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Two excerpts from "For Here or To Go?"
Excerpt #1 On the Holy Land Airport Set RAFA: It’s nice you let those people keep their restaurant. MR. HUMPHREY: I don’t need it. I'm not in the play anymore. RAFA: Oh, of course. You're in San Francisco. (Looks around.) They got the Golden Gate there, right? MR. HUMPHREY: No, I came back. It’s funny. In the original script, Ms. Chen, the woman with the little girl, and I were supposed to get married. RAFA: Oh. You two would make a nice couple. MR. HUMPHREY: No. We don't even know each other. Not that it seemed to matter in this play. The characters... They weren't deep. RAFA: No? MR. HUMPHREY: I mean, I've played the clueless, rappin’ white guy dozens of times. (MR. GARCIA enters looking for a scene.) RAFA: Yeah? MR. HUMPHREY: Look, if you've got to have a bad guy, it's realistic and certainly a lot easier to make it the white guy, the outsider. Not that there aren't white bad guys in the world, I know. But I'd love to give audiences a chance to see someone like me on stage. I don't think I'm a bad guy. Do you? RAFA: I don't know. Ask him. (Points to MR. GARCIA.) MR. GARCIA: I don't think you're a bad guy, Peter. I just don't worry that much about a couple of plays with white bad guys in them when you compare that to the history of the Americas. HUMPHREY: We've had this conversation before. MR. GARCIA: Oh, sorry. I forgot I’m not in this scene. Forget I was ever here. (Exits.) MR. HUMPHREY: Anyway, when everything went crazy, I thought, "I always play bad guys. Hey, this is my chance. I'll turn him into a good guy." RAFA: A good guy could marry that lady with the little girl. MR. HUMPHREY: Yeah, but I can't always get married to some woman at the end, either. RAFA: Why? MR. HUMPHREY: I'm not married. RAFA: Why? MR. HUMPHREY: Because. RAFA: Why? MR. HUMHREY: I’m not sure that’s any of your business. RAFA: Why? MR. HUMPHREY: Because I'm gay. RAFA: Why? MR. HUMPHREY: Because I am. And I’m not married, although I've been living with my partner for ten years. But we can't put that in the play. RAFA: Why? MR. HUMPHREY: Because if we put a gay character in a community play, even though there are obviously gay people everywhere, then we'd have to be willing to talk about it, and we'd have to talk about how some of us are gay, and that's scary. RAFA: Why? MR. HUMPHREY: Because you don't know what people are going to do. People kill people for being gay. You saw your buddies back at the airport. RAFA: People kill people for being a lot of things. MR. HUMPHREY: I know. And if you thought someone might kill you for something you were, and you could hide it, wouldn't you want to sometimes? RAFA: I never had that choice. MR. HUMPHREY: Oh, are you actually a knight? I didn’t realize that. Whatever. I'm writing myself out of the play tonight, and after the show closes... I already told them I'm leaving Cornerstone. RAFA: No! I think you’re good! MR. HUMPHREY: For 15 years we've asked people in communities to share their dreams and their families and every spare minute of their time, everything they care about most, their lives. And they have. But way too often we don't trust them enough to return the favor. Can you imagine what that feels like? RAFA: No. MR. HUMPHREY: I think I'll just sit and watch the rest of the play. LORAINE: I'd be honored if you'd sit with us. I have to admit I had a little crush on you, but I won't try anything since... (Glances at BRUCE) And, of course, I'm married. Option 2: RAFA: (looks at the SOLDIERS) Here comes the troops! The troops! HARRIS: The troops are ready for the battle, sir! BERNIE: I don't think you can make stagehands fight a battle. There's union rules and all. LORRAINE: Yeah. And knowing these people they'll be coming on stage naked if I don't get back to the wardrobe department. FRED: And I'm not a soldier, sir. I'm just a Music Center Security Guard. And this better be pretty important for me to have left my post. ROSALIO: And mine, sir. You know how people in Los Angeles are about their cars. IRMA: I got no complaints. It beats digging through trash cans. RAFA: Of course it's important. We stand today at the beginning of a great battle. Some will face the battle with courage, some will not. Some will be with us at the end, some will not-- LUCE: Excuse me? RAFA: Yes, solider? LUCE: What battle are we fighting? RAFA: A fine question, soldier. I.... FRED: If I may, sir? RAFA: Yes, soldier? FRED: At church last week, sir, our pastor spoke of a battle, sir! RAFA: And what was it, soldier? FRED: A battle for the soul of Los Angeles, sir! (ALL give approving sounds.) NABIL: Excuse me. It sounds good, sir, but what does it mean, sir? ROSALIO: If I could, sir, I'd like to fight for justice. RAFA: Yeah, okay. That’s good. Justice! CO-WORKERS and SOLDIERS: Justice! LORRAINE: And I'd like to fight for economic security, sir! CO-WORKERS and SOLDIERS: Economic security! FRED: And I'd like to fight for peace! CO-WORKERS and SOLDIERS: Peace! IRMA: A home of my own, sir! CO-WORKERS and SOLDIERS: A home of our own! BERNIE: And another title for the Lakers! CO-WORKERS and SOLDIERS: The Lakers! RAFA: But with no car burning afterwards. CO-WORKERS and SOLDIERS: No car burning. RAFA: The battle won't be easy, but now our purpose is clear. ROSALIO: ¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido! (TAMADHUR runs on stage.) MC: By any means necessary! DANIEL: Close the sweatshops! HARRIS: Every vote counts! NANCY: Make love not war! TAMADHUR: Human need, not corporate greed! SHISHIR: (Entering) There’s nothing like a nice, brisk walk through downtown to clear your head. Ooo. Looks like I missed something. RAFA: There will be challenges, soldiers, that will weaken our spirits. There will be those, soldiers, that will stand in our way. There will be bad traffic when we're trying to advance, and overpriced garages when we try to park. There will be police corruption when we go to court and schools without books when we want to train new recruits. There will be sewage in the Pacific when we need to cool off and HMO accountants when we are wounded. There will be crime in the streets of our beloved Los Angeles, drugs in the veins of our beloved Los Angeles, hatred and anger and indifference in the hearts of our beloved Los Angeles. These things may slow us. But we will not back down. These things may scare us. But we will not back down. These things may kill us, but nuestros hermanos will keep on, year after year, block after block, neighbor after neighbor, until all Angelenos can look to the sun as it rises over the mountains and say, "That light shines on a righteous place, a just place, a peaceful place, a nurturing place, a healthy place, a place where we are proud to rest our heads, a place we are proud to raise our children, a place where we are proud to take our last breaths." Will we back down? CO-WORKERS and SOLDIERS: No! RAFA: Louder! CO-WORKERS and SOLDIERS: NO! RAFA: We will go forth, warriors, and save the soul of Los Angeles. (turning to audience) And one more thing. I’m not doing this for no King! I’m doing it for myself, for my people! From now on, I’m an artist.
"For Here or To Go?" (excerpt #2) LUCE: (Lovingly) Honey, you can’t have any pizza—you’re still fasting for Ramadan. (NABIL stops himself from biting into a large slice.) JIDDU: (Entering) Nabil! NABIL: Jiddu! ALL: And Nancy?! JIDDU: Since you wouldn't come to the Holy Land, I came to Los Angeles. NANCY: (Walking over to JIDDU) And when we were backstage, he asked me to marry him. NABIL: What did you say? NANCY: (Coyly, waiting for encouragement) Yes! JIDDU: And look, the crescent moon! Tomorrow's Eid! The fasting is over! (The lights do magical things. Nabil breaks his fast with prayer, then bites into his slice of pizza.) NABIL: Let the celebration begin! LORAINE: Wait, wait! Where’s Rafa? You can't end the play without Rafa! RAFA: (Entering, with an arrow through his head) I know now, my friends, the battle will be won. But I am lost. My life will be a small price to pay if you’ll take this to heart: the next time you see someone who doesn't seem to be like you and you think he's a carjacker, remember how I helped a damsel in distress, danced and sang with the law, not on the wrong side of it, and took pride in where I lived. On the other hand, the next time you see someone who doesn't seem to be like you and you think he's a carjacker, and he actually is a carjacker, give him the keys and get the hell out of there. The soul of LA is worth dying for. A car is not. And contrary to popular opinion, they're not the same thing. (As he dies, he collapses with his head in MR. GARCIA’s lap.) MR. GARCIA: "Good night, sweet prince. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." (to the other actors) I did Shakespeare. I always wanted to do Shakespeare. (EVERYONE on stage congratulates MR. GARCIA on a job well done.) ROB: Hey, someone finally died. Cool. ROB KENDT: (singing) THE WINTER HOLIDAYS ALL: GREETING CARDS AND COLORED LIGHTS ROB: PEOPLE MAKE A HOLIDAY ALL: SHOP ALL DAY AND COOK ALL NIGHT ROB: EACH IN THEIR RESPECTIVE WAY ALL: FAMILIES ARGUE, PEOPLE FIGHT ROB: EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY! ALL: SOMEHOW IT TURNS OUT ALL RIGHT! RAFA: (jumping up) WHAT MORE IS THERE LEFT TO SAY? ALL: HAVE A LOVING LAUGHING BREEZY (Blackout.) THE END |
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