93 - S P A C E

12.10.06

Note: The Audience sits facing one another.

Darkness. The SPACE breathes in and exhales light slowly. The heavy sound of air from inside one’s chest fills the SPACE. A heartbeat can be heard. The SPACE gets warmer and warmer. The breathing speeds up. The heartbeat grows faster. Voices. Ghosts. The sight and sounds of quick bursts of electricity begin to punctuate the moment. Certain seats in the audience light up individually to form PAIRS. The sound of combination locks turning. When a new PAIR is selected, the previous one goes dark. The breathing grows intense. Lightning flashes everywhere. The voices sing sustained operatic chords. The clamor builds into an intense quiet. A violin sting breaks. The heart explodes. Black.

The SPACE gives birth to itself.

SPACE
Did you like it? It’s my gift to you. Happy birthday.

In the darkness, a PAIR sings “Happy Birthday” backwards and unintelligibly slow. The voice continues.

SPACE
You are my bluest eye. You are the most precious love.

A baby cries.

SPACE
Don’t ever leave me, darling, don’t you ever let go.

Lights slowly up on the singing PAIR.

SPACE
All there is is ice. Outside of you there is no day.

The baby starts to laugh.

SPACE
But this can’t last forever. Someday you’ll never move.

The PAIR is standing in full light.

SPACE
And you too will grow cold, and I will find another heart.

When “Happy Birthday” is over, the room grows blue, then dark again. The SPACE becomes cold. Slowly, we hear the sound of wind passing a quiet fall. Voices sing crescendos and ascending scales. The fall gets louder and faster. Flashes of light streak across the audience, dimming swiftly like meteorites in the night sky. The SPACE becomes positively chilly, and air is blowing everywhere. Debris flies around. Then, a sudden STOP.

STOP

STOP

STOP

SPACE
Today I threw an apple in the air
Its shattered slices landed everywhere.