Endlings
by Celine Song
March 4th 2020
Kevin Lin
Creative Artists Agency
405 Lexington Avenue, 19th Fl.
New York, NY 10174
212-277-9000
kevin.lin@caa.com

CHARACTERS HAN SOL: a haenyeo in her 90s
GO MIN: a haenyeo in her 80s
SOOK JA: a haenyeo in her 70s
HA YOUNG: a Korean-Canadian Manhattanite in her late 20s
STAGE MANAGERS should be played by the production’s actual white male stagehands.
NOTE ON CASTING No one speaks with an accent, except the one that is natural for the performer herself.
Most ideally, elderly Korean women will play the haenyeos.
Ideally, elderly Asian women of any ethnicity will play the haenyeos.
Less ideally, younger Asian women will play the haenyeos.
Even less ideally, elderly Asian men will play the haenyeos.
Under not so ideal circumstances, younger Asian men will play the haenyeos.
Under no circumstances will any of these four roles be played by someone who is not Asian.
No exceptions. 
(B E A C H Black rocks Wind Blue sea This is the beach of 만재 Man-Jae island In the southernmost part of the Korean Peninsula 6 hours away on a boat from the nearest land 한솔 HAN SOL, 고민 GO MIN, and 숙자 SOOK JA Three ancient women Putting on their diving suits They are rubbing the inside of their swimming goggles with wormwood to keep them from fogging up They are chewing gum) GO MIN
When they were young
They would ask me to teach them
How to dive into the ocean with a rusty knife
Sit in the sun, shuddering
How to be just like me
And I would smack them on the head
I would say to them:
“Finish your food
Do your homework
And get the hell off this island
Get as far away as you can
Move
Move, please
If you respect me as your mother who bore you
Who fed you
Clothed you
Educated you
If you respect me at all
Move away from me
Move to a different city
Different country
Different planet
And never think about the ocean
Forget the ocean
Before it’s too late
Because it’s too late for me
And thankfully
1
They went away as far as they could
Just like I told them
So that’s why I’m here alone
With two other old women
HAN SOL
What are you talking about
GO MIN
I’m talking about my children
And why I used to beat them
You haven’t been listening
You never listen to a word I say
HAN SOL
I was distracted
GO MIN
Distracted by what
HAN SOL
My thoughts
GO MIN
What are you thinking about
HAN SOL
Television
GO MIN
Fuck television
HAN SOL
Television rules
Hollywood forever
SOOK JA
I would never beat my children
GO MIN
You don’t have children
SOOK JA
If I had them
I’d never beat them
GO MIN
You think that
2
Because you don’t have any
If you had children
You would beat them
SOOK JA
한솔언니 (Han Sol un-nee)
Do you beat your children?
HAN SOL
No
SOOK JA
한솔언니 (Han Sol un-nee) agrees with me
You shouldn’t beat your children
HAN SOL
I didn’t say that
I don’t care what you do with your children
They’re your children
GO MIN
한솔언니 (Han Sol un-nee) agrees with me It’s none of your business
SOOK JA
All children are my business
HAN SOL
That’s because you don’t have children
If you had children
You’d only feel responsible for your own
And screw other people’s brats
GO MIN
How is it that I’m the only one who beats her children
I don’t understand
What do you do with them if you don’t beat them
HAN SOL
You beat yours
I never beat mine
Sook Ja has none
It doesn’t matter
They’re not here
They’re all gone
It’s just the three of us now
SOOK JA
3
If I had children
I’d never raise my voice at them
If they screw up, I’d talk to them about it
If they cry, I’d pet their heads GO MIN
You believe that about yourself
Because you don’t have children
HAN SOL
고민아 (Go Min-ah)
숙자야 (Sook Ja-yah)
Why are we still going yappity-yap-yap?
Is it not enough that the sun is out?
Is it not enough that we’re tired and hurting?
GO MIN
My children left
My husband is dead
I’m bored
HAN SOL
You’re not bored
GO MIN
I’m bored
I’m bored all the time
I need a little drama in my life
I like yappity-yap-yap
It’s harmless
HAN SOL
Does your TV work?
GO MIN
Yeah
HAN SOL
I don’t understand
How could you be bored when there’s television?
Have you seen all the shows on television?
Do you know how good they are?
It’s the golden age of television
GO MIN
Fuck television
I’m sick of television
(The three ancient women finish putting on their diving suits 4
They get up and turn to the audience
And then from the speakers:)
VOICE
Hello everyone welcome to the island of 만재 (Man-Jae)
And welcome to a show about the Korean female divers called 해녀들 (Haenyeos)
You see before you the last three remaining haenyeos in the world
These proud matriarchs earn a living and provide for their families
By harvesting seafood every day
They can dive over 65 feet deep without any equipment
They can dive up to 46 times every hour
They work around 4 to 8 hours a day without a break
Their mothers and grandmothers used to dive naked
Or with nothing but a sheet of cotton wrapped around their bodies
But now the haenyeos dive with diving suits
(The three haenyeos twirl around to show off their diving suits)
VOICE
Unfortunately, they will be the last generation to uphold this millennia-old tradition
In the 70s, there were almost 15,000 haenyeos
But now they face certain extinction
This is Han Sol
Han Sol is a 96-year-old Korean female
She loves television
Don’t you, Han Sol
HAN SOL
Hollywood Forever
VOICE
Han Sol is the oldest and the leader of the three
Let’s say hello to Han Sol
Hello Han Sol
Hello
(waving)
HAN SOL
VOICE
She has been a haenyeo for over 80 years
Han Sol, show everybody what you have in your hands
(HAN SOL shows off her rusty knife) VOICE
This is Han Sol’s knife
It’s used to peel shellfish and abalone off of the ocean floor
5
Or cut big pieces of seaweed
(HAN SOL spits on her knife)
VOICE
She likes to spit on her knife for luck
She is wishing for safety at work and good harvest today
Show us what else you’ve got, Han Sol
(HAN SOL shows off her net) VOICE
Once she has harvested the seafood
She puts it in a net like the one she is holding
Han Sol, show them what else you’re bringing to the sea
(HAN SOL shows off her buoy)
VOICE
That is her buoy that serves as a navigation mark
It used to be made of a dry gourd shell, back in her mother’s day
Now Han Sol is going to bring back some shellfish for us
(HAN SOL spits out her gum, splits it in half, and shoves the pieces in her ears She takes a handful of pills and dives into the sea)
VOICE
This is Go Min
Say hi to Go Min
Hi Go Min
GO MIN
Hi
VOICE
Go Min is an 83-year-old Korean female
She’s the feisty one
Aren’t you, Go Min?
(GO MIN goes “rawl” like a cougar)
VOICE
Go Min’s been diving for almost 70 years
The haenyeos that have been working as long as Go Min
Suffer from decompression sickness
Tell them what that means, Go Min
GO MIN
6
My head and ears hurt
(GO MIN takes a handful of pills)
VOICE
They suffer from chronic headache and earache
But the pain goes away when they are underwater
Which is why they love diving into the ocean
Isn’t that right, Go Min?
(GO MIN says nothing)
VOICE
Women’s bodies are more suited to diving in general
Because they retain heat better, thanks to the extra fat
But a haenyeo’s body is an exceptional diving machine
It even takes a lower temperature to make someone like Go Min shiver
Compared to an average human like us
Now
Go Min is going to bring back an octopus
GO MIN
If I’m lucky
VOICE
If she’s lucky, she says
The haenyeos are a cynical bunch
It’s what makes them the top divers in the world
(GO MIN spits out her gum, splits it in half, and shoves the pieces in her ears She takes a handful of pills and dives into the sea)
VOICE
When a haenyeo finally emerges from the depths
She lets out a whistle as she takes her first breath
Between haenyeos, this is called 숨비 (soom-bee)
Listen:
(We hear HAN SOL surface from the water and breathe a 숨비 (soom-bee) A whistle) VOICE
The haenyeos say 숨비 (soom-bee) is the sound of
“Coming back from death”
(We hear HAN SOL take a deep breath in and dive right back under) VOICE
7
They dive like this every day, all year
Even on national holidays
Even in winter
Even while pregnant
Last but not least is Sook Ja
Let’s all say a big nice how-do-you-do to Sook Ja
How do you do, Sook Ja
SOOK JA
Hello, how do you do?
VOICE
Sook Ja is the youngest of the trio here
She is 78 years old
Sook Ja is the fun one
She loves to primp
She says looking good attracts the sea creatures
(SOOK JA puts a little lipstick on She gets lipstick all over her teeth) SOOK JA
Young yesterday
White-haired today
White-haired yesterday
Young today
Who will inherit my life?
No one, if I can help it
I wouldn’t wish it on anyone
Some people are born as Spielberg’s children
Some people are born to be the children of the oil barons
But others
Others are born to eat dirt
I am the “others”
Go Min and Han Sol too
And we the “others”
We eat dirt every day
I was very pretty when I was young
I know it must be hard to believe now but I was cute as hell
Go Min and Han Sol were young once too
But they didn’t look as cute as me
I was so pretty I was going to marry into a family in Seoul
But I fell in love with a tall fisherman I grew up with
A tanned-faced island boy
And I married him instead
We were married for four months before he died
He never came home from a rough morning at sea
I was very young and dramatic back then
8
So I wanted to drown myself in the sea that took him
But my neighbors, also widows
Go Min and Han Sol too
They taught me how to dive into the ocean
Now I could never drown myself
I know how to swim too well
So to answer your question:
How did I come to look the way I do
If I was so beautiful once?
(GO MIN and HAN SOL emerge from the ocean with a ěˆ¨ëš„ soom-bee All three haenyeos, now on the beach, in unison:)
ALL THREE HAENYEOS
Beauty tips:
Every day
Salt water
Salt wind
Salt sun
This is a lifetime of mummification
This is a lifetime of becoming a dried fruit
You can look like this too
Living on this little rock
For sixty years or more
(SOOK JA spits out her gum, splits it in half, and shoves the pieces in her ears She takes a handful of pills and dives into the ocean
HAN SOL and GO MIN rub their faces and necks With water from a plastic bucket They use soap and have a little bath right there They use a raggedy little towel to wipe their faces) HAN SOL
Phew
GO MIN
Give me back my youth
Phew
HAN SOL
Give me back my youth
GO MIN
Phew
HAN SOL
In and out of the water
9
GO MIN
In and out of the coffin
Take me away
HAN SOL
Take me away
GO MIN
How did this happen?
I shouldn’t have gotten old
Why the fuck am I still alive?
People should just die when they’re old
HAN SOL
Earn it in the afterlife
GO MIN
Spend it in life
HAN SOL
Phew
GO MIN
Phew
(Silence) HAN SOL
You’re bleeding
GO MIN
Where?
HAN SOL
There, on your hand
(GO MIN washes the fresh wound with water) GO MIN
You cut yourself
HAN SOL
Where?
GO MIN
On your cheek
10