Animals

Animals

A short play

By Douglas Gurske

Cast of Characters

Dr. Walter Swanson: A middle-aged male psychiatrist.

Roman: The inmate getting therapy. He is fifteen years old,

and he talks he talks slowly and in a little calm

yet slightly sinister demeanor.

Silhouettes: Two men in charge of acting out scenes behind a

wall, their actions being viewable via their shadow.

They make no noise.

Place

Padded holding cell

Scene 1

(Low lights come up upon a small, padded room.

Roman is in a straight-jacket, lying on a bed [RC]

with a empty chair [LC] sitting next to him. The

section of wall in the [UL] is thin and has a light

behind it ready to shine on the SILHOUETTES to

cast the shadows when ready. WALTER enters the

area from DL.)

WALTER

Are you ready for your session, Roman?

(WALTER sits down in the chair beside Roman.)

ROMAN

As ready as I'll ever be to get this shit done, Doc.

WALTER

You are aware of why you are here, correct?

ROMAN

Sure am, doc. I removed a shitty and dangerous piece of trash from our society.

WALTER

And you still feel this was a justified action?

ROMAN

Of course, it was only natural. Honestly not sure why you've put me in this straight jacket. Animals tend to do things necessary to survive.

WALTER

You are not an animal, you are a human being!

ROMAN

Let me ask you a question, doc. Is there really a difference?

(A pause)

We are all creatures of this earth; we all share many of the same habits, much of the same biology. You kid yourself into thinking we are something higher just because of our supposed higher brain function. Ironically, that higher brain function is just convincing you away from the truth.

WALTER

We have the ability to think for ourselves, to contemplate our actions, to ignore our extinct!

ROMAN

To what extent? How many times have you jumped at a noise, or cringed from a harmless spider? How many times have you fantasized about... having your way with your lovely secretary?

WALTER

(Sudden outburst)

Enough of this! I am asking you the questions, here! Let's start again!

ROMAN

Oh, whatever you say doc.

WALTER

(Calming down)

Okay, so you say you believe your acts of violence were justified. Explain to me why, and don't bring up animals again.

ROMAN

Well it's no secret I was a bit of a social outcast. The other children picked on me, attacked me, all that fun stuff.

(The backlight turns on and the SILHOUETTES, in position,

act out a lonely child getting taunted, with junk such as wadded

up pieces of paper getting thrown at him.)

They attacked me, ridiculed me, made fun of me. Made me wonder: Why was I even put into this horrible world? What purpose did a serve? Was it worth fighting for?

(The backlight turns off.)

WALTER

There is always something worth fighting for. Suicide is never the answer.

ROMAN

Did I ever say I was suicidal, doc? No, I wasn't depressed. I was angry. Why was I getting played the short hand and getting fucked over, hmm? Now this one kid, Tobias, he was the worst of the bunch. Got himself to be the most popular, and also the most feared, kid around. Made sure he was the alpha male, that he was the head of the pack. He not only verbally but physically abused me, and it all culminated into this one particular moment.

WALTER

What moment was this?

ROMAN

I was walking home, minding my own business, and the shit head starts pelting me with rocks, and a particularly large one struck me right in the side of the head. Knocked me out, it did.

(Backlight turns on again as the SILHOUETTE is shown of a

kid sitting up in a hospital bed.)

I was stuck in the hospital for days, nearly died. It was hard to think, it was hard to see. Pain, lots of it. Boredom... couldn't stand the lack of movement. All I could see was that kid's smug little face.

(SILHOUETTE gets restless and starts to move spastically

Trying and failing to get out of the hospital bed. The second

SILHOUETTE runs over to restrain him before the backlights

turn back off.)

Now, several weeks later I'm let off, finally. First day I'm walking to school again, and ol' fuck face rides towards me on a bike, flips me off. I have a stick. Time for revenge. With perfect timing, I stuck the stick right between his bike's wheel, and he flipped right over, landing hard onto the concrete trail.

WALTER

Violence is never the answer!

ROMAN

What was I supposed to do, wait for him to treat me like a punching bag again, to land me in the hospital for weeks? No, it was time for the alpha male to step down from the pack.

WALTER

So that's when he died?

ROMAN

Oh yes, but he didn't die from the flip. There he lay, bleeding and coughing on the concrete trail, writhing around in earned pain.

(Backlight is once again turned on. One of the SILLOUETTES

is rolling on the floor in agony, while the other SILLOUETTE,

who represents ROMAN stands over him. They act out what

ROMAN describes.)

Had some nice words to say to me, lots of curse words while he was coughing up blood. It was fine, I could take it. My point was made. Don't mess with me. Then he said something he shouldn't have.

WALTER

And what was that?

ROMAN

"I'm going to kill you for this." Now, you understand I have to defend my own hide. He'd gotten close before, I couldn't let that slide, so... I walked over to him, and I kicked him. Kicked him hard once in the face, the stomach, the shoulder, nice and hard. I knocked him right over on his stomach, blood spilling out everywhere. He couldn't even form words anymore.

WALTER

I've heard enough... stop.

ROMAN

Then, with all the force I could muster, a nice stomp right onto the back of his neck. A crack, and I knew I was no longer in danger.

(After the stomp, the backlight turns off for the last time)

WALTER

(Outraged)

That was never the answer! You should have told the police! You should have told the school! Do you realize what you have done!?

ROMAN

I did what my instincts told me to do, doc. I don't regret any of it.

WALTER

Even now, as you sit here in a straight jacket, passably stuck in this cell for the rest of your life!?

ROMAN

Oh, I'm not going to be here for the rest of my life, Doc. You know what they say about a cornered, starving, wolf.

(ROMAN quickly gets up and pulls out a shard of glass that

was hidden up his sleave, quickly pouncing onto WALTER,

forcing him down to the ground. WALTER yells out in

surprise, and then fights to keep ROMAN'S arms above him,

and preventing them from stabbing his right eye.)

WALTER

(Strained)

Violence, isn't, the answer. Ah!

(WALTER yells in pain, and then manages to kick ROMAN

off of him, causing him to drop the glass shard. ROMAN falls

over but quickly scrambles back to his feet, bearing his teeth

like an animal. WALTER grabs the shard of glass, and in a

reflexive move, stabs ROMAN'S neck when he tries to pounce

back onto WALTER.)

Oh my God, what have I done?

ROMAN

(Dying)

What was necessary, Doc. Only one of us was getting out of here alive. You are the stronger wolf. I do hope you enjoy your life, or at least what's left of it.

(ROMAN keels over and stops moving, dead. WALTER just

stands back, still holding the glass shard in his hand, shocked at

what he just did. After around thirty seconds, he drops the

shard and runs back off stage. [DL])