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"I know what I know. In fact, Billy, I know what I know better than you know what I know, so its no use saying I'm ignorant, just because I'm not going to some college somewhere." | ||||||||
Ray loves Carly. Carly loves Darryl, but can't remember why. Sandi loves Bill.
Bill loves the waitress. James loves his son. Sam hates everyone. 3 tables, 8 people, 30 minutes ... It is after 2 am in a medium-sized suburban town. At three tables at a late-night pancake house, eight characters relate tales of love and life in its many variations.
Sitting at Table One are BILL AND SANDI, two high school kids. Bill, dissatisfied with almost everything, is under pressure from his demanding father
to make something of his life, while slightly ditzy Sandi is simply happy to be Bill's girlfriend. She is in love, he waits impatiently for the Next Better Thing, which he secretly
believes is the waitress, CELESTE, an older and far more dissatisfied person. JAMES AND SAM sit at Table Two. Two elderly men, they live together as a matter of convenience; James's
wife died almost 10 years ago, while Sam has been divorced for several years. James is an optimistic Scotsman wrestling with the recent discovery that his son is gay. Sam, a cranky New
Yorker, has a sarcastic word and biased viewpoint for everyone and everything. Table Three holds DARRYL, CARLY AND RAY. Darryl, in his late 20s, is the cool suit-and-tie kind of
swing musician, who has a higher opinion of his talent (and himself) than is warranted. Carly is the off-and-on girlfriend of Darryl, currently on but tenuously. Ray is a 20-ish black
man, a bagpiper in a hardcore ska band. He wears a scruffy black leather jacket, short dreads and a kilt. He has known Carly for years, and is secretly in love with her, a fact that
Darryl suspects. During the course of the play, characters cross from one table to another, and events occur that are only explained by subsequent acts. James sees that his
relationship with his son is worth overcoming fear and ignorance. Sam helps Sandi realize that, while Bill will always be looking for something better, she is already too good for him.
Ray confesses his love for the incredulous Carly, while Bill proclaims his devotion to Celeste, who is dismissive, apologetic and ultimately touched. And, oh yes — everyone sings at
the end.
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| After Two "Playing by the Lake" Script Writing Festival Staged reading, January 17, 2004 Directed by Linda Lake "It's two o'clock in the morning. A suburban pancake house becomes a refuge for seven quirky customers, all trying to sort out issues in their lives. There's a teenage couple wondering if they're in love, a trio of twenty-somethings trying to decide who's in love with whom, and two elderly men sharing a common dissatisfaction with life. Playwright Joseph Reed Hayes handles these themes deftly, probing their significance without becoming heavy-handed or melodramatic." |
The play portrays the same 25 minutes seen from three separate viewpoints.
While the action is focused on a single table per act, every character goes through their scenes in low voice for each act, creating a buzz of continuing conversation and motion.
