A Three-minute play

I had to write for a module weekly assignment.

Six people.

Three Chairs.

A paper bag with eyes slits cut out.
A Mask.
A hankerchief gag.
Three pieces of luggage.
A ball.

Let the play begin.

The three chairs are arranged equidistant from each other, about several paces, placed in the middle of the stage.

Speakers chime out like a SQ flight returning to Singapore. “Welcome to Singapore. Singaporeans, welcome home.”

Three actors, walk in. Each carries a piece of luggage. One wears the paper bag over his head, one wears a mask, one is gagged with a hankerchief.

Each actor puts the bag behind a chair and sits in front of it. The actor in the paper bag begins to cry. The actor in the mask takes out a pencil and pad, crosses his or her legs, ostensibly observes actions and writes things down on the pad. The actor who is gagged, stares blankly ahead.

The remaining three actors, dressed gaily in bright colours, enter. One dances, one skips, and one walks in a no-nonsense fashion. The dancer dances around stage. The skipper skips around the chairs. The walker walks around, talking into his/her cell phone. The actor in the mask, observes and notes down things. The actor in the paper bag continues crying. The actor gagged stares into space.

Suddenly the three standing actors, the dancer, the skipper, and the walker, move towards the centre of the stage, in front of the chairs, and greet each other warmly. They stand and they chat for a while. They are very intimate. They joke, and they laugh. They play ball with each other. They dance with each other. One of them trips and falls down on the backside, and all of them laugh. They hug each other, say their goodbyes, and replace their counterparts on the chairs. They fall asleep on the chairs.

The actor in a paper bag, the actor in a mask, and the actor gagged take off their facial hindrances. They repeat what the last three actors did as a group. They greet each other warmly, talk, joke, prank, play with each other, hug, and say their goodbyes. They replace their masks on their face. They stand a few steps in front of their respective chairs. The actor in a paper bag starts singing. The actor in a mask starts writing profusely. The actor in a gag starts stretching as thought warming up to exercise.

The gaily dressed actors stretch and awake from their slumber. They prepare themselves, and continue with their work. The dancer dances, the walker walks, the skipper skips. They do this, ignorant of the three other actors. While one actor may bump into the other, they say a cold, token apology, and walk away.

The speakers ring out loudly. “Flight AK297 to Chennai is about to leave shortly. Flight SQ45 to Chen-An is about the leave shortly. Flight MA112 to Kota Kinabalu is about to leave shortly.”

The three masked actors, briskly go back, grab their luggage, and walk away, together in a single file, away. The three gaily dressed actors, continue on, unperturbed.

The end.

October 19, 2006.