 Coni Ciongoli-Koepfinger..notes..page2
Coni's Notes [back-a-page]
COFFEEHOUSE MAGIK
©1996 by Coni Ciongoli-Koepfinger
TIME : THE PRESENT
PLACE: A COOFFEESHOP JUST OFF CAMPUS
HOWIE
What? Did you say dream... weaver?
WYMAN
No. I said dreamweaver. It's all one word. Get it right. I am quite
fond of my title, Howard. I worked very hard to achieve my status... Do
not discount it so... You act as if it didn't really exist. I can read
your mind, you know.
HOWIE
Are we dreaming now?
WYMAN
Is your coffee hot?
HOWIE
Yes?
WYMAN
You seem unsure. Taste it. Take a sip.
HOWIE
(SIPS IT) It is. It is hot.
WYMAN
Do you want this to be a dream?
HOWIE
Yes. Yes, I expect I do. Well, I mean, if this is a dream then I don't
have anything to worry about with you, with...
WYMAN
Worry? (LAUGHS) About me!
HOWIE
About the, the seeds... of supposed truth you're planting. (SHOUTS) Well,
it sounds like subliminal mind control... I don't even like the thought of
it!
WYMAN
Well, what do you think dreaming is in the first place?
HOWIE
I don't, I'm not sure... But I didn't think it was anything to do with
mind control. It's more like mind release. It's uncontrol.
WYMAN
See! There you go again! Linear thinking. Down, down, down. Gravity
will take you and your thoughts straight to the grave. (LAUGHS) Mind
control! That's the major problem today, everyone is out of control...
That's why there's so much chaos!
HOWIE
I agree with that. But what can I do about it?
WYMAN
Raise your consciousness, Howord Seffect. Arise to the occasion of this
creative moment. Mankind is stuck in it's self-made shackles of time,
space and gravity. Everything compartmentalized and packaged securely.
That's not it at all. Life is thought and thought is words. In the
beginning was the word.... Each little wordfiber is created and projected
onto vibrating strings... Time, space and creativity. But dreams!
(SHOUTS) Dreaming is where it all begins! (SOFTLY) Conception is seeded
first in the soul, then it grows in the mind, then it is born from the
body. Desire, thought, action.
HOWIE
(STANDS) I need to use the restroom.
WYMAN
No, you don't.
HOWIE
(SITS) No, I don't. (PAUSE) Dreamweaver. Perhaps it makes sense.
WYMAN
Perfect sense.
HOWIE
(LAUGHS) Pardon me. But if you're a dreamweaver...
WYMAN
Yes?
HOWIE
What are you doing drinking coffee here?
WYMAN
What are you doing drinking coffee here?
HOWIE
I plan to stay up all night... To work on my play.
WYMAN
Ditto. I'm on third shift too.
HOWIE
(LAUGHS) How do I know you're not just some whacko?
WYMAN
Trust me.
HOWIE
Okay. (SIGHS HEAVILY) So... Why me?
WYMAN
(SMILES) You're what they call a triple threat.
HOWIE
Huh?
WYMAN
The triple professional; lawyer turned physicist turned playwright. Three
walks of life. You have won the respect of three important groups of
society... Then you get our attention. Bases are loaded. You can't
strike out. You're now on the winning team. We can't lose. One matter
still remains... Freewill. Choice. Tell me, HOWIE. Tell me. Are you
willing to go to bat for us?
HOWIE
Wait, if this is a dream, why do I feel that I know what's going to
happen next? I mean it feels like I know that I am dreaming.
WYMAN
It's a lucid dream. It seems that I've created a lucid dream state by my
very presence here. But I had to come... I hope you don't mind. I mean we
usually don't operate like this...
HOWIE
You mean most people don't sit and have conversations with their
dreamweavers over coffee?
WYMAN
Yes.
HOWIE
Thought so.
WYMAN
Well, as you know, we usually stay behind the scenes... Well, I came to
you once when you were six. Remember that? You were having those terrible
tantrums when your best friend's dog bit you. Remember? Blackie. He drew
blood and you passed out.
HOWIE
Is this another mind game?
WYMAN
No. A real-life story. Complete with scars. Stop thinking... Try this.
Tell yourself to look at your hands.
HOWIE
Alright. I'll look at my hands. (LOOKS) I can't see them. I mean, I can
feel them but... I know they're there. What's this mean? If I can't see
my hands...I'm dreaming?
WYMAN
Well, telling yourself to look at your hands in a dream is a mnemonic
device, or memory aid, that verbalises your intention and defines your
focus. (PAUSE) You see, Howord, there is only one self... althought it is
able to focus itself in a variety of dimensions. In the waking state, you
focus on physical reality. (PAUSE) In the dreamstate, it uses another
focus, yet it not any less real than the other. Lucid dreaming, becoming
awake within a dream, uses different techniques, like looking at your
physical body parts, to heighten the sensory awareness. (PAUSE) So I
thought that you might be able to understand this reality a little better
if you consciously increase the intensity your focus by telling yourself to
look at your hands. (PAUSE) This reality, the one you call life, is
really a dream state. I think your ready to awaken from this dreamstate.
When you go lucid, you are aware of your body. You can command your
awareness to perceive. That way, you can orchestrate the music of your
dreams. (SMILES) And all your dreams will come true!
HOWIE
I wish it were that simple.
WYMAN
It is.
HOWIE
Oh, come on... Dream or no dream. You can't just make things happen
magically!
WYMAN
I most certainly can! How do you think all the busy busy work of life
gets accomplished anyhow? Where do you think you get your ideas, your
aspirations, your motivations... Why do you still call them your dreams?
HOWIE
Your playing word games again. I'm taking about the actuality
of life.
WYMAN
Life is nothing more than words and deeds... Thoughts....Words and
actions... The movements of life are quite like a play... And a good
craftsman puts all the right people in all the right places to create the
best possible scenes. Lines are merely words strung together, and the
movements, well, they can speak for themselves. Actions are usually louder
than words. Actually, I guess you could truthfully say it is my job to fix
everything. And that is precisely the reason for my visit with you
today... I need your help, HOWIE. You are the how. I am the why.
Together we can transmute the course of human destiny.
HOWIE
Change fate?
WYMAN
Yes. No. Well, you see, the human race has gone off its track. The odds
are no longer in its favor. In other words, mankind is probably going to
come in at last place at the rate its trailing behind. We need to give it
a little love pat, a little cosmic kick in the ass to get it off and
running again. We are stagnating creatively.
HOWIE
Oh, I believe that.
WYMAN
It doesn't have to be like this...
HOWIE
No?
WYMAN
No! In fact, I've got a bet that we can still take first place! So are
you willing to save the world with me?
HOWIE
This is too strange. (STANDS) I best be going now, I ...
WYMAN
Wait! (REACHES OUT TO HIM) Take my hand and spin. (LOUDER) Spin!
HOWIE
(WHIRLS LIKE A TOP) Spin? Why am I spinning?
WYMAN
You have a sensation to wake up to go to the bathroom... If you spin fast
enough, you'll transcend time and that feeling will pass. You'll be in the
future. Just like riding in a car. All motion, especially emotion exceeds
time. Relatively speaking. (SHOUTS) Now sit. Quickly!
HOWIE
Yes. (SITS) Much better. (PANTING) Much, much better. I like being still.
Yes. I was getting dizzy there. Felt like I was going to fall. I like
being in control. Much better.
WYMAN
I don't get it. Why you folks don't like spinning... I mean it expands
the awareness of your dreams... I mean, come on the whole world spins.
It's nothing new.
HOWIE
. I don't like feeling dizzy. I like being in control.
WYMAN
But as soon as you realise that you're not in control you can grasp the
ultimate reality and you'll be in control.
HOWIE
I don't get it. What do you want me to do?
WYMAN
Humanity is stuck in a rut... A worn-out groove. We need to advance the
record. We need you to gather just a few of the really great minds at the
university... Different fields... Areas of study, philosophy, religion,
law, art, music, theatre... You're president of the faculty senate... You
know the ones who will be ready for a change.
HOWIE
(SHOUTS) This is insane... I've got to get some rest... I need sleep.
I'm going mad. Sleep deprivation! Too much coffee! Caffeine poisoning!
WYMAN
HOWIE! Aren't you embarrassing yourself? Stop this silly nonsense before
your take your thinking down again... You were in such a highly creative
state!
HOWIE
It's time I...
WYMAN
Please. Stop with your time stuff. Time doesn't exist in a dream. This
is a purely creative state! We are creating life. Just like onstage.
Only the reality of the moment exists. The character and the actor can not
really exist simultaneously. One must transcend to the others level of
being, that's how they arrive at truth in art. Right! We'll this is how
we arrive at truth in life. Simply by staying on the moment! Be here
now. (STANDS) This is my final offer, professor! Come on, don't you
think it's time for man to change his tune?
HOWIE
I do.
WYMAN
Well then. (STANDS) Come with me. (PULLS HIS ARMS) Let's go.
HOWIE
Wait! Where are we going?
WYMAN PULLS HOWIE OFFSTAGE
WYMAN
(STOPS, PICKS UP HIS SILVER PEN) Ooopps! Can't forget this little
treasure. It's my ...(KISSES THE PEN) ... Inspiration!
HOWIE
It is a very nice pen.
WYMAN
It's not a pen; it's a thought amplifier.
HOWIE
A thought amplifier?
WYMAN
Well it evolved into what you now call a pen. It's been used for centuries
by dreamweavers for amplifying and adjusting the way people think. Then
the advent of creative writing followed shortly thereafter. Simply one of
the tools of the trade. Every creator should have one. Now shall we?
THEY EXIT TOGETHER AS THE LIGHTS FADE.
OFFSTAGE VOICES CAN BE HEARD IN THE BLACKOUT.
DIRECTOR X
(OFFSTAGE) Cut! (STACCATO) Cut! Cut! Cut, cut, cut! (STOMPING LIKE A
CHILD) Cut! Cut! Cut, cut, cut! Cut! Cut! Cut, cut, cut!
DIRECTOR Y
(OFFSTAGE) I will not move an inch! Must you always upstage me! Look at
yourself. You should be ashamed of the way you act! Like a spoiled child!
A SPOTLIGHT COMES UP ON DIRECTOR X AND DIRECTOR Y WHO STAND CENTER
STRUGGLING, PULLING ON EITHER END OF A ROPE.
DIRECTOR X
I act on impulse. The I AM PULSE of purely projected energy. You! Ha!
You're totally dependent on predetermined false reasoning. (YANKS THE ROPE)
Now give me that ....
DIRECTOR Y
Never! (LAUGHS) Thought you could fool me.
DIRECTOR X
Fool. Yes, you certainly are a fool.
HOWIE
(ENTERS) Who are they?
WYMAN
(ENTERS) Meet Director X and Director Y. They represent the
contradictory coordinates of the paradoxical realities within the cosmic
grid.
HOWIE
What is it they're fighting over? It looks like a noose!
WYMAN
Heavens no! That's the fabric of life... Specifically, it's the thread of
this yarn... This story. The throughline. Constantly at odds. Constantly
at odds. I can't believe that Destiny makes them work with each other,
continuous struggle... Conflicting visions. I mean it's amazing they ever
get anything accomplished!
DIRECTOR X
Call me a fool. (YANKS THE ROPE OFF OF DIRECTOR X AND RUNS OFFSTAGE
LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY) Dare to follow me? Ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
DIRECTOR X
Wait! (CHASES HIM) Do I have a choice?
DIRECTOR X
(OFFSTAGE) No way! (STACCATO) Cut! Cut! Cut, cut, cut! I'm cutting the rope!
DIRECTOR X
(OFFSTAGE) You wouldn't dare cut it!
STAGE LIGHTS UP TO FULL AS VAL PARADES IN AS IN TRANCE. SHE IS NOW DRESSED AS A
VESTAL VIRGIN. SHE CHANTS RHYTHMICALLY, WHILE BEATING HER BREAST AND
CHRISTENING THE STAGE WITH FLOWERS.
VAL
(CHANTING) Mea copa, mea copa, mea maxima copa. Mea copa, mea copa, mea
maxima copa. Mea copa, mea copa...
HOWIE
Who's she?
WYMAN
Speak of the devil. Why, Destiny, of course! She is always right behind
life's struggle. But that's a whole other story. We need to focus on this
one right now.
WYMAN
STANDS TO GREET HER ROYALLY, HE TAKES VAL'S HAND AND UPHOLDS IT
WHILE GENUFLECTING, THEN WHILE PERCARIOUSLY BALANCING ON ONE KNEE HE TRIES
TO KISS HER RING.
VAL
(CHANTING) Mea copa, mea copa, mea maxima copa. Mea copa, mea copa, mea
maxima copa. Mea copa, mea copa, mea maxima copa...
WYMAN
Stop.
VAL
(CLAMORING) Brazen banality!
VAL BASHES WYMAN WITH HER PARASOL, HE SCREAMS AND RUSHES OFFSTAGE IN FEAR
OF FURTHER ATTACK. HOWIE STANDS AT ATTENTION, LOOKING DESPERATELY FROM ONE
SIDE TO THE OTHER, WONDERING IF HE SHOULD TRY TO RUN FROM HER.
VAL
(CHANTING) Mea copa, mea copa, mea maxima copa. Mea copa, mea copa,
mea maxima copa.
VAL STANDS IN FRONT OF HOWIE HOLDING HER HAND OUT FOR HIM TO KISS HER RING,
HE STARTS TO DO IT, THEN RETREATS, TURNING HIS HEAD AWAY.
VAL
(LAUGHS) Excellant! Yes! Okay. Now. Let's get a good look at you.
Stand up please.
HOWIE
Please. Don't try to play with my head. I'm not...
VAL
Insolence! Don't play with you? Did you say... Don't play with you?
Ha! What a fool! (BELLOWING) What a pathetic, pitiful, painful little man
you must...
HOWIE
STANDS ABRUPTLY, CROSSES TO HER AND COVERS HER MOUTH TO STOP HER FROM
SPEAKING.
HOWIE
Don't! (COVERS HER MOUTH) ... say anything you might regret.
VAL JUMPS BACK FROM HIM IN AMAZEMENT.
VAL
(APPALLED) Oh, oh! You should not have done that, Mr. Professor!
HOWIE
(SHOUTS) Quit this stupid game! (POLITELY) VAL, could I just please have
my check? I need to stop at my office. So, please, the check and I'll be
on my way...
VAL
(FONDLING HIM SWEETLY) Not so fast, HOWIE honey. I'm not sure if you
realise it but you just rang up a tab that I'm not sure you can afford.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
VAL STROKES HIM SOFTLY THEN SUDDENLY STARTS SLAPPING HIM ABOUT THE STAGE,
HOWIE TRIES TO GET AWAY, AND FINALLY MAKES IT TO THE DOOR.
VAL
(CACKLES VICIOUSLY) Go ahead. Try to get out of this one! You've walked
out on every other difficult situation in life. What's the problem now,
HOWIE? (GOADING HIM) Well... Go ahead, try to walk out the door. Go on!
Go on, go! (LAUGHS AGAIN) What's the matter? Afraid? You had all kinds
of courage before when you decided to cover my mouth before... What's
wrong now?
...*END
*Comments Welcomed [Comments]
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