Balloon Lady

Balloon Lady

A mime play

Characters:

          Leo    A man

          Bella  A lady

The set:  

          Is a empty stage with a wooden floor and a bench seat in the middle.

The mime:   

Leo is sitting on the bench reading the paper. He turns a page and looks up and down and to the side of it, finds an article he wants to read and folds the paper to one page, and then to half that page.  He reads.

          Bella enters carrying on their separate strings a dozen helium filled balloons. The arm that holds them is up over her head and she is on her tip toes. The balloons are lifting her off the ground. She moves forward and then to the side as the lift the balloons keep her from walking straight.

          Leo looks up and sees her in this distress. He puts down the paper, stands up and goes to her. He looks up at the balloons and then puts his hands on her shoulders to lower her feet flat on the grounds. She smiles to thank him.  He smiles back to say she is welcome.

          When takes his hands off her shoulders, she goes back up. Leo looks up at the balloons and her hand clutching the strings. He reaches up and tries to free her hand from the strings. He pries her fingers and opens her hand. He smiles as the freed balloons rise up.

          But as the balloons float up, Bella wilts down like a wet noodle.  Leo looks down at her. He reaches down and lifts her up. When she is standing, he lets her go and she wilts down to the floor again.  Leo scratches his head.  He motions to lift her again and stops. He looks up at the balloons. 

          Leo marches off stage and comes back with a ladder. Bella is still in a heap wilted to the ground.  Leo sets up the ladder, climbs it and retrieves the balloons.  He climbs down the ladder. He brings the balloons to Bella and puts them in her hand. Her arm goes straight up and she lifts up and up and is on her toes again.  The balloons again are lifting her off the ground.

          She tries to walk off. Leo looks down at her feet sees she has the same problem as before. She looks to him for help.  He reaches up to her extended arm to her hand. He wrestles out one string and lets the balloon go. Bella comes down a little from her toes. He sees this and reaches up again and removes another balloon. She comes down farther. He removes another balloon and she is flat footed. But her arm his still extended straight up.  He removes still another balloon and now Bella pulls her arm to her body. 

          She smiles thank you, does a curtsy and walks off as if she is only holding an umbrella.  Leo goes back to the bench and picks up his newspaper. He folds it to where he was reading, and the curtain closes.