Play #1: The Roommates
By Colleen Doyle
Catherine - Age 21. Was Rose's upperclassman in high school. Is messy by nature, has a lazy streak.
Amy - Age 21. Has been Catherine's roommate for a couple years.
Sicily - Age 20. Rarely comes home to the apartment.
Scene 1
(A college apartment consisting of a kitchen and a living area. It is messy. The space is meant to look cramped, and the kitchen raised up higher in the back than the rest of the space. There are 4 doors through which are the four bedrooms in the apartment. A fifth door in the back near the kitchen, is the door to the hallway. The ticking of a clock is heard as the light come up on the scene. The clock strikes 7pm, and on the 6th toll, the back door opens.
Enter Rose, juggling multiple bags, her backpack and a purse. She looks around the room with a mixture of delight and shock. )
Rose: It seems a little messier in here than I remember... (She goes to the door in the Upstage right corner, which is her new bedroom. Once she sets down all her things, she steps away and takes a look around, glancing under the doors to see if anyone else is present. She notices a cage on top of a bookshelf, where a rat lives. She plays with him a little as the back door opens again. Enter Catherine and Amy. The one in lead trips over the bags, Rose notices when she sees the movement from her peripheral.)
Rose: Oh! I’m sorry, I left those there. (She runs over, dodging piles of laundry, and helps up the fallen roommate).
Catherine: That’s ok, and also sorry about the mess (gestures to room) we weren’t expecting you so early.
Rose: Cathy! I’ve missed you, this is going to be so cool being roommates. I’ve never lived in an apartment before! And you must be... Amy?
Amy: Nice to meet you! You’re Cathy’s friend from high school right?
Rose: Yeah!
Catherine: We didn’t get to hang out much back then since we're two years apart, but we really bonded in choir.
Rose: You were like an older sister to me.
Catherine: And you were my fish!
Amy: Anyway, you want some help with these bags or anything?
Rose: Oh it’s alright, I’ll take care of it. But thank you! (begins to move things into her room, the other two start chatting about other things. Once all the bags are inside the door, Rose returns to the hallway. She looks at the door adjacent to hers.) There’s another girl living here too right?
Amy: Yes, that’s Sicily. She’s not here very often, she’s usually with her boyfriend.
Rose: oh, ok. So I might not get to meet her today?
Catherine: I don’t know, I mean, she doesn’t usually tell us when she gets back, but I’m sure you’ll meet her sooner or later.
Amy: Yeah, so anyway... I guess since your new, we should probably talk about pet peeves and whatnot, since Cathy’s the only one here who knows you at all.
Rose: should we wait for Sicily?
Catherine: we can just tell her the next time she comes back. (they move downstage and clear a spot on the floor to sit)
Amy: ok, what are your pet peeves?
Rose: hmm, to be honest I haven’t thought about them, so I don’t know what would be considered pet peeves...
Catherine: like something that really pisses you off.
Rose: well... I don’t get pissed off easily but... I guess clutter is a concern. (as she says this, both girls become a little tight lipped. One briefly glances at the nearest pile of junk) The last roommate I had would constantly leave her straightener out, and I got mad at that because the bathroom was small and we didn’t have a lot of room in there, and it was taking up space. I guess... stuff like that?
Catherine: well, as you might have already noticed, we’re not the cleanest bunch. We can try and make it better for you though.
Amy: Yeah, I’m actually sorta clean, I just get distracted...
Rose: oh that’s fine! And I’d be more than happy to help.
Catherine: so... anything else?
Rose: nope, just keeping things clean i guess.
Amy: ok
Catherine: ok
(they get up, and lights dim on scene. In the dim light we see Rose go to the kitchen and begin washing dishes. Catherine goes to the clock and spins the hands on the face. The actors will be doing this throughout the play to convey time passing. They move the minute hand to convey hours, and the hour hand to convey days. In this instance, Catherine makes 2 hours pass before returning to her room. The clock strikes nine. Lights come up and Rose had cleaned the entire kitchen.)
Rose: Wow... it’s already 9. My fingers are pruned from the dishwater. But... it’s looking much better in here already!
(Enter Amy and Catherine from their rooms. They pause and marvel at the kitchen’s upkeep.)
Catherine: The kitchen!
Amy: I’ve never seen it so clean! It looks great! You didn't have to do all of this!
Rose: Thank you! I didn't mind, just thought it would help!
Amy: Just in time to cook dinner, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the counter. (she goes to a cabinet and pulls out a freshly cleaned skillet) I haven’t gotten to use this one in a while.
Rose: uh, how long were these dishes sitting here?
Catherine: ...A couple weeks...
Rose: What?!
Catherine: We were going to clean them... but some things came up...
Rose: Well, at least they’re clean now right? (looks at the pan concerned) Are you really going to cook right now though? I just cleaned everything.
Catherine: We’re going to use them eventually anyway, just because they’re clean doesn’t mean we can’t use them when we need them, right?
Amy: Don’t worry, we’ll clean up after we finish eating.
Rose: well, if you’ll clean them again afterwards... ok then. I’m going to go finish some homework at the library. I’ll be back in a couple hours.
Amy: ok
Catherine: ok
(they both turn with their back to Rose, they no longer hear her)
Rose: Enjoy dinner, just please clean up afterward...ok. (Exit Rose through back door)
Amy: I’ll cook, what are you in the mood for tonight?
Catherine: can we make [insert complicated meal recipe]?
Amy: Oh yes.
(lights dim, Amy begins “cooking” while Catherine goes to the clock again and spins the minute hand to an hour later. they gather at the table between roses door and Sicily’s, and “eat dinner” then they throw all the dishes in the kitchen. Exit Catherine to her room. Amy comes up to the clock and spins it forward 2 more hours. Exit Amy to her own room. The lights come up a small amount to show Rose entering at 12am. The clock tolls. She looks tired.)
Rose: that took much longer than i expected. but at least I’m home now. (she flips on the light switch and is shocked to see the dishes piled up in the sink.) They said they were going to clean up... (she picks up the same skillet she cleaned hours ago.) I guess they forgot...
(She looks from her door to the mess in the kitchen. pause. She goes to the kitchen and begins to clean. Enter Catherine, who looks like she’s just woken up. She sees Rose and guiltily glances at the dishes.)
Catherine: Hey.
Rose: Oh... Hey...
Catherine: you don’t have to do that...
Rose:...
Catherine: I’m sorry, I forgot about cleaning up. We’re not used to doing that so quickly. We’ll get there though... gradually.
Rose:...
Catherine: (comes over and physically makes Rose stop doing the dishes) Look, you’re tired, and I’m tired. This doesn’t have to be done tonight. I’ll do it tomorrow morning, ok?
Rose: ... you promise?
Catherine: I promise.
Rose: ok...
(they hug, and then retreat into their rooms. Lights out)
Scene 2
The following scene takes place in a fast paced Blur. Rose enters from the back door, to find the kitchen a mess. she goes to it and begins to clean. She turns her back as she puts things away; one of the other girls comes through, throwing clothes and clutter casually as they go, as if they don’t even realize they’re doing it. they move the hand by a day and return to their room.
Rose turns around to find the living room messier than before. She comes up front and starts moving things to the sides to create a path, while her back is turned to the kitchen. other girl enters and adds a small pile of dishes to the sink. she returns to her room as Rose turns back around, to find the mess in the sink. Aggravated, she cleans them quickly and then leaves out back.
Both girls come out now and throw things everywhere, fill sink with piles of dishes. They spin the clock by a couple more hours and go to the front of the room and sit where they can. Rose returns as they are in the middle of laughing at some joke or meme from tumblr. Rose glares at them, because their backs are to her she is unnoticed, she returns to her room.
The above scene plays out again and again, Rose becomes more and more irritable and disgruntled with her efforts in each cycle. The actor is allowed to yell at them repeated phrases, like “you said you’d take care of it today!” “you promised!” “you lied to me!” if and when she feels the need to. But the cries go unheard as the girls never face her if/when she addresses them. This continues until Rose is noticeably exhausted. The Scene ends when everyone is present and Amy goes to the rat cage to check on the rat. She is horrorstricken, when she announces.
Amy: guys, the rat is dead.
Scene 3
(Rose stands front center, the room clean enough to move about freely, a table is in front of her, the rat is wrapped in cloth and resting on the table. She looks down on it sadly.)
Rose: you poor thing. It was probably all this mess that killed you. How often was your cage cleaned out, once every time your owner came home? I haven’t even met Sicily yet, but she’s not here frequently enough to have taken care of you. It was mostly left to us. Even then, your cage was the cleanest thing here. I’ve only been here a couple months, but you’ve lived in this for years. Maybe someday the stress from living here will kill me too. At least now you don’t have to live in it anymore... I kind of envy you.
(Enter Catherine,while on the phone. Rose hasn’t noticed, but gazes on at the rat in silence.)
Catherine: ...yeah ok, I’ll tell them. Bye. (she hangs up and puts her hand on Roses shoulder.) That was Sicily. She said we could go ahead and bury her, but to leave the cage. She’ll take care of it when she returns.
Rose: Did she say when that will be?
Catherine: No, but it’s ok. It'll get taken care of. (She walks to the kitchen, her back to Rose.)
Rose: No, this is not ok. not at all.
Catherine: I’m going to go pick up Amy from campus, we’re going to go see that new horror movie.
Rose: Hold on! I don’t know when Sicily’s getting back here! It’s hard enough having to live in this place when it’s a mess, I don’t want to put up with the rotting smell of rat feces too! I’ve dealt with that since i came to live here! Now that she’s dead, i shouldn’t have to deal this that anymore! (sees Catherine hasn’t heard a word and is going to leave. In a rage she storms over to grab stop her physically). Hey! I’m talking to you! For Christ’s sake LISTEN TO ME!
Catherine: (alarmed by this outburst and breaks away from Rose) What’s your deal?
Rose: Cathy, this place is a DISASTER. It is a constant mess all the time! You keep promising and promising to make it better but you DONT. It’s no better than if you LIED TO MY FACE Cathy!
Catherine:... there are nicer ways of putting it than that.
Rose: I’m tired of being polite about it. This place is a fucking mess.
Catherine: ...I don’t know how to respond to that.
Rose: It’s the truth...
(Pause. they stare each other down as a tense silence fills the room.)
Catherine: (in a final tone) ...No. (She turns again and exits through the back door, leaving Rose alone in the kitchen.)
Rose: ... Is that it? Is that all your words amount to Cathy? No? SOME FUCKING DIFFERENCE THAT MAKES YOU BITCH! (She picks up the nearest object, which happens to be a plate, and throws it at the door. it shatters on impact.)
Rose: I don’t care what you say... I’m not putting up with this SHIT anymore! And I’m throwing out that GODDAMN CAGE!
(Rose goes to the bookshelf, steps on a chair to reach for the cage. She is barely able to hook her fingers around the metal sides. In her rage she slips on a piece of clothing that’s on the chair, and loses balance. She falls, the cage lands on her head as she hits the ground, killing her instantly.
Everything falls silent, the lights dim enough to hide Rose’s body among the clutter of the living room floor. The back door opens, and Sicily enters.)
Sicily: Hello? Is anyone home?
(she listens for a reply, but hears none. She comes into the room and notices the cage is on the floor)
Sicily: I told them not to move it till I got back. I need to leave really quick but I should be back later in time to clean it before bed.
(she picks up the cage and steps onto the chair. Her height allow her to put it back with ease. She Steps back down and a sickening crack is heard under her boot. She doesn’t look closely but quickly steps off of it)
Sicily: Shit, did Cathy leave out her chips again? (she looks around) this place is a mess, we should really clean it up one of these days. (she shrugs and exits. the light black out.)
THE END.
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