Dullabies

A Subconscious Tragedy

Drama and music by Adrien Drake

CHARACTERS

Adrien
Adrienne
DDAL (Darkness Disguised as Light)

A HOUSE IN THE PENNSYLVANIA COUNTRYSIDE, SURROUNDED BY WOODS

ACT I

A bedroom in a country house. Outside is a dense forest, bare branches of trees twisting and spiraling up into a dark, moonless night sky.

The curtain rises.

“Opening”

(Adrien is in his bed, tossing and turning and eventually falling into a restless sleep. He begins to dream.)

Adrien [dreaming]: All I want is impossible…To be where I want to be everything.

(A female figure – Adrienne – gradually emerges from the haze and overshadows that of Adrien. She sits up in the bed, mistakenly believing herself to be awake.)

Adrienne: All I want, play the part of your heart, everything

(The violent opening motif dies away)

[Adrienne gets out of the bed, stands up and slowly looks around ]

“Awake at the End of A Dream”

Adrienne (hopefully):
I’ve been here before
I walk through this room and open the door
And carefully step right through the floor
And on the way down I reach for a hand
That pulls me towards a window where I can see
So much more that’s worth living for

Awake, no dream, dislodged every brick in my house

I’ve been here before
I fall on the ground and stare at the sky
And suddenly things are all so profound
Wondering why

Awake, no dream, dislodged every brick in my house

No doubts, put me back in a world with no doubts

Awake, no dream, dislodged every brick in my house.

(She twirls around and looks at each side of the room to convince herself that she is, in fact, awake.)

(Adrienne finds that the bedroom has changed -its furnishings resemble those of a child’s room. Recognizing it as the bedroom of her own childhood, she panics, assuming she is trapped there. Despondent, she reflects on the loss of her passion for life and its potential for love and fulfillment. She begins to fantasize about how she will attempt to regain it once she is set free.)

“Anticipation”

Adrienne:
Up in this room there’s an outside window
But there’s no light through the outside window (runs to and from the window, tries to see herself in it)
I want to look at my dull reflection
But I don’t look for my own protection
Up in this room I used to be creative
And now I stand here so frustrated
I’ll do everything I meant to

DDAL (coming from out of the shadows, a body of light becoming brighter and more forceful by the second, then glowing so brightly it is difficult to look at him):
When I come back

Adrienne (turns her head in alarm at the intrusion, but continues):
I’ll do everything I meant to

DDAL:
When I come back

Adrienne (flinches):
I’ll do everything I meant to

DDAL:
When I come back
When I come back

Adrienne:
Think to myself all my friends are married
They’ll be together till they both get buried
Up in this room I was so filled with wonder
But now I wonder about that wonder

I’ll do everything I meant to

(During the following exchange, DDAL continues to approach Adrienne, who backs away at first. By the end of the exchange, she backs away less and less, until she is standing still before him.)

DDAL:
When I come back

Adrienne:
I’ll do everything I meant to

DDAL:
When I come back

Adrienne (resolutely):
I’ll do everything I meant to

DDAL:
When I come back

Adrienne:
I’ll do everything I meant to

DDAL:
When I come back

Adrienne:
I’ll do everything I meant to

DDAL:
When I come back

Adrienne:
I’ll do everything I meant to

DDAL:
When I come back
When I come back

(DDAL darts about the room, circling Adrienne as if to flirt with her, almost, but never quite, touching her. He is obviously enjoying this dance of temptation. Adrienne reaches out to grasp onto him, like a child trying to catch a bubble, or a sunbeam, but he slips away each time. Adrienne is increasingly frustrated, her rage cresting as DDAL passes through the window and into the woods just outside and out of her reach. Adrienne sees him and is beside herself because she cannot protect the object and the embodiment of her passion as he glimmers in the night, alone, seemingly vulnerable to the elements.)

“This Life”

Adrienne (to DDAL who is outside):
It’s just like just like being in love
‘Cause there’s nothing else I’m really ever thinking of
And I may be locked in a rubber room
But still I’ll never let another get next to you in my house
(She shakes her fist at the ceiling)
And so long it’s been woebegone
And now these ape-fuckers got me all the dolls I’m on
And no you’re never gonna get rid of me
I’ll spread a Roman plague all over Hot AC

Play me where you want it, anywhere you want it
I’m yours

DDAL (from outside):
You’re not just anyone

Adrienne:
Where you want it? Anywhere you want it
I’m yours

DDAL:
You’re not just anyone

Adrienne:
Don’t worry about my worry ’bout life

DDAL:
Don’t worry about my worry ’bout life

Adrienne:
Don’t worry about my worry ’bout life

DDAL:
Don’t worry about my worry ’bout life

Adrienne:
And I messed up messed up BOPs
And now the purest state of mind has never set me free
And I might be locked up in 302 but still I’ll never let another
Get next to you in my house
And they can throw me back in 14D but I feel a
Forthcoming calamity
And tricked like Osceola when my drink was spilled
They can never stop me doing what I say I will

Play me where you want it anywhere you want it
I’m yours

DDAL:
You’re not just anyone

Adrienne:
Where you want it? Anywhere you want it
I’m yours

DDAL:
You’re not just anyone

Adrienne:
Don’t worry about my worry ’bout life

DDAL:
Don’t worry about my worry ’bout life

Adrienne:
Don’t worry about my worry ’bout life

DDAL:
Don’t worry about my worry ’bout life
Don’t worry about my worry

Adrienne:
Don’t worry about my worry
Don’t worry about my worry ’bout life
Don’t worry about my worry ’bout life
Who you blame it’s just one and the same
It’s this life
Who you blame it’s just one and the same
It’s this life

DDAL:
Tell me where you want it, anywhere you want it
If there’s anything you ever need don’t worry
Babe I’m on it
All the things that just be thought but never said
Have to kill me just to stop me so don’t worry
Babe I’m on it
All the things that should be said don’t be afraid

Adrienne (throws hands up in the air):
It’s this life!

(Although she is only able to crack the window open slightly, Adrienne can now see clearly into the forest. Furtively she leans forward from inside her room, intrigued by what lies before her, and sings through the tiny opening)

“Trees”

Adrienne:
If I come out, will you want me?

DDAL:
Yes we want you
We will keep you warm and safe

Adrienne:
Can I touch you?

DDAL:
You can climb to reach a branch that

Adrienne:
I can cling to

DDAL:
And we’ll swing you

DDAL and Adrienne (simultaneously):
Till you’re (I’m) old and grey.

Adrienne:
If I come out will you want me?

DDAL:
Yes we want you
We will keep you warm and safe

Adrienne:
Can I touch you?

DDAL:
You can climb to reach a branch that

Adrienne:
I can cling to

DDAL:
And we’ll swing you

DDAL and Adrienne (simultaneously):
Till you’re (I’m) old and grey.

(She frantically looks around the room for another route of escape; she sees several doors, and tries to open the first few; they creak but will not open completely. Finally she reaches a door that very slowly opens into a short tunnel. She walks through it and comes out into the forest. ) Adrienne (singing up toward the tree branches):
Out! Will you want me?

DDAL:
Yes we want you
We will keep you warm and safe

Adrienne:
Can I touch you?

DDAL:
You can climb to reach a branch that

Adrienne:
I can cling to

DDAL:
And we’ll swing you

DDAL and Adrienne (simultaneously):
Till you’re (I’m) old and grey

(Adrienne sees the faint glimmer of DDAL amongst the trees and runs toward him, but his body of light floats out of her sight. The forest darkens. The curtain falls.)

ACT II

Scene I: The inside of an airplane.

The curtain rises; Adrienne sits in a window seat. She is wearing headphones and tapping her foot to an unheard beat. She leans into the window and stares out of it; it is difficult to know whether it is day or night outside, as through the window, she sees clouds below and stars above. She is on a journey, seeking DDAL.

“Between Space and Clouds”

Adrienne:
I look at the clouds, I look at the sky
I look at the stars a mile high
I need a change in my life
Remember the girl, remember the touch
Remember the things I loved so much
I need a change in my life

And soon we’ll be landing down
I’ll get my feet back on the ground
I really wanna scream but in this window seat
I won’t make a sound
And I’m never gonna fly but I think I wanna try
And I can’t let go, not in the exit row I’m waiting by

I’m in the wind, I feel it whirl
Against the edges of the world
I need a change in my life
Remember the feel, remember the heart
Remember the love before it fell apart
I need a change in my life

And soon we’ll be landing down
I’ll get my feet back on the ground
I really wanna scream but in this window seat
I won’t make a sound
And I’m never gonna fly but I think I wanna try
And I can’t let go, not in the exit row I’m waiting by
(continues to tap her foot to the beat)

Scene II: The stage darkens completely. Adrienne has returned to her bedroom, having decided to abandon the brief hope of reuniting with DDAL. She decides to rebuff any advances by pushing him away should he try to return to her.

Adrienne (her arms are outstretched, and she looks from side to side for a glimpse of DDAL, then lowers her arms; in a gesture of surrender, she returns to the bed and curls up in a fetal position, staring into space) :

“One Last Love”

I’ll be here and you’ll be there
And we’ll never have to look each other in the eye
A thousand times and say I’d die for one last love
My only love tonight

I’m not a dreamer playing the part
Come on and make it happen, come on and break my heart again

You’re so gone and now I cry ’cause we’re so wrong
But no one said we weren’t right so oh my God
The early light will bring my love, my only love tonight

I’m not a dreamer playing the part
Come on and make it happen, come on and break my heart again

Scene III: The stage darkens and obscures Adrienne completely. DDAL appears center-stage, the light glowing but throwing out a very sinister vibe as he paces about. He lurches toward the front of the room, jumps backwards, pounces and punches at unseen beings – every movement releases unbridled, undisguised rage and violence)

“Black Again”

DDAL:
Feeling it Black again
Feeling it How long will it be

When your heart turns black in an eerie town
It’s gonna take more work to turn around

Feeling it Black again
Feeling it How long will it be

(DDAL shudders, balling his hands into fists, freezes into a menacing stance and fades into darkness.)

ACT III
Another gloomy view of Adrienne’s room. She sits by the darkened window; she is holding a needle in midair. Her movements are jerky, as though they are compulsive, controlled by unseen forces bent on her self-destruction)

“Red Rug”

Adrienne (pricking her finger, in obvious pain):
This masquerade is wearing thin and now I’m close to giving in
And now my finger’s bleeding red upon the rug beside my bed
I’d like to touch it on your face but I can never leave this place
And now my wrist is bleeding red upon the the rug beside my bed
(Proceeds to write the words ”Come back to me” on the wall)
Come back to me, feeling, come back to me

DDAL (distant):
I try to light a match, a match beside a needle
A perfect place to peel

Adrienne (lying against the wall, weakening):
This masquerade is wearing thin and now I’m close to giving in
And now my finger’s bleeding red upon the rug beside my bed
I’d to touch it on your face but I can never leave this place
And now my wrist is bleeding red upon the the rug beside my bed
Come back to me, feeling, come back to me
(As she sings the final stanza she pounds her heart)

(From behind the wall where Adrienne has written in her blood comes a loud knocking; it is DDAL come to plead for her to reconsider their union.)

“What if I Do Better”

DDAL:
You don’t know how many times I wished that I had told you
You don’t know how many times I wished that I could hold you
You don;t know how many times I wished that I could mold you into
Someone who would cherish me like I cherish you
You’re my baby

Adrienne (to the wall):
You’re my baby

DDAL (seductively, in a kinder tone):
You’re my baby

Adrienne (more hopefully):
You’re my baby

DDAL:
You’re my baby

Adrienne:
You’re my baby

DDAL:
You’re my baby

Adrienne:
You’re my baby

DDAL:
You don’t know how many times I wished that I had told you
You don’t know how many times I wished that I could hold you
You don;t know how many times I wished that I could mold you into
Someone who would cherish me like I cherish you
You’re my baby

Adrienne:
You’re my baby

DDAL:
You’re my baby

Adrienne:
You’re my baby

DDAL:
You’re my baby

Adrienne (her conviction waning):
You’re my baby

DDAL:
You’re my baby

Adrienne (sadly, as if resigned to hopelessness):
You’re my baby

DDAL:
I know that I’ve blown it again
Just don’t know what to say
What if I feel better in the night with you?
What if I do better in the night with you?
What if I do better in life with you?
Never say never in the night with you?
What if I do better in the night with you?
What if I sleep better in the night with you?
What if I do better in life with you?
Better forever in the night with you?

Adrienne (listening to the knocking, she shakes her head in refusal. She buries her face in her hands, her body racked with silent sobs. She goes to the window, rubbing it clean with her palms, and sings into it. With each verse of her lament, the light in the window brightens):

“Adrienne’s Lament”

When you leave I fall apart
I guess you want to break my heart
And now what can I do?
You’re leaving and I can’t deny
You are my love, you are my life
And now what can I do?

Cause now I never say I love you
Swear upon the stars above you
Now you never say goodnight
To advertize the way you love me with your eyes
And now what can I do?

You’re leaving for you cannot love
The way we’re used to thinking of
And now what can I do?

And no one loves me anymore
Or says the words I’m longing for
And no one ever says goodnight
To advertize the way they love me in their eyes
And now what can I do for love?

And now we never start to laugh the way I know we always have
And now what can I do?
You’re leaving for I can’t deny
The way I love you in my eyes

‘Cause now you never say you love me
Swear you’re always thinking of me
Now you never, now you never say
Our love could be real
Our love could be incompletely if you leave me
And now what can I do?
Now what can I do for love?
And it just stays within me, eats the very heart within me
Now what can I do for love?
(Still standing at the window, she slides her hands down the pane of glass; her knees buckle and she
falls to the floor.)

The curtain falls.

ACT III

“Final Act”

The exterior facade of the country house in the woods. It is twilight and a breeze rustles the trees. Adrienne stands on a balcony projecting from her bedroom window. The balcony is large, and very, very long, seemingly endless, almost like a tunnel. It is so unnaturally elevated that clouds float beneath it, buffeted by the increasing winds. Through the clouds, DDAL shines brightly. He aims his words upward, like flying darts, toward Adrienne.

“A Light From the Middle of Nowhere”

DDAL:
Any time at all I’ll feel your heartache and I won’t let go
So wherever you are it will be far away
You won’t even know

(DDAL ascends above the clouds as he sings, thereby brightening the sky)

I’ll take it up real high
Throw it in the golden sky
I’ll take it up real high
Throw it in the golden sky
And when it hits the ground
Everything will be undone
All I want is in return, tell me I’m the only one

(He pitches himself upward and downward in a dizzying, preening display of light.)

Adrienne (breathlessly): I will. I will, I will.

DDAL (continuing his crazy dance):
People in the world
They can be painful
They will hurt you bad
But if you come on with me
I’ll send my demon down to hurt them back

I’ll take em up real high
Throw em in the golden sky
I’ll take em up real high
Throw em in the golden sky
And when they hit the ground
Everything will be undone
All I want is in return, tell me I’m the only one

Adrienne: (mesmerized): I will, I will, I will

DDAL:
Tell me I’m the only one

Adrienne: I will. I will

DDAL:
All I want is in return tell me I’m the only one

Tell me I’m the only one!

Adrienne:
I will (leans over the balcony to try and follow his lurching movements)…I will…I will.

DDAL (landing at the far end of the balcony, beckoning to her):
Tell me I’m the only one!

Adrienne:
I will, I will.

(Adrienne and DDAL stand at opposite ends of the balcony; he is so bright she must shield her eyes; she walks toward him slowly as he sings; she continues to walk a long way until she reaches him; as she touches him, he embraces her with light, drawing her into himself, smothering her with light, so that she almost disappears. At the moment when Adrienne is swallowed up and lost in his light, DDAL is extinguished, like a giant match suddenly snuffed out. An immediate and utter darkness falls.)

DDAL:
All I want is in return tell me I’m the only one.

Adrienne:
I will, I will. I will.

DDAL :
Tell me I’m the only one.

Adrienne:
I will. I will.

DDAL :
All I want is in return, tell me I’m the only one.

(The scene brightens to reveal the original bedroom, Adrien’s room, in the country house, where Adrien sits up in his bed, blinking and staring as if in a trance.)

Adrien:
I will. I will. I will.

The curtain falls.