Contemporary Plays by Women of Color

An Anthology

Roberta Uno, Roberta Uno

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781317280446
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

In the two decades since the first edition of Contemporary Plays by Women of Color was published, its significance to the theatrical landscape in the United States has grown exponentially.

Work by female writers and writers of color is more widely produced, published, and studied than ever before. Drawing from an exciting range of theaters, large and small, from across the country, Roberta Uno brings together an up-to-date selection of plays from renowned and emerging playwrights tackling a variety of topics. From the playful to the painful, this revised and updated edition presents a rich array of voices, aesthetics, and stories for a transforming America.

1 Cardboard Piano
Hansol Jung

Characters

Part I

CHRIS a child in love, age 16

ADIEL a child in love, age 16

PIKA a child soldier, 13

SOLDIER a soldier

Part II

CHRIS a visitor, age 30

PAUL a pastor, Soldier from Part I, age 27

RUTH a pastor’s wife, Adiel from Part I, age 29

FRANCIS a local ki, Pika from Part I, age 22

Time

Part I is New Year’s Eve 1999

Part II is A Wedding Anniversary 2014

Setting

A township in Northern Uganda

Punctuation notes

- a cut off either by self or other.

// a point where another character might cut in.

[...] Things that aren’t spoken in words.

Luo translations

jal – le	I surrender
apwoyo matek	thank you very much
mzungu	(light-skinned) foreigner

PART I

Night.

A church–not one of stone and stained glass,

more a small town hall dressed up to be church

There’s a hole in the roof of the church.

Two men, two women.

In separate spaces, they sing together, simple a capella

that might blow up into something bigger and scarier

ALL Just as I am, without one plea,¹

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come

Just as I am, though tossed about

With many a conflict, many a doubt,

Fightings and fears within, without,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come

Just as I am, Thy love unknown

Hath broken every barrier down;

Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come

Just as I am, of that free love

The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,

Here for a season, then above,

O Lamb of-

Rain. Loud. Pours through the hole in the roof.

Pews, chair, cushions arranged to create a hollow in the middle of church.

ADIEL, age 16, is asleep in the middle of the hollow, strewn with wild flower petals.

CHRIS, age 16, slips in, big suitcase in tow.

She hides the suitcase somewhere in the shadows

She tiptoes around the chairs, benches to lean into ADIEL’s sleeping ear.

Whispers.

CHRIS The end of the world is near.

(ADIEL starts.)

ADIEL Hm!?

CHRIS Hi.

ADIEL Where am, what,

CHRIS It’s me, just me.

ADIEL For heaven’s sake Chris. You frightened me. What is the time. You are very late.

CHRIS Had to wait till the folks fell asleep.

ADIEL Your parents?

(CHRIS finds party blower.)

CHRIS Blowers!

ADIEL Why are they still here?

CHRIS Blue one’s mine!

ADIEL What about the party? What happened?

CHRIS Nothing. They didn’t wanna go, I guess.

ADIEL So your parents are still in the house?

CHRIS It’s fine. They went to bed. Said they wanna be up in time to see the ball fall in New York. Miss me?

ADIEL I saw you just three hours ago.

CHRIS We didn’t know if the world was gonna end, three hours ago.

ADIEL It did not.

CHRIS (blows on blower) yay!

ADIEL Shh!

CHRIS Happy New Year.

ADIEL Happy New Year. You’ll wake them up.

(Blow.)

ADIEL (cont.) Chris it is not funny-

(Blow.)

ADIEL (cont.) Come now give it to me.

CHRIS Make me.

(Blow.)

ADIEL Haw this is a challenge now?

(ADIEL jumps CHRIS, misses.)

CHRIS Prepare for battle!

(Battle trumpets blowblowblow.)

CHRIS (cont.) Upon my honor I shall never surrender!

(Blooooooooooooooooooooooooo-Blowing stops because ADIEL kisses her.)

CHRIS (cont.) I surrender.

(Kiss.)

CHRIS (cont.) How do you say I surrender in Luo?

ADIEL Jal – le.

CHRIS Jal – le.

ADIEL I am very sexy when you speak my language.

CHRIS I am sexy.

ADIEL You too?

CHRIS No, I am sexy, to you. Sexy is a thing I am, that makes You want to get into My pants.

ADIEL Why are we turning this into English lesson?

CHRIS I am very sexy when you speak my language wrong.

ADIEL So both ways we are very sexy.

CHRIS Okay.

(Hands in pants, hairs undone, shirts flung off, skirts riding up-Thunder and lightning.)

CHRIS (cont.) Woah.

(CHRIS bolts upright like a meerkat.)

ADIEL What is the matter?

CHRIS Think he’s mad at us?

ADIEL Who?

CHRIS I’d be mad if people came to my house at night, mess it up, have sex all over my cushions in front of a picture of me hanging naked on a tree -

(ADIEL kisses CHRIS.)

ADIEL I think he is thrilled we included him.

CHRIS We didn’t.

ADIEL Well I did and I think he is saying congratulations on your big day!

(Thunder.)
(Meerkat.)

ADIEL (cont.) He is happy for us! He is giving us extra fireworks. He is saying Happy happy wedding day!

CHRIS Fuck around in my house of worship and I’ll throw a bolt in your head. Is what he’s saying.

ADIEL Ag he did not bring us together to throw a bolt in our heads.

CHRIS Yeh. Well. We won’t know till we know will we?

ADIEL Chris. What is the matter?

CHRIS Nothing. Just, thunderstorms. I don’t like them.

(re: church) This, is beautiful. When did you have the time to set all this up?

ADIEL You were late.

CHRIS Candles… flowers… a, oreo?

ADIEL Ah that one is a gift. From Francis.

CHRIS Francis? The guy who’s crushing on you?

ADIEL No, that is Philip. Francis is my cousin. The one who is crushing on You.

CHRIS You brought me a cookie from your competiti...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction by Roberta Uno
• 1 Cardboard Piano
• 2 Clothes
• 3 Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary
• 4 Eclipsed
• 5 Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue
• 6 Etchings in the Sand
• 7 Food and Fadwa
• 8 Gunshot Medley
• 9 He Lei no Kākā‘āko: Woven Memories
• 10 Lines in the Dust
• 11 Mala Hierba
• 12 N*gg*
• 13 Our Lady of Kibeho
• 14 Our Voices Will Be Heard
• 15 Scenes From 68* Years
• 16 Standoff at Hwy#37
• 17 Sun Sisters
• 18 The Adventures at Camp KaKeeKwaSha and the Magic Musky Casino!
• 19 The Wild Inside
• 20 The Wong Street Journal
• 21 What Would Crazy Horse Do?
• 22 Zafira the Olive Oil Warrior
• Appendix: Published plays by American women of color: selected works after