copyright © 1985 Jeff Goode

The Payoff

or

(Much Ado About Mother)

set : two black cubes

characters : NORMAN sitting on the s.r. cube

ALEX sitting on the s.l. cube

MOM standing offstage s.r.

MOTHER standing offstage s.r.

#5 standing offstage s.l.

ALL face out

 

NORMAN : Did you bring the money?

ALEX : I don’t owe you anything.

NORMAN : Then why did you come?

ALEX : Your mother sent me.

NORMAN : (face ALEX) You don’t know my mother.

ALEX : Then call my bluff.

NORMAN : (face out) Mother!

(MOM enters and stands behind NORMAN.)

ALEX : (face MOM)(face out)All right. I don’t know her.

NORMAN : You lied to me.

ALEX : I was told to.

NORMAN : By who?

MOM : By whom.

ALEX : (face NORMAN) This isn’t your mother!

NORMAN : Yes it is.

ALEX : (face out) Your mother is stupid and inarticulate.

NORMAN : All right. She’s not my mother.

ALEX : A stand in. That isn’t your mother at all.

NORMAN : No, but this is.

(MOTHER enters and stands s.r. of NORMAN.)

ALEX : (face MOTHER) Jane!

MOTHER : (face ALEX) Alex!

NORMAN : You do know her.

ALEX and MOTHER : (face out) No.

NORMAN : Then why did you come?

MOTHER : I was told to.

NORMAN : (face MOTHER) Hush.

ALEX : (face NORMAN) Why the stand in?

NORMAN : (face out) We thought there might be shooting.

ALEX and #5 : (face each other) (face out)

#5 : (turn away)

THIS SCRIPT IS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AND MAY NOT BE DOWNLOADED, TRANSMITTED, PRINTED OR PERFORMED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR

AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This is one of my earliest scripts (from 1985). It predates No Shame and was written for something called Undergrad Madness at the University of Iowa. It was first performed at No Shame in 2006.


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