HE AND SHE
2 Characters
1 Man. 1 Woman
Simple Set
47 pages
PRODUCTIONS:
Professionally Produced in NYC at Theater 22.
Professionally Produced at Dowling College
Student Production – Dowling College
Student Production – Aquinas College
Two character play exploring relationships; their mystery, conflict, pain, joy, transformation, transition, insanity, separation and connection.
As they progress through their relationship together, their inner conflicts are expressed through very specific physicalizations of deeply emotional and psychological transitions, and explores escape, conformity and transcendence within the context of funny and tragic physical transformations; the relationship to one another, to themselves, to their transformations and transitions and how those affect each moment, and the larger world continue to evolve throughout the play.
As she is stuck in her position in a chair, feeling stuck, she struggles to free herself wildly, working against her husband, who is hiding under the covers of the bed. He wants to journey out beyond comfort, into a new male identity – but is too afraid, but won’t admit it. Both are seeking harmony and wholeness, while trapped by their own conditioning, and human fear of change and the confines of their relationship.
They both break free of old roles, and concepts of self, and identity – SHE from her chair moving around the space with a sense of self, and confidence, and HE from under the covers, into a new male sensibility.
To read Excerpts from the play, click Read More below.
Note that formatting in the excerpts are not centered, and instead, left justified.
The PDF of the the play is in correct format.
EXCERPT 1
THE SET
A suggestive room. Black behind it. A bed center. Flowered bedspread. A large stuffed chair down stage right. The stage left area must be completely bare so that when the lights on the chair and bed fade out, and the actors are lit in this area, the furniture will disappear.
AT RISE:
The set is dramatically lit. The lights dim out very slowly. Pause, for a long moment in the dark. Lights come up very slowly in a pool, highlighting the man and the woman. Both stand facing the audience on either side of the stage and both wear body suits to match their natural skin color. There is a long silence between them. They begin.
HE
Hello.
SHE
(pause)
Hello.
HE
Nice weather.
SHE
Yes…very.
HE
Dark though.
SHE
Very.
HE
Endlessly.
SHE
And here?
HE
Hmmm?
SHE
Here.
HE
Yes. We’re here.
SHE
I thought so.
HE
I’m glad we agree.
SHE
(pause)
Yes.
Pause.
HE
What’s your name?
SHE
Hmmm?
HE
Your name…what is it?
SHE
Oh…SHE!
HE
I always like that name.
SHE
Thank you. I was named for my grandmother.
HE
Not for you?
SHE
(pause)
After her.
HE
I see. Which one?
SHE
Both.
HE
MMMMM.
Pause.
SHE
And yours?
HE
I never knew my grandmothers.
SHE
No. Your name.
HE
Oh, I’m sorry…HE!
EXCERPT 2
They marry, and after a short time grow bored.
SHE
Love me?
HE
Course.
They stand looking at each other blankly.
He crawls onto the bed on all fours. Looks around. Looks at her. Looks at the bed.
HE
If I kneel on it, it feels different then when I lay on it. All my discoveries up to this point in time have turned me into another kind of animal… A more sophisticated creature… MAN!
He lifts up the covers and peeks underneath.
HE
LOOK HERE! Another world. As I look underneath, I have the feeling of safety. It takes me out of that cold, lonely, dangerous, primitive space.
She notices the bed.
HE
(ignoring her)
Verrrry interesting. Dark. Warm.
(pause)
It’s a different dimension then being on the outside of the bed covers. The primitive stuff is becoming a vague memory. Everything natural is a blur. I feel safer. More secure. What would happen if I went underneath?
He begins to move under the covers from the top of the bed.
SHE
I wonder who’s sat in this chair? Before.
She sits in the stuffed chair.
SHE
Ahhhhh, this really feels nice.
HE
I’m beginning to feel as though I’ve always been here. Born here. Raised here. All this comfort. I don’t ever want to come out.
SHE
How many different positions, people have assumed in this chair?
She begins to explore different physical poses and positions in the chair. Very large physical and facial expressions.
HE
There’s more to explore. But all that I really want to do is rest. Sleep.
He explores the bed under the covers. We see a huge, snake like lump moving slowly around the bed. She continues to explore the physical and facial positions in the chair.
SHE
How many different types of people sat in this chair?
HE
This is me now. I am part of the bed.
SHE
What they felt?
HE
I am becoming a bed.
SHE
Why they were here? Sitting?
HE
I am the bed. I’m not me anymore. I’ve changed…
SHE
Who they were?
HE
A completely different person.
SHE
If this was their whole existence?
HE
A new man. A contemporary man. MODERN MAN!
SHE
If they felt free, more alive, or just lonely and stuck?
HE
Where do I go from here? Just solve the same old problems? There’s nothing left to do, but review myself.
SHE
How long they sat in this chair?
HE
I want to get out.
SHE
If they thought this was all they’d ever need?
His head pops out of the covers by the foot of the bed. The audience sees only his head as he faces out toward them.
HE
I’ve lost my orientation again.
SHE
If they wanted to get out of this chair and move around the space, or stay here forever?
HE
I remember the outside. Being outside when you were just inside. In the warmth.
SHE
But now that they are so comfortable in this chair, would they ever want to take another risk, and stand up? Or just give up and act content.
HE
In the comfort. Of everything. Inside the organization. Inside the order. Where everything is in its place.
SHE slowly begins to stand up. She must go through the fear of change, dealing with the unknown.
SHE
If they stood up, they would feel weight. Pressure. From their own bodies. They would feel the responsibility of balancing themselves on their own two feet. I wonder if it would be worth it to them, to go through all of that? It would be so much easier to sit, and remain seated.
SHE, is halfway to standing. Fearfully, SHE, sits back down, slowly.
HE
Then you step outside, back into the earth. Ground. Solid. Vacant. Alone.
Pause.
EXCERPT 3
She rises from being stuck in her chair, to explore the room.
She takes a step. Very frightened. Almost trembling.
SHE
Oh… that was difficult.
She begins to walk slowly and carefully around the room, as if she were walking on thin ice. She becomes more and more confident as she continues to walk.
HE
(pause)
I remember it being terrific at first. All the movement. It had its benefits. It made me feel like I thought I was supposed to feel. Important. A somebody. It all seemed to make so much sense. But now, it’s exhausting. I feel like a rationalization. The commuting. The demands. The limitations. The conformity and obligations and responsibilities. Everything coming at me. It’s terribly exhausting. I don’t know how… I’ve survived this long in this position. Stuck. That’s how I feel most of the time. Stuck.
(pause)
All the bills. I go to work. I have to eat. At least we’re eating and are protected. Nothing can happen to us… really… I don’t know how all this happened. But here I am… stuck…
He remains strained and supporting himself by his arms. His face contorts in different uncomfortable even painful expressions of experience, out toward the audience. The lower half of his body remains hidden under the sheets.
SHE
Try and get out. It feels great.
HE
(face in pain)
HOW? HOWWWWW?!
SHE
Think, in a different way.
HE
(face in pain)
If that were all there were to it, why would I stay here?
SHE
How would I know? You tell me. You’re the one that’s stuck, and only you can get yourself out of that conundrum.
HE
(face in agony)
Using big words to confuse me are you? Are we married? It sounds like we’re married. Don’t married people talk like that?
SHE
Like what?
HE
(face in terror)
A sentence like that. How would I know? You tell me. A badly written line like that.
End of Excerpts
Related Writing
2 Characters
1 Man. 1 Woman
Simple Set
47 pages
PRODUCTIONS:
Professionally Produced in NYC at Theater 22.
Professionally Produced at Dowling College
Student Production – Dowling College
Student Production – Aquinas College
Two character play exploring relationships; their mystery, conflict, pain, joy, transformation, transition, insanity, separation and connection.
As they progress through their relationship together, their inner conflicts are expressed through very specific physicalizations of deeply emotional and psychological transitions, and explores escape, conformity and transcendence within the context of funny and tragic physical transformations; the relationship to one another, to themselves, to their transformations and transitions and how those affect each moment, and the larger world continue to evolve throughout the play.
As she is stuck in her position in a chair, feeling stuck, she struggles to free herself wildly, working against her husband, who is hiding under the covers of the bed. He wants to journey out beyond comfort, into a new male identity – but is too afraid, but won’t admit it. Both are seeking harmony and wholeness, while trapped by their own conditioning, and human fear of change and the confines of their relationship.
They both break free of old roles, and concepts of self, and identity – SHE from her chair moving around the space with a sense of self, and confidence, and HE from under the covers, into a new male sensibility.
To read Excerpts from the play, click Read More below.
Note that formatting in the excerpts are not centered, and instead, left justified.
The PDF of the the play is in correct format.
EXCERPT 1
THE SET
A suggestive room. Black behind it. A bed center. Flowered bedspread. A large stuffed chair down stage right. The stage left area must be completely bare so that when the lights on the chair and bed fade out, and the actors are lit in this area, the furniture will disappear.
AT RISE:
The set is dramatically lit. The lights dim out very slowly. Pause, for a long moment in the dark. Lights come up very slowly in a pool, highlighting the man and the woman. Both stand facing the audience on either side of the stage and both wear body suits to match their natural skin color. There is a long silence between them. They begin.
HE
Hello.
SHE
(pause)
Hello.
HE
Nice weather.
SHE
Yes…very.
HE
Dark though.
SHE
Very.
HE
Endlessly.
SHE
And here?
HE
Hmmm?
SHE
Here.
HE
Yes. We’re here.
SHE
I thought so.
HE
I’m glad we agree.
SHE
(pause)
Yes.
Pause.
HE
What’s your name?
SHE
Hmmm?
HE
Your name…what is it?
SHE
Oh…SHE!
HE
I always like that name.
SHE
Thank you. I was named for my grandmother.
HE
Not for you?
SHE
(pause)
After her.
HE
I see. Which one?
SHE
Both.
HE
MMMMM.
Pause.
SHE
And yours?
HE
I never knew my grandmothers.
SHE
No. Your name.
HE
Oh, I’m sorry…HE!
EXCERPT 2
They marry, and after a short time grow bored.
SHE
Love me?
HE
Course.
They stand looking at each other blankly.
He crawls onto the bed on all fours. Looks around. Looks at her. Looks at the bed.
HE
If I kneel on it, it feels different then when I lay on it. All my discoveries up to this point in time have turned me into another kind of animal… A more sophisticated creature… MAN!
He lifts up the covers and peeks underneath.
HE
LOOK HERE! Another world. As I look underneath, I have the feeling of safety. It takes me out of that cold, lonely, dangerous, primitive space.
She notices the bed.
HE
(ignoring her)
Verrrry interesting. Dark. Warm.
(pause)
It’s a different dimension then being on the outside of the bed covers. The primitive stuff is becoming a vague memory. Everything natural is a blur. I feel safer. More secure. What would happen if I went underneath?
He begins to move under the covers from the top of the bed.
SHE
I wonder who’s sat in this chair? Before.
She sits in the stuffed chair.
SHE
Ahhhhh, this really feels nice.
HE
I’m beginning to feel as though I’ve always been here. Born here. Raised here. All this comfort. I don’t ever want to come out.
SHE
How many different positions, people have assumed in this chair?
She begins to explore different physical poses and positions in the chair. Very large physical and facial expressions.
HE
There’s more to explore. But all that I really want to do is rest. Sleep.
He explores the bed under the covers. We see a huge, snake like lump moving slowly around the bed. She continues to explore the physical and facial positions in the chair.
SHE
How many different types of people sat in this chair?
HE
This is me now. I am part of the bed.
SHE
What they felt?
HE
I am becoming a bed.
SHE
Why they were here? Sitting?
HE
I am the bed. I’m not me anymore. I’ve changed…
SHE
Who they were?
HE
A completely different person.
SHE
If this was their whole existence?
HE
A new man. A contemporary man. MODERN MAN!
SHE
If they felt free, more alive, or just lonely and stuck?
HE
Where do I go from here? Just solve the same old problems? There’s nothing left to do, but review myself.
SHE
How long they sat in this chair?
HE
I want to get out.
SHE
If they thought this was all they’d ever need?
His head pops out of the covers by the foot of the bed. The audience sees only his head as he faces out toward them.
HE
I’ve lost my orientation again.
SHE
If they wanted to get out of this chair and move around the space, or stay here forever?
HE
I remember the outside. Being outside when you were just inside. In the warmth.
SHE
But now that they are so comfortable in this chair, would they ever want to take another risk, and stand up? Or just give up and act content.
HE
In the comfort. Of everything. Inside the organization. Inside the order. Where everything is in its place.
SHE slowly begins to stand up. She must go through the fear of change, dealing with the unknown.
SHE
If they stood up, they would feel weight. Pressure. From their own bodies. They would feel the responsibility of balancing themselves on their own two feet. I wonder if it would be worth it to them, to go through all of that? It would be so much easier to sit, and remain seated.
SHE, is halfway to standing. Fearfully, SHE, sits back down, slowly.
HE
Then you step outside, back into the earth. Ground. Solid. Vacant. Alone.
Pause.
EXCERPT 3
She rises from being stuck in her chair, to explore the room.
She takes a step. Very frightened. Almost trembling.
SHE
Oh… that was difficult.
She begins to walk slowly and carefully around the room, as if she were walking on thin ice. She becomes more and more confident as she continues to walk.
HE
(pause)
I remember it being terrific at first. All the movement. It had its benefits. It made me feel like I thought I was supposed to feel. Important. A somebody. It all seemed to make so much sense. But now, it’s exhausting. I feel like a rationalization. The commuting. The demands. The limitations. The conformity and obligations and responsibilities. Everything coming at me. It’s terribly exhausting. I don’t know how… I’ve survived this long in this position. Stuck. That’s how I feel most of the time. Stuck.
(pause)
All the bills. I go to work. I have to eat. At least we’re eating and are protected. Nothing can happen to us… really… I don’t know how all this happened. But here I am… stuck…
He remains strained and supporting himself by his arms. His face contorts in different uncomfortable even painful expressions of experience, out toward the audience. The lower half of his body remains hidden under the sheets.
SHE
Try and get out. It feels great.
HE
(face in pain)
HOW? HOWWWWW?!
SHE
Think, in a different way.
HE
(face in pain)
If that were all there were to it, why would I stay here?
SHE
How would I know? You tell me. You’re the one that’s stuck, and only you can get yourself out of that conundrum.
HE
(face in agony)
Using big words to confuse me are you? Are we married? It sounds like we’re married. Don’t married people talk like that?
SHE
Like what?
HE
(face in terror)
A sentence like that. How would I know? You tell me. A badly written line like that.
End of Excerpts
Related Writing
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