Like The Lion King

By: Devin Fraze, Kyle Smith, Andy Russell, Amanda Urban, Nadia Taylor Characters Dad: Well loved by his family. Goes by Dad. Thanato: Goes by Than. His name is derived from a Greek God of death. He is the son of Dad. He lives on his own and has a job as a car mechanic. He went to college for a brief period of time as a philosophy major but dropped out. Iambe: Goes by Bee. Her name is derived from a Greek God of life. She is the daughter of Dad. She is a complete airhead. She is 18 years old and a freshman in college majoring in English. Nurse: Goes by nurse. She works in the hospital. She is generally grumpy and upset at the doctor for his inappropriate jokes. She is quite but has a caring heart. Dr. Asclepius: Goes by Dr. A. His name is derived from the Greek God of Medicine and Healing. He has a deep understanding of life and death. He his humorous most of the time, but can also be serious. List of Props: Turkey, Tablecloth, Clipboard for nurse, jjj Scene One: The scene starts with just the Dad. He is setting up the table for thanksgiving dinner. His son and daughter are watching football in the other room. B: G: B: G: B: D: B+G: D: (offstage) Go Browns! Go other team! You can do it! (pause) Touchdown!!! Aw man! Booyah! In your face Bee, Browns rule! (finishes setting up table) Than, Bee, get in here! Its time to eat! (Offstag) But Daaaaad! I dont care what is on that television of yours; today is a day for family togetherness (Pause, no response) Ill ground you both if you dont get in here right(this instant). B: Dad you cant ground me, I live on my own. G: Yeah me too! B: College dorm life doesnt count as living on your own. G: Does too! B+G make faces at each other D: Now both of you, stop it. (sigh) I have a terrible headache right now and I cant take the fighting b+g: Sorry Dad. They go sit down at their places and all hold hands.

D: b:

(Suddenly brighter) So who is going to say grace? Nose goes!

B and g both touch their noses while Dads arms are trapped in theirs. He tries to pull free but they dont let go. D: (all laughing) Okay, okay , Ill go, but we have to be serious. Now bow your heads, When turkey's on the table laid, and good things I may scan, I'm thankful that I wasn't made, a vegetarian. (all laugh) Lets eat! (Dad lunges for food) B: Wait! D: What? G: Dad! D: What?? G: We have to go around the table and say what we are thankful for! B: Like mom used to have us do(pause) D: Of course, how silly of me. My migraine is acting up and I forgot. Why dont you start Iambe. G: I am thankful for nail polish, and ponies, and double rainbows all the way across the sky, and for Brad Pitt B: Bee! G: and for such a wonderful daddy! Done! B: I am thankful for my job, a roof over my head, this food, and of course Dad. D: Aw, thanks you two. I love you both and I am thankful to have you here with me today. You are a both such a blessing and you make each day the next best day of my life. Im so proud of both of you. B: Yeah, you should be. Iambe learned to spell her name yesterday (teasingly he flings some food at her. Starts a small food fight) Everybody is laughing now Dads face is now in extreme pain. He grabs his head. G: (notices D) Daddy whats wrong? D: My.Head B: (Serious all of a sudden) Dad are you okay? (pause) Dad? Dads face goes blank, he passes out in his food. B and G stand up B+G: DAD! The lights go out. The strobe comes on. B+G pantomime calling 911, Two EMS people come in and lay dad on a stretcher and Take him away, the table is turned and a hospital bed-like set up is made. Dad is brought back in with a hospital gown on and laid in bed. His face is blank. Scene Two: Theyre in a hospital. A nurse is taking car of Dad. Dr. A enters and she doesnt look up. Dr. A: How is he, nurse?

N: Same as an hour ago: in a coma and unresponsive. Dr. A: Well at least he doesnt have syphilis. (Pause- nurse gives him dirty look) Come on, cant a doctor make a joke? Geez, Ive been at this job for 30 years and if Ive learned one thing, its that if you take things too seriously youll wind up depressed or crazy. N: Dr. A, he had a brain aneurism while having thanksgiving dinner with his family exactly 4 years after his wife died. There is nothing funny about that. Dr. A: Well at least they had a large serving of vegetable! (Laughs) N: (Disgusted) Ughh, you are intolerable! Dr. A: Oh coma-over here and fill out this time sheet. (laughs) Time stops, Dad awakes and speaks to the audience. D: Hes right though. Im in coma and Im not likely to come out of it. Not much time has passed since the incidence, but being trapped inside your mind gives you a lot of time to think. My son and daughter cant agree upon what to do with me. My daughter, bless her heart, thinks I can be revived. My son on the other hand is looking at it from another angle. He realizes that even if I one day wake up; I may only be a sliver of the person I once was. So that leaves the question, do they send me on or let me live out my days in a coma? The Dad lies back down. Time continues. N: Dr. A: N: Dr. A: Seriously, Dr. A, if you dont stop it I am going to report you for sexual harassment or something. Alright, alright, Im sorry. Say, where are his kids? They went to get some coffee. Poor youngins have been up all night worrying about what to do with their dad. Why? Seems like his will was pretty clear. (Makes hand gestures as if reading the words in front of him) If I ever enter into a vegetative state or coma, I am to be euthanized. Yeah, but that will is 20 years old. Who knows if he still wants that? We are called to be architects of our dying, not its victims. This is a choice he has made and he is better off for that. Doctor, you took an oath, or have you forgotten: I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan. You are behind the times dear nurse. I swear to the 1964 version written by Louis Lasagna not the ancient Greek oath. (defiantly) And how do they differ? (Raises hand) I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: blah, blah, blah, and then Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God. Ah ha! See you said it right there. You are playing God by murdering this man. Nurse! I am sorry but you are mistaken. To control the life of another is to play

N: Dr. A: N: Dr. A: N: Dr. A:

N: Dr. A:

God. To say euthanasia is a sin is playing God. And when my time comes, God, Allah, Ya-way, or whoever, shall or shall not judge me, but for now I serve, not murder, this man. Its funny, everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own. N: Its funny, sometimes you can be the biggest ass, but other times you truly sound wise. Dr. A: Well you know what they say, Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils. (laughs) N: (upset) I take that back Time Freezes. Dad sits up to speak to the audience. Dad: Normally we do not like to think about death. We would rather think about life. Why reflect on death? When you start preparing for death you soon realize that you must look into your life now... and come to face the truth of your self. Death is like a mirror in which the true meaning of life is reflected. Dad lies back down. Time resumes. Kids enter the room Dr. A: Ah, there you kids are. B: Im not a kid old man. Im an adult. G: Yeah me too! B: Ha, yeah right, you still watch Sponge Bob! G and B make faces at each other Dr. A.: Yes (sarcastically) very mature adults. Anyway, my name is Dr. Asclepius, but you can call me: Dr. A. G: Ohh, so you are the doctor! Well you have to help me; Im hurting all over! Dr. A.: What do you mean, all over? I need you to be a little more specific. Iambe touches her right knee with her index finger and yells, "Ow, that hurts." Then she touched her left cheek and again yelled, "Ouch! That hurts, too." Then she touched her right earlobe, "Ow, even THAT hurts! Dr. A.: (He pokes and prods the same places with no result and then touches her index finger and she yells Ow again.(Make a big scene of this)) "Yeah, ummmmYou have a broken finger." G: Oh (giggles and smiles) Nurse: Let me get that for you honey. (She wraps Iambes finger) Dr. A.: (seriously) Listen; there is something I need to talk to you two about. B: What is it Dr. A.? Dr. A.: As you know your dad has included in his will that he is pro Euthanasia if he ever were to be in this state. Now Im not that kind of doctor who just goes ahead and does something like that without talking to the family. So I just wanted to check and see how you guys felt about this. G: Im sorry, but what does this have to do with kids in Asia? B: (Sigh) Can we have a few minutes alone to talk doctor? Dr. A.: Sure, no problem. The nurse and I will be right outside the door. Dr. A. and Nurse leave B: Bee, they are saying they are going to kill Dad.

G: B: G: B: G:

B:

WHAT?! Those murderers!! No Bee, according to Dads will, he wanted to die should he ever enter into a vegetative state or comma. First Youth-In-Russia and now vegetables! You people make no sense! (sigh) Bee, we have to let Dad die today. No! I want to wait! We need to give him time! He might get better! We need to wait! We need to wait! We need to wayway wa(Her lip starts to quibble, her face scrunches up, and she break into a loud and obnoxious WAAAAAAAH) (pulls her into a hug) Now, now, sis.

Time Freezez. Dad sits up. Dad: Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite. Or waiting around for Friday night or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance. Everyone is just waiting. Dad lies back down. Time resumes. Brother holds sister out at arms length B: G: B: Bee, we pretend to be strong because we are weak. But you dont have to pretend. I am here for you and you can always count on me. But what if you die Than? Our greatest prejudice is against death. It spans age, gender and race. We spend immeasurable amounts of energy fighting an event that will eventually triumph. Though it is noble not to give in easily, the most alive people I've ever met are those who embrace their death. They love, laugh and live more fully. We are all gonna die Bee one day. (Upset) Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, right when we are old enough to understand, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day.

G:

Time Freezes. Dad sits up. Dad: Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows. What's the world's greatest lie you ask?... It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. But we are humans, not objects and only we control our own destinies. Dad lies down. Time resumes. B: I agree. (pause) So what do you say? Do we let him die with dignity? G: (pause) (sigh) (thinking) Yes its what he would wantand its right. B: Okay. (Turns and yells) Doctor, Nurse, you can come back in now! Dr. A. and Nurse enter. Dr. A: So whats the verdict kiddos? Im die-ing to know (Chuckles) N: Dr. A! (Nurse smack him with her clip board) B and G start chuckling as well. B: Its okay nurse, Dad always appreciated a good pun. Though I am curious, how do you stay in such good humor Dr. A? Dr. A.: Do you really want to know?

G: Yeah! Dr. A.: It is because I see death every day. I can no longer ignore death, so I pay more attention to life. Sadly, people never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves. And what Ive learned is this: death... frees us from the fear of dying. There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there. When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive. And every day, I make sure to walk past the maternity ward, and smile down upon all the new life just starting out. G: Wow. B: Wow. N: (to herself) Wow. Dr. A.: Are you ready? B and G look at each other and nod. B+G: Yes. Dr. A.: Say your goodbyes. B: I love you Dad. Thank you for everything. Well miss you. G: I love you Dad. I know he just said that, but I totally mean it more. I I I dont want you to go. WAAAAA B: (pulls sister into a hug) Here, here sis. Its okay. Its the circle of life. G: (Looks up in part hope) Like The Lion King?! B: Just like The Lion King. Time slows down but does not stop. Lights dim and focus on Dad. The doctor and nurse pantomime preparing Dad for death. Dad sits up and delivers final monologue. Dad: We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. But it is a little parenthesis in eternity. To my family: Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

Fade To Black (13:40)

Optional Extended Monologue at end: (Break into parts?) So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.

Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. Fade to black. (14:50)