WEBSITE: http://www.popcultu...
LOCATION: Los Angeles, Calfornia
RECORDS: 16
LATEST RECORD: 8 months ago
JOINED: May 21, 2007
LOCATION: Los Angeles, Calfornia
RECORDS: 16
LATEST RECORD: 8 months ago
JOINED: May 21, 2007
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It is 11:47. Your son is on the edge of death, you would do anything to save him. Anything. What would you do when a man arrives with an offer? He will give you your son back if you give him the soul of the daughter still growing within you. What do you do? Such is the decision facing Marjorie Keller and she has only 13 minutes to decide. The man comes from the darkness. She does not know he is even there until he speaks. He smells slightly of sulfur and speaks with a sneer. His truths are staggering but Marjorie knows he is the father of lies. How can she turn her back on the only way to save her son? Can she ignore everything she has ever believed in and give up the life of the child she doesn't know for the one she does. Can she do it despite her son being something she thinks is an abomination? Marjorie is faced with a deal with the devil. What would you do? The deal expires at Midnight. It's 11:47. 11:47 (A Play in One Act) by Garon Cockrell CHARACTER NAME BRIEF DESCRIPTION AGE GENDER Marjorie - Mousey, devout with brown hair 37 Female Lucifer - Black hair, goatee, smoldering ?? Male Eve - Black woman, sassy 27 Female Stephen - Dark hair, eyes 16 Male SCENE ONE. MARJORIE KELLER stands at the entrance to the hospital room. She is in her late 30’s with soft brown hair and a mousey demeanor. The room is sparse with a single bed, couple of chairs, and a small table. The bed is surrounded by monitors that blink but are silent. On the bed lays STEPHEN. He is fifteen. His arms are bandaged and there is a tube in his throat. His eyes are closed and he is peaceful. (Marjorie steps inside and lets her fingers brush the cross at her neck.. She carries a well worn bible in her other hand.) (She takes a step forward just as NURSE (EVE enters and walks over to the bed.) (Eve begins checking Stephen’s vitals.) EVE I know it ain’t easy to be in here with him but he needs you. (Marjorie walks to the foot of the bed.) MARJORIE I come every day. EVE I know. I see you standing in the door. Going on a week and always in the door. You’re his mother, you should hold his hand. Have you touched him since he’s been here? (Marjorie looks to her bible.) EVE That ain’t gonna wake him up. MARJORIE (whispers) It’s all I have. (Eve nods and finishes her duties. She walks to the door.) EVE People put so much faith into that book take it so personal like. It isn’t a rule book and it doesn’t give answers. I’ve seen miracles happen. The kind he needs, they don’t come from a book. They start with a touch. (She exits.) (Marjorie watches the door as it slowly closes. She walks to a chair and pulls it close to the side of the bed. She sits and lets her bible open in her lap. She gently places her hand atop of Stephen’s unmoving hand.) MARJORIE Stephen, I’m so sorry. What have I done? (She begins to cry. She lowers her head to his arm and weeps. The bible slides out of her lap. She ignores it. She cries softly and her eyes close. She is asleep.) The room darkens. (Marjorie snaps awake.) (She leans over and picks the bible up, unfolding the crumpled pages. She looks at her son and slides to her knees. She grabs his hand and folds it between her own.) (She closes her eyes and lowers her head.) MARJORIE Dear Heavenly Father I come to you your humble servant to beg for your mercy on my son. Please wake him lord Jesus. Please bring him back to me. He fell into darkness and I failed him when he came to me. I turned my back lord and he won’t wake up now. This is my fault. Please lord fix my family. Bring my Stephen back and fix my family. A shape seems to materialize behind Marjorie. A shape of a man. Tall and shadowed. His name is Lucifer and he is ageless. (The figure steps from the darkness and places a hand on Marjorie’s shoulder. ) LUCIFER He will not answer you. Surely, you know this. (Marjorie unfolds her hands. She sits in the chair, not looking at Lucifer.) LUCIFER What have you done, Marjorie? What have you done to drive your son to this? Your only child. (She turns to look but he stops her.) LUCIFER No no. Do not look at me. To look upon me is to know madness. MARJORIE Who are you? LUCIFER We’ll come to that although I suspect you may know. (Marjorie makes the sign of the cross and grips her bible tighter.) LUCIFER Does that protect you, Marjorie? Does it keep away the darkness? Look at your son. MARJORIE This was an accident. God will give me my son back. LUCIFER There are no accidents, girl. What do you think you mean to god? What does your family mean to him? Out of all of his children, what makes you so special as to receive his attention? (Marjorie shakes her head and again clasps Stephen’s hand.) MARJORIE God will hear my prayers. He will bring my baby back. (She begins to WHISPER a prayer.) (Lucifer LAUGHS.) LUCIFER In the room next door a five year old boy’s insides are being eaten away by disease and you wish god to save your precious Stephen? What of little Timmy’s mother? Does she not deserve his grace? What of the girl across the hall whose father snapped her arm in two because she turned off the television during a sporting event. Does she not deserve his grace? MARJORIE Stop this! You haven’t the right to say these things to me. My faith... LUCIFER Your faith. Is that not what brought us here? It was your faith that made you turn your back on him in the first place is it not? Your...devotion...tell me when he told you he loved other boys did you wish him dead? MARJORIE No you bastard. LUCIFER What did your husband say to him when he told you. When he opened his heart to you both what did your husband, his father, say? (Marjorie closes her eyes. Tears pour down her cheeks.) LUCIFER Answer me, Marjorie. MARJORIE He said he could not look at him and to get out. LUCIFER What else? MARJORIE God had punished us by giving us a...a... LUCIFER A faggot. Ism’t that what he said? A faggot. An abomination. Correct? And did you agree Marjorie? (Marjorie lowers her head) LUCIFER When your son turned to you, tears in his eyes, what did you do? (Marjorie sobs) LUCIFER (shouts) Answer me! MARJORIE I turned away! I turned my back on him! LUCIFER Yes. You turned your back and he took his life. Isn’t that right? Where was god when your son was feeding himself those pills. One by one. Tear by tear. He counted them. One hundred and seventy five pills. Where was god? Where was his grace? MARJORIE Why are you doing this? (Lucifer places a hand on her shoulder) LUCIFER I’ve come to help you. I’ve come to set you free. Now you see the truth. Now you see that the one you trust so dearly, cannot be trusted. I can be trusted, Marjorie. Do you wish for my help? MARJORIE You are the father of lies why should I trust you? LUCIFER Where else do you have to turn? Will you hear my offer? (Marjorie looks at Stephen) MARJORIE Yes. LUCIFER I can give him back if you like. I ask only one thing in return. MARJORIE If it is my soul, you can have it. LUCIFER So willing to give up something so precious? Alas, your soul is not what I want. MARJORIE Then what? LUCIFER Your daughter. MARJORIE My...daughter? Stephen is my only chi... (Lucifer leans forward and places his hand over Marjorie’s stomach. He inhales deeply as he leans closer to her) LUCIFER She is inside you. I can smell her. So fresh. Give her to me and I will return your son. (He stands.) This is my offer. The life of your unborn daughter, the daughter you don’t know, for the life of your son, the child you raised and turned away from in his greatest need. (He pulls a pocket watch from his coat.) It is 11:47, Marjorie. This offer expires at Midnight. (He clicks a button and the clock begins to TICK.) MARJORIE You’re a monster! LUCIFER This is the way things work, girl. Your son was lost. The lost belong to me. He is mine forever to do with as I please and I ...will ...do ...horrible ...things. His flesh will be feasted upon. Say yes and I will silence the heart of your daughter and Stephen will be yours. (Marjorie leaps up and begins to hit him. She pounds her fists on his chest.) MARJORIE Give him to me! God damn you! LUCIFER He already has you foolish woman. What is your decision? (Marjorie looks into his eyes and steps back. She wraps her arms around her stomach and falls to her knees.) MARJORIE JESUS PLEASE HELP ME! SAVE MY SON LORD SAVE MY SON! (Lucifer LAUGHS.) (Eve stands unnoticed in the doorway of the room. Her eyes are wet. She lowers her head and exits.) MARJORIE I can’t do this. I can’t do this. God please give me the strength. Please. Please. Please god where are you? Where are you god? Help us lord. Help me please. (Marjorie weeps and walks over to her Stephen’s bed. She holds his hand tightly and SOBS into his palm.) (He begins to convulse.) (The ticking continues.) (Marjorie backs away.) MARJORIE What’s happening? What’s happening to him? LUCIFER You’re out of time, Marjorie. I am taking him home. MARJORIE No! No you can’t! Give him to me! Give me my son! I have time! Please! LUCIFER Minutes pass like seconds Marjorie. Do you accept? (Marjorie watches as Stephen is violently seizing on the bed.) MARJORIE Please god...please god Jesus... (Her hands grip her stomach tightly.) LUCIFER HE WILL NOT HELP YOU! DO YOU ACCEPT? MARJORIE (Wails) YES! God forgive me yes! (Lucifer smiles.) (The ticking stops) (Stephen stops convulsing.) LUCIFER Your choice is made. Stephen shall live. (Marjorie cries softly and steps towards her son. She stops and clutches her chest.) LUCIFER Our agreement is final. I will stop your daughter’s heart and claim her. How do you feel turning against your lord and sacrificing to me? (Marjorie looks at him again) MARJORIE You...bastard. LUCIFER It is unfortunate that such a new baby shares one heart. The heart of the Mother. The life giver. (Marjorie falls to her knees. She reaches a hand towards her son. She opens her mouth to speak but falls dead to the ground. Her bible lay inches from her hand.) The room is quiet. A hissing machine. A beeping monitor. Stephen’s Breathing. (Eve enters. She sees Marjorie on the ground and looks to Lucifer standing in shadow.) (Lucifer nods to her, bows slightly and vanishes.) (Eve kneels next to Marjorie and gently slides the bible to her hand. She pats it softly.) EVE I failed you. I am sorry. (Stephen opens his eyes. He sits up and looks around the room.) STEPHEN Mom? (He sees his mother on the floor and begins to SCREAM for her.) STEPHEN Mom! Mom get up! MOM! (Eve stands and walks to Stephen. She embraces him her arms circling him protecting him. He shrieks for his mother. Eve holds him.) BLACK |
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