THE PEOPLE11drama.docx

THE PEOPLE11drama.docx

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THEPEOPLE11drama

THEPEOPLE

aplayinone-act

bySusanGlaspell

Thefollowingone-actplayisreprintedfromThePeopleandClosetheBook:

TwoOne-ActPlays.SusanGlaspell.NewYork:

FrankShay,1918.Itisnowinthepublicdomainandmaythereforebeperformedwithoutroyalties.

CHARACTERS

EDWARDWILLIS,Editorof"ThePeople"

OSCARTRIPP,AssociateEditor

THEARTIST

SARA

TOMHOWE,printer

THEBOYFROMGEORGIA

THEMANFROMTHECAPE

THEWOMANFROMIDAHO

THEEARNESTAPPROACH

THELIGHTTOUCH

THEANARCHIST

THEPHILOSOPHER

[Theofficeof"ThePeople"--adesk,atableonwhicharemanuscriptsandmagazines.Onthewallsarerevolutionaryposters.Wadsofpaperarethrownaboutonthefloor--theofficeofapublicationwhichisradicalandpoor.ThecurtainshowsOSCARatoneendoftablewriting.Thereisadoorrear,doorleft.Enterrear,TOMHOWE,agalley-proofinhishand.]

TOM:

Whyareyouwriting?

OSCAR:

[Jauntily]BecauseIamawriter.

TOM:

ButIthoughtyousaidtherewasn'tgoingtobeanotherissueof"ThePeople."

OSCAR:

[Withdignity]Iamwriting.

TOM:

There'sawomanherewithasuitcase.

OSCAR:

What'sinit?

TOM:

ShewantstoseetheEditor.

OSCAR:

[Afterwritingaminute]Allright.

[ExitTOM,enterWOMANwithsuitcase.Sheismiddle-aged,wearsplainclothesnotinfashion.Hermannerisalittleshrinkingandyetasshestandsinthedoorwaylookingaboutthebareroom,herfaceisthefaceofonewhohascomealongwayandreachedawonderfulplace.]

THEWOMAN:

Thisistheofficeof"ThePeople"?

OSCAR:

Um-hum.

THEWOMAN:

[Inabatedway]Icametoseetheauthorofthosewonderfulwords.

OSCAR:

[Rising]Whichwonderfulwords?

THEWOMAN:

Aboutmovingtowardthebeautifuldistances.

OSCAR:

Oh.ThoseareMr.Wills'wonderfulwords.[Beginstowriteasonewhohaslostinterest.]

THEWOMAN:

CouldIseehim?

OSCAR:

Heisn'thereyet.He'sjustbackfromCalifornia.Won'tbeattheofficetillalittlelater.

THEWOMAN:

[Inamannerofrepressedexcitement]HehasbeentoCalifornia?

Hehasjustriddenacrossthiscountry?

OSCAR:

Yes.Longtrip.Hewasverycrossoverthephone.

THEWOMAN:

[Pained]Oh--no.Ithinkyou'remistaken.

OSCAR:

Anythingyoucaretoseemeabout?

THEWOMAN:

[Afterconsidering]Icouldseehimalittlelater,couldn'tI?

OSCAR:

Yes,ifit'simportant.Ofcoursehe'llbeverybusy.

THEWOMAN:

Itisimportant.Atleast--yes,itisimportant.

OSCAR:

Verywellthen--laterinthemorning.

THEWOMAN:

[Thinkingaloud]Iwillstanddownonthestreetandwatchthepeoplegoby.

OSCAR:

What?

THEWOMAN:

Thepeople.It'ssowonderfultoseethem--somanyofthem.Don'tyouoftenjuststandandwatchthem?

OSCAR:

No,madam,notoften.Iamtoobusyeditingamagazineaboutthem.

THEWOMAN:

Ofcourseyouarebusy.Youhelpeditthismagazine?

[Looksaboutattheposters.]

OSCAR:

Iamassociateeditorof"ThePeople."

THEWOMAN:

That'sagreatthingforyou--andyousoyoung.DoesMr.Willswriteinthisroom?

OSCAR:

Thatishisdesk.

THEWOMAN:

[Lookingatthedesk]Itmustbeawonderfulthingforyoutowriteinthesameroomwithhim.

OSCAR:

Well,Idon'tknow;perhapsitisawonderfulthingforhimto--IamOscarTripp,thepoet.

THEWOMAN:

[Wistfully]Itwouldbebeautifultobeapoet.[Pause.]Iwillcomebacklater.[Picksupsuitcase.]

OSCAR:

Justleavethatifyouaren'tgoingtobeusingitinthemeantime.

THEWOMAN:

[Puttingitdownnearthedoor]Oh,thankyou.Iseethatyouareakindyoungman.

OSCAR:

Thatisnotthegeneralopinion.

THEWOMAN:

Iwonderwhyitisthatthegeneralopinionissooftenwrong?

[Standsconsideringitforamoment,thengoesout.]

OSCAR:

Idon'tquiteunderstandthatwoman.

[EnterTOMHOWE,printer.]

TOM:

Ifthispapercan'tgoon,Ioughttoknowit.IcouldgetajobontheEveningWorld.[Oscarcontinueswriting.]Canitgoon?

OSCAR:

Idon'tseehowitcan,butmanyatimeIhaven'tseenhowitcould--anditdid.Doubtlessitwillgoon,andwillseedayssomuchworsethanthesethatwewillsay,"Ah,thegoodolddaysofMarch,1917."

TOM:

Butcanitpaysalaries?

OSCAR:

[Shocked]Oh,no,Ithinknot;butwemustworkbecauseweloveourwork.

TOM:

Wemusteatbecauseweloveourfood.

OSCAR:

You'llknowsoon.There'stobeameetingherethismorning.

[EnterSARA.TOMgoesout.SARAisdressedlikeayoungbusinesswomanandhasthesimpledirectmannerofawomanwhoisreadytoworkforathingshebelievesin.]

SARA:

Ednothereyet?

OSCAR:

No.

SARA:

Didhegetanymoney?

OSCAR:

Doesn'tlooklikeit.Hewassnappishoverthephone.Guesshe'sforgivingitupthistime.

SARA:

Idon'twanttogiveitup.[Shesitsatthetableandunfoldsamanuscriptshehasbroughtwithher.]

OSCAR:

Well,it'snotwhatwewant,it'swhatpeoplewant,andtherearen'tenoughofthemwhowantus.

SARA:

Thefaultmustliewithus.

OSCAR:

Idon'tthinkso.Thefaultlieswiththefailureto--[TheARTISThasentered.]

THEARTIST:

I'lltellyouwherethefaultlies.Weshouldgivemorespacetopicturesandlesstostupidreadingmatter.[Takesaseatatthetable.]

OSCAR:

Wehavegiventoomuchexpensivewhitepapertopicturesandtoolittletoreadingmatter--especiallytopoetry.That'swherethefaultlies.[EnterEDWARDWILLS,editor.]

ED:

I'lltellyouwherethefaultlies.[PointsfirsttotheARTIST,thentoOSCAR.]Here!

Justthis!

Everybodypluggingforhisownthing.Nobodycaringenoughaboutthethingasawhole.

OSCAR:

[Rising]I'lltellyouwherethefaultlies.[PointstoED.]Here!

This.TheEditor-in-chiefreturningfromalongtripandthefirstgoldenwordsthatfallfromhislipsarewordsofcensureforhisfaithfulsubordinates.

SARA:

HowareyouEd?

ED:

Rotten.Ihatesleepingcars.Ialwayscatchcold.

SARA:

Anyluck?

ED:

[Hishandaroundhisear]What'stheword?

[EntertheEARNESTAPPROACH.]

EARNESTAPPROACH:

Ihaveheardthatyoumayhavetodiscontinue.

ED:

[Sittingdownathisdesk,beginningtolookthroughthemail.]Itseemswemightaswell.

EARNESTAPPROACH:

Nowjustletmetellyouwhatthetroublehasbeenandhowyoucanremedyit."ThePeople"hasbeenafraidofbeingserious.Butyoudealwithideas,andyoumustdoitsoberly.Thereisaplaceforagoodearnestjournalofprotest,butallthislevity--thisfooling--

[EnterLIGHTTOUCH.]

LIGHTTOUCH:

Cameintoseeyou,Ed,tosayIhopethenewsI'mhearingisn'ttrue.

ED:

Ifit'sbad,it'strue.

LIGHTTOUCH:

Well,it'sanawfulpity,butyou'vebeentoodamnserious.Alightertouch--that'swhat"ThePeople"needs.You'reasheavyasmud.Tryitawhilelongeralongfrivolouslines.Iwasinthebuildingandjustranintoletyouhavemyideaofwhat'sthematterwithyou.

OSCAR:

Ifwehadasmanysubscribersaswehavepeopletotelluswhat'sthematterwithus--

[EnterPHILOSOPHERandANARCHIST,PRINTERfollowsthemin,apageofmanuscriptinhishand.]

ED:

NowthePhilosopherandAnarchistwilltelluswhat'sthematterwithus.

ANARCHIST:

Toodamnborgeois!

Youshouldprintonthecoverofeveryissue--"Tohellwiththebourgeoisie!

Pigs!

"

PHILOSOPHER:

Thetroublewiththepaperisefficiency.

[Theystarttoriseintheirchairs.ThePRINTERfallsbackagainstthewall,thenstaggersoutoftheroom.]

ED:

DearGod!

TherearethingsitseemstomeIcannotbear.

PHILOSOPHER:

Itshouldbemorecarelesslydone,andthenitwouldbemoreperfectlydone.Youshouldbelessdefinite,andyouwouldhavemoredefiniteness.Youshouldnotknowwhatitisyouwant,andthenyouwouldfindwhatyouareafter.

OSCAR:

Youtalkasifwehadnotbeenasuccess.ButjustlastnightIheardofawomaninBronxvillewhokeeps"ThePeople"underherbedsoherhusbandwon'tknowshe'sreadingit.

ANARCHIST:

Ifyouhadbeenasuccessyouwouldhavefiredthatwomanwithsogreatacouragethatshewouldproudlyprop"ThePeople"onthepillow!

ARTIST:

[WhoissketchingtheANARCHIST]Itwasmypicturesgotusunderthebed.

OSCAR:

[Haughtily]Iwasdefinitelytolditwasmylast"TalkwithGod"putusunderthebed.

ANARCHIST:

Canyounotseethatsheputsyouunderthebedbecauseyouyourselveshavemadeconcessionstothebourgeoisie?

Cows!

Geese!

ARTIST:

[WhohasbeensketchingtheANARCHIST]Itshouldprintmorepictures.

OSCAR:

Itmustprintmorepoetry.[Theyglareatoneanother.]

EARNESTAPPROACH:

Itshouldbemoreserious.

LIGHTTOUCH:

Itshouldbemorefrivolous.

[EntertheBOYfromGeorgia--dressedlikeafreshmanwithagoodallowance.]

THEBOY:

Isthistheofficeof"ThePeople"?

OSCAR:

No,thisisalunaticasylum.

THEBOY:

[Afterabewilderedmoment]Oh,you'rejoking.Youknow[confidentially],Iwonderedaboutthat--whetheryouwouldjokehere.Ithoughtyouwould.[Steppingforward.]IcametoseetheEditor--Iwanttotellhim--

ED:

Somanypeoplearetellingmesomanythings,couldyoutellyoursalittlelater?

THEBOY:

Oh,yes.Ofcoursetheremustbemanyimportantthingspeoplehavetotellyou.

ED:

Well--many.[BOYgoesoutrear--reluctantly.]

ARTIST:

[WhohasallthetimebeenglaringatOscar]Speakingfortheartists,Iwanttosayrightnow--

OSCAR:

Speakingforthewriters,Iwishtosaybeforewegofurther--

EARNESTAPPROACH:

Amoreseriousapproach--

LIGHTTOUCH:

Alightertouch--

ANARCHIST:

SpeakingfortheAnarchists--

PHILOSOPHER:

Speakingforthetruth--

[Phonerings,OSCARanswers.EntertheMANfromtheCape--slow,heavy.]

ED:

Youhavecometotellussomethingaboutthispaper?

THEMAN:

Yes.

ED:

Thereareanumberaheadofyou.Willyouwaityourturn?

[Alookofdisappointment.]I'llbegladtoseeyouassoonasIcan.Thereintheoutsideoffice?

[Motioningdoorrear.]

[AmomenttheMANstandsthere,amuteponderousfigure,thenveryslowlygoesout.]

OSCAR:

[Hanginguprecei