Easy Living
Daniel Brothers
2/11/2021
Easy Living
Characters:
A jazz singer: Has never performed, yet.
A voice: The proprietor of the establishment
Setting:
An abandoned cabaret, a piano sits on the stage of it.
At Rise:
A jazz singer walks into the empty space, they hum to themselves as they slowly saunter towards the piano. Although it is clearly after hours, the whole space is lit.
[The singer hums a melody that builds up until they hum a discordant note, they overcorrect.]
Singer: hrgmmm
[The Jazz singer walks up onto the stage starting their song over again]
Singer: [hums the melody up and hits the discordant note again] Hmmm. Hmmmmmmm. (opens the piano and searches for the key) Hm. Hm. Hm. Hm. Hmmmmmmm? Hm.
[They can not figure out what that note should be. The jazz singer starts to play off of their mistake. At first it does not sound good at all. But slowly as they hum their tune, and find the right chords. It begins to make sense, if not form an actual coherent song. Playing rough chords they sing. ]
Singer:
I used to know that living was easy
sitting up high in my maple tree.
the sun was too hot, but the wind was breezy
back when I did my work for free
easy to write all the songs in my head
easy to work with the friends who weren't dead
easy to laugh
Easy to cry
In the warm summer sun, being kissed by the sky.
The clouds may
[The singer reaches the part where the notes didn't work, but works through the dischord to find a good clash]
The clouds may come
And your friends may die
Till you no longer laugh,
till you hardly can cry
White gardenias
scent on the breeze.
my tears tasting sweet
in this maple tree
[they struggle finding the notes, the chords. They try several combinations that do now work. Taking time to work through the frustration, they can't. They pause]
Jazz Singer: Just one song.
[They pluck out the notes and find a way by making the end, the beginning]
in this maple tree
I used to know that living was easy
dying is hard, but dying is free
wasting my time in the breeze may be costly
Too bad!
I've decided that living's for me.
[They finish. They play the last notes again, wipe the emotions from their face, and then run to a table to grab a napkin and they quickly and roughly play all the chords of the song before they forget. They have to count out a few of the notes, quickly! Before they forget!]
Singer: (looking at the note) ok.
[You hear a door open]
Voice: Alright frankie let me show you the place
Singer: ah!
[The run to hide backstage as the lights are all turned on in rapid succession, click, click, click, and then just when you would see the source of the voice enter a last light clicks, and the stage is dark.]
[End]