Little Children Dream of God by Jeff Augustin

Transcription

1 Little Children Dream of God by Jeff Augustin Contact: Mark Orsini Bret Adams Ltd. 448 W 44 th Street New York, NY morsini@bretadamsltd.net

2 Characters Sula Mid 20s Haitian woman Carolyn Early 40s White American woman Joel Early 30s Haitian-American man Toussaint Early 30s Haitian-American man Vishal Early/Mid 20s Multi-Ethnic Trinidadian man Madison- Early/Mid 30s Haitian-American woman Trevor- Mid 30s White American man Manuel 113 year old Cuban man Reverend 50s/60s American man Man- Early 30s Haitian man Doubling One Actor in his Early/Mid 30s plays TOUSSAINT/MAN One Actor in his 50s/60s plays MANUEL/REVEREND Setting Present day. For the most part in Overtown in Miami, FL. But also various locations in the greater Miami area, West Palm Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Note: A silent moment when a character reveals or holds back a truth. A time when language is too much or not enough Overlapping Dialogue: Joel s line begins on Carolyn s is What the fuck is wrong with you Joel JOEL Is everything ok? Translations: Pa kit m (don t leave me) The actress playing Sula should say the line in Creole. The line in parentheses is the translation

3 Scene One ( floats on a tire in the Atlantic Ocean between Haiti and Florida. She wears a long white cotton dress. Light from the moon shines on her, keeping the endless darkness from enveloping her. She is striking, the kind of beauty that wars are fought over. She is also pregnant. Her belly nearly larger than her body. A beat. The baby kicks violently, it shakes her. She exhales. To the baby ) Shhh. Shhh. The sacrifice and wait you ve made will be worth it. Soon the air will be clean. The water fresh. Fields of grain endless and rich. Animals ripe and fat. You ll read uncensored words in completed texts for as long as you wish and you ll learn of the world. Your beauty will be simple. You ll love and be loved purely. It will never cause you to flee. It will never cause you to hide. And you ll never dream of the darkness in a voodoo night. (The baby continues to kick.) Shhh. Shhh. (A beat. She begins to sing a Haitian nursery rhyme) Do Do Ti Pitit Manman Do Do Ti Pitit Manman Si ou pa do do shat la va manjew Si ou pa do do shat la va manjew Do Do TiPit shat nan kalalou Do Do TiPit shat nan kalalou Manmanw ale nan mashe Papaw ale nan jadin Si ou pa do do shat la va manjew Si ou pa do do shat la va manjew (Go to sleep mommy s little baby Go to sleep mommy s little baby If you don t sleep the cat will eat you If you don t sleep the cat will eat you Sleep little baby the cat is hiding in the okra Sleep little baby the cat is hiding in the okra Your mommy went to the market Your daddy went to the farm If you don t sleep the cat will eat you If you don t sleep the cat will eat you) (She starts from the beginning and continues to sing as lights fade down)

4 Scene Two (Late Night. The streets of Overtown in Miami. is standing in the middle of the street in a night gown and slippers. The only source of light is the moon. To God ) Come on God. It s hot and humid. Just turn back on the power. Please. (No Response) I said I was sorry, didn t I? You know how cranky I am in the morning. Come on. (No Response) Is this how you re going to handle it? ( enters. She is soaked, dripping wet. At first is happy to see. She tries approaching her, but ) Well fuck you then. I should be ignoring you. You re the one who offended me. So if you don t turn this electricity back on I swear I ll ( tries walking past without being seen) (The baby kicks, causing her to release a sound of agony. turns and sees ) Sorry, I didn t mean to bother you ( continues her exit attempt. It s obvious that she s in pain. looks up at God with a Really? look. A beat) Are you okay? I m fine You don t look fine

5 I am You know where you are? Yes, Miami But where in Miami? I m going to a friend s. I m fine ( continues, in pain, her exit attempt) Look, I live right here. Why don t you come in and use my phone and call someone. You re in no shape to be walking around That s nice of you, but I ll be ok When was the last time you ate or drank anything? I m fine You re pregnant, you can t be fine ( continues exiting) If you keep going down this block, someone will cut you open and sell your baby for crack. You go down that block. Some yuppie will enslave you and then your baby. I m not stupid, you are soaked and wet. You re not the first refugee I ve seen. And you obviously have no clue where you are. So let me help you (A moment) I was dropped off in front of some house and it wasn t the place I was looking for

6 You took one of those jitneys? Oui (corrects herself) yes I know what oui means. Those jitney drivers seem real helpful. Driving by, waiting for y all to come up out of the water. They speak your language. But they take all the little money you refugees have and then drop you off in the vicinity of where you need to be, which means you are actually miles and miles away from your destination (Another contraction comes upon her) My baby is coming. Is there a hospital nearby? Yes, but you don t want to go there. They will send you back to Haiti No, they won t. I m having an American I don t know where you ve been these past couple of years, but it doesn t work like that anymore. Once they cut the umbilical cord, before you get the chance to push out the placenta, you will be back on a boat to your country. And your child will be placed in detention until he or she is eighteen. Then they will be sent to Nebraska or the Dakotas or one of those states in the middle of the country and work for less than minimum wage at a Wal-Mart until he or she dies. What s a Wal-Mart? A big store where you can get everything you need I was exaggerating for effect. I m not crazy

7 I m not saying you are I know I look it. It s 110 degrees and the power went out while I was sleeping. So I needed some air, that s why I m in my nightgown. And I wasn t talking to myself. I was talking to God You were? Yes You sounded angry. You shouldn t be angry at God Oh I have the right to be angry. You don t know Him like I do. I woke up this morning and he was sitting at the edge of my bed weeping for me. Said my heart wasn t big enough, that I wasn t caring enough. Do I look uncaring to you? No That s what I m saying. And if you can see that, some poor little Haitian refugee, then why not God? So I told him that he should stop crying and start providing for his family. So that made him cry even more, cause I don t appreciate all he does. So now he s ignoring me, being all M.IA. I m pretty sure he s turned off the power to get back at me. It s this hot cause He can t control his emotions to begin with. Are you saying that God makes love to you? No, that s part of the problem. God doesn t know how to make love. ( resumes her exit. Never taking her eyes off of ) Fine don t believe me, think your God is all sweet. (Talking to God) You see. Now you can t say I ain t caring enough. I m plenty caring. My heart is as big as fucking Oprah s. Now turn back on the power

8 How far along are you? ( has a contraction She screams in agony. The weight of the contraction makes fall to her knees. goes to her) Eleven months Eleven months? I had to hold on to him. Keep him from being born there. It was the only way I could protect him ( has another contraction. A beat) It s been a while, but I guess I m delivering a baby ( doesn t move) You got other options? I know what I m doing, I got seventeen kids. God may not be good, but he s fertile Jesus help me Trust me he won t ( leads into her apartment building.)