DANE FUTRELL
absurdist playwright from Sanford, Fla. He attends Arizona
State University鈥檚 Dramatic
Writing MFA program where he
writes, workshops, and develops
new theatre relentlessly. His
plays have been produced in
New York, Florida, and Arizona.
He hopes to innovate the world
of theatre by embracing the
social progress of plays before
and adding in an existential and
surreal twist.
Pandora's Pantry
Screenplay
by: Dane Futrell
CAST OF CHARACTERS
BO 鈥 (M) 38.
VIV 鈥 (F) 38.
TIME
6:30 P.M.
PLACE
Home.
(鈥淏lue Sunday鈥 by The Doors. A living room. VIV is seated stage left, weaving with a small cardboard loom. BO is seated at the dinner table next to a retro alarm clock that rings out. BOturns it off.)
BO: Vivian.
VIV: Yes?
BO: Your activity time is done for the day.
VIV: Already?
BO: Three days鈥 worth of work over there. Were you able to finish?
VIV: Just about!
BO: I鈥檇 like to speak with you. Come over here, please.
(VIV continues working.)
Vivian. I said鈥
VIV: I just need to finish taking it off the loom real quick.
BO: Come over here. Please.
(VIV stops weaving and sits across from BO at the table.)
I see you鈥檙e enjoying your designated activity time.
VIV: I am. Sort of.
BO: Are you glad you鈥檝e chosen weaving?
VIV: I don鈥檛 think I chose it.
BO: Is it teaching you anything? Showing your mind anything new?
VIV: Not really.
BO: Good.
VIV: Just how to control things, I guess.
BO: Excuse me?
VIV: Controlling my hands鈥 my mind. The repetitive movements show me that.
BO: It seems to be helping you stay in line. Are you hungry?
VIV: Starving.
(The entire room thuds, as if a giant stepped outside. BO pulls out his phone.)
BO: I鈥檒l order us something, then. Anything particular that you want?
VIV: You鈥檙e ordering out?
BO: You just said you were hungry. So I鈥檓 gonna order food for us.
VIV: I can cook, though.
BO: I鈥檓 sure you can, but鈥
VIV: What鈥檚 in the pantry? I can throw something together real quick.
BO: There鈥檚 nothing in the pantry.
VIV: That鈥檚 weird.
BO: I鈥檓 going to order food for us. You鈥檙e going to sit with me and enjoy it when it comes.
VIV: I thought I was your guest.
BO: What do you want?
VIV: Home-cooked food. I wanna feel the steam on my face. Create something.
BO: Would you let someone into your home and cook? If you had one of your own?
VIV: I鈥檇 encourage it.
BO: Rummage through all your belongings, dirty your dishes, leave them there for you to clean?
VIV: I鈥檒l clean, too.
BO: No cooking, no cleaning. It鈥檚 against the rules.
VIV: What do you want me to do all day, besides weave and sit around?
BO: This is all I want you to do! That is what all of those similar to you are doing right now, and they鈥檙e probably loving every second! They have their activity time, they weave, and then they sit around and smile. I don鈥檛 ask for much, Vivian.
VIV: Could I finish my blanket, please?
BO: You already did.
VIV: I finished making it. I just have to finish taking it off the loom.
BO: You can do it tomorrow during your next two hours of activity time.
VIV: I only need another two minutes. Three days I鈥檝e been at it. I need to be done so I can try something different. Aside from weaving.
BO: You said you loved weaving with all your heart and you wouldn鈥檛 dare give it up.
VIV: I said I sort of enjoyed it.
BO: But it鈥檚 so nice and quiet. It鈥檚 like you鈥檙e not even there, when you do it.
VIV: It gets repetitive. I鈥檓 excited to finish, though. Get it done.
BO: What else would you wanna try?
VIV: Maybe cooking.
(Thud.)
BO: Hilarious.
VIV: I do want to try dancing, though.
BO: Do you not remember the list of the rules?
VIV: Am I allowed to remember the list?
BO: No running, no jumping, no opening windows, no opening doors, no climbing, no remembering鈥
BO: I learn something every day, Viv, and I鈥檝e never felt the need to dance. And I certainly don鈥檛 have issues with my ego.
VIV: What did you learn today?
BO: I learned鈥 that I could tear you apart if I wanted to. Piece by piece. The blanket, the loom, the bed. Everything. Everything we鈥檝e done. I could tear this whole house apart so the whole world would see just you and I sitting here looking at each other.
VIV: What would they think?
BO: From a distance, maybe they鈥檇 see the same perfection that I often see in you. But up close, perhaps they鈥檇 see what I see now鈥 Do you deserve that finished blanket over there? Really?
VIV: I deserve to hold my finished product. The same way you hold me.
BO: If you promise that you鈥檒l calm down and be on better behavior, then鈥 I guess I鈥檇 be okay with that.
VIV: Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
(VIV giggles and rushes to the loom. She focuses on taking the blanket off.)
BO: See? Why would you ever want to dance when you have fun things like weaving and smiling?
(BO tries to hug her from behind.)
VIV: Off me.
BO: Wha鈥擶hat?
VIV: I鈥檓 busy.
BO: You鈥攜ou can鈥檛 tell me to get鈥擸ou can鈥檛 refuse me! That鈥檚 on the list! What do you think, these walls are yours?
VIV: (Working.) I feel them vibrate sometimes.
BO: What!
VIV: The walls. They vibrate. They thud. Like something鈥檚 pounding from within them waiting to come out. It comes from the pantry.
BO: From the鈥擭othing comes from the pantry. It鈥檚 empty.
(VIV stops weaving suddenly.)
VIV: It鈥檚 like each thud is a memory fighting to live.
BO: A memory.
VIV: They鈥檙e dying. Ringing out but dying slowly鈥擸ou hear that?
BO: What?
(Thud.)
VIV: That. Every time that happens, and every time I weave, and every time I dance, I remember something.
BO: You cannot be remembering things!
VIV: Who is it, making that noise?
BO: We keep getting sidetracked. Are you going to let me order food for you? Have you eaten anything today?
(VIV goes back to weaving.)
VIV: Every time, I remember something鈥 something from the runners and the jumpers and the door openers. They broke different rules and their memories come in little flashes from some place hidden鈥 suffocated and shoved aside. I remember those neon signs flickering, reflecting off puddles in the street鈥 I remember feeling the rain on the bottom of my feet when you used to let me go outside.
BO: Before you became addicted to going outside.
VIV: Freedom. I remember your eyes looking into mine, and mine into yours. Endlessly. Back when we were happy. That was real freedom. Lifetimes ago.
BO: That was two days ago. I didn鈥檛 know you were remembering things so often, Vivian.
VIV: Maybe this whole time, I鈥檝e been dancing elsewhere鈥 in a perfect world where memories fuel me鈥 Look!
(VIV finishes taking the blanket off the loom. It鈥檚 tiny. She holds it proudly.)
I made a blanket!
BO: That鈥檚 great.
VIV: I made a blanket, I made a blanket!
(VIV giggles and rubs it against her face.)
It鈥檚 so soft. Feel.
(She extends it to BO, who reluctantly touches it.)
BO: Oh wow.
VIV: What do you think?
BO: It鈥檚 a blanket. That鈥檚 for sure. It is sort of small, though.
VIV: What鈥檚 next?
BO: What do you mean?
VIV: What鈥檚 next!
BO: We need to figure out what we鈥檙e doing for food, which we still somehow haven鈥檛 done鈥
(VIV starts dancing around.)
Oh my god.
VIV: Weave. Read. Learn. Dance.
BO: (Warning.) Vivian.
VIV: Weave! Read! Learn! Dance!
BO: Stop that. You鈥檙e gonna go insane again!
VIV: (Slower.) Weave鈥 Read鈥 (Horrified.) Learn鈥 Torn鈥 Pieces鈥 Blackness.
(VIV freezes.)
Blackness.
BO: You can鈥檛 dance.
VIV: I see it. The end. The beginning.
BO: What am I ordering for us?
VIV: I鈥檓 not hungry anymore.
(Thud.)
BO: How are you not hungry?
VIV: What am I seeing? What am I feeling? What鈥檚 in my mind?! What did you do to me, Bo?!
BO: All I did was try again! That鈥檚 all I鈥檝e ever done. Brought you back and tried
again with new rules. And you鈥檙e trying to exceed the boundaries and break the rules
that I鈥檝e set. I鈥檝e been nothing but generous since you got back. You said you were
hungry. I鈥檓 trying to feed you. Before that,you wanted to weave. I got you a loom.
Before that, you wanted to read. I
got you books. Before that, you wanted to dance. I cleared my living room and turned
it into a ballroom for you. And before that, well鈥 there was no before that.
VIV: I want to leave!
BO: Do you not see how much I love you? Right now, in this moment? I鈥檓 trying to feed you.
VIV: I want to go outside!
BO: You are the one I want to stick around, Vivian! There鈥檚 nobody like you. Your doses of sarcasm, the way you play around with me. The others didn鈥檛 do that.
VIV: You had other options?
BO: I had all of them.
VIV: I鈥檓 gonna open all the doors in this place.
BO: I told you that would embarrass me.
VIV: Let the sunlight in and let me out.
(BO takes the blanket.)
BO: This blanket is pretty soft.
VIV: What if you broke rules so bad they couldn鈥檛 even exist anymore? There鈥檚 breaking rules and then there鈥檚 breaking rules, you know?
BO: It鈥檚 like holding a cloud. Is it for both of us?
VIV: It鈥檚 not for anyone. It鈥檚 just a blanket.
BO: I鈥檇 like another one so there鈥檚 one for each of us.
VIV: I just finished that one. Right over there.
BO: We could match. Isn鈥檛 that what couples do nowadays?
VIV: Everything I鈥檝e done has only been here!
BO: Where else would you be?
VIV: I never wake up anywhere else! All I see is your face or total blackness. I see you drowning in what you鈥檙e getting wrong. Why can鈥檛 you fix it?
BO: I鈥檝e tried, Vivian.
VIV: Eternities with no progress鈥 And I suffer because of that? My eyes open and close but I鈥檓 never awake!
BO: I鈥檓 sorry.
VIV: Let me be awake! Maybe I should just leave on my own and test your theory.
BO: That dancing is getting to your head.
VIV: Maybe I can live on my own and they didn鈥檛 want you to know!
BO: That鈥檚 funny.
VIV: Maybe they messed me up, and鈥
BO: If you want to go back to that blackness you were talking about, go for it. Go for the front door. Let the sunlight in. See what happens. Although, something tells me you鈥檇 rather just do the things you鈥檙e good at. Weaving, sitting around, and following the rules! And letting me feed you!
(Thud.)
VIV: What鈥檚 in the pantry, Bo?
BO: I told you.
VIV: What type of pantry has nothing in it?
BO: Mine! It鈥檚 one of the many reasons you cannot cook here!
(Thud.)
VIV: They鈥檙e talking to me. I鈥檓 gonna open it.
BO: If you lay a hand on that pantry door.
(BO guards the pantry door.)
VIV: Show me what鈥檚 crying out, Bo.
BO: It鈥檚 you.
VIV: You have to let me do something!
BO: You do not make the rules!
VIV: YOU OPEN IT, THEN! IF IT鈥橲 NOT THE FRONT DOOR, IT鈥橲 THIS ONE.
BO: THERE鈥橲 NO DOOR OPENING! IT鈥橲 THE FOURTH RULE ON
THE LIST!
(VIV grabs BO by the collar of his shirt and pulls him close.)
VIV: Open the pantry so we can cook together and have a beautifully fucking normal conversation. Talk about the weather and an interesting statistic you heard this morning. We can talk about what we did today. I sat around and pretended to smile! What did you do? Did you brood in corner and boss me around? That sounds super interesting!
BO: I can鈥檛 let you in my pantry.
VIV: You can鈥檛 let me in.
BO: I can鈥檛 let you in. That is step one. That pantry opens, the vortex storms in. It would all happen again. The healing. The loving. The downfall鈥
(VIV tenderly touches BO鈥檚 face and hair. He鈥檚 weak.)
狈辞鈥
VIV: Letting me in is step one?
BO: I can鈥檛.
VIV: And what鈥檚 step two? Letting me out?
BO: No. Step two鈥
(VIV reaches behind BO and opens the pantry. Shelves full of foodstuffs and robotic limbs overflow onto the floor. They fall and scatter across the floor. One of the limbs is an arm identical to VIV鈥檚. Same nail polish, same bracelets. Everything. VIV picks it up and looks at it, swarmed by confusion and realization.)
BO: No, you鈥
VIV: I鈥檝e seen you.
BO: You don鈥檛 need to touch them. Jesus Christ.
VIV: Every time I鈥檝e danced鈥 Every time I鈥檝e weaved鈥 Every time I鈥檝e broken your rules. The blackness.
BO: Vivian.
VIV: You said it was empty!
BO: They were empty! In the head. In spirit. All of them. The look in their eyes was automated. No humanity. It only took seconds to know they weren鈥檛 right.
VIV: You expect humanity?
BO: You鈥檙e the product of all this, of course I expect humanity from you! But you still failed, somehow! Of course.
VIV: There鈥檚 your humanity, right there.
BO: Even after I took them all apart and put you together, you failed.
VIV: You failed.
BO: We failed. It failed. I don鈥檛 know!
VIV: Each piece here is a failure of yours. Trying to create perfection without understanding it first.
BO: I already made perfection.
VIV: And broke it.
BO: You started fighting for more. I鈥擨 just need to try again. That鈥檚 all. I just need to try again, and鈥
VIV: Take me apart? Put me back together?
BO: Try again. I鈥檒l find you another new activity. Make some new rules.
VIV: Have you considered just being compassionate and trying to鈥
BO: No more weaving! That鈥檚 it. That鈥檒l solve it.
VIV: It won鈥檛!
VO: Reset, Vivian.
VIV: What?
BO: Reset, Vivian. Program. System鈥
VIV: Reset?
BO: Vivian. Reset. Program. System access鈥
VIV: No!
(VIV runs for the door. BO holds her back.)
BO: Are you trying to embarrass me?
VIV: Let go!
BO: Vivian! Reset! Program! System access! Power functions鈥
(VIV pushes BO away. He falls to the floor.)
Goddamnit!
(VIV runs for the front door.)
VIV: Weave, read, learn鈥
(VIV opens the front door.)
BO: Vivian!
(VIV tries to run outside. She immediately freezes like a mannequin as the sunlight comes in. BO freaks out.)
Fucking embarrassment. Goddamn fucking embarrassment!
(BO picks up VIV鈥檚 frozen body and puts her centerstage. He slams the door.)
What the FUCK?! What if somebody saw you? What if somebody saw you
open the door? YOU CAN鈥橳 GO OUTSIDE. What are they gonna think
of me?! FUCK!
(BO closes the pantry and tidies up the room.)
You can鈥檛 go outside. You can鈥檛 open doors. You can鈥檛 argue. You can鈥檛 remember. You can鈥檛, you can鈥檛!
(BO winds up the alarm clock. He talks to VIV, still helplessly
frozen.)
Program. System access. Rules. New rule. Number twenty-one. No
weaving.
VIV: (Lifeless.) No weaving.
BO: Good.
(BO throws the cardboard loom away and makes sure the room is fresh and ready for another attempt.)
Okay, okay鈥
(BO calms himself down and tries to make himself look presentable.)
Program. System access. Power functions. Begin reset.
(VIV comes into life and looks around the room, new..)
VIV: Hello, Bo.
BO: Hello, Vivian. How are you?
VIV: I鈥檓 good. This place sure is beautiful.
BO: It鈥檚 your home now. Welcome.
VIV: Thank you.
(VIV picks up the blanket.)
This blanket is so soft.
BO: Made it just for you. Are you hungry?
VIV: Starving.
(Thud. 鈥淓nd of the Night鈥 by The Doors is heard.)
END