Vacio, a play in one act

VACIO

Stage is curtained with black. Two strange structures, one contemporary, one old are on the stage, towards the rear. MARCO paces stage right, muttering incomprehensibly for a good thirty seconds. Then he stops and listens:

MARCO: Another comes to ponder poor Marco.
Cruel Vacio doth dip its snout once more.

(Enter HAILEY. She looks around, dazed. )

HAILEY: Where the hell am I?

MARCO: (Not looking at her) It sings, and what a woeful trill it is.

HAILEY: Hello? Excuse me? Could you tell me where I am?

MARCO: (Still does not look at her)Ever a boon, always a recompense
Their mirrored chant doth never flaunt a note
“What is this place? What is this firmament?”
More, “What are you? What is your matter here?”
What am I, you ask? I’ll tell: A man that was.

HAILEY: OK…Uhm…look I didn’t really understand any of that and, I mean this is really freaking me out, so if you could just tell me what is going on I’d really appreciate it.

MARCO: Mmm. Marco leaves.

HAILEY: Look…one moment I’m driving my car and then the next…I’m here…this is…OK this is really scary.

MARCO: There! It flees. Silence.

HAILEY: Pardon?

MARCO: Oh Isabella, what hast thou there, child?

HAILEY: My God, I must be going out of my mind. Ok, Hailey, just relax, calm down. You’re not going to solve anything by panicking. Ok. So I’m driving my car…it was dark…did I crash? Oh my God, have I crashed? Am I dead? Am I dead?! Goddamn it, why don’t you answer me?

MARCO: No more sweet songs hath since been writ, my love
The melancholic tune is all that yet remains
(sings)
Flitter in the breezes
Dance within a stream
Twirl about a mountain
Sink within a dream

HAILEY: Why don’t you just tell me?! Oh you useless piece of… (pause) Ok, Hailey, calm down. Maybe he’s just a figment of your imagination. You can’t be dead, death isn’t anything like this. I don’t think anyway…maybe this is a dream? Or a coma? Maybe I did crash. Delusions maybe? Schizophrenia?

MARCO: Flitter in the breezes
Dance within a stream
Twirl about a mountain
Sink within a dream

HAILEY: Quite the singer/songwriter there, aren’t you? Would it trouble you to maybe string a coherent sentence together and tell me what’s going on? Do you even know? (pause) Well I guess if you are a figment of my imagination then you aren’t going to know either, are you? I just wish this place didn’t seem so…real.

MARCO: (Finally looking at her) Thou jest.

HAILEY: What? No. (MARCO looks away again) Were you speaking to me? What do you mean?

MARCO: How many suns hath risen since Marco
Hath heard again the sounds of walking Earth?
How many summers scorched the backs of necks
How many winters hath chilled weary bones
Since my design was graced from the struggle?
Many I deem, but truly do not know.
Nor care. For Marco’s opportune is now a grape
That vines upon forgotten trees and yon
Shall see no feet to stomp its juice to wine.

HAILEY: Are you on drugs or something? I really must be going crazy. This is so weird. So your name is Marco. I take it you’re talking about yourself in the third person or something? You’re a very strange individual.

MARCO: Half truth. (MARCO suddenly peers at HAILEY intensely and spins around as if attempting to find some strange new perspective of her)

HAILEY: Look, I really would like to know what is going on here. Maybe you’ve already told me and I just can’t understand you but I just…this sort of thing has never happened to me before, OK? I’m normally pretty good with unfamiliar situations, I’m a pretty intelligent kind of girl, you know? I mean I’m halfway through getting a Masters in Finance, that’s got to count for something, right? I realise this isn’t exactly a joint-stock company float or a blue chip’s relative P/E ratio, but I would hope it qualifies me to be considered above your average airhead. I don’t giggle at a problem to make it go away and I’m also not crazy. I don’t see UFOs and I definitely don’t think someone’s watching me. So this whole thing is very unlike me, do you see? That’s what is scaring me and I guess I just need to find some way of rationalising what is going on and– well– I can’t really, but I’ve kind of figured that if I keep talking then maybe I won’t have to think about it and…and… Feel free to jump in any time, buddy, if you want to try and make me feel better about all of this.

(pause)