The Evacuation of Earth
A One Act Play
Characters:
Hugh …….husband
Laura…….wife
Jodie……..their twelve year old daughter
Josh………their fourteen year old son
Bonnie……an older lady
Tark………a middle age man
Nicki……..a middle age woman
The set
…..is an airport waiting area with large window at the back of the stage. A wide entrance door is on the wall to the audiences right. An elevator door with the light above is on the left. There are only a few chairs and they are to the left.
The play begins with Nicki and Bonnie sitting in the chairs while Tark is standing. The family enters from the right. The waiting people look at them and continue to do so as they hear the family talk.
Laura
She hugs herself and shivers Brr, it’s cold up here.
Hugh
Cold? It’s not cold.
Laura
Feels that way.
Hugh
You’re not having second thoughts.
Laura
Well, I just wonder if we really thought it out.
Hugh
Laura, you were the one who did all the work convinced the kids and made sure we drank the polyaxon every day for two weeks. And now you’re the one with second thoughts?
Laura
It’s the freezing part.
Hugh
That’s how it’s done. You know that. He sighs
Look, look… I mean if you can’t, we can put it off.
Jodie
No mom, we want to go.
Josh
Yeah, mom. We’re here now.
Nicki gets up from her chair and steps over to
them.
Laura
I’m not saying. It’s just that…well I never liked the cold.
Nicki
Do you mind if I say something? She smiles and nods as they turn to her. You know if you just think of where we are going, you’ll forget this part. It will be a new planet, a fresh new planet with clean air and fresh clean water, blue skys, earth like we only see on television; like it used to be. There will be green fields and trees. You’ll hear the birds singing. You’ll be able to step outside and know you can walk out there with nothing, no masks, no goggles and take a deep breath. It’s going to be a new world, the world our great grandfathers had.
Tark
He steps over to them. Right, a new world; and that’s where guys like me and your guy here will have an even playing field. No millionaires, no politicians, no people who had it all from the start.
Nicki
We can make America what it once was only on a different planet. Think of that.
Tark
And we’ll see who will make it this time, Yeah, and this time, it’ll be he pats his chest what’s in here that counts.
Hugh
It is a start over.
Laura
A start over, yes, and I know how I talked, but now I’m thinking the other way. We’re going to be dumped on some planet and left to thaw out, get up and do what, go where?
Tark
That’s the thing. We’re going back, back where everybody is the same. Back to where nobody is going to have a bank account or a rich dad. We’ll be even, level, and I’ve pretty much read up on what to expect. I’m going to be ready.
Connie
From her chair she wave her book up Well, I’ll have the bible. That’s all I’ll need.
Tark
You think God will know where we’re going?
Connie
Of course, God will know where we’re going He’s God, isn’t he? And this, this will be all I’ll need even if they land us in a jungle of tigers.
Nicki
No, I’m sure they won’t land us in a jungle. It’ll be in a field somewhere; a field of flowers and thawing out will be like waking up to a beautiful morning.
Tark
She’s right. It won’t be in the middle of a jungle. We know that. Here’s how it goes. You know years ago people would look up in the sky and see fleets of these geese flying south. They made a big Vee up there. That’s what we’re going to be. That head one will have the surveillance equipment, cameras, computers and the like. Once it finds the young, new planet, it’ll circle it and spot the best places to land each following ships.
Laura is shaking her head to the negative.
Hugh
Laura?
Laura
They’re right. I got to get over this. I do. We can’t be sitting in the living room watching how it used to be. And I don’t want Jodie and Josh to have a life of video games never knowing what it’s like to play outside. We owe it to them. She looks at the two I’m sorry. Your mother isn’t always so brave. But we’re going. Why don’t you go to the window and see what you can see.
Jodie and Josh smile and nod their heads. They walked to the window and look down.
Josh
There’s people down there. They’re in a line
Jodie
Oh no. They’re all naked. Mom, they’re all naked.
Everybody but Bonnie go to the window and look down.
Josh
Look over there. There’s the rocket. It’s on its side. The whole side is open. His head moves foreward Are those people inside? They’re all piled up.
Tark
He’s standing behind, looking over their heads. Those are people all right. Must be half full or they’d closed it up. Those people down there, the naked ones must be going the building to be frozen. Ha, there, look, look you see that puff of steam. That’s the heat from somebody’s body. There’s another.
Laura
I hope it’s quick.
Tark
You saw that puff of steam. That was pretty quick. Probably a big needle.
Jody
She shutters Mom, can you tell him to be quiet. I don’t want to hear.
Laura
She faces Tark You’re making them scare.
Tark
Oh sorry, sorry. I really don’t know anyway. I just read about some of the stuff. They’ll come out on that conveyor belt. Wait and see. The men over there are waiting load them into the rocket, and once they fill it, they close it up, turn it up to the sky and, yeah, off we go. Look now they’re coming out on the conveyor belt.
Josh
They look like those old fashion clothes pins.
Jodie
Ewee I’m going to be laying with all naked people. Mom?
Laura
You won’t know. You’ll be frozen. You won’t know anything until you thaw out.
Tark
Could be a million years from now, and the last thing you’ll remember is now. That’s really something when you think about it. Time is only when there is a mind to watch it pass.
Nicki
She catches her breath, jerks her head back and lands her hand on her chest.. Oh no, no. That can’t be. It can’t.
Hugh
What do you mean?
Nicki
You can see for yourself. What are they doing on the conveyor belt? Ahh, two of them now. How many more? This is supposed to be about turning something bad into something good; about getting America back. She steps to the right, looks that way, steps to the left, shakes herself. I won’t be a part of this.
Nicki walks to and exits.l Hugh and Laura watch her, look at each other and shrug showing they don’t know what bothered her.Then along with their children and Tark they continue to look out the window Connie opens her bible and reads. The elevator light lights and the door opens. The people walk to it and exit.
End