I think about getting out of here every damned day.
In the dramatic scene Dream Light, restaurant workers Eugene and Tarva chat about their life and what the future has in store for them.
EUGENE: I’m lost.
TARVA: You’re not lost.
EUGENE: Oh, I’ve been lost a mighty long time.
TARVA: Lost from where?
EUGENE: Living life the way I once dreamed of living it. Now I live the way I have no choice but to live.
TARVA: That’s awful.
EUGENE: It’s nothing too tragic; there’s always a way to find a smile, so long as we can find a smile…
TARVA: What did you once dream about, Eugene?
EUGENE: No need for us to get into all of that.
TARVA: You’d rather remain mysterious?
EUGENE: Oh, I’d rather remain smiling.
TARVA: I think about getting out of here every damned day.
EUGENE: You’re young; you can.
TARVA: I might look young, but I’m getting on.
EUGENE: How long have you been here for?
TARVA: Was supposed to be a summer gig; it’s been two years instead.
EUGENE: Time to go.
TARVA: Believe me, I’d like to.
EUGENE: Go on then.
TARVA: And go where, Eugene?
EUGENE: Wherever the heck you please.
TARVA: That’s wishful thinking.
EUGENE: That’s inventing your own reality. All you need to do is look straight out those doors and walk through them. That’s all it takes.
TARVA: …Yeah. Last time I drove Chuck home, he nearly broke my back carrying him out to my car. I was hurting for days after. You think you could help me? We could drive him out to his home and drop him off. I’ll drop you off at your place right after.
EUGENE: Sure, I don’t mind. We’d have to come back here as I have my bike.
TARVA: That’s fine –
Enter Chuck.
Chuck is drunk and carries a dead mouse by its tail.
CHUCK: See this?
Chuck tosses a dead mouse on the kitchen floor right at Eugene’s feet.
CHUCK (to Eugene): I told you I don’t wanna see no more mice! If ya can’t keep this place in tip-top shape, you’re out! (to Tarva) Have ya locked up?
TARVA: How can I lock up if we’re all still inside?
CHUCK: Give me the keys!
Tarva hands Chuck the restaurant keys.
TARVA: You can’t drive home, Chuck.
CHUCK: Oh yeah?
TARVA: You’re too drunk.
CHUCK: Drunk? Who’s drunk?
TARVA: You’re drunk!
CHUCK: (He laughs maniacally.)
Chuck walks out.
Eugene kneels down before the dead mouse.
EUGENE: This here’s Plato.
TARVA: …It is?
EUGENE: Would you mind handing me that dustpan?
Tarva hands Eugene a dustpan.
Eugene gracefully pushes Plato into the dustpan.
Oh, I’m sorry, Plato…you were my friend…
Eugene gets a ziploc bag and gently places Plato inside of it.
EUGENE: Gonna bury him near me. There’s a stream down the road from where I live. I go there sometimes.
- To read the full one-act ePlay, find purchase link below:
In the one-act play Dream Light, Eugene seeks to hold on to hope while closing the restaurant for the night alongside his co-worker Tarva.1 woman, 2 men. Drama.
