#playwriter

( In this April 2001 file photo, Broadway and television actor Michael Emerson, left, talks with Ian Mairs about Mairs' play, "Nocturne at Twilight," at Theatre Jacksonville. )

Jacksonville playwright Ian Mairs' comedy about the teaching profession, "The Learning Curve," will receive a reading Saturday in New York starring Michael Emerson.

According to Broadwayworld.com, "The reading will be for industry professionals interested in learning more about the play and Mairs' comedy writing."

"The Learning Curve," which draws on Mairs' experience teaching at the University of North Florida, Paxon School for Advance Studies and Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, had its debut at Theatre Jacksonville last January. It is a sometimes funny, sometimes frightening look at the world of public education.

Emerson and Mairs became friends when Emerson lived in Jacksonville from 1986-1993. They worked together regularly, co-starring in Mairs' play "Parts Unknown." In 1993, Emerson left to get a master's degree from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

He then went to New York, where he gave a breakout performance in 1997 as Oscar Wilde in a showcase production of Moises F. Kaufman's "Gross Indecency." He's worked regularly since on television and in theater.

He won an Emmy for his portrayal of Benjamin Linus on "Lost" and another for playing William Hinks on "The Practice." He currently plays Harold Finch on the CBS series "Person of Interest." He has appeared on Broadway opposite Kevin Spacey in "The Iceman Cometh" and opposite Kate Burton in "Give Me Your Answer, Do!" and "Hedda Gabler."

Also in the cast of Saturday's reading will be Jacksonville actress Simone Aden Reid, who appeared in the play when it premiered at Theatre Jacksonville.

from: jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403251/charlie-patton/2012-10-17/michael-emerson-star-reading-jacksonville-playwright 

CACTUS

A play by Cece Jane

my mind alarms me

wondering what is real

and who decides reality

Characters:

Jonah: antsy; to be read abruptly, quickly, almost always in a panic.

Mirror-Jonah: Jonah’s reflection in the mirror. Sassy. He wants to help Jonah, but can’t be heard when Jonah is determined to block him out.

Boss: Only heard from other side of phone call, not seen.

Avaleigh: Neither seen nor heard. She was perfect. He’ll do anything to get her back.

Setting:

An apartment building in an average, middle America town. The year is 2020.

Post-it notes of various colors are hung up throughout the apartment. Some are inspirational, saying “You can do it!” or “One day at a time!”, while some state things like, “You’re a piece of shit”, “Stop being delusional”. Negative post-it notes primarily on the mirrors.

Throughout the whole play, there is a cactus in a pot, in every scene.

Notes

/ means the next line begins.

The question of this play is, what is real? And that’s up to each individual audience member to decide. Jonah shows people that other people’s realities aren’t always the same as yours.

SCENE I

*Jonah wakes up and it is midnight. He sits up in his bed. It is dark, with a small spotlight on his bed, and a window that shows it is pouring rain.*

*He reaches over to his phone and the bright screen shocks him, as he scrunches his face*

Jonah: *sighs*midnight.

*Jonah starts to dial on the phone, and does so slowly, as if nervous*

Jonah: *on the phone; he stutters*Avaleigh, listen… I’ve really been thinking, and I…

*He looks out the window at the hard rain. He touches the window with his finger, letting himself feel the cold glass. He wants to feel the rain on his fingers, he wants to run his fingers through Avaleigh’s hair, he wants to feel her warm skin and little scar on her left thigh again.*

Jonah: … I think we can make it work. I mean, I know things have changed, I know nothing can ever remain the same no matter how badly I want it to. But… Avaleigh, I want to make this work!

…

I want to make you happy.

*He slowly hangs up the phone, flickering on a small light.*

*Jonah reaches over to his bed side table and picks up a bottle of pills. He pours two pills out and swallows them without water.*

*He then sits in his bed with a book of a collection of Edgar Allen Poe short stories and begins to read, stopping a few pages in, sighing, and putting down the book.*

Jonah: One moment at a time, Jonah. One moment at a time.

*He turns off the light. It is pitch black with the only light being the moonlight coming from the window, in which we can watch the shadows of the rain*

BLACKOUT

*A few minutes will pass, and the window will slowly fade the rain away, and enter in sunlight.*

SCENE II

*Once the lighting is set as a bright morning, an alarm clock goes off on Jonah’s phone.*

*Jonah wakes up abruptly from the alarm, jumping up and grabbing his phone, shutting off the alarm. He looks outside at the window, and notices that it’s sunny. A new day has come, and it is bright and sunny. He is… hopeful?*

*His room is covered in multicolored post-it notes. Everywhere. He looks at them and reads them in his head as he passes each one. When he looks at the ones by the window or the mirror, he quivers.*

*He makes his bed, perfecting every corner, then he walks to his desk and pulls out a notebook to write his schedule*

Jonah: Okay, so, if I brush my teeth and put on clothes, I can make it to the office by 8:33am. I can take the bus, right? I think I can take it from The South Station to The Main St Station. I can get out, and go to Bagel Gourmet, I can get bagels for the whole office! They’ll all be like, ‘Oh look, Jonah got us all bagels!’ They’ll all be so happy. I’ll make them all so happy.

*He gets distracted, mumbling about how happy he’ll make them, fantasizing about friendships with these coworkers*

Okay, okay, I can get to work at 8:52. Allotting time for hello’s and removing my coat, I will work from 8:56 until 12:23. I will go to the bathroom, then I’ll take a lunch break from 12:25 to 12:50. I will allow ten minutes for the returning socialization, possible phone calls, or maybe I will read the newspaper. But I will start working again no later than 1pm, continuing to work until 9:38. I’ll put in those extra 8 minutes so I seem like a hard worker.

*His eyes widen*

A hard worker. Me, that’s right, I’m a hard worker. Hello, I’m Jonah, nice to meet you, I’m a hard worker!

*getting more serious*

I will walk home, so that I can stop by Avaleigh’s.

*getting excited*

Yeah, I can stop by Avaleigh’s and maybe she’ll be there! Maybe she’ll be there, and I’ll say Hello!

Or…

*nervously*

Maybe I’ll walk by, and, and maybe I’ll look and see another man. A man who isn’t me. Maybe I’ll-

*He interrupts himself*

Stop it, Jonah! Stop it!

Work Before Play! Work Before Play!

*He paces around the room as though he is looking for what to do next but unsure of the move. He picks up a post-it note and moves it to a different location, then goes to his desk and grabs a bottle of pills. He pours a few out and takes them.*

Jonah: One day at a time, Jonah. One day at a time. You can survive today, and we can focus on tomorrow, tomorrow. Tomorrow tomorrow! Tom-or-row, haha!

You can do this, Jonah!

How does a man eat an elephant, Jonah?

One bite at a time, Jonah.

*The next line is to be said while slowly going into a cry/panic. Additional or less repetition of the phrase is okay*

One bite at a time. One bite at a time. One bite at a time. One bite at a-

*He breaks down crying.*

*The spotlight on the cactus*

BLACKOUT

SCENE III

*he gets up and looks at the clock*

Jonah: Okay, okay! If I leave now, I can make it to the office by… 9:03! I mean, I won’t be able to get bagels for everyone, but at least I’ll make it to the office. Yeah, yeah Jonah, at least you’ll make it to the office, at least you’ll get to greet everyone, say your hellos!

You’ll make it to the office, Jonah, you’ll make it!

*Jonah takes a few more pills. He begins pacing around the room for a few moments before stopping while mumbling to himself. He pulls out his phone, nervously, and dials on his phone.*

*ringing noise….. BEEEEEP*

*During the call, on a mirror at a different point on the stage, a reflection of Mirror Jonah is shown, arms crossed, shaking head dissaprovingly.*

Jonah: Avaleigh! Hi! Hi, it’s uh Jo- uh, it’s me.

I want to see you...

I want to see you… today.

Yeah, I want to see you today, Avaleigh.

I miss you, Avaleigh.

My life isn’t the same without you.

My life isn’t the same without you in it.

Avaleigh…

Please, please come back.

Please, Avaleigh.

*He tries to hold it together but his mind is overcome with despair.*

Please come back.

I’m begging you, Avaleigh.

I am begging you.

I am begging you.

*pause; he is frozen*

Jonah: Okay, okay so now I’m a little late. Now, I’m a little late, but I can still make it! I can still make it! You can still make it, Jonah, you can still make it to work!

One bite at a time, Jonah.

One step at a time, Jonah.

One! At! A! Time!

*begins pacing again, then waters the cactus*

Jonah: Remember when Avaleigh got you this cactus? She got it to protect me. Remember she said, ‘This is your protector. A cactus is humble, it doesn’t ask for much, but it is by no means submissive. It protects itself from risks without hurting any other aspect of nature. Cut it open and it has the qualities to heal humans, drink it and you’ll think you’re floating up to God. A cactus fulfills the need for nature as well as providing as a weapon. It’s a contraction within itself. It’s just like you, Jonah.’

*He paces around, mumbling to himself questioning what he needs to do before he can leave for work*

Jonah: Okay, okay, Jonah.

I just need to wash my face,

Yeah… I’ll wash my face and,

And I’ll wash my hands too,

Of course, can’t forget to wash my hands.

and, and I’ll fix up my hair.

Yes, make my hair look nice for work,

I’ll make my hair look nice and everyone will say,

‘Wow, Jonah, look at your hair!’

‘How dapper you look!’

‘What a stud that Jonah is!’

I bet Avaleigh would even fall in love with me again,

She would,

She’d see my hair and she’d fall for me

She’d fall into my arms and say,

‘Wow Jonah, you look so handsome, thanks for doing your hair!’

Yeah!

I’ll do that.

I’ll do my hair

*he mumbles about looking good and doing his hair for a little while walking to a bathroom. Need a sink and a mirror. Mirror reflection is seen by audience.*

Jonah: You can do this Jonah.

I can do this.

*Washes hands very intensely. Turns sink on and off various times.*

*Dries hand with a dull hand-towel. He makes sure his hands are completely dry and takes his time with it.*

*He looks in the mirror with the towel in his hands, his face starts to scrunch up, he begins to cry. However, after the face becomes scrunched up in the mirror, the mirror shows “Mirror Jonah”, confident, not crying, fed up with Jonah’s shit.*

Mirror Jonah: Jonah, you piece of shit!

*Jonah looks up in the mirror, sad, confused, but not as shocked as you would think one would be if their reflection started talking to them. It seems as though they’ve met before.*

Jonah: W-what?

Mirror Jonah: Yeah, you. You, Jonah. Get your fucking shit together.

Jonah: I am! I- I washed my hands, I am doing my hair… I’m gonna go to work, I’m gonna greet everyone with hellos!

I’ll say,

‘Hello, Sharron!’

‘Hello, Louis!’

‘Hello, Tracey!’

‘Hello-

Mirror Jonah: I know you won’t.

We both know / you won’t

Jonah: I will!

I will! I will! I will!

*Mirror Jonah rolls his eyes and slightly chuckles*

Jonah: Stop mocking me! I will, okay! I’m going to do my hair and everyone’s gonna say I look so nice and put together! Avaleigh is going to love it!

*Mirror Jonah laughs*

Mirror Jonah: You’re delusional, Jonah, I’m trying to help you.

Jonah: Help me! Help me!

How!

By Crushing my dreams?!

Mirror Jonah: By telling you the truth./ Something you can never do for yourself.

Jonah: Shut up shut up shut up!

*Jonah gets angry. Angry tears stream down his face, he is raging. Lights represent chaos. He is screaming and yelling, telling Mirror Jonah to shut up and leave him alone.*

*Mirror Jonah holds up a cactus. Jonah bangs against the mirror, then screams in pain and looks at his hand, full of cactus needles.*

Mirror Jonah: The cactus… A weapon that will always flower.

Jonah: What the fuck!

Mirror Jonah:*amongst Jonah’s screams* I’m trying to help you!

*Mirror Jonah writes something on a post-it note and places it on the mirror.*

Jonah: Leave me alone! I don’t want you! I don’t like you!

*Amongst this screaming, at one point, the mirror returns to being simply a reflection of Jonah*

*He is screaming banging on the mirror, cracking it. It continues to crack, but he keeps banging, with glass getting under his finger-tips making him bleed more. There is blood all over the mirror as Jonah bangs against it, bloodying his hands more and more with each movement*

*Amongst the chaos, people dressed in all black will put cacti throughout the bathroom. Some of the cacti will have candle wicks at the top and be lit, some simply with a spotlight. But, there should be a lot of cacti and movement.*

*Eventually, he backs up and looks at the cracked, bloody mirror, and notices his reflection.*

Jonah: What!

You’re just gonna be silent now!

*He waits for a response that will never come.*

Jonah: Fucking speak to me!

*No response. He stares at the mirror but simply sees himself: bloody, crying, a mess.*

Jonah: … come back!

*Jonah keeps trying to get Mirror Jonah to return, by both screaming and silently crying. Eventually, he falls to the ground in despair. He puts his head in his bloody hands and sits there, crying, with his reflection in the mirror.*

*A few moments pass, then the spotlight is on the mirror, off of Jonah. There is no reflection. The audience can see how broken, cracked, and bloody it is. A few moments later, blackout with spotlight on a cactus in the mirror.*

BLACKOUT

SCENE IV

*It is now evening. It is dim, lighting and windows reflects that. It could be raining.*

*Jonah is pacing around the room. There are bags under his eyes*

*Jonah dials on his phone, both eager and timid*

Jonah: Hi, Avaleigh. It’s… it’s uh, it’s me again

Hahah

I, uh,

…I just really miss you.

I just

I just don’t know… what to do without you and-

I’m sorry, okay! I’m just,

*solemnly*

I’m sorry

*Jonah returns to his desk, dumps out some pills and swallows them without water*

*I want the actor to interpret how to say this next line. Mockingly, serious, with tears, laughing. What is your experience with medication? How can you express that with this line?*

Jonah: Just take your pills, Jonah.

You’ll feel better, Jonah.

Just take your pills.

*Jonah begins to pace around again. Timid, he pulls out his phone and dials, but within the first ring he hangs up with fear.*

*He writes down “Confidence!” on a post-it note and sticks it to the wall, or on his phone.*

*He sighs, builds up confidence, then redials*

*The phone rings. The ringing is loud, intensifying in Jonah’s ear like the beat of your heart does as you lay on a cheap motel pillow*

Boss: Hello, this is Greenside, how can I help you?

*Jonah pauses. He tries to speak but no sound comes out of his lingering lips.*

*While he speaks, he is drawing a cactus on a post-it note.*

Jonah: Hey, hi, uh, hi this is Jonah.

I, uh, I was really going to make it into the office today,

I swear, I had it all planned out and,

I really was, I swear!

But, uh, something came up.

I promise, I promise I will be there bright and early tomorrow

With my hair done nicely and

A smile on my face and

A whole box of bagels for the whole office!

I’ll, I’ll be there, I/ promise.

Boss: *sighs; beat*Jonah…

Jonah: I mean it, I will! I’m so sorry.

Boss: Look Jonah, it’s just…

This is getting old.

I get it, Jonah, I do.

I get that it’s hard and I understand that you’re struggling, but it’s just…

It’s been two years, Jonah.

It’s been two years since you’ve come into the office. The last time you were here was in 2018, Jonah!

I mean, we’ve replaced you, you have to know that, right?

You just, you need to stop calling.

*Jonah angrily puts the post-it note up. A light on it. It is a drawing of a cactus, and over it says, “I DON’T GET THE DIFFRERNCE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL.”*

Jonah: But / I

Boss: Just. Stop. Calling.

*Boss hangs up on Jonah. There is a BEEEEEEEEEP to show the call has ended. It feels longer than it should be.*

*Time is moving differently.*

*He holds the phone away from his ear without hanging up. He drops the phone, and it bounces on the ground once. The BEEEP gets louder over time.*

*Jonah stutters and mumbles before falling to the ground, crying.*

BLACKOUT (with spotlight on the cactus. Maybe different colored spotlight.)

SCENE V

*Jonah is in bed. The time is past midnight. Lighting is dim, maybe a candle at the bed side. He is rocking back and forth. He has the Edgar Allen Poe book in his lap, with post-it notes throughout it. He pours some pills into his hand.*

Jonah: Just take your pills, Jonah

Just take your pills and

Everything will be okay Jonah

Just take your pills and you’ll be okay.

You’ll be able to sleep

You’ll be able to sleep and

You’ll be okay

You’ll be able to sleep and

You’ll wake up in the morning and

You’ll look in the mirror and

You’ll fix your hair and

You’ll look so good, Jonah

Avaleigh would have said ‘you look so good’

She would’ve

I know she would

How do you know?

I just know

But how do you know?

I know! Because I know! Because I love her and I know her

I’m gonna see her tomorrow,

I will. I am going to see her tomorrow,

I am!

*Jonah writes down “GO TO AVALEIGH’S” on a post-it note and puts it right on the wall by his bed*

BLACKOUT

SCENE VI

*The lights are blinding- no one can see what is on the stage. Over time, they become dimmer, but still bright enough to represent a sunny day.*

*It is morning now. The sun is bright and there is an optimistic vibe to the atmosphere, presented through lights and setting. Birds are singing. Hope is in the air, but delusion is in the wind.*

*Spotlight on Jonah on the side of the stage, holding a single flower in one hand, a gun in the other.*

Jonah: Avaleigh, I’m coming for you.

I’m coming this time.

I’m coming.

*He looks at the gun, then the flower, then the gun, flower, gun, flower, etc.*

Jonah: *As though talking to someone who asked him a question*

No, I don’t know what I’m gonna do.

*swallows pills*

But I’m getting her back in whatever way possible

No matter what that means.

*Mirror-Jonah walks in holding the frame of a mirror. He sits down in a back corner and holds it in front of him, watching Jonah*

*Jonah begins to walk across the stage, slowly. He is the calmest we have ever seen him*

*As Jonah walks, he continues to look from the flower to gun to flower to gun etc. He is unsure of what to do.*

*Once at the other side of the stage, the spotlight is still only on Jonah (with dim lighting on Mirror Jonah). There is a small figure to his right*

Jonah: H- hi Avaleigh.

Jonah: I know it’s been a while. I should’ve come to see you sooner. I’ve called, I - I just couldn’t actually face you. It’s too hard.

Jonah: But, I want to be with you. I’m ready to be with you again.

*The spotlight widens, revealing a tombstone that states: HERE LIES THE BEAUTIFUL AVALEIGH TRUONG. BELOVED DAUGHTER, FRIEND, AND LOVER. 1-12-1990 TO 9-26-18. SHE IS LOVED AND MISSED BY ALL.*

*He puts the flower on her grave, and lies down, as though cuddling with her ghost. It seems as though he is actually holding onto a figure, like someone is actually there.*

*He doesn’t cry. He remains there as people surround him with cacti. Mirror Jonah bangs against the inside of the mirror but can’t get out.*

*Jonah puts the gun in his mouth*

*He cocks it*

*beat*

BLACKOUT