Title

(Working): Washingtons Asylum for the Politically Insane

Setting: New York City 2039

Characters:
The Interrogator.. Vocal development
A nameless girl, X.... Physical Development

Vocal Development- audio recording of my voice. My voice is my scene partner. Manipulate
my voice in Garage Band to create different sound.
Physical Development- me performing live on stage.

Prologue:
Description of the setting:
The stage is dimly lit and a barren street is seen. There are walls on the left and right of
center stage. The whitewashed, brick facades have wanted posters on them for so-called
traitors. Their solemn faces are like ornaments on a Christmas tree, each face a different
color with distinct features, yet all sing the same song: that of desperation. In addition,
there are alerts mandating that all citizens report any individuals of Hispanic Decent to the
Federal Population Bureau. Invitations to a Banned Book Bonfire are attached to the walls,
and flap about in the gentle, disconcertingly temperate breeze. To the left of the first wall,
there is a photo of a man who looks like Donald Trump. It is framed in gold leaf and towers
above the streetscape. It is a reminder to all of who is King. The Kings eyes in the
photograph, two icy, blue beads, appear to be glancing at the left wall, which features the
latest propaganda. Soon, the sound of rain can be heard over loud speakers. A nameless girl
wearing a yellow raincoat carries a box with bold letters printed across the white box in
Rainbow lettering: FREE BOOKS. She places the books, glances at the eyes of the wanted
signs, and sits down near the box. She picks up a book and begins to read aloud.

X: (reads poem to audience, Brechts Questions from a Worker who Reads)

Who built Thebes of the seven gates?
In the books you will find the name of kings.
Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock?
And Babylon, many times demolished.
Who raised it up so many times? In what houses
Of gold-glittering Lima did the builders live?
Where, the evening that the Wall of China was finished
Did the masons go?
Great Rome is full of triumphal arches.
Who erected them?
Over whom did the Caesars triumph?
Had Byzantium, much praised in song, only palaces for its inhabitants?
Even in fabled Atlantis
The night the ocean engulfed it
The drowning still bawled for their slaves.
[Whistle blares, X exits].

Her reading is halted by the immediate, startling noise of whistles, dogs barking, and
approaching footsteps. The girl runs, dropping her book. There is a blackout. The rain
stops, there is deafening silence.

Scene 1: Bright Lights
Interrogator: Todays date November 8th, 2039, DC Asylum for the Politically Insane, this
is Detective John Doe interviewing the notorious, volatile X about events that transpired on
the evening of December 12th, 2016. X, tell me, where did you find them?

X: Find what?

Interrogator: Dont play stupid with me! You know the contraband (secretively). Now
spit it out!

X: Thats right, I completely forgot (laughing). Youre not allowed to talk about them
anymore? Because theyre weapons, dangerous. I remember the days when everyone liked
a bit of adventure, uncertainty. Those were different times though. I suppose you are
referring to my books (Says loudly, scornfully, tauntingly).

Interrogator: Shut UP! (nervously)

X: Certainly. If thats what you want.

Interrogator: NO! (With desperation) Just tell me what happened, but please dont say that
word so loud. Why would you put innocent lives at risk? A box of A buh-buh-buh-Box of-
Who cares about those stupid pieces of paper anyway? Theyre all crap. Complete shit.
LIES.

X: You are mistaken young man. This state, this leader, this purging of lies. You should
know better than anyone else. If those books really didnt matter, I wouldnt be here. If
everyone knew what was written was merely the regurgitation of lies, do you think so
many would believe? NO. Be careful son. Todays criminal is tomorrows reformer. There
will come a day when this madness ends. And you fools will see. Those you called crazy,
those you burned, they werent insane. They were REASONED. RATIONAL even. I see
wrinkles and creases just below your eyes. You must remember. What was your favorite?

Interrogator: MY FAVORITE! My favorite (with melancholy).

The lights dim. And the interrogation desk is pushed to the back of center stage.

Scene 3: The Flashback

The lights slowly brighten and a young boy is seen skipping on the stage. He is carrying a
book of stories, and sits with his legs hanging over the edge of the stage. He begins a short
monologue to the audience.

Boy: These are my favorite stories: tales of slayed dragons, the demise of evil kings, and the
perpetual reign of magic. In my storybook, everyone gets a happy ending. It doesnt matter
if youre a boy or girl, young or old, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly- theres a place for all.
Even you could have a happy ending- Are you happy? Sometimes, I get sad- like when they
took my mommy away. I miss my mommy. She was really beautiful. She was a princess you
know- a princess from a far away land. There they spoke a different language, un idioma
misterio. There they danced to the lively beats of drums, guitars, and horns. But there were
lots of bad guys too; they had snakes that would slither through the pueblas en la noche.
Their sharp, poisonous fangs would prick the veins of the people while they slept. Soon,
their hearts became infected, and they took arms against their neighbors. The sailing
bullets crashed into thin sheets of glass and could be heard for days without end; the
violent symphony filled the vast, balmy desert. Mommy didnt like the new music. She fled
in a big, white carriage with 14 of her other amigos. She met my Daddy, the Prince, in the
states; he was tall with fair skin. Mommy says I look just like him. I never met my Daddy
though. But I bet hes a King, and I bet Mommys loving Dads grand, white castle.

Scene 4: Played

X: I see.

Interrogator: What?

X: They hurt you, youre afraid.

Interrogator: Im not afraid. Ive played by the rules.

X: Son, anyone whos played by the rules has been played. No rules are etched in stone, and
if they are, at some point they must crumble. The rules must be rewritten. But how can we
rewrite them if the young cant lift their pencils? If the old cant speak, and the world wont
listen? Women raped, Non-Whites deported, and Innocent people jailed, the next target a
mystery, ideas are dangerous, but a clearly a world without them is lethal.

Scene 5 Narration:

The old lady, X, died a few days after her interrogation with Detective John Doe. Shed
served a 23-year sentence and was hanged for her crime of reading in public and soliciting
books. John was assigned to gather the womans things. When he entered the cell, there
was a single book on the table. John picked it up, and a yellow note fluttered from its cover.
He caught it before it fell to the floor. In the womans script the note read, For Detective
Doe. He read on, this was my favorite book. And now that Im gone consider my only

property to be, now, yours. READ it. But most importantly share it. My time is up, but yours
has just begun, Montag.

(The interrogator opens Farenheit 451, and flips through the pages.)

Interrogator: There was a silly damn bird called a phoenix back before Christ, every few
hundred years he built a pyre and burnt himself up. He must have been first cousin to Man.
But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over
again. And it looks like we're doing the same thing, over and over...
















Possible Set Design: (First Outline, Initial Visualization)