Birds Sing Beautifully

A play/monologue. Originally a story, but I felt it should be spoken instead. More plays to come.

Lights up. The stage is empty except for a MAN. He wears clothes that are similar, but not identical to, that of a psychiatric patient's. The MAN babbles to himself quietly and unintelligibly. After a moment of this, he turns to the audience, still mumbling. Then, the MAN begins his tirade as the lights focus on him. with very little pause between the mumbling and the speech.

MAN
...Today I woke to the sound of birds birds sing beautifully in the morning don’t they they do indeed now where was I yes so as I woke I waited for my wife and yet I could not find her so where could she be you know I always wanted to be a detective ever since I was a boy when I would read those Where’s Waldo books I would love looking for that strange little man among all those even stranger little people now where was I again yes so I began to look about and search for clues that would indicate her possible whereabouts at first it was to no avail and then I began discovering little curiosities as Alice from that Wonderland book would say curiouser and curiouser my father would read me that book and since he was a teacher he would always tell me that such things couldn’t  exist but I always would reply they must exist for I would see them often in our garden my father would chuckle at that and shrug away my supposed ignorance now where was I yes so now here I am looking for hints that would lead to her whereabouts when I found a dirty shovel next to our car in the driveway curiouser and curiouser I said, just like Alice from that Wonderland book now what was I saying yes so I found a dirty muddy and altogether filthy shovel on the ground right next to the car and when I opened the car door I found mud prints on the car floor this struck me as very strange like those people in the Where’s Waldo books now back to my story yes so I looked around inside the car wondering what was going on when I remembered that I was at the hospital the night before with my wife we were in the psych ward there god knows why all I remember about that night is I was angry and she was nervous like that cat Tom I think his name was from that cartoon where he would always end up getting hurt by that mouse Jerry of course I would never do something like that regardless of what my father said when that boy I was playing with got his leg all broke and mangled and that's when they took me to that doctor's place I remember there not being any x-rays or anything like that so I never knew why it was a hospital anyway where was I yes so I began remembering the night before when I remembered that me and her or rather her and I as my father would correct me made a stop at the park and I don’t really remember if she came home with me that night so I guess I decided to go to the park and see if she was wandering around there or something of the sort now as I drove I tried hard to think about me and my wife or rather my wife and I as my father would correct me  and about how we were together after all maybe she was unhappy with how I spent most of my life in that psych ward and maybe she was mad too about how we really weren’t that close after all we had only met the night before and she was married to someone else I forget his name but I did remember that he was in the back seat asleep last night when I met his wife well now she’s my wife but anyway I drove down to the park and went near where me my wife and her husband or rather my wife her husband and I as my father would correct me went to go rest I remembered the spot because it had three wood benches and a big oak tree at least I believe it was oak it may have been pine or maple but then again I suppose it really doesn’t matter much whatever kind of tree it was it was near three wood benches so anyway I began looking around and couldn’t find anything by this point I was a little sad because I would always find things well like how I would find Waldo in those books but then again I had the help of my friends my friends that my father said weren’t real the ones that were in my head he said and I think he was right because after the first time I was in the hospital they kind of went away but then when I got out when I saw my father they came back and then I got really mad like I do a lot and now my father doesn’t live any more and I guess that’s why I went back to that new ward for a long time until last night when I met my wife and her husband and we went to the park now where was I yes I couldn’t find anything until I saw a hand I think it was my wife’s hand sticking out of the ground I ran over and dug up the dirt and stuff with my hands I had already been good at that anyway after a while I saw my wife and her husband in the ground they weren’t moving they were probably like my father and that’s when I remembered why they were there because they were yelling at me and saying things like please stop and who are you and all sorts of bad stuff so I guess that’s why they don’t live any more oh well its okay I guess I'll just cover them up again since that’s what you’re supposed to do when people are like that but after that I don’t know what ill do ill probably go back to my or I guess it was their house and say hello to their baby hopefully it won't cry I don’t like it when they cry but anyway what else should I do maybe I'll listen to the birds they sing beautifully in the morning don’t they...

The MAN then returns to his unintelligible babbling, possibly the beginning of his tirade. He mutters to himself as the lights fade to black.

Author's Note

The formatting isn't how it is in my scriptwriting software, but I'll have to deal. Whaddaya think?

Reviews

[Lost in Wonderland]

This was very very good. I love the idea and plot of this play and how you wrote it with only one character. It would be a very challenging and interesting piece for a male actor to preform. Nicely done

[shoaib]

geez you know what? i think i really love your work !