Mothering by Deepa Purohit Cast She1 She2 Casting Note: This play should be cast with people who self-identify as women of color. Their origins can vary. The writer and director should be in conversation about the casting. Performance Note: This piece should be performed at least three times in a row. It can be staged as a play with a live audience or a “sound play” performed live or recorded for a live audience that is “distanced”, or live, in the room. Each time the play is performed it should be different. The director can interpret “different” in many ways. For example: It can be a play performed in whispers or shouts or intimate or distanced conversation or a combination of all of these, or some other form. Sound can vary. There are moments of silence marked in the script. The performances may also play with silence in ways that are not marked in the script. There are many more options. These are just examples. The writer and the director should be in conversation about what “different” means to them in that moment of conceptualizing the performance. *** It’s dark. Sometimes there is light. Like a streak of light or a flashing of light. But mostly, it’s dark. There is a staircase
Some audible Vi^^^bra^^^tions. Then Stillness. She1: What are you observing? She2: Nothing. Can’t see a thing. She1: Right. I mean. She2: What? She1: Maybe inside. She2: Inside? She1: Tummy’s rumbling. Maybe bread today.
Silence.
She2: Mmm. Bread. Homemade? She1: Nope. She2: You know you can do the/ no-knead. She1: No-knead. /I know. I know. But no. Silence. Then. Sound of a flare. another flare another flare Sound and light of flares ricocheting, echoing across walls. that drip. She1: I’m thinking about that $10,000 cash. She2: What about it? She1: Just thinking. She2: That’s a lot. She1: It is. But. You know. Stashed. It’s. I dunno. She2: Where. She1: Where what? She2: Where did you stash it? She1: You want me to tell you? She2: Wouldn’t’ve asked. She2: I mean. If you don’t want to— She1: No. I mean I can if— She2: No, no. She2: Don’t. I don’t. Don’t tell me. She1: He might. She2: I get it. She1: She2: She1:
She2: You don’t feel bad right? She1: No. She1: No, no. She2: I was looking at grow tents. She1: Oh yeah? She2: Yeah. She1: And? She2: Just looking. She1: Gotchya. I mean…any recs? She2: There are a couple. She1: Do you know how to pitch one? She2: Wait. A grow tent? She1: Yeah. She2: No, grow tents grow food. She1: Oh. She1: God. She2: Optimal environment for growing… She1: I had no idea. She2: It’s cool. She1: Duh. She2: I didn’t until…this. Silence. Then. Wings Flapping. Flapping. Flapping. Silence. Darkness. The sound of moving and stepping. Stepping in water.
Wading. Stepping. In water. Wading She2: Do you know how to pitch one? She1: A grow tent? She2: No. A regular one. She1: We’ve done them for the boys in the backyard. She2: Oh. She1: She2: Hate camping. The wading stops. She1: It’s fun. The night sky. She2: Our friends. They have all the tent gear…Do you? She1: We have stuff. Yeah. She2: Oh. Should we get…? She1: I mean. I dunno. She2: Me neither. Suddenly. A shaft of light reveals limestone on a wall, in the shape of a massive tooth. Like a saber tooth tiger tooth. Water Drip ping throughout this segment. She1: We’re discussing the shooting range. She2: What? She1: Weird right? But kinda… She2: Kinda…? She1: I dunno. Can’t get a gun unless you know how to work it. Right? She2: Why do you want a gun? She1: She2: For going out? She1: Could be a shit show.
She2: Right. She1: Soon. She2: Yeah. She1: I mean before we can get to the range. /To practice. She2: Of course./Is there a range near you? She1: I’m sure there is. Somewhere. She2: Maybe you could try a taser? She1: Hmmm. Yeah. My friend across the border told me guns are totally sold there. She2: Yeah. She2: Right. She1: Yeah. I mean they’re restocking now coz it’s an essential business. Of sorts. She2: Right. She1: I mean I’m not gonna get one, if I don’t know a lot about it. You know? She2: Mmm. She1: Would you need a permit? She2: Yeah probably. But. The taser’s a good second option. Silence. Then swoosh of wings. Wings flapping. ^^^Vibrations^^^ Silence. She2: Ready? She1: I mean… She2: Cans. She1: Check. She2: Water. She 1: Check. Oxygen. She2: Check. They both breathe standing. Silence. Wings flutter.
Flutter Flutter Wading in water. They walk and talk. They wade. Breathing as they wade. A shaft of light reveals waves of aquamarine, dark blue, stones. Shadows move. They stop. They look up. She1: Blue. She2: Green. She1: Black. She2: Limestone. The shaft of light disperses like a spray, spreading aquamarine/green blue dots everywhere. Images/shadows emerge from within the aquamarine glow. Fish. Buffalo. Horses. Wildebeest. Then maybe stick figures of people. Carrying baskets, pots, food, plants. Then a rattling of feet walking with shackles. Silence. Intermittent sprays of light revealing the surroundings, the drawings/sketches on walls. She1 coughs a very violent cough. Then she stops. She2: That was so violent. She1: Yeah. It’s all violent. Look around. They
She1: Yeah. She2: Shall we go up there?
look around.
She1: Maybe. She2: Do you need oxygen? She1: No. Do you? She2: No. Not yet, at least. Silence. Dark. She2: Do you see them? She1: I do. Rattling. Roving light.
They look around.
Light spray in the shape of a spider. She1: They see us. She2: They do. She1 coughs again. She stops. The sound of fluttering pages, turning. Lots and lots of pages fluttering, turning. It ends. She2: Should we take some? She1: Next time. She2: Right. Should we go up then? She1: Yeah. They walk. The light spray dissipates. Only a shaft of light in front of them. They climb. She2: By the way. Baby boy’s got insomnia. She1: He’s not a baby anymore. She2: I know that. She1: That sucks. She2: What. She1: The insomnia. She2: Any advice?
She1: Nope.
I hate not sleeping.
She2: Me too. They stop. Silence. She2: Oh. Look at that. She1: Can you get me the pocketknife? She2: Why? She1: I’m just gonna. I need some of this. A shaft of blue green yellow light. She1 holds out her hand. The shaft of light on her hand. She holds a handful of aquamarine dust. Shadows of humans, fish, turtles, ships move around her. She2: What is it. She1: Futurity. Baby Boy’s gonna ask. She2: He always asks. She1: It’s up to us to, you know, to… She places her hand on the wall. She2 gives her the pocketknife. Scraping. She1: Yeah. More scraping. Silence. Wings flapping. Wings flutter. Flapping Flapping A Flutter. She2: Here. Put it in this. She2 hands her a box covered with cowrie shells. She1 takes the box and scrapes the aquamarine dust into it. She1: We can deposit it. Somewhere. Up there. She2: Yeah. She1: So, the others don’t… erase it. She2: Yeah.
The wall lights up with the sound of wings. The light spray is the spider, the saber tooth, the fish, the turtles. She1: Let’s put it near him. So, he’ll remember. She2: Let’s do that. Feet with boots walking in water. Souls moving underneath. She2: You really gonna get that grow tent? She1: Dunno. She2: The gun? She1: … Silence. A shaft of light as the shadow of a bat swoops by. END