The play on suffering.
The assignment: Write a play on an issue of world suffering.
Here it is... enjoy.
“Plant: Reliance”
Cast of Characters:
Mr. Grethe
Mr. Drolm
Mr. Geno
The Mayor
Alice
Setting
The scene is a small town along a river. The weather is hot and dry, with a desert background. The date is modern, sometime in the year 2005. The town is old-rickety, shabby, everything that can be expected from a town that will die with its last generation of citizens. The townsfolk are all old, the youngest getting on in year-perhaps in their early fifties.
Act I, Scene I:
[Mr. Drolm and Mr. Geno are sitting on an old rickety porch. The posts and walls of the house are made of wood, with the old paint, once a vibrant green, is fading and peeling away. They sit in old mismatched lawn furniture, Mr. Drolm in a rocking chain and Mr. Geno precariously perched on top of an uneven three-legged stool, leaning against the wall. Mr. Drolm is old, perhaps sixty years of age, and his years have caught up to him. He has the sad look of someone who has given up, and dresses in clothes nearly as shabby as the house. Mr. Geno, on the other hand, is dressed in a suit of gray, its former splendor still obvious in the mostly hidden seaming and starched collar. He has the look of a man who is content with the lot that he chose. He begins to speak in an educated manner.]
Geno: “He will be here soon, this young neighbor of ours. His things came yesterday morning. You should change into some nicer clothes. Don’t want to make a bad impression on the hope of this town.”
Drolm: “The young have no business here. This dam he plans, it’s an errand for fools and the falsely optimistic.”
Geno: “Oh don’t be such a downer. You never did believe in anything. That’s why you’re unhappy all the time-no, don’t interrupt me. Ever since Alice left you, you haven’t even seemed to truly exist in this town.”
Drolm: [Snorting disdainfully]: “Are you still talking? I thought we left that behind us seventeen years ago. It’s a little after the fact to blame my melancholy on that, now isn’t it? No-the real reason I’m not as excited as you is because I just don’t see the use. What’s the point of trying to revive this town after so long? Good things should be left to die in peace. This constant dredging up of the past is tiring.”
Geno: “Some of us still believe this town has something left to offer. You and I both know that we used to produce the best furniture in the state when we were in our prime. Imagine if we could start something like that again, have some meaning again. Even if it’s a false hope, as you seem to think, I’d rather let this town die fighting than simply let it drift off as if it never was.”
[Mr. Drolm grunts and they lapse into silence. Mr. Geno tries to pick up the conversation on a lighter subject, but gives up after a few poorly thought-out, stuttered words. After a minute or two of staring off into the distance, a nice new car is heard pulling up in the driveway of the adjacent house. Mr. Grethe walks onto the stage from the left of Mr. Drolm and Mr. Geno, with a large smile on his face and a spring in his step.]
Grethe: [With poorly hidden airs of self-importance]: “Gentlemen, so lovely to see you again! I was hoping to get an early start this morning, so I’m glad you’re up.”
Drolm: “Whatever you have to say, Grethe-
Geno: “Please, Mr. Grethe, we would be glad to hear it. What need of us have you this fine morning?”
Grethe: “I was hoping you’d ask! I need you kind fellows to help me with my presentation today [Mr. Drolm stands up and walks into the house, grumbling to himself] and I was… hoping… [There is an awkward silence between Mr. Geno and Mr. Grethe, in which Geno tries to look simultaneously apologetic and frustrated]. Well, I was hoping you could help me rouse the town, Mr. Geno. I will be speaking with the Mayor, and haven’t time to gather everyone to the square this morning.”
Geno: “No problem. How soon do you need everyone gathered?”
Grethe: “Oh not for at least an hour. The main square, now. No hurry.”
[Exit Geno and Grethe, in opposite directions.]
Act I, Scene II:
[Mr. Grethe and the Mayor are talking in the Mayor’s office. It is a finely furnished place-perhaps the only nice one in the entire town-with a cool feel compared to the arid heat outside. Mr. Grethe makes large, elaborate hand gestures while he speaks, and seems to be trying to overwhelm the Mayor simply by the frantic motions.]
Grethe: “Mr. Mayor, I assure you; the plant will do nothing but help this town and all of its neighbors. Just think, your little salt lake could help six towns survive, all by itself. Let me also add that the prospects of your own little town may just cease to look so grim.”
Mayor: “Your plan seems all well and good Mr. Grethe, and as a new citizen of our little town, I am sure you only have its best interest in mind, but I’m not quite sure how you mean to fund this plant of your. Will the community have to pay for it? How many new people will be moving here to man it? There are just too many questions to make a decision this morning.”
Grethe: “No need for decisions this morning Mr. Mayor, I simply ask leave to present my plan for a water purification plant to the town.”
Mayor: [After a moment of consternation]: “Fine, you have my leave to present your idea. Who knows? Maybe it might even stick.”
[The Mayor and Mr. Grethe stand up and walk through the doorway and out into the main square. There is a large crowd congregated outside, with Mr. Drolm and Mr. Geno in the forefront, and a large wooden box has been erected, presumably as a stage or podium, but Mr. Grethe ignores it. He addresses the people.]
Grethe: “People of Reliance, people of Reliance! For those of you I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Mr. Grethe! I am a new citizen of Reliance, and I hope to use my new location to rectify a global problem that needs fixing here. Within twenty miles of your humble town, there are at least six others, large and small, and all have the same problem: fresh water. You have a lake, yes, and you have a river that is fed by the lake. Of course, we all know that the salt content of the lake is higher even than the salt content of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. I plan to build a water purification plant, right here in Reliance!”
[Silence]
Grethe: [Continuing without apparent lack of enthusiasm]: “Think! If you had a water purification plant, the wells would become obsolete! No more bad backs come from digging new wells when the old dry up, or become salinated! No more hauling water from out back, whether out back be ten steps away or one-hundred yards! Your slavery to the wells will end, along with your water crisis, and you can be the cause.”
Voice from the crowd: “Aye! Down with the wells! Aye! Aye!”
Drolm: [Whispering to Geno] “I think he’s making up words. Our wells are becoming salinated?”
Geno: “Don’t be stupid. It’s a technical term for becoming salty, along with other possible issues.”
Drolm: “You always have tried to come across as smarter than you really are.”
[The voices from the crowd begin to call out louder and louder, sounding unanimous approval. The Mayor looks happily at Mr. Grethe, and Mr. Grethe basks in the praise like a snake finding warmth on a rock. Mr. Drolm and Mr. Geno leave the square, and the curtain closes.]
Act II, Scene I:
[Act II occurs seven months after the rally in the square. The plant his been in place for two days, and Mr. Grethe has become a popular personage around town, well liked by everyone except for Mr. Drolm. The town seems livelier, many of the buildings have been re-painted, and the plant looms on the horizon. Act II opens with Alice, in her home. She is sick, with some sort of lung disease. She is deathly pale and sometimes she can’t speak for coughing. Mr. Drolm and Mr. Geno are with her at her bedside.]
Drolm: “Alice, the doctor is sure that you have leukemia? I mean, did he say he was one-hundred percent positive?”
Alice: [Coughing]: “Yes, Robert. The doctor says it must have come from the water. Luckily the plant will be up and running in a few days, so that nobody else will have to suffer the bad water.”
Geno: [Sadly, emphatic]: “Oh, Alice. I didn’t expect you to know the full extent, but I didn’t think you would be so ignorant of the situation either. Since you’ve come down with it, almost half the town has developed some sort of lung disease.”
Alice: “What? I don’t believe this is happening. Can Mr. Grethe get the plant up and running any faster, you think? He came around yesterday to say that they were still testing the water, to see which contaminants to filter for and such, but it’s been two months since they started that testing, at least. You’d figure he might know something of it by now.”
[Drolm is deathly silent; a look of quiet rage evident on his face while Geno speaks.]
Geno: “The plant began churning out fresh water yesterday, Alice. He managed to get it out to all of the other towns before they had even any cases of lung disease.”
Alice: “Oh, that’s wonderful! What a wonderful young man!”
Geno: “Actually, Alice, Robert and I have a theory. You see, we live furthest from the river, and thusly furthest from the plant. Nobody in any of the houses around us, even the ones near the river, has contracted any sort of disease. Only the people who have wells very near the plant, whether they are near the river or not, have had problems. Coupled with what Robert saw last week…” [He trails off into silence, a quiet look of pain on his face]/
Drolm: [Extremely distressed, mixed with anger] “I saw that fiend, that young Grethe and two of his cronies from the plant. They were out back of the plant, not two hundred feet from the Meyers’ well, and they were dumping out barrels of something. Right onto the ground. I looked into it some, you know, asked Grethe about the filtration process a little. Apparently they have to remove all sorts of chemicals and bacteria from the water before it’s fit to distribute. That’s what they were dumping out back. All sorts of deadly mixture. Right onto the ground. Right into the fresh water.”
[Alice goes into a violent fit of coughing, and her face turns red. She continues to cough until she runs out of air, and begins to choke. Geno runs out of the house to get help, and Drolm tries to help Alice by slapping her back. Alice stops coughing, but comes out much worse for wear. She turns over onto her back, and stares up at the ceiling while she speaks to Drolm.]
Alice: “I don’t want to die in a bed, Robert. I want to get up, to get out.”
Drolm: “You always did like the outdoors, right up until we lost our daughter in the woods.”
Alice: “I could never tell you, Robert, but that’s why I left you those long years ago. How could I live with you, after you gave up looking for our daughter after just one day? How could you live with it?”
[Drolm helps Alice out of her bed, and walks with her outside into the porch.]
Drolm: “Looking back, I wish I had the courage to tell you this secret I’ve been keeping since that day. I never gave up, Alice, I found her after only a few hours.” [He begins to start breaking up, on the verge of crying] “Her body was ruined. She must have been climbing a tree and fallen, I don’t know what else could have happened. So I buried her myself, and left a small wooden cross in the middle of a field.”
[Drolm and Alice sit down in two rocking chairs, and Alice speaks in a groggy voice.]
Alice: “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me that day?”
Drolm: “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t crush your hope. I thought that maybe it would help you live with losing our daughter if I had just lost her, if there was always the possibility that she was alive somewhere in the world. Ever since that day, I gave up my own hope to preserve everyone else’s.”
[Drolm looks over at Alice, who appears to be sleeping peacefully. He is not fooled, however, and stands up and walks away from the house without looking back, leaving Alice rocking peacefully in her last sleep.]
[Curtain closes.]
Act II, Scene II:
[The curtain opens in the Mayor’s office, with the Mayor, Mr. Drolm, Mr. Geno, and Mr. Grethe present. Drolm has a look of cold fury on his face, like a man who is ready to kill. The other three appear calm, but Grethe is sweating. He is a nervous wreck, and shakes while he talks, lacking his normal grand gestures and eloquence.]
Mayor: “How do you react to these accusations, Mr. Grethe? They are very heavy, very serious indeed.”
Grethe: “I cannot deny that I dumped some portion of waste behind the plant, when any test of the soil would call the lie on my lips, but I can hopefully explain myself.”
Drolm: “You had better explain quick. Certain old folks in this room are done waiting patiently for answers.”
Geno: “I would also like to hear your wonderful reasoning for the justification of essentially poisoning half the town.”
Grethe: “Well, you see, when the plant was first conceived, I had all the matters of cost in hand. However, I failed to take into account one thing. That is, the cost of manning the plant before it was creating any revenue. You see, my grants from the state are not enough, even combined with my own income to take care of all of the plant’s utilities as well as pay every man needed to keep it in operation. I had to make the terrible choice of shirking the duty of properly disposing of the waste and having the plant fizzle away, never to truly operate. On the other hand, I could dump my waste at no cost, with a chance of contaminating this small, nearly dead town, and keep the plant running to save countless others in the area. In my mind, the choice is obvious.”
Mayor: “You see, Mr. Grethe, I just can’t seem to fall behind the logic of your reasoning. You seem to see a problem in these other towns that you claim to be helping, but without any real knowledge of their actual situation. There are three town along this river, and two on the shores of the lake, but you picked this one, and I can assure you, we are not the shortest on water or citizens to pollute.”
Grethe: “Ah, but you see Mr. Mayor, nothing is ever done without reason. And let me tell you, it took some cold reasoning on my part to make this decision. I chose your town not for its immediate access to a water supply, or because of the willingness of its citizens, but because I viewed it as the least likely to recover any shred of its former glory. Out of all the towns that we could afford to lose, Mr. Mayor, yours is the most likely candidate.”
Drolm: “I should kill you now. I should take you down to your plant and burn you down along with-
Geno: “But I don’t understand, Grethe, why we should suffer to save countless others, when you could have simply asked for our help with the plant. Why didn’t you just ask for our help?”
[Grethe thinks for quite some time before carefully answering, throwing tentative glances in Drolm’s direction.]
Grethe: “The truth of the matter, Mr. Geno, is that the question you ask of me isn’t one that can be truly answered. As for the reason I didn’t ask for the town’s help, however, that is another matter. I couldn’t, in my right mind, ask your citizens to give me financial aid on a project that I originally told you would be provided entirely by my corporation. Executives felt that asking for help would put a lie to too many of our truths, and cause people to lose faith in the plant. Perhaps citizens would abandon the project, for fear that the corporation would again ask for money, fully expecting to receive for their service of providing fresh water. We didn’t want to put anyone in that position, of mistrust in the company, or in a poor financial state because of a fear induced charitable act. That is why, Mr. Geno, in the best manner I can explain it.”
[The voice of Mr. Grethe fades as he stops talking, tapering off at the end of his last sentence. He hangs his head, and waits for the three older men to pass judgment on him. The Mayor, still stricken by what he has heard, offers no response. Him and Mr. Geno both look at Mr. Drolm for direction. Mr. Drolm, stand up and walks over to Grethe, who is shaking. He places his hand lightly on Grethe’s shoulder, and without a word turns and leaves the office.]
[Curtain Falls.]
Keep in mind: I wrote it the night before it was due, didn't start until two in the morning, and had a length limit(and let's be honest, I'm long-winded). I also have absolutely no knowledge of how to format a play, etc. Finally, I do not pretend to enjoy plays or the writing of them at all, but short story was not an option. That is why the stage directions are more like additional story and description than actual direction.
Here it is... enjoy.
“Plant: Reliance”
Cast of Characters:
Mr. Grethe
Mr. Drolm
Mr. Geno
The Mayor
Alice
Setting
The scene is a small town along a river. The weather is hot and dry, with a desert background. The date is modern, sometime in the year 2005. The town is old-rickety, shabby, everything that can be expected from a town that will die with its last generation of citizens. The townsfolk are all old, the youngest getting on in year-perhaps in their early fifties.
Act I, Scene I:
[Mr. Drolm and Mr. Geno are sitting on an old rickety porch. The posts and walls of the house are made of wood, with the old paint, once a vibrant green, is fading and peeling away. They sit in old mismatched lawn furniture, Mr. Drolm in a rocking chain and Mr. Geno precariously perched on top of an uneven three-legged stool, leaning against the wall. Mr. Drolm is old, perhaps sixty years of age, and his years have caught up to him. He has the sad look of someone who has given up, and dresses in clothes nearly as shabby as the house. Mr. Geno, on the other hand, is dressed in a suit of gray, its former splendor still obvious in the mostly hidden seaming and starched collar. He has the look of a man who is content with the lot that he chose. He begins to speak in an educated manner.]
Geno: “He will be here soon, this young neighbor of ours. His things came yesterday morning. You should change into some nicer clothes. Don’t want to make a bad impression on the hope of this town.”
Drolm: “The young have no business here. This dam he plans, it’s an errand for fools and the falsely optimistic.”
Geno: “Oh don’t be such a downer. You never did believe in anything. That’s why you’re unhappy all the time-no, don’t interrupt me. Ever since Alice left you, you haven’t even seemed to truly exist in this town.”
Drolm: [Snorting disdainfully]: “Are you still talking? I thought we left that behind us seventeen years ago. It’s a little after the fact to blame my melancholy on that, now isn’t it? No-the real reason I’m not as excited as you is because I just don’t see the use. What’s the point of trying to revive this town after so long? Good things should be left to die in peace. This constant dredging up of the past is tiring.”
Geno: “Some of us still believe this town has something left to offer. You and I both know that we used to produce the best furniture in the state when we were in our prime. Imagine if we could start something like that again, have some meaning again. Even if it’s a false hope, as you seem to think, I’d rather let this town die fighting than simply let it drift off as if it never was.”
[Mr. Drolm grunts and they lapse into silence. Mr. Geno tries to pick up the conversation on a lighter subject, but gives up after a few poorly thought-out, stuttered words. After a minute or two of staring off into the distance, a nice new car is heard pulling up in the driveway of the adjacent house. Mr. Grethe walks onto the stage from the left of Mr. Drolm and Mr. Geno, with a large smile on his face and a spring in his step.]
Grethe: [With poorly hidden airs of self-importance]: “Gentlemen, so lovely to see you again! I was hoping to get an early start this morning, so I’m glad you’re up.”
Drolm: “Whatever you have to say, Grethe-
Geno: “Please, Mr. Grethe, we would be glad to hear it. What need of us have you this fine morning?”
Grethe: “I was hoping you’d ask! I need you kind fellows to help me with my presentation today [Mr. Drolm stands up and walks into the house, grumbling to himself] and I was… hoping… [There is an awkward silence between Mr. Geno and Mr. Grethe, in which Geno tries to look simultaneously apologetic and frustrated]. Well, I was hoping you could help me rouse the town, Mr. Geno. I will be speaking with the Mayor, and haven’t time to gather everyone to the square this morning.”
Geno: “No problem. How soon do you need everyone gathered?”
Grethe: “Oh not for at least an hour. The main square, now. No hurry.”
[Exit Geno and Grethe, in opposite directions.]
Act I, Scene II:
[Mr. Grethe and the Mayor are talking in the Mayor’s office. It is a finely furnished place-perhaps the only nice one in the entire town-with a cool feel compared to the arid heat outside. Mr. Grethe makes large, elaborate hand gestures while he speaks, and seems to be trying to overwhelm the Mayor simply by the frantic motions.]
Grethe: “Mr. Mayor, I assure you; the plant will do nothing but help this town and all of its neighbors. Just think, your little salt lake could help six towns survive, all by itself. Let me also add that the prospects of your own little town may just cease to look so grim.”
Mayor: “Your plan seems all well and good Mr. Grethe, and as a new citizen of our little town, I am sure you only have its best interest in mind, but I’m not quite sure how you mean to fund this plant of your. Will the community have to pay for it? How many new people will be moving here to man it? There are just too many questions to make a decision this morning.”
Grethe: “No need for decisions this morning Mr. Mayor, I simply ask leave to present my plan for a water purification plant to the town.”
Mayor: [After a moment of consternation]: “Fine, you have my leave to present your idea. Who knows? Maybe it might even stick.”
[The Mayor and Mr. Grethe stand up and walk through the doorway and out into the main square. There is a large crowd congregated outside, with Mr. Drolm and Mr. Geno in the forefront, and a large wooden box has been erected, presumably as a stage or podium, but Mr. Grethe ignores it. He addresses the people.]
Grethe: “People of Reliance, people of Reliance! For those of you I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Mr. Grethe! I am a new citizen of Reliance, and I hope to use my new location to rectify a global problem that needs fixing here. Within twenty miles of your humble town, there are at least six others, large and small, and all have the same problem: fresh water. You have a lake, yes, and you have a river that is fed by the lake. Of course, we all know that the salt content of the lake is higher even than the salt content of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. I plan to build a water purification plant, right here in Reliance!”
[Silence]
Grethe: [Continuing without apparent lack of enthusiasm]: “Think! If you had a water purification plant, the wells would become obsolete! No more bad backs come from digging new wells when the old dry up, or become salinated! No more hauling water from out back, whether out back be ten steps away or one-hundred yards! Your slavery to the wells will end, along with your water crisis, and you can be the cause.”
Voice from the crowd: “Aye! Down with the wells! Aye! Aye!”
Drolm: [Whispering to Geno] “I think he’s making up words. Our wells are becoming salinated?”
Geno: “Don’t be stupid. It’s a technical term for becoming salty, along with other possible issues.”
Drolm: “You always have tried to come across as smarter than you really are.”
[The voices from the crowd begin to call out louder and louder, sounding unanimous approval. The Mayor looks happily at Mr. Grethe, and Mr. Grethe basks in the praise like a snake finding warmth on a rock. Mr. Drolm and Mr. Geno leave the square, and the curtain closes.]
Act II, Scene I:
[Act II occurs seven months after the rally in the square. The plant his been in place for two days, and Mr. Grethe has become a popular personage around town, well liked by everyone except for Mr. Drolm. The town seems livelier, many of the buildings have been re-painted, and the plant looms on the horizon. Act II opens with Alice, in her home. She is sick, with some sort of lung disease. She is deathly pale and sometimes she can’t speak for coughing. Mr. Drolm and Mr. Geno are with her at her bedside.]
Drolm: “Alice, the doctor is sure that you have leukemia? I mean, did he say he was one-hundred percent positive?”
Alice: [Coughing]: “Yes, Robert. The doctor says it must have come from the water. Luckily the plant will be up and running in a few days, so that nobody else will have to suffer the bad water.”
Geno: [Sadly, emphatic]: “Oh, Alice. I didn’t expect you to know the full extent, but I didn’t think you would be so ignorant of the situation either. Since you’ve come down with it, almost half the town has developed some sort of lung disease.”
Alice: “What? I don’t believe this is happening. Can Mr. Grethe get the plant up and running any faster, you think? He came around yesterday to say that they were still testing the water, to see which contaminants to filter for and such, but it’s been two months since they started that testing, at least. You’d figure he might know something of it by now.”
[Drolm is deathly silent; a look of quiet rage evident on his face while Geno speaks.]
Geno: “The plant began churning out fresh water yesterday, Alice. He managed to get it out to all of the other towns before they had even any cases of lung disease.”
Alice: “Oh, that’s wonderful! What a wonderful young man!”
Geno: “Actually, Alice, Robert and I have a theory. You see, we live furthest from the river, and thusly furthest from the plant. Nobody in any of the houses around us, even the ones near the river, has contracted any sort of disease. Only the people who have wells very near the plant, whether they are near the river or not, have had problems. Coupled with what Robert saw last week…” [He trails off into silence, a quiet look of pain on his face]/
Drolm: [Extremely distressed, mixed with anger] “I saw that fiend, that young Grethe and two of his cronies from the plant. They were out back of the plant, not two hundred feet from the Meyers’ well, and they were dumping out barrels of something. Right onto the ground. I looked into it some, you know, asked Grethe about the filtration process a little. Apparently they have to remove all sorts of chemicals and bacteria from the water before it’s fit to distribute. That’s what they were dumping out back. All sorts of deadly mixture. Right onto the ground. Right into the fresh water.”
[Alice goes into a violent fit of coughing, and her face turns red. She continues to cough until she runs out of air, and begins to choke. Geno runs out of the house to get help, and Drolm tries to help Alice by slapping her back. Alice stops coughing, but comes out much worse for wear. She turns over onto her back, and stares up at the ceiling while she speaks to Drolm.]
Alice: “I don’t want to die in a bed, Robert. I want to get up, to get out.”
Drolm: “You always did like the outdoors, right up until we lost our daughter in the woods.”
Alice: “I could never tell you, Robert, but that’s why I left you those long years ago. How could I live with you, after you gave up looking for our daughter after just one day? How could you live with it?”
[Drolm helps Alice out of her bed, and walks with her outside into the porch.]
Drolm: “Looking back, I wish I had the courage to tell you this secret I’ve been keeping since that day. I never gave up, Alice, I found her after only a few hours.” [He begins to start breaking up, on the verge of crying] “Her body was ruined. She must have been climbing a tree and fallen, I don’t know what else could have happened. So I buried her myself, and left a small wooden cross in the middle of a field.”
[Drolm and Alice sit down in two rocking chairs, and Alice speaks in a groggy voice.]
Alice: “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me that day?”
Drolm: “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t crush your hope. I thought that maybe it would help you live with losing our daughter if I had just lost her, if there was always the possibility that she was alive somewhere in the world. Ever since that day, I gave up my own hope to preserve everyone else’s.”
[Drolm looks over at Alice, who appears to be sleeping peacefully. He is not fooled, however, and stands up and walks away from the house without looking back, leaving Alice rocking peacefully in her last sleep.]
[Curtain closes.]
Act II, Scene II:
[The curtain opens in the Mayor’s office, with the Mayor, Mr. Drolm, Mr. Geno, and Mr. Grethe present. Drolm has a look of cold fury on his face, like a man who is ready to kill. The other three appear calm, but Grethe is sweating. He is a nervous wreck, and shakes while he talks, lacking his normal grand gestures and eloquence.]
Mayor: “How do you react to these accusations, Mr. Grethe? They are very heavy, very serious indeed.”
Grethe: “I cannot deny that I dumped some portion of waste behind the plant, when any test of the soil would call the lie on my lips, but I can hopefully explain myself.”
Drolm: “You had better explain quick. Certain old folks in this room are done waiting patiently for answers.”
Geno: “I would also like to hear your wonderful reasoning for the justification of essentially poisoning half the town.”
Grethe: “Well, you see, when the plant was first conceived, I had all the matters of cost in hand. However, I failed to take into account one thing. That is, the cost of manning the plant before it was creating any revenue. You see, my grants from the state are not enough, even combined with my own income to take care of all of the plant’s utilities as well as pay every man needed to keep it in operation. I had to make the terrible choice of shirking the duty of properly disposing of the waste and having the plant fizzle away, never to truly operate. On the other hand, I could dump my waste at no cost, with a chance of contaminating this small, nearly dead town, and keep the plant running to save countless others in the area. In my mind, the choice is obvious.”
Mayor: “You see, Mr. Grethe, I just can’t seem to fall behind the logic of your reasoning. You seem to see a problem in these other towns that you claim to be helping, but without any real knowledge of their actual situation. There are three town along this river, and two on the shores of the lake, but you picked this one, and I can assure you, we are not the shortest on water or citizens to pollute.”
Grethe: “Ah, but you see Mr. Mayor, nothing is ever done without reason. And let me tell you, it took some cold reasoning on my part to make this decision. I chose your town not for its immediate access to a water supply, or because of the willingness of its citizens, but because I viewed it as the least likely to recover any shred of its former glory. Out of all the towns that we could afford to lose, Mr. Mayor, yours is the most likely candidate.”
Drolm: “I should kill you now. I should take you down to your plant and burn you down along with-
Geno: “But I don’t understand, Grethe, why we should suffer to save countless others, when you could have simply asked for our help with the plant. Why didn’t you just ask for our help?”
[Grethe thinks for quite some time before carefully answering, throwing tentative glances in Drolm’s direction.]
Grethe: “The truth of the matter, Mr. Geno, is that the question you ask of me isn’t one that can be truly answered. As for the reason I didn’t ask for the town’s help, however, that is another matter. I couldn’t, in my right mind, ask your citizens to give me financial aid on a project that I originally told you would be provided entirely by my corporation. Executives felt that asking for help would put a lie to too many of our truths, and cause people to lose faith in the plant. Perhaps citizens would abandon the project, for fear that the corporation would again ask for money, fully expecting to receive for their service of providing fresh water. We didn’t want to put anyone in that position, of mistrust in the company, or in a poor financial state because of a fear induced charitable act. That is why, Mr. Geno, in the best manner I can explain it.”
[The voice of Mr. Grethe fades as he stops talking, tapering off at the end of his last sentence. He hangs his head, and waits for the three older men to pass judgment on him. The Mayor, still stricken by what he has heard, offers no response. Him and Mr. Geno both look at Mr. Drolm for direction. Mr. Drolm, stand up and walks over to Grethe, who is shaking. He places his hand lightly on Grethe’s shoulder, and without a word turns and leaves the office.]
[Curtain Falls.]
Keep in mind: I wrote it the night before it was due, didn't start until two in the morning, and had a length limit(and let's be honest, I'm long-winded). I also have absolutely no knowledge of how to format a play, etc. Finally, I do not pretend to enjoy plays or the writing of them at all, but short story was not an option. That is why the stage directions are more like additional story and description than actual direction.