Omar’s (Un-produced) Too Much Light Plays: The Uncomfortable Dinner Party: A Theatrical Representation in Three Parts

The Uncomfortable Dinner Party: A Theatrical Representation in Three Parts

[All seated thus

....RC
AC......OT
AS......CL

this can be on blocks or chairs or on the floor. In the background plays classical music.]

CHRISTOPHER
Christopher

ADAM
Adam

CHRISTOPHER
Adam

ADAM
Christopher

ALICIA
Alicia

ROBERTA
Roberta

ALICIA
Roberta

ROBERTA
Alicia

OMAR
Omar. [Pause.] Omar

[ALICIA says a one liner about a recent political subject. The other ensemble members remain neutral until the statement is done. Then, depending on ensemble member’s opinion, they react in one of two ways. I’m including what I would say as an example.]

EXAMPLE
I don’t know much about war, but I really want a new iPad.

All [Mechanically]
Agreed. Agreed! AGREED!

or

All [Mechanically]
Dissent. Dissent! DISSENT!

[ROBERTA says a funny one-liner. Again, the ensemble remains neutral until the person finishes. This does not need to be that funny; we’re all going to faux laugh anyway.]

EXAMPLE
For Lent, I’ve given up giving up. #winning!

ALL [Mechanically.]
Ha. Ha. Ha.

[The person who just said the political thing then holds out another handful of straws. The game repeats.  The person who draws the short straw in this round says something confessional. This confession should be delivered as quickly as possible to remain under a minute. The ensemble starts at neutral, but then begin to slowly strike a pose of their choosing. The pose can be any pose. It does not need to reflect what is being said. However, the movement into the pose must be fully committed; no changing poses midway through.]

EXAMPLE
I’ve never been in a play with any of you. And I wanted desperately to write something personal about all of you, but I’ve got nothing. And that I’m failing sucks because it highlights one of my most noticeable inabilities: To write for women. It haunts me. Even now with a cast of 6 women in it, my play with all the people I haven’t been in this show with before excludes four of the 6 women. Oh, I can write movement plays for women. Suuuuuure! I can make them read my poems as if they were written for them, because my poems are generic enough to be ready by anyone at all. And that I’m the one making the uncomfortable statement in this play shows how one-sided and self-centered my writing voice actually is.

Curtain.

---

Author’s Note: I realized that it’s going to be a very long time (if ever) before I am in Too Much Light and am producing new work with them. I have a few old, never produced plays so I thought I’d just publish them here on my site instead of letting them collect... dust(?).