FUTURALOGIA: A RIOT OF 12 PLAYS
FUTURALOGIA is a series of short plays inspired by the futurist manifesto, futurism and dadaism. The plays can be read, performed and staged in settings with minimal costumes, props and space. The important requisite of FUTURALOGIA is the human factor. Manpower. People.
In essence, what defines us from the futurist machines is human emotion, pain, the need to connect. FUTURALOGIA’s plays are also inspired by current psycho-social trends. Philosophy plays an important aspect as to how current real world situations may play out in futurist scenarios.
The plays are written and constructed in an experimental style. As such, theatre directors and actors are welcomed and encouraged to workshop and incorporate their personal styles into the plays. It is not required that the plays be performed in a single sitting. These plays may be performed multiple times, split and acted out in any order or fashion as desired by the actor(s) or director(s).
Futurists and futurism survives and continues to thrive on flexibility and rejection of norms. The future is a fog and as such, futurists rode the wave of change, adapting, creating and learning along the way. These plays are so much more than words, flesh and stage. The words have been written. I leave the creativity in your hands, sculpt it as you deem fit.
Actors: 10 actors or more from different age groups, race, faiths and social settings. As mentioned above, the human factor is crucial. Even in a one-man play there may be actor onlookers on stage or actors posed as human-props.
Setting: A tiny room in an abandoned warehouse. The public washroom. Under a barren tree in the dark. In a subway passageway during the local rush hour. On a stage of broken bodies. In public. In private. Streamed over the internet. Recorded. Animated. Rehearsed. Unrehearsed. You define the setting, the stage.
Runtime: Approximately 10 minutes per play, total runtime- approximately 120 minutes. Timings may vary depending on the style of directors, actors or setting.
Fools’ Revolution
Curtains open to actors seated in a semi-circle.
None of the actors are facing the audience. They take turns speaking.
Actor 1: Is it my turn?
Actor 2: Is it my turn after yours?
Actor 3: Shall I go next?
Actor 4: Whose turn is it?
Actor 5: Perhaps, I shall go?
Actor 6: Why do we resist?
Actor 7: Were you threatened?
Actor 8: The REVOLUTION requires a leader…
Actor 9: I will REVOLT!
Actor 10: Our suffering ENDS!
Actor 11: STAND TOGETHER!
Together: RISE O LEADER!
Together: WHO WILL IT BE?
Silence. The play ends when an individual from the audience steps onto stage to face the actors. The actors stand, raising fists in the air. Curtains close.
66 Seconds After Death
The sound of vehicles crashing; Explosion. The sound of sirens; The chatter of people. The body lying in the middle of stage; Breathing. With the breathing- breathe in, breathe out, the lights dim and brighten. The breathing stops. The stage darkens, eclipsing the body. The subject is dead. The soul- a refugee. Displaced from its body.
The spotlight appears on two characters. The alien and the ghost. They have 66 seconds to convince the soul and audience to choose a path; to be abducted or be judged by celestial beings.
Ghost: A glass of immortality for you.
Alien: An encore of the big bang!
Ghost: The creation of life before your eyes!
Alien: The secrets of the milky ways!
Ghost: The dance of gods and demons!
Alien: Time travel!
Ghost: Divine attention!
Alien: Elevation!
Ghost: Enlightenment!
Alien & Ghost: Evolution!
Alien & Ghost: Inspiration!
Alien & Ghost: HMPH! HA!
The actors freeze. The audience are given 66 seconds to decide the soul’s fate. The soul then walks off with either the ghost or alien. Curtains close.
Quaran-tine
Curtains open. Spotlight on subject in a 2m by 2m square demarcated by black duct tape. Monologue begins.
Stand.
Tina. 29. female.
severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Touching glass.
reflecting. ebola.
2 weeks.
dengue.
3 weeks.
human immunodeficiency virus.
Stand back.
black plague.
death plague.
dark plague.
Eternity. mashallah.
this skin. colored.
Stand back.
Stand back.
mashallah. white. Black.
Blue. Grey. mashallah. Yellow.
ma.
allah.
Eternity.
Spotlight remains. Curtains close.
Push!
Curtains open. A doctor and two nurses walk in a mechanical manner onto stage.
Spotlight on the table where legs are wide open.
Doctor: Push!
Nurse 1: hydraulic pressure is normal.
Nurse 2: Oiling valves.
Doctor: Push!
Nurse 2: Turbines initiated.
Nurse 1: battery capacity overloading.
Doctor: Push!
Nurse 1: Heat has reached critical levels.
Nurse 2: Cooling vents initiated.
Doctor: PUSH!!!
Nurses: PUSH!!!
Doctor and nurses: PUSH!!!
The robot on the table has given birth to a mechanical baby. The sounds of crying are replaced with the sounds of gears grinding. Lights dim. Sound fades. Curtains close.
Futuralogia
Pitch black stage. The sound of snoring. The snoring stops. The flicker of spotlights on both the actors. Audience catch a glimpse of the actors lying on their side in the fetal position on the stage floor. The actors are in deep sleep. The spotlights flicker as they speak to indicate the erratic and unpredictable nature of the human subconscious.
Sleeper 1: metathesizing pranayamic syllables
Sleep 2: dividing life by grief
Sleeper 1: gazette induced sensations serene
Sleeper 2: source code disarray convulsions
Sleeper 1: backing up memories future reference
Sleeper 2: unanimous segregation discretion required
Sleeper 1: outsourcing pain to nightmares
Sleeper 2: debrief in progress short-term matrix
Sleeper 1: sabbatical screams
Sleeper 2: insisting on extinction
Sleeper 1: sematic visions barren earth grim faces gazing into souls
Sleeper 2: ingesting rot
Sleeper 1: atavistic conundrums displaced
Sleeper 2: sound the alarms
Sleeper 1: descendintoskullbreach
Sleeper 2: unauthorizedaccessdeniedentry
Sleeper 1: activatetemporarycleanseprotocol
Sleeper 2: activatetemporarycleanseprotocol
Sleepers: logia, logia, logia… (repeat)
Lights continue to flicker for 30 seconds before pitch darkness, signaling the end.
Mylar-Nylon-Spandex Lover
Curtains open. Lights dim. Hung on stage, spotlight on an empty space suit suspended by wires. Here the performer is the space suit. A narrator recites from backstage in a genderless, distorted and machine voice.
you are a fine lover! The finest!
parent to my, our children. lover to I!
i am warm within… you!
your static excites… me!
your plasticity riles… me!
vex and wane! vex and wane!
within your vacuum, we are… one!
your lovers are none to mine!
your lovers are nothing to mine!
space dust. space dust.
I am compelled to say it again…in sensual fervor.
the sex… the sex…
into your void, I slip, I fall.
contained within your eternity.
you are truly the finest of lovers! and you belong to… I.
to you I belong. only mine.
A minute of silence. As the audience absorb the shock of what they’ve just heard. Spotlight remains. Curtains close.
D-Day
Curtains open. The stage is brightly lit. The actor walks briskly onto stage and faces the audience. The play begins.
WE ARE TO BE DRAFTED!
FEBRUARY 2109 OCTOBER 2001
WE ARE TO KILL THE INVADERS!
FEB 1519 AUGUST 1955
WE ARE EXPENDABLE!
APRIL 1917 AUGUST 1971
TO WAR! TO WAR!
2700 BCE OCTOBER 1979
PICK A WEAPON!
336 BC SEPTEMBER 2001
SERVE YOUR NATION! AUGUST 3099
OCTOBER 1947 DECEMBER 1941
PLUNDER THEIR LANDS, RESOURCES AND WEALTH!
MAY 1964 MARCH 2003
TO WAR! TO WAR!
JULY 1983
SKIN THEM! BURY THEM! BURN THEM!
MAY XXX69 DECMEBER 2004
TO WAR WE GO!
TO WAR WITH MOTHER NATURE!
JULY 1931 NOVEMBER 1970
JANUARY 2010
WHO WILL IT BE? NATURE OR THE HUMAN RACE?
Actor remains on stage. Stage lights dim. Curtains close.
Facing the MUSIC
Curtains open to two naked gay men engaged in sensually tantalizing carnal intercourse. They have sinned. Once the curtains are fully drawn open, they stop to look at the audience. It is time for them to face the MUSIC. Stage lights dim. Spot lights on both the men.
Man 1: I have sinned.
Man 2: I too have sinned.
Men: We have sinned.
Facing away from the audience, facing each other they hold hands.
Man 1: I shall face the MUSIC.
Man 2: I too shall face the MUSIC.
Men: We face the MUSIC.
Facing away from each, they return to face the audience.
Men: We accept your MUSIC…
The audience will be required to either cheer, insult, exonerate, venerate or exorcise the actors. The MUSIC here may be punishment, complement or compromise. The actors understand what they are getting themselves involved in. In this play, the ‘herd effect/mentality’ comes into play, society as a whole will be required to act.
After the result is meted out, curtains close.
Do You…Feel?
The year is XXX69, and humans function with machine precision. They talk, feel and exude confidence and prefer the accurate reliability of statistical data over fervent emotions and impulsive decisions. Aberrant individuals are an abnormality.
An aberrant tries to convert another future human. Curtains open. The dialogue begins.
Aberrant: Hey! You! Yes, you! You’re not from around here are you?
Future Human: No.
Aberrant: Come on! It’ll be fun! You’ll get to feel… just like the rest of us.
Future Human: No. I have no reason to. I feel... fine.
Aberrant: I’m sure you are. How do you feel now? Are you scared? Hesitant? Aren’t you the least bit curious? Excited at the mention of abnormality?
Future Human: You fool. I feel nothing. I am perfectly…calm.
Aberrant: Is that so? (pulls out a gun at points it at his own head)
Future Human: Are you mad? Insane? YOU FOOL! Is human life so low to you that you have to take your own?! PUT IT DOWN! RIGHT NOW!
Aberrant: I hear you, human. As I was saying…
Future Human: What have I done? Did i…?
Aberrant: Yes! I’m afraid you did. After all, you are human you know.
Future Human: I must go, I will be tracked, revised, cleaned and rebooted…
Aberrant: SHUT UP! Or you could join us…
Future Human: A fugitive, against the rules, no, no, I…
The future human snatches the gun from the aberrant and shoots himself in the head. Lights dim and curtains close.
Recital
Curtains open to a vagrant samurai who has wandered upon this stage with a katana sheath, minus the katana. Spotlight on subject. He goes into a fighting stance, and draws his imaginary blade slowly. The slow beat of drums. Once the blade is fully drawn he proceeds to recite a haiku sequence.
beneath the rough and wild seas
the winter dragon wakes
to the fall of the last crimson leaf
I fill this stomach
with the sorrows of my people
so that they may smile
death is a fine prospect
and yet living-
is a far greater challenge
in summer’s heat
I questioned the shogun’s decision
his banishment- my boon
I have seen all, lived long
my end shall be spring’s mercy
to your side, I return love
Reciting the finals words, he pierces the imaginary blade into his heart and collapses onto knees. The spotlight dims until there is darkness on stage. Drums fade off with the light.
Collector of Dead Planets
Curtains open to the Collector and his two assistants . They are frantically archiving their records before the Big Bang is rebooted. The gods scream…
Collector: Bottle this. Code this as Vlada 6.
Assistant 1: Yes sir!
Assistant 2: At once, my lord!
Collector: Quick, the Big Bang is about to begin!
Assistant 1: Yes sir!
Assistant 2: Sir it appears that…
Collector: The Big Bang will only erase living planets, dead ones will exist. Be sure to confirm its extinction.
Assistant 1: Yes sir!
Assistant 2: My lord…
Collector: We are approaching combustion point, any planet with bio memory or life signs inside these bottles, will be a threat to the next timeline.
Assistant 1: Yes sir!
Assistant 2: MY LORD!
Collector: Big Bang in 30, 29… what is it number 2?
Assistant 2: This planet is reviving at an alarming rate!
Assistant 1: Impossible!
Collector: What have we done… 10, 9,… Engage teleportation maneuvers.
Assistant 1: We have failed…
Assistant 2: Life remembers…
Lights at maximum brightness. BANG! Lights dim. Spotlight on a bottle containing the final planet placed on a stool in the center of stage. Curtains close.
The MAD Futurist’s Manifesto
Curtains open. The stage is dark. The spotlight brightens revealing the subject with his or her head down. After a few seconds. The actor looks up and begins to speak.
WE ARE FUTURISTS!
I AM A FUTURIST!
I REJECT THE WAYS OF THIS WORLD!
I REJECT YOU!
I DENY IT!
I DISOBEY ITS RULES AND MORALITIES.
I SEEK TO EMPOWER MYSELF!
THERE IS ONLY ROOM FOR, I!
I CLAIM MY RIGHTS TO INDEPENDENCE! TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND ACT! TO BELIEVE IN WHAT I SEE FIT! TO DO AS I WANT, WHEN I WANT!
I AM A FUTURIST! NO BEING MIGHTIER THAN, I!
TODAY, I RID MYSELF OF BURDEN, BAGGAGE, THE DREDGES AND DEMANDS THAT THIS WORLD HAS PLACED ON ME!
I DARE TO, I DARE TO FEEL, TO DREAM, TO CREATE AND EXPERIMENT!
WE ARE FUTURISTS!
I AM A FUTURIST, DOWN TO MY BLOODY CORE!
I DENY YOU! I REJECT YOU! I SHALL BE I!
I SHALL FOREVER BE TRUE TO, I!
The printed manifestos as flyers are thrown to the audience. The actor continues handing out flyers until the spotlight is gone. Stage is dark. Curtains close.
by Elancharan Gunasekaran
Elancharan Gunasekaran is a multidisciplinary artist and poet. He has a strange love for all things poetical and Sci-Fi. A winner of the Montblanc X Esquire Six-word Story prize 2017. His latest publications are Superatomicluminal (Hesterglock Press, UK), Gods of the Gonzo (Analog Submission Press, UK), The Cosmosnaut Manifesto (UndergroundBooks, New York), Sleeping with Wildflowers (Alien Buddha Press, Arizona/New York), Deviant Flames and Dark Revolver (Roman Books, India/UK)
He arts and writes on Instagram and Twitter: @elancharang
For more information, please visit: elancharang.com