Monday, July 16, 2007

A Furry Wake-Up

A short play in 3 acts:

This short play stars small, dainty runt-of-the litter Schroeder-Cat. Having been raised mostly indoors in the house she was born in, she shows off the amazing power of instinct and redeems her earlier human-annoying behavior.

Act 1,
A darkened bedroom, 4:00 AM
Schroeder the Cat, perched by window screen next to bed: (Bat bat bat, claw, claw, swat!)

WF, groggily: Schroeder, STOP IT! Leave the moths alone!

Schroeder the Cat: (Ignores request, continues swatting)

WF (really annoyed now, stands up to remove Schroeder from window): That’s it! Get down! OHMYGOSH!

GTR, also groggily: What? What!?!

WF: A Mouse! On the screen! Get a jar!

(GTR notes mouse clinging to screen, groggily gets up to search for a jar. Mouse exits stage right, hides under bed. Halfhearted search ensues, ends with mouse running around corner under fridge. Schroeder hides from surprising early-morning human activity. Lusten and Bill-cat doze on. WF writes note for self: “Set mousetrap”. WF and GTR unsqueamishly go back to bed, hoping for more sleep.)

*Lights Out*

Act 2:
Same Bedroom, 5:25 AM

(From off stage right): CRASH! Squeaksqueaksqueak!
Stage right falls quiet again.
GTR: Uhhhnn. It’s not time to get up quite yet. (flops back into bed).
WF: Wha? (dozes).

Act 3:
Same bedroom, getting lighter now, 5:35 AM:
Schroeder the Cat, enters stage right, jumps onto bed: “Meow! Maow! Maow. Mea-ow!”
GTR (still under covers): Hi, Schroeder. I know you want food. Uhhhn. Almost time…
(looks over at cat, notes very dead mouse next to pillow). ARRGGHH!!!

Schroeder the Cat, sweetly, proudly: Meow! (bats mouse gently).

*Lights come down*

4 comments:

Lori said...

Um, bravo Shroeder? Isn't that why we have cats? (But can't they leave their prizes somewhere else?)

Maggie said...

That was perfectly played. I can so visualize the entire episode. Cats rock.

gtr said...

Thanks, Maggie and Loribird! I was honored, in a way, that she wanted to give it to me... but then this morning, the peformance was repeated with a not-quite dead, rather bloody vole. Luckily still on the floor, not the bed. Eeeesh!

Ally said...

At least it wasn't ALIVE and on the pillow ... you still have that to come :).