ADDICTED PERSONALITIES By: Les Carroll
SYMBOLS: / = Talking over other(s) - = Pause in conversation (can be slight or longish) … = Change of topics or Train of thought CHARACTERS: Brad – Substance Abuse Counselor. Mid-Forties. Cheap blue suit, black dress shoes/socks. Glasses, Clip-board. Johnny – Alcoholic. Twenty-Five, Scraggly beard, longish hair, blue jeans, black T-shirt, boots. Trish – Meth Addict. Alcoholic. Forty – looks sixty, dirty green dress, white sneakers, black purse. Robert – Alcoholic, Fifties, Clean-cut, brown slacks, white-long sleeve shirt, tie, brown shoes. Watch, wedding ring Extras – Optional. Anything you want them to be. PLACE: Resurrection Rehabilitation Center Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting
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ACT I Lights Up. (Six to ten Folding metal chairs on stage, in a circle. Folding table alongside wall. Coffee pot/cups, plate of pastries on top. Characters on stage at various places. Sitting in chairs, standing at table pouring/drinking coffee. Brad and Rob off to side talking quietly.) (Brad addresses everyone.) BRAD Okay People, let’s take our seats and begin tonight’s meeting – (Everyone sits) Welcome everyone, thank you for being here – tonight we have with us a guest who is interested in joining our little group. Everyone say hello to Rob. EVERYONE Hi Rob. Welcome. ROB Thank you, nice to meet everyone. BRAD Rob, would you like to say a few things about yourself? TRISH Nice Brad, why don’t you just put the new guy on the spot. ROB Oh it’s okay, I don’t mind – I am originally from Maine. I moved here a few years ago to get a fresh start after my wife took the children and ran off on me/ TRISH That bitch. (Laughs) BRAD Hey now Trish, keep it respectful. (Trish rolls eyes exaggeratedly) ROB I’m here, so she may have been right about me. BRAD Well Rob, you have taken the First step of recovery by coming here tonight/ JOHNNY (Sarcastically) 2
Yes sir Rob, you are now on the fucking path to the twelve steps of resurrection. From your pathetic, alcoholic, coma-induced, lonely, shitty-ass life. (Rob lowers head. Places folded hands on lap) TRISH Don’t pay him no mind Rob, he’s pissed off at the whole world because he’s an asshole. (Smirks at Johnny) JOHNNY Fuck you Trish. TRISH Not in your drunk’n dreams loser. JOHNNY (Mumbles) Only for a hit of meth. TRISH What did you say you little prick? BRAD People, let’s get back to introductions – Johnny. JOHNNY Yeah sure. I’m Johnny. I’m here by court order because some jerk-off shrink know-it-all thinks he has the inside scoop on what’s going on inside my head… Screw this shit. I don’t have to explain myself to you bunch-a-lushes. TRISH Wow! Someone is a bit touchy. (Laughs) (Johnny flips off Trish) BRAD Trish. Would you like to go next? (Trish digs in purse. Pulls out cigarettes and lighter) There is no smoking in here Trish. (Trish places a cigarette in mouth, lights it, inhales deeply, exhales cloud of smoke. Throws cigarette in cup by her feet) TRISH Stupid rule. Can’t smoke, can’t drink. Can’t get high – What’s next Brad, going to tell me I can’t screw/
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JOHNNY No one is gonna want to screw yer old looking ass. (Laughs wildly) (Trish throws lighter at Johnny.) BRAD Enough please, we don’t have time for this. TRISH Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, my story, my sad ol’ story – well, it’s the same as everyone here’s story, except I enjoy doing meth, drinking hard … (Stares at Brad) … screwing, screwing some more, and fucking in no particular order. (Rob raises head, looks at Trish) ROB Excuse me Trish – if you enjoy doing all of those things – some more than others apparently, why are you here? TRISH The same damn reason you are here Robert - to be changed into some phony-ass person everybody else thinks we should be. ROB I’m here because I’m losing a fighting battle against my drinking problem. TRISH That’s bullshit! You’re here trying to be what you believe your deserter of a wife wants you to be in the hope she’ll take you back – (Trish shakes head back and forth.) you poor sap… (Agonizing expression overcomes Rob’s face.) What misery hath thou allowed thee wife put ye through. (Johnny sits on edge of chair, excited and giddy from Trish and Rob’s exchange) JOHNNY What’s that Trish – poetry? TRISH Shakespeare. JOHNNY Damn Rob, you’ve been MacBitched. (Laughs)
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TRISH (Angrily) It sounds like/ BRAD A good place to transition to our next phase in our resurrection program. I would like for everyone to relax, take a deep breath, and release all the negative things you’ve said and / done JOHNNY I release Trish from being the drunk slut I called her earlier. (Laughs) BRAD (Frustrated.) Please everybody, these steps are very important to the success of your recovery – if you take them seriously – you will bring yourself out of the goddamn ruin you’ve made of your lives. EVERYBODY (Grudgingly) I release the things I’ve said and done. (Some characters take drink of coffee. Trish lights another cigarette with matches, stares at Brad challenging) BRAD Very good. Now we can continue on from a position of / JOHNNY I know what position Trish wants to continue on. (Laughs) It’s called downward Robdog. (Laughs) (Trish shoots Johnny a dirty look) BRAD … forgiveness and new beginnings. Forgiveness for ourselves and for those who we have hurt or hurt us. Our fresh beginning starts by acknowledging our addiction problems / JOHNNY Do you forgive me Trish? I don’t feel forgiven, where’s the love / BRAD Rob – I would like for you to search deep within yourself and decide if you are ready to commit to the resurrection program. (Rob lowers head into folded hands as if silently in prayer) Lights Out 5
SCENE TWO Lights Up. (Meeting has ended. Some ‘extras’ left stage. Brad stands at table stuffing Face with pastries. Johnny and Rob sitting in chairs next to each other. Trish lighting cigarette with retrieved lighter, walks toward exit door looks back waves.) TRISH Bye everybody, time for me to hit the town, party down and fuck’n be merry / BRAD Trish. TRISH Just kidding. I’m really off to begin my Eat, Pray, Love journey. (Exits stage laughing) JOHNYY So what do you think Rob, are you going to join our merry band of drunken misfits. ROB I’m not sure. There seems to be a lot of conflict in the group. You don’t seem to be invested and Trish appears to be troubled. JOHNNY Guilty on my part, but Trish actually has her shit together. She’s been clean for over two years. What you are witnessing is an act, a coping mechanism to remind herself of the person she used to be. Plus she uses it as armor to keep us losers in the program at arm’s reach. ROB Why would she do that. I thought this was supposed to be a support group. JOHNNY She used to be a volunteer at her church’s A.A. program. She fell for one of the members, a nasty piece of work from what I’ve heard. Addict, bad drunk, abusive, the whole nine yards. Beat her pretty bad when he found out she was pregnant. He disappeared after that. ROB That explains why she turned hostile on me and accused me of being someone I’m not… (Johnny nods head) How could she be so naïve to fall for someone like that? JOHNNY She didn’t know what she was dealing with. At meetings he was Doctor Jekyll, nice as could be, later down the road she met the real Mr. Hyde. 6
ROB Did Trish come here after he took off? JOHNNY Not immediately. By then she was strung out, burned all her bridges with family and friends, had no place to live, no job, so she crashed where-ever she could, turned tricks until she started showing. When she had the baby it was premature, addicted to meth, so the state took the kid and placed it in foster care. It was too much for trish to handle, so she tried to O.D. ROB That’s horrible. JOHNNY Yeah, but it’s ultimately what lead her here. Mercy Hospital refused to release her from their Psych ward unless she agreed to check herself into Resurrections In-Patient Rehab Center – she stayed two weeks then signed herself out. ROB Has she relapsed? JOHNNY No, she actually quit cold turkey during her stay and stays clean now for her daughter’s sake. ROB (Surprised expression) She has her daughter back? JOHNNY Yeah, it took a lot of convincing, but Trish immediately found a job and a safe place to stay when she checked out of rehab, attends these meetings every week and is active in her church. Brad went to bat for her also, so the courts reinstated her custody rights. (Rob and Johnny look over at Brad who sees them, grins, holds up a powder sugar treat at them) ROB Silver lining. JOHNNY That would be the consensus. (Johnny gets up to leave) See you next time – if there is a next time. (Johnny exits stage) (Brad sees Rob looking troubled, walks over to him, sits.)
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BRAD Something on your mind Rob? ROB I was thinking about what Trish said to me. Do you think it’s possible that I’m only here to try changing into who my ex would take back? BRAD I think you already know the answer to that question. The question you need to ask yourself is, do you want to be someone different from the person you are now. ROB Who would you say I am now? BRAD An alcoholic. ROB Alcoholic bastard according to my wife. (Brad and Rob laugh.) BRAD I asked you earlier tonight to search yourself and decide if you are willing to commit yourself to the program we offer here at Resurrection. I can’t promise that your wife will take you back, but I can assure you success if Johnny and Trish don’t drive you to drink. (Laughs, stands up, shakes Rob’s hand) I hope to see you next week Rob. Stay Sober. Lights Out. END OF PLAY
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