feel--out of sorts in my life.
BEN
That's certainly when a lot of people come to see me.
JAMIE
Really?
BEN
Yes, really.
They sit staring at each other for a
bit. Ben is apparently in no hurry.
JAMIE
I...keep having the feeling that my life isn't what it's
supposed to be.
BEN
Good.
JAMIE
Good?
BEN
Do you feel that in all aspects of life, or just one or two?
JAMIE
Just one or two, I think.
BEN
Then we've got a ways to go, huh?
JAMIE
I'm sorry...what?
BEN
Until you realize that none of your life is what it's
supposed to be.
JAMIE
I feel like I'm talking to the Riddler.
BEN
Well, if you've had any Batman fantasies, I suppose that
could be interesting.
JAMIE
Are...you flirting with me now?
BEN
I'm interacting with you, Jamie. I'm playing my part in the
script you're handing me.
JAMIE
This...isn't what I thought this would be.
BEN
What did you want this to be? You are writing this whole
thing, Jamie. You told me you're a choreographer, right?
JAMIE
Yes.
BEN
That's fantastic. I danced a little in college. I admire
people who do what you can do.
JAMIE
Thank you.
BEN
Where do your dances come from?
JAMIE
That's not an easy question.
BEN
I found it very easy...rolled off my tongue, no problem.
JAMIE
I mean the answer isn't so easy.
BEN
Sorry to be contradictory, but yeah, it is.
JAMIE
Oh, really?
BEN
Yep. Your dances come from you.
JAMIE
Maybe.
BEN
Wow, if you're giving me flak on that one, you're gonna have
a helluva time when I tell you where your life comes from.
JAMIE
From me?
BEN
You win.
JAMIE
That's...dumb.
BEN
That you're writing every aspect of your life? You think
someone else is doing it?
JAMIE
God?
BEN
Sorry, he's busy.
JAMIE
Fate?
BEN
Fate is a crutch for people who can't accept predestination.
JAMIE
I don't even know what that means.
BEN
Well, you better figure it out. You're writing this shit.
JAMIE
Why do you keep saying that?
BEN
You're Latino, aren't you?
JAMIE
Half.
BEN
So "Jamie" is really "Jaime"?
JAMIE
No, I'm half-Latin on my father's side. The "Jamie" was my
mother's idea...short for "James."
BEN
So you didn't modify a Latin name to sound Anglo, you
modified a man's name to sound...ambiguous.
JAMIE
I don't think it sounds ambiguous.
BEN
Could be a little boy's name. Or the bionic woman's.
JAMIE
Look, my mother coined the nickname.
BEN
She wanted a girl?
JAMIE
Are you going somewhere with this?
BEN
I'm just curious why you wrote the script this way.
JAMIE
I didn't write--
BEN
You have the macho thing in there, competing with the
emasculating-mother thing. And then you overlay the whole
choreographer thing, constantly around gay guys. I think I
like the Latin thing most. Why did you choose that?
JAMIE
I didn't choose--
BEN
Just go with this for a while, okay? If this entire life is
a dance that you're choreographing, a script that you're
writing...why bring in the Latin thing?
JAMIE
I dunno...so I can get extra funding because it's a minority
piece?
BEN
That's good. Now what about the gay thing?
JAMIE
What gay thing?
BEN
Oh...am I peeking ahead? I don't mean to go off half-cocked.
As it were.
LIGHTS UP on Jamie's Father upstage
right.
JAMIE
I think you're being inappropriate. Seductive.
BEN
And what do you want me to say?
JAMIE
What do I want you to say?
BEN
Do I say "No, I'm not," "Yes, I am," or "Kiss me"?
FATHER
Is that what you want?!
Jamie, flustered, gets up and exits.
CROSS FADE to Jamie and Sara's
apartment. (Lights out on both Ben and
Jamie's Father.)
Sara is at her desk as Jamie enters.
SARA
Hey.
JAMIE
Hey.
SARA
Where've you been?
JAMIE
(too loud)
Nowhere! Doing nothing!
SARA
Okay, that was a little...emotional. Where is this coming
from?
JAMIE
Do not patronize me, and do not analyze me! I am not one of
your patients!
SARA
(clinically calm)
Jamie, do you feel connected to yourself? Take a breath and--
JAMIE
I will take a breath when I want to take a breath! Do not
start in with that dissociative stuff!
SARA
Look, would you rather hear it from a different therapist?
You fit the dissociative profile. These occasional outbursts
that don't seem provoked by--
JAMIE
I'm provoked, all right! By a woman who won't leave her work
at the office! Why do I require a diagnosis?! Maybe I just
had a bad day. Or a bad conversation. Or a bad Latin
temper! I'm not one of your fucking head cases!
SARA
I don't know how to talk to you when you go to this place.
JAMIE
Fine! I'll go someplace else!
Jamie storms out.
CROSS FADE to gay bar. Music intro
begins to I LIKE 'EM BIG AND STUPID by
Julie Brown.
Good looking men are dancing, a
production number demonstrating the gay
male mating rituals.
Jamie enters, gets a drink, and
watches. Jamie downs his drink and
suddenly jumps into the middle of the
dance, with a great intensity.
Jamie then notices Ben in the bar.
Jamie stops dancing and they stare at
each other.
Ben puts his hand out and Jamie lets
himself be danced around by Ben
briefly, engulfed in the taller man's
arms in a very particular dance move.
Then Jamie breaks away, more than
uncomfortable, and exits the bar, as
the wild dancing continues.
Music out and CROSS FADE as Ben walks
into his light at his podium. He is
mid-lecture.
BEN
What if there were no duality? What if there were no "bad"
and "good"? Black and white. Happy and sad. Right...and
wrong. What if it just "was"? And we just "were"? Is there
any way--under the sun (and the moon)--that you could wrap
your head around that? I'm just asking...
SCENE 4
Music intro begins to FATHER FIGURE by George Michael.
Robbie begins a dance. He is joined by
Sandra, and by BRADLEY--a tall male
dancer who bears a resemblance to Ben.
Robbie first dances with Sandra, then
moves into the arms of Bradley. The
dance move they perform is reminiscent
of Jamie's with Ben in the gay bar.
Jamie enters and cues the music out.
JAMIE
Okay, I'm not really feeling this.
Jamie sets Robbie in Bradley's arms in
a very particular way.
JAMIE (CONT'D)
That's how this needs to be placed. His arms over you, the
feeling of being engulfed. Okay, good.
Jamie moves back, away from the dancers
but still onstage.
JAMIE (CONT'D)
Let's take it from the transition, from Robbie dancing with
Sandra, to Robbie dancing with Ben--I mean, Bradley. From
cue eleven please, Andrew?
Music starts up again, midway through.
Jamie sits in a chair, and LIGHTS COME
UP to reveal Sara sitting in another
chair nearby.
They watch the dance as it continues
into a more passionate duet between
Robbie and Bradley.
Jamie, surprised, notices Sara
watching.
JAMIE
Sara...!
(to the booth)
Music out, please.
SARA
I'm not a stupid woman, Jamie.
JAMIE
(to the dancers)
Okay, everybody please take a five.
SARA
"Not all choreographers are gay, Sara."
JAMIE
Look, I don't know what conclusion you think you're coming
to, but--
SARA
If you want cock, Jamie, just have cock, okay? It's really
very nice. I'm sure you'll like it.
JAMIE
We can't do this here--
SARA
Or have you already been liking it for a while now?
Whatever.
Sara exits quietly. Jamie crosses the
stage and enters Ben's office. Ben is
seated at his desk.
JAMIE
I'm attracted to you.
BEN
Okay.
JAMIE
Sara says she's leaving me.
BEN
Oh, brother...
JAMIE
That's your reaction?
BEN
Is this really the level you want to play this on?
JAMIE
What are you talking about?
BEN
Is this the show you want to put up? The story you want to
tell? Closeted guy comes out? Leaves girl for guy? Girl
cries, guy cries, other guy holds him? I was just hoping
you'd go a little deeper.
JAMIE
Deeper?! This is my life, you asshole!
BEN
Okay, then. Have your breakdown. Then your breakthrough.
Open up to a whole new identity. Rearrange the deck chairs
on the Titanic.
(standing up and coming around
to Jamie. Speaking in a
monotone, going through the
motions)
Here. Let me hold you. I'll always be there for you.
Jamie pulls away from Ben's "embrace."
JAMIE
What the fuck is that? My life is that meaningless to you?
BEN
Yes. And so is my life. And every other freaked-out hamster
running around. So why don't you look for a perspective that
does have some meaning? Wake the hell up!
A column of golden light appears near
Jamie, then disappears again.
JAMIE
Did...you see that?!
BEN
No. But I'm hoping it was beautiful.
JAMIE
(stunned)
Yes...it was...
BEN
Good.
(coming back up to Jamie.
Really meaning the words with
compassion this time)
Here. Let me hold you.
Jamie stares at him, vulnerable.
BEN
(gently)
I'll always be there for you.
SCENE 5
Sara is in the apartment, packing a box. Jamie enters and
stares at what she's doing.
SARA
I don't want anything dramatic.
JAMIE
That's funny, neither does he...the guy I'm not seeing.
This stops her. She stares at him.
JAMIE (CONT'D)
It's Ben.
SARA
That I figured out.
JAMIE
But I'm not involved with him, not romantically.
SARA
That part's a surprise.
JAMIE
Please don't leave.
SARA
Jamie, I know you have abandonment issues. Your dad wasn't
around enough. But won't Ben fill that hole better than me?
So to speak.
JAMIE
Ben doesn't think I should take anything seriously that's
happening on this level.
She stares at him for a beat.
SARA
(irony)
Well, that's very healthy. Denial of reality for a man with
a dissociative disorder. Has Ben also thought of opening a
chain of martini bars at AA meetings?
JAMIE
I don't want you to go.
SARA
If Ben doesn't think you should take things too seriously,
what does it matter if I'm here?
JAMIE
Because you love me. Because I love you. And...what if he's
wrong?
LIGHTS GO TO BLACK. In the blackout we
hear:
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Latino Spirit Ojo de Tigre
Excellence in the Arts Banquet proudly presents our
entertainment for this evening, the Jamie Montes Dance
Company.
Music intro begins for HEROES by Jill
Sobule.
LIGHTS UP on six or eight dancers
performing a piece that is cynical and
dark-humored, portraying society in
turmoil. There is an overlay of
lightness to the proceedings that
ultimately makes it more disturbing.
The number ends, and LIGHTS COME UP
elsewhere on the stage with Jamie and
Sara in evening attire. They chat
politely with guests at this party that
we don't see.
Ben, also in evening attire, approaches
them.
BEN
That was quite a piece.
SARA
I thought it was a bit dark.
BEN
Pretty accurate appraisal of the human condition.
SARA
For those who aren't very enamored of it.
BEN
Are you saying that Jamie's not enamored of the human
condition, or that I'm not.
SARA
I'm not exactly sure what you're enamored of. Maybe you
could explain it to me.
BEN
Jamie, should I do that?
JAMIE
Sara, you've been to Ben's lectures. You know what he
believes in.
SARA
Right. This world's an illusion. Only God is real. Sing
Polly-wolly-doodle all the day.
BEN
Very well said, Sara. And catchy, too.
SARA
Do you wonder why I'm still with Jamie, Ben?
BEN
No I don't, Sara.
SARA
Oh, right. It's just another story in the world of illusion,
so why dwell? But if you'd humor me for just a sec...
JAMIE
Sara, please.
BEN
Of course.
SARA
I stayed with Jamie because you weren't fucking him. That is
correct, gentlemen, is it not?
BEN
Yes, Sara, it is.
SARA
But I also stayed with him because you are mind-fucking him.
JAMIE
Sara...
BEN
I can see how you'd feel that way, Sara.
SARA
Your magnanimity underwhelms me. And your spiritual foo-fa
raw dismays me.
BEN
I had the impression it intrigued you...until it started
impacting your boyfriend.
SARA
You say "impacting," I say "unraveling." Po-tay-to, po-tah
to.
JAMIE
Sara, if you really feel that's what's happening to me--
SARA
What, Jamie?! What should I do if I really feel that? Leave
you? Commit you? If I'm just an illusion, I'll be gone soon
enough. If Ben's "wisdom" is the illusion, then who else is
going to help you find your way back to sanity?
Jamie looks from Sara to Ben.
BEN
It's your scene, Jamie. You get to decide who has the last
line.
JAMIE
I think Ben just did, Sara. Let's go home.
Jamie ushers Sara away.
Music begins to GOOD DREAM by P.J.
Olsson.
As Jamie and Sara go through the
motions of getting in the car, driving
home, and getting into bed, dancers all
around them exhibit the inner angst
operative during the physical silence
of their activities.
Jamie in particular is going wild in
his "danced inner monologue," trying to
balance two different worlds and
thought systems.
After Sara and Jamie are in bed and
Sara turns the light out, Jamie is
still not turned off. The dancers
around him keep him in a turmoil.
He gets out of bed and rushes to Ben's
office. The door is locked and the
office is dark, but he knocks
incessantly.
LIGHTS COME UP on Jamie's Father,
staring at him from upstage right. A
corresponding column of golden light
comes up upstage left.
In desperation, Jamie smashes a window.
Jamie's Father leaves his "spot" and
begins crossing toward Jamie, as the
golden column of light fades out.
Jamie takes a shard of the broken glass
and slashes at his wrists. Jamie's
Father fades out.
There is blood as Jamie slides down to
the ground.
Blackout.
SCENE 6
Music intro to SAY GOODNIGHT by Beth Nielsen Chapman.
LIGHTS UP on Robbie. He is lying in
the same position that Jamie just
inhabited.
The golden column of light appears
again. In another area, a white light
fades up.
Dancers dressed in white enter, lifting
Robbie up; it seems that he is being
escorted "to the light."
But then things change and they lead
him back away from the light.
It ends with a CROSS FADE to Ben's
office.
Ben sits in a chair, staring at Jamie
on the couch. Jamie is asleep, with
his wrists bandaged.
Jamie awakens as the song plays its
last chords.
BEN
I hope you got that out of your system.
They stare at each other.
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
SCENE 1
Jamie is still on the couch, where we left him, with Ben
staring from his spot leaning on the desk.
BEN
If you wanted a key, you could've just asked for one.
Jamie is silent.
BEN (CONT'D)
Interesting that you chose the wrist-slashing thing outside
of my place...if you'd done it around your therapist
girlfriend, she'd've been obliged to put you in the hospital
for three days.
JAMIE
Aren't you obliged?
BEN
By very little. What's your damage, dude?
JAMIE
I couldn't take it. You say that choosing God brings peace
inside. My insides are screaming.
BEN
Choosing God brings peace. One foot in one world and one
foot in the other brings screaming insides.
JAMIE
Maybe I'm not strong enough to get both feet wherever the
hell you think I should get them.
BEN
Everybody feels that way. At first. You're going to do it
eventually...you might as well get the screaming insides out
of the way now.
JAMIE
Fuck it.
BEN
That's certainly your prerogative. But one thing, pal:
suicide just means you hop back on the hamster wheel all over
again. Is that really what you want?
JAMIE
What are my other choices?
BEN
Peace and fulfillment, better than a thousand orgasms,
nonstop twenty-four/seven...if there actually were a twenty
four or a seven.
JAMIE
"Time and space are a human construct."
BEN
Even in his fragile state, Mr. Jamie Montes still keeps his
dissociated wits about him. Do you want me to call Sara?
JAMIE
Won't she be obliged to put me in the hospital for three
days?
BEN
Not if I tell her you're staying with me for a while.
JAMIE
Then she'll assume we've started sleeping together.
BEN
I could tell her I'm dead from the waist down.
JAMIE
Do you want to sleep with me?
BEN
Why, yes I do. And not just because you bled all over my
doorway.
JAMIE
I want to sleep with you too.
BEN
It's your story...
JAMIE
"But"?
BEN
(referring to Jamie's butt)
That's cute, too.
JAMIE
I feel like there's a "but" coming up.
BEN
Just perhaps it's time to take an overview of the tale you're
telling, which, frankly, feels like it's meandering a bit.
JAMIE
Why do you use words like "meander"?
BEN
Because you wanted a man in your story whose...
vocabulary...was bigger than yours. I think it's a macho
thing. Look, if this were a show you were putting up, would
this be the point in the play to have the two boys
kiss...right after one of the boys tried to off himself?
JAMIE
No. That would be giving the wrong message to our youth.
BEN
Well, what should go here? What's next for you?
JAMIE
Here's the thing I don't understand. You're always preaching
about love and letting God guide your actions. Well,
wouldn't sleeping together behind Sara's back be a sin?
BEN
(feigning ignorance)
"Sin"?...What is this "sin"? Past tense of "son"? And as a
son, you seem way past tense...
JAMIE
How can you be condoning us doing something that would hurt
Sara?
BEN
I'm not condoning anything. And if I slept with you, it
would be out of love not fear, so how would that be a
problem? As for Sara, I don't know what would hurt or not
hurt her, or what her journey is supposed to be.
JAMIE
Well, then you might as well say I should shoot her with a
gun, since perhaps her journey is supposed to have her die
this afternoon.
BEN
I didn't know you were contemplating shooting Sara with a
gun.
JAMIE
I'm not.
BEN
That's what always cracks me up. Whenever newbies are first
introduced to the idea of doing what would they want to do
and not having judgment about it, they either bring up
shooting someone with a gun, or Hitler.
JAMIE
It's a valid argument.
BEN
Arguments are seldom valid. And you either believe that
everything here is secondary in importance to love, or you
don't.
JAMIE
So having sex with you wouldn't make me Hitler.
BEN
Not unless you have bunker fantasies, and start calling me
Eva. What you have to determine is if the urge to merge with
me is coming from love or fear.
JAMIE
While I'm figuring that out, what should we tell Sara?
BEN
"We" think that "you" should tell her--here's a radical
concept--the truth.
JAMIE
And get locked up on suicide watch?
BEN
Who knows what might happen? You might be surprised. Talk
to her.
JAMIE
You mean now?
BEN
Do you feel strong enough?
JAMIE
This is my play. I'm fucking strong enough.
BEN
You go, boy.
Jamie gets up and crosses to the
apartment. Sara is there, and she
reacts with alarm when she sees his
bandaged wrists.
SARA
Okay...I don't want to jump to conclusions, but those aren't
bracelets.
JAMIE
Sara...I was freaking out last night, so I went over to Ben's
place and nobody answered the door. So I slit my wrists.
SARA
(after a beat)
Couldn't you just ask him for a key?
JAMIE
Don't you have an obligation to put me on suicide watch?
SARA
Why? Are you planning on trying it again?
JAMIE
No.
SARA
Nice to see you have some kind of learning curve going on.
JAMIE
How can you joke about this?
SARA
Jamie, I'm tired of being the shrewish scientist, who drives
you into the company of the fascinating pagan.
JAMIE
Wow.
SARA
I counsel clients all day long that their partners are not
their responsibility...that everybody has to take care of
their own self. I'm not your Higher Power. And yours seems
to be bandaging you up just fine.
JAMIE
Ben isn't my higher power.
SARA
I only implied that he was.
JAMIE
I want to sleep with Ben.
Sara takes a beat to stare at Jamie.
SARA
Duh!
JAMIE
Sara?
SARA
Do you love me, Jamie?
JAMIE
Yes.
SARA
Then for God's sake, let me have an arc too!
JAMIE
An arc?
SARA
Isn't that the lingo? In this "show" that Ben says you're
writing? Don't I have billing also?
JAMIE
I was making you rather one-dimensional, huh?
SARA
No fucking shit.
JAMIE
Can I stay here tonight?
SARA
Of course, honey. This is your home...illusory as Ben may be
convincing you it is.
JAMIE
I love you, Sara.
SARA
Need anything before we go to bed? Milk...warm bath...blood
transfusion?
JAMIE
I think I'm fine.
CROSS FADE to lights up at Ben's. The
phone rings. We hear Jamie on the
other end in V.O.
BEN
Hello?
JAMIE
I'm staying with Sara tonight.
BEN
Okey-dokey.
JAMIE
Not a problem?
BEN
Look for drama much?
JAMIE
Okay, then.
BEN
Later.
They hang up. Ben is quite peaceful.
CROSS FADE to Sara and Jamie, asleep in
bed.
Music intro begins to INVISIBLE MAN by
Joshua Kadison (which will segue into
BOOM-SHAK-A-LAK by Apache Indian).
Though Sara remains asleep, Jamie seems
to hear this music and stirs. He gets
out of bed, and a dim version of the
column of golden light is shining
across the room.
He stands staring at it as Dancers
enter, dressed from head to toe in
black (with faces covered also).
Against a black background it is
difficult to discern them.
Jamie begins dancing with them--rather,
he is danced by them, being lifted and
transported. Because they are so hard
to see, it almost looks as if Jamie is
levitating, being transported
ethereally.
Jamie becomes happily entranced in the
exercise, and suddenly the music turns
to BOOM-SHAK-A-LAK. The dancers all
tear two velcro strips off their all
black costumes, revealing each with a
vertical stripe that runs the length of
their bodies and a horizontal stripe
that runs their entire wingspan.
The dance becomes a somewhat
nightmarish, synchronized ritual, with
bizarre touches. Jamie is ill at ease
amid this new dance, and begins to show
signs of anxiety.
As the golden column of light fades
out, the image of Jamie's Father fades
up in an upstage area. He does some
garish moves in sync with the dancers,
then his light fades out.
The dancers begin to close in on Jamie,
and he is the worse for it emotionally.
The golden column has gone out, and the
dancers pick Jamie up again, although
this time it does not feel exhilarating
to him.
They deposit him in bed as the song
ends and they disappear.
Lights return to "normal bedroom" as
Jamie tosses fitfully, making noises.
He awakens with a jerk, waking up Sara.
He stares at her, a look of fear on his
face. He internalizes it, and lies
back down.
Lights fade down.
SCENE 2
LIGHTS UP on five Dancers, moving to the first four bars
intro to BOP TILL YOU DROP by The Vapors.
Music stops suddenly and LIGHTS UP on
Ben and Jamie in Ben's office.
BEN
Really bad dream, huh?
JAMIE
Sucked.
Focus back to dancers, who do seven
more bars of BOP TILL YOU DROP intro.
BEN
It's kind of good news.
JAMIE
Oh, really?
BEN
Some people have very bad dreams as they start getting closer
to Spirit. It seems to be a form of the subconscious
detoxing.
JAMIE
Fabulous.
Focus back to dancers, who do the first
eight bars of the first verse of BOP
TILL YOU DROP.
BEN
And what preceded this was Sara being...how?
JAMIE
Sweet, understanding, accepting, unconditionally loving.
BEN
More than you could handle, huh?
Dancers do the second eight bars of BOP
TILL YOU DROP.
JAMIE
At least I don't have to worry about you being sweet and
understanding.
BEN
Honey, I understand more than you think. But it's easier for
your system to handle love right now when it's tempered with
some tartness.
JAMIE
So...what? I can't handle being really loved?
BEN
Let's just say it's a shock to the system.
Dancers do the third eight bars of BOP
TILL YOU DROP.
JAMIE
So I'm never gonna be able to accept love?!
BEN
Yes. You're starting to. Just take it slow. And lighten up
a little.
JAMIE
Like how? I feel like screaming.
BEN
How about dancing? Maybe do something with a little less
subtext and a little more balls-out joy?
JAMIE
I'll take it under advisement.
Dancers do the fourth eight bars of the
verse of BOP TILL YOU DROP.
This leads into the first chorus, in
which Jamie jumps in and joins them.
The number is infectious and fast, and
Jamie's participation is wild,
alternating a freedom of expression
with an over-the-top push that is his
version of "screaming" out his tension.
SCENE 3
Sara is seated in her therapist's office, who we don't see.
SARA
Please don't get Freudian on me, Alex. When I asked what you
thought about this Ben's "it's all an illusion" philosophy, I
didn't want to hear "What do you think about it?" You know
I'm pretty self-directed when it comes to sharing what I
think about things. And if you don't know that, you
shouldn't be my therapist.
Okay, that was a little hostile. I'm just a wee bit
frustrated. Jamie seems to be getting deeper and deeper into
this guy's mindset, and-- I don't know, I don't want to lose
him. It's honestly not even whether they're having sex. And
I know you never expected to hear me say something like that.
It's more about what I might be losing him to. If it were
another woman...or even another man...I'd move on.
Eventually. But this feels like I'm losing him to...God.
No! It's not God. It's a hairbrained thought system
pretending to be about God. And this guy is playing up to
all of Jamie's father issues.
Damn...if only Jamie had more mother issues. I could work
him harder than Ben.
(looking at therapist)
That was competitive, huh? I didn't say that. That doesn't
leave this room.
CROSS FADE to Ben and Jamie in Ben's
office.
They both sit there silently. Though
it seems to be increasingly
uncomfortable for Jamie to do so.
Finally:
JAMIE
Five minutes is too long!
BEN
To not say anything? Man, do you need to start meditating.
JAMIE
Whatever.
BEN
The point was not just to stop talking. It was to see what
"comes to you" when you quiet the mind.
Jamie's Father appears again, upstage
and in vague lighting.
Jamie, fidgeting, acknowledges the
image.
JAMIE
I'd rather some things didn't come to me.
BEN
Is this a specific father memory, or just generic judging and
minimizing?
JAMIE
How do you know these things without me saying anything?
BEN
I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.
JAMIE
Actually, what came to mind was the last letter he ever wrote
me.
BEN
He was a doctor, right?
JAMIE
Yes.
BEN
I thought they only wrote prescriptions.
JAMIE
I had written him a letter first, after a particularly
unpleasant four-scotch dinner.
BEN
Was that two for you and two for him?
JAMIE
No, that was four and zero. I just wrote him that I was
uncomfortable around his drinking, and asked that we see each
other for lunch next time instead of dinner. He never drank
during the day because of work.
BEN
(ironic)
And he was grateful for the feedback?
Jamie's Father comes to life, speaking
what was in the letter, with his Latin
accent.
FATHER
Nobody tells me what to do, least of all you! I have never
respected anything you've done with your life. We will never
see each other, talk, or write again in this lifetime.
Adios!
Jamie's Father fades out.
BEN
That hurt.
JAMIE
No kidding.
BEN
On this level.
Jamie stares at him. And continues to
stare.
BEN (CONT'D)
Nothing to say?
JAMIE
I'm waiting for something to "come to me."
BEN
Oh, it came to you a while ago.
JAMIE
Fuck you!
BEN
There we go.
JAMIE
He screwed me royally, and you want to minimize it!
BEN
Any screwing he did of you--and maybe there was a mountain of
it--only happened in this illusion. And it only hurts in
this illusion.
JAMIE
But it hurts...
BEN
Granted. And--in the illusion--get someone to hold you.
Hell, I'll hold you all you want. But I wouldn't be doing
right by you if I didn't remind you that it's not real.
JAMIE
What if it's real but what you're preaching isn't?
BEN
Well, it's one or the other. There isn't a lot of wiggle
room here. Either it's all illusion, or none of it is.
JAMIE
Are you gonna send me off now, until I decide what I believe
in?
BEN
And bring up all your daddy abandonment issues? No way,
little amigo. Stay as long as you like. Get some of that
holding now, if you want it.
Jamie tentatively stands and comes over
to Ben, who opens his arms. Jamie
climbs into his embrace, allowing
himself to be held and vulnerable.
There is, surprisingly, nothing sexual
about it.
CROSS FADE to Sara on her cell phone.
SARA
Listen, Jamie, call me when you get a chance. I've been
asked to offer you a job...if you want it.
SCENE 4
Music up on instrumental sequence from CIGARETTES AND
CHOCOLATE MILK by Rufus Wainwright.
Dancers are doing steps in rehearsal
clothes. Robbie is being hoisted by
two other dancers, above a group of
dancers writhing around on the ground.
Jamie watches from the side, and cues
the music out.
JAMIE
No, I'm not liking that.
He is tense, and the dancers are
clearly exhausted.
JAMIE (CONT'D)
I need to find some way to get you elevated higher...
Upstage, LIGHTS COME UP on Jamie's
Father, looking at him disapprovingly.
Jamie averts his gaze from this, even
more tense now.
The dancers try and hoist Robbie
higher, but it is too difficult and
they are too tired.
ROBBIE
Jamie, I don't think we can do this. How 'bout if we use a
ladder or something instead?
JAMIE
Nobody tell me what to do, least of all you!
The Dancers pull back from this
outburst, going inward and averting
gaze. Robbie looks surprised and
wounded.
In a spot midway between Jamie and the
Father, a golden column of light fades
up.
Jamie, looking into Robbie's eyes,
makes the connection to the words he's
just uttered.
His demeanor changes entirely as the
Father image fades out. Jamie puts his
hands on Robbie's shoulders
empathetically.
JAMIE
Robbie, I'm so sorry...
ROBBIE
(surprised to hear an apology)
That's...okay...
JAMIE
(with new calm)
Let's take it back thirty-two counts. We'll figure this out.
SCENE 5
Sara, dressed for evening, is at a podium, addressing a large
(unseen) gathering.
SARA
They asked me to introduce the entertainment portion of
tonight's function because--well, it's my significant other
who put it together. When the organizing committee asked me
to see if he was interested, I thought it seemed pretty
unlikely he'd want to choreograph something for the Region
Three Convention of Independent Psychotherapists and Family
Counselors. But life is full of surprises, and so is Jamie.
And since I have been barred from the rehearsal studios, this
is a surprise to me also. So...presenting the Jamie Montes
dance company.
CROSS FADE to center stage. Music
begins to CIGARETTES AND CHOCOLATE MILK
by Rufus Wainwright.
The Dancers enter and perform a piece
about addiction and freedom.
Robbie alternates between being caught
up in the vortex, and climbing a ladder
and looking down on it from a detached
perspective.
He also spends time on a "therapist's
couch," as "demons" circle around him.
A Dancer resembling Jamie's father
pounces atop Robbie on the couch. The
demon dancers eventually pick him up
off the couch and take him elsewhere.
He looks back and sees that other
demons are engulfing the therapist as
well.
At the end of the dance, Robbie is once
again involved in the vortex, but he
ends by partially lifting himself up
toward the ladder.
CROSS FADE to Sara and Jamie--both in
evening clothes--coming together at the
party.
JAMIE
Hi.
SARA
Well...I've been getting a lot of reaction from my colleagues
to the dance number.
JAMIE
Really?
SARA
Yeah. Most of them want to know if you're currently in
treatment.
JAMIE
And...what do you think?
SARA
Jamie, I think you're working things through.
JAMIE
I guess that's...diplomatic.
SARA
I'm not trying to be diplomatic. I'm trying to love you.
JAMIE
Don't strain yourself.
SARA
Are you trying to pick a fight?
JAMIE
No. I just want you to tell me what you really think.
SARA
Okay. I do think you're working something through. You're
working through your hesitancy to completely commit to
something insane. You present therapists as just as
vulnerable to demons as their patients, and the only true
salvation comes from escaping humanity altogether.
JAMIE
Gee...I'm glad it was so clear.
SARA
It's very clear, Jamie. And so was your desperate need to
have your father love you instead of attack you.
JAMIE
Your point being?
SARA
I didn't get how strong your need for male approval was until
Ben came along.
JAMIE
You're saying you think--?
SARA
You would do anything to get him to approve of you, to love
you...to want you. If he was selling shampoo instead of
"this is all an illusion," you'd have your dancers washing
their hair instead of climbing ladders to redemption.
JAMIE
That's what you really believe?
SARA
Yes. But it's not what I know.
Jamie gives her a look of "what the
hell?"
SARA (CONT'D)
What I know is far less quantifiable. I don't know if
there's a God. I don't know if this is all an illusion. I
don't even know whether you're really dissociating under
Ben's influence, or coming to the deepest truths of life.
But I do know how I feel.
JAMIE
And you feel like I'm going insane.
SARA
No. I feel your joy exploring these new ideas. I think I
even feel moments of peace and self-acceptance coming from
you...which I never felt before. So that leaves me trying to
maneuver between what I believe, what I feel, and what I know
-and don't know.
JAMIE
Yeah...there's a lot of that going around.
SARA
If I were treating you, Jamie, it would be my ethical
obligation to honor what I believe and what I've been trained
to do. But you're not my patient...you're the man I love. I
didn't want to make this a stupid drama about Ben and me
competing for your affections. And I don't want to make this
a drama--albeit a more interesting one--about Ben's ideas and
my ideas competing for your reality.
JAMIE
Not to look a gift-horse in the mouth, but...doesn't that
mean you don't love me enough to fight for me?
SARA
Fighting is so...last century. Hmm...if only. Honestly, if
I don't have the proof that where you're headed is wrong, how
can I place myself on the other side of this argument?
JAMIE
Then work it through with me, Sara.
SARA
I can't. I don't have the same feeling you have--wherever it
comes from, right or wrong--so I can't go on that journey
with you. But if it adds up to something, I'll be right here
to learn about it.
JAMIE
And if it adds up to nothing...
SARA
Jamie, for the love of God, don't go there! I'm taking under
advisement Ben's idea of getting out of duality, so don't
fight me on it and make more drama.
JAMIE
I really love you.
SARA
(dryly)
Yes...that's my evil plan. To make things so non
oppositional that you can't help but love me. Mwa-ha-haaa.
JAMIE
I can't tell if you're joking or serious.
SARA
Neither can I, honey.
Music intro starts up to MAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF MUSIC
by Cass Elliot.
Jamie takes Sara's hand, and they begin
dancing closely, tenderly.
Robbie and Sandra--dressed similarly to
Jamie and Sara, but with a 1960s
interpretation--begin to dance around
them, a bit more wildly.
Robbie breaks away from Sandra and
begins to dance on his own, freely.
Soon, Jamie moves away from Sara and
walks contemplatively.
Bradley--dressed in a '60s version of
what Ben will shortly wear--enters and
begins to dance next to Robbie. Their
dancing becomes closer as Jamie enters
Ben's home, and Jamie and Ben kiss.
Lights go down on all other areas as
Robbie and Bradley dance an
increasingly intense pas de deux.
As the song ends, the dancers exit and
lights come up on Ben's bed. Jamie
lies in Ben's arms, post-coital.
Ben is calmly looking within a book.
BEN
Here it is. It's this thing Derek Jarman wrote. He was this
gay filmmaker. "Until I'd enjoyed being fucked I had not
reached balanced manhood. When I meet heterosexual men I
know they have experienced only half of love."
JAMIE
That's...impresionante.
BEN
Are you getting all Hispanic on me?
JAMIE
I guess I'm more bilingual now that I've reached balanced
manhood.
Lights come up upstage on Jamie's
Father.
FATHER
Do you want a man's penis penetrating you in the rectum? Is
that what you want?!
Jamie tenses up, and Ben notices. He
holds Jamie, as lights fade down on
Jamie's Father.
BEN
So, Sara actually used the term "non-oppositional"?
JAMIE
Huh?...Oh. Yeah.
BEN
That must feel very freeing, knowing that she's not going to
be your adversary.
JAMIE
Well...it freed me up for this. Though I'm not sure it's
what she was anticipating.
BEN
And I hope you have the sense that I'm not your adversary
either.
JAMIE
Yes.
BEN
So I guess there's only one person left to get non
oppositional with.
Jamie looks at him, unsure.
JAMIE
Can you do that with someone who's dead?
Ben turns out the light and pulls Jamie
into a snuggle position, preparing to
sleep.
BEN
There's only one way to find out.
They both close their eyes.
Music intro comes up to ME MUERO, ME MUERO
by Carlos Ponce.
Jamie's eyes dart open, but Ben remains
still.
Jamie gets out of bed, naked.
Two Male Dancers enter, strutting in a
proudly Latin manner. They are dressed
very bullfighter/Flamenco.
Two Female Dancers, also dressed
Spanish, enter and help Jamie dress in
his own tight Spanish costume.
The FDs exit and Jamie does a face-off
dance with the two MDs. Some steps are
reminiscent of the original face-off
between the monkey and the secret agent
in the opening dance.
When Jamie has triumphed over the MDs,
he then must face his great challenge,
as lights come up upstage on the dancer
representing Jamie's Father.
Jamie does not have the same strength
or bravado facing the Father, and is
becoming weaker as the confrontation
progresses. Finally, he rips off the
mask from the Father dancer, and
reveals that it is Robbie. There is a
stunned moment as Jamie realizes he has
been fighting against "himself."
As Jamie dances lovingly with Robbie, a
gold aura comes up on the area.
Jamie's dancing becomes freer and more
joyous. He dances happily, robustly
with the other dancers.
Then Jamie does a quick double-turn
upstage and sees the true figure of his
father. There is a moment of fear and
doubt as they are left alone on the
stage together.
But the Father opens his arms to Jamie
and gives him an unabashedly loving
embrace.
Jamie, joyous, bids goodbye to the
Father. Lights go down on the Father
and back up on Ben asleep in bed.
Jamie gently tucks himself back into
Ben's arms as the music ends.
Fade down on scene.
SCENE 6
In the darkness we come in on the
"audio portion" of Ben's lecture.
BEN (V.O.)
In his book, "Your Immortal Reality," Gary Renard writes of
his experiences, "Suddenly I felt weightless as my body
disappeared. There was nothing to see, only an experience of
total awareness. The ecstasy of what I was experiencing was
beyond words. It was the experience of revelation, and I
didn't know if I could stand the joy."
LIGHTS UP on Ben at the pulpit.
BEN
Do you want a piece of that?
(beat)
It's not a trick question.
Music intro begins to THIS MOMENT by
Kristin Chenoweth.
CROSS FADE to lights up on a single
Dancer, then two, then more.
Then Jamie joins them, somehow more
whole and complete than he has ever
been before.
Sara enters and Jamie does a dance of
"completion" with her, happy yet
somehow bittersweet. He does a similar
dance with Ben, as if saying goodbye.
Sara and Ben stand at either side as
Jamie dances with the other Dancers in
the center of the stage.
As the song reaches its climax, the
dancers move in front of Jamie,
blocking him from the audience.
A column of golden light comes up
strongly in the spot where Jamie must
be standing, behind the other dancers.
On the last note of the song
("...gone"), the dancers split center,
and show that Jamie has disappeared
from the spot, leaving the golden
column empty.
Lights go down on the rest of the
stage. During the final notes of the
song, lights fade on the golden column.
END OF PLAY