Welcomeby Richard Stuart Dixon
© Richard Stuart Dixon, 2005
(Note: Performance of this play requires the author’s permission. Please contact Good School Plays for details.)
Production Notes:
• running time: approx. 50 minutes
• style: light episodic drama
• suitable for general audiences
• 25 characters (18 female, 7 male)
• gender-flexible casting
• black-box staging (no set required)
Summary of Script Content:
• “Ghost Girl” is the story of a girl in a city park who finds herself transported through time, from 1906 to 2006. She tries to get help from the people she meets, with surprising results.
(This play was first performed on November 7, 8 , 9, 10, & 14, in the year 2005, at Gleneagle Secondary School in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.)
∗Published Online by Good School Plays, February 19, 2018.
Go to:
Act One, Scene 1
Act One, Scene 2
Act One, Scene 3
Act One, Scene 4
Act One, Scene 5
Act One, Scene 6
Act One, Scene 7
Act Two, Scene 1
Act Two, Scene 2
Act Two, Scene 3
Act Two, Scene 4
Act Two, Scene 5
Act Two, Scene 6
CHARACTERS:
Trinity Follows, a Ghost Girl
Constable Bill Sole
Constable Jill Knox
Charlie Kinsey, poor boy from the slums
Hank Roman, poor boy from the slums
Gogo Seeker, poor girl from the slums
Rags Tarlok, homeless man
Picky Carter, homeless woman
Becka Kapinsky, homeless woman
Ms. Hazel Brown, social worker
Ms. Deena Gray, social worker
Gertie Bosch, park attendant
Polo Nash, park attendant
Vanda Hammer, leader of the NiteCats gang
Barb Barian, member of the NiteCats gang
Lucy Pillage, member of the NiteCats gang
Slam Dunker, leader of the BadBoys gang
Buster Hoolihan, member of the BadBoys gang
Mash Norton, member of the BadBoys gang
Roxy Vaughn, mayor of Grayston City
Valerie Visor, Mayor Vaughn’s assistant
Donna Story, producer of “Ghost”, a television series
Belinda Nethers, specialist in the occult working for Donna.
Professor Cynthia Castout, from the Institute of Eternal Shadows
Professor Deema Begonne, from the Institute of Eternal Shadows
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 1:
(All the action takes place in Forget-me-not Park. As the lights rise the stage is empty. The voice of TRINITY FOLLOWS can be heard offstage.)
TRINITY FOLLOWS
(calling out for her missing friends)
Sally!
(a pause)
Emma!
(another pause)
Jane!
(a pause)
For heaven’s sake, where are you?
(TRINITY enters. She’s been lost for a hundred years, but believes she’s only been lost for an hour. She’s wearing old fashioned clothes of the early twentieth century.)
TRINITY FOLLOWS
(to herself, in frustration)
I must have been lost for at least an hour. Mother will be so angry with me.
(calling again)
Jane! Emma! Sally!
(again to herself)
Where could they have gone? How could I get lost in a city park?
(seeing a candy wrapper on the ground)
I wonder what this is?
(picking it up)
What strange paper! It feels like crinkly silk!
(reading the label on the wrapper)
Twix.
(looking up)
Twix?
(reading some more)
Chocolate Covered Cookie Bar. I’ve never seen anything like this before.
(reading)
Nutritional information. How strange. Lots of marks and numbers. I wonder where this came from? I better put it back.
(She puts the wrapper down again as GERTIE BOSCH and POLO NASH, two park attendants, enter.)
POLO NASH
Hey, what do you think you’re doing, kid?
GERTIE BOSCH
Don’t you know it’s illegal to litter?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Oh, I’m so glad to see you! I’ve been lost, you see, for ages!
(GERTIE and POLO look at each other.)
POLO NASH
Lost? C’mon kid, you think we’re stupid?
GERTIE BOSCH
How could you get lost in Forget-me-not Park?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Forget-me-not Park? Isn’t this Forrest Park?
GERTIE BOSCH
Forrest Park? There is no Forrest Park.
POLO NASH
And why are you wearing them funny-looking clothes?
GERTIE BOSCH
On your way to a costume party?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Costume party?
(to herself)
I must be going mad.
POLO NASH
You going to pick that wrapper up, kid?
GERTIE BOSCH
It’s not going to pick itself up.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I didn’t mean to litter. I found it here and put it back. I thought it was something special.
GERTIE BOSCH
Special? You thought a candy wrapper was special?
POLO NASH
(to GERTIE)
Maybe she’s high on something.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
(picking up the Twix wrapper)
There. What do you want me to do with it?
POLO NASH
Are you messing with us, kid? Because if you are, I’m gonna get you charged with littering.
(TRINITY backs away.)
GERTIE BOSCH
Take it easy, Polo. She looks kinda scared.
(gently, to TRINITY)
What you got there is garbage. What are you s’posed to do with garbage?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Garbage?
GERTIE BOSCH
Trash. Junk. Empty candy wrappers.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
If it’s trash, I suppose I should put it in a rubbish bin.
POLO NASH
Rubbish bin? You from England or something?
GERTIE BOSCH
Round here it’s called a “trash can”.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
If you want me to call it a “trash can”, I’ll do so willingly. All I want is some help finding my way out of here.
POLO NASH
Oh come on, quit pretending you’re lost.
GERTIE BOSCH
Every path in this park leads to the entrance.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
But I’ve tried that, and I always end up back here.
POLO NASH
(to GERTIE)
She’s wearing funny clothes and saying crazy things. I say we call the cops.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
But I haven’t done anything wrong. I just want to find my friends and go.
GERTIE BOSCH
Your friends? There’s no other kids around here.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I suppose they must have gone home without me.
POLO NASH
(looking offstage)
Well, look who’s here. Talk about good timing.
(CONSTABLE SOLE and CONSTABLE KNOX enter.)
CONSTABLE SOLE
Evening, Gertie, Polo.
CONSTABLE KNOX
Who’s your friend?
GERTIE BOSCH
Some kid who says she’s lost.
POLO NASH
We caught her littering.
CONSTABLE SOLE
Littering? We got a strict rule against littering in Forget-me-not Park.
CONSTABLE KNOX
We’re proud of this park, kid. We like to keep it clean.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Why do you keep calling it “Forget-me Not Park”. It’s Forrest Park!
CONSTABLE SOLE
This here is Forget-me-not Park and has been for a hundred years.
CONSTABLE KNOX
There’s a big sign at the entrance that says so.
CONSTABLE SOLE
Why are you wearing those clothes?
CONSTABLE KNOX
You a member of some kind of history club?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
There’s nothing odd about my clothes. You’re the ones wearing funny clothes.
GERTIE BOSCH
She’s confused, Constable Knox.
POLO NASH
She’s been acting all crazy and that.
CONSTABLE SOLE
(to CONSTABLE KNOX)
Maybe we should take her downtown and run a check.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Yes, take me out of here. I’ve got to get home to mother, on the North Bank.
CONSTABLE KNOX
The North Bank? There’s nothing on the North Bank but factories.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Please don’t tease me.
POLO NASH
(to the CONSTABLES)
You see? Her brain’s all muddled up.
GERTIE BOSCH
And she’s kinda scared, aren’t you, honey?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Of course I’m scared. I don’t know where I am, and you’re acting so strangely, and my friends are gone…
CONSTABLE SOLE
What’s your name, kid?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Trinity. Trinity Follows.
CONSTABLE KNOX
What’s the date?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Saturday the twelfth, of course.
CONSTABLE KNOX
What’s the month and year?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
June…June, 1906.
POLO NASH
1906? It’s 2006, kid.
GERTIE NASH
Don’t you mean 2006, Trinity?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
2006?
CONSTABLE SOLE
Saturday, June 12, 2006.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Stop it! Stop teasing me! It’s not fair! You say you’re the police! Why don’t you help me?
CONSTABLE SOLE
(approaching TRINITY)
Now take it easy. I think you’d better come with us.
CONSTABLE KNOX
(approaching TRINITY)
We’ll take care of you. Trust us.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
(backing away)
Why should I trust you? You’re dressed all funny, and you’re saying crazy things! I’m not going with anyone!
(She runs offstage, dropping the Twix wrapper.)
POLO NASH
(picking up the Twix wrapper)
Should we go get her, Constable Knox?
CONSTABLE KNOX
No. Just keep an eye open for her, in case she gets any worse.
CONSTABLE SOLE
If she’s using something, it’ll likely wear off.
GERTIE BOSCH
What if she’s having some kind of breakdown?
POLO NASH
Yeah, what if she’s like mentally ill or that?
CONSTABLE SOLE
We’ll report her to Ms. Brown and Ms. Gray, the social workers.
POLO NASH
Me and Gertie got work to do, picking up trash like this.
(holds up the Twix wrapper)
Kids today! C’mon Gertie.
GERTIE BOSCH
You get all kinds on a Saturday evening.
(They exit.)
CONSTABLE KNOX
There’s something about that kid that’s real convincing.
CONSTABLE SOLE
Yeah. Like as if she really believes it’s a hundred years ago.
CONSTABLE KNOX
Let’s go tell those social workers.
(They exit.)
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 2:
(VALERIE VISOR enters, speaking on her phone.)
VALERIE VISOR
Mayor Vaughn? Have you forgotten our meeting at Forget-me-not park? You’re here? Great. See you in a moment.
(looking around, talking to herself proudly)
Valerie, you’re about to take a giant step ahead in your career.
(MAYOR VAUGHN enters.)
MAYOR VAUGHN
Well, Miss Visor, here I am. I hope I’m not wasting my time.
VALERIE VISOR
I assure you this is time well spent, Mayor Vaughn. I want you to see the exact spot where it happened.
MAYOR VAUGHN
Where what happened?
VALERIE VISOR
Where a young girl disappeared a hundred years ago.
MAYOR VAUGHN
I don’t see how a girl disappearing a hundred years ago could make Grayston City a tourist destination.
VALERIE VISOR
I’ve looked in the newspaper archives. It was big news when it happened.
MAYOR VAUGHN
Big news?
VALERIE VISOR
Big, big news. The girl disappeared without a trace.
MAYOR VAUGHN
People disappear all the time, Miss Visor.
VALERIE VISOR
But she actually disappeared, right in front of her friends.
MAYOR VAUGHN
What do you mean?
VALERIE VISOR
She disappeared, poof, just like that!
MAYOR VAUGHN
Maybe her “friends” murdered her, then lied about it.
VALERIE VISOR
There was a massive search. Her body was never found.
MAYOR VAUGHN
So how is this going to make Grayston City famous?
VALERIE VISOR
I’m not here alone, Mayor Vaughn. Just over there is Donna Story, producer of the hit TV series “Ghost”, and with her is Belinda Nethers, specialist in the occult.
MAYOR VAUGHN
What are they doing?
VALERIE VISOR
Gathering information, clues, evidence. Here they are now.
(DONNA STORY, who has a video camera, and BELINDA NETHERS enter.)
DONNA STORY
Valerie! What a fabulous park! It’s brimming with supernatural energy!
BELINDA NETHERS
The place resonates with vibrations from the spirit world! Oh my goodness!
(BELINDA suddenly starts to flail, as though electricity is running through her, then becomes very, very still, staring straight ahead.)
MAYOR VAUGHN
Good lord, what’s wrong with her?
DONNA STORY
Don’t worry, she’s a medium. Spirits are passing through her body. It’ll be over soon.
(BELINDA recovers from her trance, shaking herself out of it.)
BELINDA NETHERS
Yes, this is truly the center of some sort of spiritual storm!
VALERIE VISOR
Mayor Vaughn, may I present Donna Story from Spirit TV, the cable channel.
DONNA STORY
How do you do, Mayor Vaughn.
VALERIE VISOR
And Belinda Nethers, the renowned specialist in the occult.
BELINDA NETHERS
A pleasure to be in Grayston City, your worship.
VALERIE VISOR
Miss Story and Miss Nethers, perhaps you’d like to explain to Mayor Vaughn the results of your findings.
DONNA STORY
Mayor Vaughn, we believe Forget-me-not Park is a place of special supernatural significance.
BELINDA NETHERS
We think something tremendously exciting is going to happen here very soon.
DONNA STORY
It may already be happening.
MAYOR VAUGHN
And what exactly are you talking about, Miss Story?
DONNA STORY
We’re not absolutely sure.
BELINDA NETHERS
But we think it has to do with the girl who disappeared one hundred years ago today.
DONNA STORY
Something could manifest any moment. That’s why I have this camera.
VALERIE VISOR
And if it does, Miss Story will feature it on her TV series “Ghost”. It’ll be great publicity for Grayston City.
MAYOR VAUGHN
Yes, it would be publicity all right, of the negative kind.
VALERIE VISOR
No, no, Mayor Vaughn! All across North America, thousands and thousands of people are fans of the occult! They’d flock to Grayston City to see this park!
MAYOR VAUGHN
(catching on)
And spend a lot of money while they’re here.
VALERIE VISOR
Exactly!
DONNA STORY
What’s good for us is good for you, Mayor Vaughn.
MAYOR Vaughn
Yes, something novel and fresh that makes our little city of interest to the world.
BELINDA NETHERS
Donna, I feel supernatural energy flowing through my solar plexus! It’s drawing me in the direction of those bushes!
DONNA STORY
Come on then! There’s not a moment to lose!
(She and BELINDA exit.)
MAYOR VAUGHN
This is strange but exciting, Miss Visor. I’m so glad I hired you. You’ll be well-rewarded if it brings much needed money into our little city and gets me re-elected!
VALERIE VISOR
You won’t be disappointed, your Worship!
MAYOR VAUGHN
Come, let’s follow those two! I wouldn’t miss this for the world!
(They exit.)
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 3:
(PROFESSOR CYNTHIA CASTOUT and PROFESSOR DEEMA BEGONNE enter.)
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
I love these evening strolls in the park, Professor Begonne.
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
So do I, Professor Castout, especially after a hard day’s work at the Institute of Eternal Shadows!
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Yes, the Institute of Eternal Shadows is no place for sissies, Professor Begonne.
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
Helping people escape from the Shadows of Fear and Darkness is exhausting.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Exhorting them for hours to let those shadows out!
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
Then watching them roll around in the agony of expulsion!
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
All that grunting and sweating!
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
All the crying and moaning!
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Yes, it’s good to be out here in the park, where everything is peaceful and quiet!
(BELINDA NETHERS enters with her arms held up in front of her, as if she’s being drawn toward something, and running in a circle around the PROFESSORS.)
BELINDA NETHERS
It’s over here! I’m sure it’s over here!
(She exits. DONNA STORY enters.)
DONNA STORY
Don’t go so fast, Belinda! I can’t keep up!
(She exits. MAYOR VAUGHN and VALERIE VISOR enter.)
MAYOR VAUGHN
Come on, Miss Visor! We’re missing all the fun!
VALERIE VISOR
Isn’t this wonderful!
(They exit.)
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
What on earth is going on?
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Wasn’t that the mayor?
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
They seem to be in some sort of trance.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Running about like a coven of medieval witches!
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
(gripping PROFESSOR CASTOUT)
Something’s going on in our lovely park, something dark and dangerous.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Professor Begonne, there’s work to be done. The Shadows of Fear and Darkness have found their way here.
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
We won’t get any sleep tonight!
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Come, let’s go down to Mirror Pond to meditate and prepare ourselves to match wits with those Shadows!
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 4:
(The NITECATS GANG enter.)
LUCY PILLAGE
Saturday night sucks.
BARB BARIAN
Nothin’ to do. No place to go.
LUCY PILLAGE
Except stupid Forget-me-not Park.
VANDA HAMMER
Watch your mouths! In the NiteCats Gang, the first rule is “no complaining”.
LUCY PILLAGE
Who says?
VANDA HAMMER
I do. Wanna make something of it?
BARB BARIAN
Vanda’s gonna show you who’s boss, Lucy.
VANDA HAMMER
That’s right. And I’ll show you too, Barb Barian, just for the fun of it.
LUCY PILLAGE
(sarcastic)
Vanda’s got anger issues, Barb.
VANDA HAMMER
That’s right, and I’m gonna issue some anger right here and now.
(The BADBOYS GANG enter.)
SLAM DUNKER
Well look who’s here.
MASH NORTON
The three little piggies.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
Vanda Hammer and the NiteKitties.
VANDA HAMMER
That’s “NiteCats”, you smelly buffoon.
SLAM DUNKER
Ooo, Buster, she enjoys your odour.
MASH NORTON
Give her a good smell, Buster.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
I’m saving my armpits for someone special, and she’s not it!
BARB BARIAN
What are you SadBoys doin’ here?
SLAM DUNKER
None of your business. And it’s “BadBoys”, as in “seriously naughty young men”.
LUCY PILLAGE
Oooh, Barb, he’s talking fancy just for you.
BARB BARIAN
If he comes any closer I’ll give him a serious kick in his naughty jewels!
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
You girls got any money?
VANDA HAMMER
Not for you, Buster Hoolihan.
MASH NORTON
How about me? My needs, Vanda, help me with my needs!
LUCY PILLAGE
The only thing you need is psychiatric help, Mash Norton.
SLAM DUNKER
Hey, look, it’s the Poop Scoop Squad!
(The PARK ATTENDANTS enter.)
GERTIE BOSCH
You kids better not light no campfires tonight.
POLO NASH
And if there’s any broken glass, we’ll send the cops to have a little chat with your mamas.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
Oh, Mrs. Nash, we wouldn’t do anything to upset you.
SLAM DUNKER
We BadBoys love and respect the park attendants, don’t we, fellas?
MASH NORTON
We love you like we love our mamas.
POLO NASH
(to GERTIE)
Hard to believe they’ve even got mamas.
GERTIE BOSCH
You see a girl in funny clothes around here?
VANDA HAMMER
A girl in funny clothes? Sure! Barb, she’s talking about you.
BARB BARIAN
Ha, ha, so funny. No girl with funny clothes around here, Mrs. Nash.
SLAM DUNKER
Just three girls with funny faces.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
And amusing hair.
MASH NORTON
And goofy brains…such goofy, goofy brains!
VANDA HAMMER
That’s it, Mash Norton.
(She grabs the poor lad’s hands, and BARB and LUCY grab a leg each, and pull him off the ground and stretch him. He screams his displeasure.)
SLAM DUNKER
Such charming creatures! No on can resist their feminine fingers!
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
Stretch him, girls, stretch him. He needs a couple more inches!
GERTIE BOSCH
(pulling the girls off MASH with the help of POLO)
Leave him alone, you little alley cats!
VANDA HAMMER
Awww, we was just teasing, Mrs. Bosch.
MASH NORTON
(rubbing his shoulders)
My appendages aren’t amused.
POLO NASH
If you see a girl in funny clothes, you leave her alone.
GERTIE BOSCH
The cops are bringing some social workers to help her.
POLO NASH
She’s kinda mixed up and she don’t need no crap from you little turds.
BARB BARIAN
You got it, Mrs. Nash. We don’t want no trouble.
LUCY PILLAGE
If we see her, we’ll be real nice.
VANDA HAMMER
We might even let her join our exclusive ladies’ club.
GERTIE BOSCH
Don’t get smart. Just take our advice: leave that girl alone or you’ll all be in big trouble.
(GERTIE and POLO exit.)
SLAM DUNKER
Gosh and golly, a mystery girl!
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
Perhaps she’s the girl of my dreams!
BARB BARIAN
Stick to your dreams, kid. That’s all a loser like you is ever gonna have.
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 5:
(The three POOR CHILDREN enter.)
CHARLIE KINSEY
What’s going on?
HANK ROMAN
You planning a party?
GOGO SEEKER
Can we join you?
VANDA HAMMER
No trash allowed.
BARB BARIAN
Go back to the slums.
LUCY PILLAGE
Quit stinking up the park.
SLAM DUNKER
Now, now, ladies, don’t make the slum children blubber…
MASH NORTON
…and wet their thin cheeks with tears of despair!
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
(to the POOR CHILDREN)
Go on home to your dysfunctional parents!
CHARLIE KINSEY
Who’s that over there?
(He points to TRINITY, who is offstage. The others look.)
HANK ROMAN
Is that a new kid?
GOGO SEEKER
She looks scared.
VANDA HAMMER
(calling to TRINITY)
Hey kid! Come here!
BARB BARIAN
Get over here, right now!
LUCY PILLAGE
Don’t make us come get you!
(TRINITY enters warily. The two gangs make a tableau around her.)
SLAM DUNKER
What’s your name, kid?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Trinity.
VANDA HAMMER
Why you wearing that Hallowe’en costume?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
It’s not a costume.
MASH NORTON
You look rather funny.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
You look funny to me.
BARB BARIAN
Don’t talk back, kid.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
(pointing)
Children who aren’t polite end up in that pond over there.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
What year is it?
LUCY PILLAGE
What year? What’s she talking about?
VANDA HAMMER
(to TRINITY)
You trying to mess with our heads?
SLAM DUNKER
She must be delusional.
(to TRINITY, holding up his hand)
How many fingers do you see?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Is the year 1906 or 2006?
MASH NORTON
Ah, we get a choice!
BARB BARIAN
It’s 2006, kid!
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Can you prove it?
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
It’s science, kid, something about which we know nothing.
LUCY PILLAGE
But we know what year it is ‘cause we’re not psycho.
VANDA HAMMER
You’re weird, kid, you know that?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Why are you calling me names?
SLAM DUNKER
Because you’re a puzzle and we don’t like being puzzled.
MASH NORTON
Where you from?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
From here, the North Bank of Grayston City.
BARB BARIAN
She musta got made in a factory, like a robot.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
There’s only factories and warehouses on the North Bank.
LUCY PILLAGE
Are you a robot?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
What’s a “robot”?
SLAM DUNKER
Perhaps she was raised in a thrift store warehouse.
VANDA HAMMER
Or maybe she’s an alien.
MASH NORTON
Or a demon.
BARB BARIAN
Yeah, maybe she’s a demon. Are you a demon?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I just want to go home.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
What if she has a demon inside her head?
LUCY PILLAGE
Hey, let’s get those two nerdy professors from the Institute of Eternal Shadows!
SLAME
Yes! They’re always hanging around the park at night. If this kid’s got a demon in her head, maybe they can get it out!
BARB BARIAN
I’d like to see a demon come out of her head!
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
Well, what are we waiting for?
LUCY PILLAGE
Let’s go get ‘em!
SLAM DUNKER
Don’t go anywhere, kid. We’re going to help you.
VANDA HAMMER
We’re gonna yank that demon right out of your little head.
SLAM DUNKER
(to the POOR CHILDREN)
You make sure she doesn’t go anywhere!
BARB BARIAN
I’m not bored no more!
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
An adventure in the occult! Let’s go!
(The two gangs exit.)
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 6:
(The POOR CHILDREN go up to TRINITY.)
CHARLIE KINSEY
Are you okay, Trinity?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I’m just confused, that’s all.
HANK ROMAN
Confused about what?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
It’s like everyone’s playing a big joke on me.
GOGO SEEKER
What sort of joke?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
They keep telling me it’s 2006, and that there’s no houses on the North Bank, and that my clothes look strange.
CHARLIE KINSEY
Well, it really is 2006.
HANK ROMAN
June, 2006.
GOGO SEEKER
And there haven’t been any houses on the North Bank for a long, long time.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
You seem so sincere, but you must be part of the joke, too.
CHARLIE KINSEY
We’re not joking, Trinity. We got no reason to.
HANK ROMAN
Those other kids, they’re mean, and cold-hearted.
GOGO SEEKER
They get bored easy, so they’re using you as entertainment.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
How could it be 2006? How could a hundred years have gone by in an hour?
CHARLIE KINSEY
What do you mean?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I was with my friends in the park, and I got lost. I looked for them for about an hour, and then I met those two women who made me pick up the candy wrapper.
HANK ROMAN
She must mean Gertie and Polo, the park attendants.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
And then two police officers in funny uniforms questioned me. And one was a woman. I’ve never seen a woman police officer before.
GOGO SEEKER
And you think it’s 1906?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I know it is.
(The three HOMELESS PEOPLE enter. BECKA KAPINSKY has a newspaper.)
PICKY CARTER
You kids got any spare change for a poor old woman?
RAGS TARLOK
You got any food?
BECKA KAPINSKY
Don’t give ‘em nothin’, kids. They’re liars. If you got anything to give, give it to me.
CHARLIE KINSEY
Is that today’s paper?
BECKA KAPINSKY
So what if it is?
CHARLIE KINSEY
Can we have a look at it?
BECKA KAPINSKY
It’s mine! Keep away from me!
PICKY CARTER
They’re tryin’ to steal her paper!
RAGS TARLOK
Leave her alone, you punks!
(PICKY and RAGS grab CHARLIE and throw him down. BECKA cowers. HANK and GOGO pull PICKY and RAGS off CHARLIE.)
HANK ROMAN
Leave him alone!
GOGO SEEKER
All he wants is to let this girl look at the paper.
BECKA KAPINSKY
Why?
CHARLIE KINSEY
So she can see the date on it.
PICKY CARTER
Why’s she want to see the date?
GOGO SEEKER
Because she thinks it’s 1906!
RAGS TARLOK
She’s crazier than me.
BECKA KAPINSKY
1906!
PICKY CARTER
You better let her look, Becka. She might be a sorceress.
RAGS TARLOK
She’s wearing witch clothes.
BECKA KAPINSKY
You can take a look if you promise not to put a spell on me.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I promise.
BECKA KAPINSKY
(throwing the newspaper at her)
Here, then.
CHARLIE KINSEY
(picking up the paper)
Here you go, Trinity.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
(taking the paper)
What’s your name?
CHARLIE KINSEY
Charlie. Charlie Kinsey. And these are my friends, Hank and Gogo.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Thank you, Charlie. You’re very kind.
(looking at the newspaper)
Saturday, June 12th., 2006. How can that be!
(looking through the paper)
What are these strange things? Are they automobiles? Is that some sort of flying machine?
(throwing the paper down)
Charlie, I’m so scared. How could this be happening?
CHARLIE KINSEY
Don’t be scared. We won’t let nothin’ happen to you.
PICKY CARTER
Witches don’t get scared. Maybe she’s a time-traveler.
RAGS TARLOK
A time traveler?
BECKA KAPINSKY
Someone from the past, come to warn us about something.
PICKY CARTER
Some kind of angel or something, come to tell us about the end of the world!
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I’m just an ordinary girl!
HANK ROMAN
If she’s really from a hundred years ago, we got to tell someone!
GOGO SEEKER
Trinity, are you telling us the truth?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Yes! Please believe me! I don’t know how or why, but somehow I’ve been transported one hundred years into the future!
PICKY CARTER
She’s a messenger from the past! She’s been sent to save us!
RAGS TARLOK
A ghost from the past!
BECKA KAPINSKY
A ghost girl! She’s come to help us!
TRINITY FOLLOWS
No, no, I can’t help you! You’ve got to help me! I want to go home! My mother will be so worried about me!
CHARLIE KINSEY
We’ll help you somehow, Trinity. Don’t you worry.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
But how, Charlie? How can you help me?
CHARLIE KINSEY
We just got to be patient, and figure this out.
HANK ROMAN
What about the NiteCats and the BadBoys?
GOGO SEEKER
They’ll be back soon with those women from the Institute of Eternal Shadows.
PICKY CARTER
We’ve got to protect Trinity, our little treasure from the past!
BECKA KAPINSKY
She’s going to save the world!
RAGS TARLOK
We love you, Trinity.
PICKY CARTER
You’ve come to save us!
PICKY, BECKA, and RAGS
(in unison)
We love you!
TRINITY FOLLOWS
No, no, you’re mistaken! I can’t save you!
CHARLIE KINSEY
They won’t hurt you, Trinity.
HANK ROMAN
They’re homeless people.
GOGO SEEKER
They’ve got troubled minds but gentle souls.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
You mean they’re tramps?
CHARLIE KINSEY
I guess that’s what you would have called them, a hundred years ago.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I wish I could help them somehow. I wish I really had been sent here to save the world. But I’m only a school girl and I can’t even save myself.
CHARLIE KINSEY
Do you want us to take you out of the park?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
No, no. I’ve got a feeling that something terrible would happen if I left the park. Please stay with me.
CHARLIE KINSEY
We will, Trinity.
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 7:
(CONSTABLE SOLE and CONSTABLE KNOX enter with HAZEK BROWN and DEENA GRAY, the social workers.)
CONSTABLE SOLE
Here she is, Ms. Brown, just like when we left her.
CONSTABLE KNOX
Looks like a crowd’s gathering.
CONSTABLE SOLE
All right, stand back! Give us some room here!
PICKY CARTER
Hey there, Ms. Brown and Ms. Gray! That’s Trinity! She’s been sent from the past to save us!
RAGS TARLOK
She’s a magic ghost!
BECKA KAPINSKY
Don’t touch her, or she might disappear!
HAZEL BROWN
Don’t worry, Becka, we won’t touch her.
DEENA GRAY
Now, young lady, I’m Deena Gray and this is my associate Hazel Brown.
HAZEL BROWN
We’re from the Department of Human Resources, and we’re here to help you.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I’m not going to leave the park.
DEENA GRAY
No one’s going to make you do anything.
BECKA KAPINSKY
Her name’s Trinity.
PICKY CARTER
She’s from a hundred years ago.
RAGS TARLOK
She’s magic.
CONSTABLE SOLE
(to HAZEL and DEENA)
She says her name is Trinity Follows.
CONSTABLE KNOX
She’s confused about the date.
CONSTABLE SOLE
She thinks it’s 1906.
CHARLIE KINSEY
She’s not confused. You’re confused. She knows what she is. You don’t.
HANK ROMAN
You don’t know nothin’ about her!
GOGO SEEKER
You better treat her good, ‘cause she’s just a scared kid from the past!
HAZEL BROWN
All we want is to ask her a few questions.
DEENA GRAY
We’re professionals. We won’t hurt her.
PICKY CARTER
You don’t know nothin’ about people like us and people like her!
HAZEL BROWN
We’re not going to be able to help her if you keep shouting at us.
DEENA GRAY
Just give us a chance to ask a few questions.
HAZEL BROWN
Now, Trinity, you think it’s 1906.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
No. I think it’s 2006. I’m from 1906. I’ve traveled through a hundred years of time in just one hour.
DEENA GRAY
Where did you come from?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
From here. From Forrest Park.
HAZEL BROWN
Forest Park?
DEENA GRAY
That’s the old name of the park, from way back.
HAZEL BROWN
Did you learn that name from your history teacher?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
It’s not history. This is Forrest Park. At least, in my time, in 1906, it’s Forrest Park.
DEENA GRAY
Yes, but it’s not 1906, and now the park’s called “Forget-me-not” Park.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Forget-me-not.
HAZEL BROWN
That’s right. Forget-me-not.
CONSTABLE SOLE
She says she’s from the North Bank.
CONSTABLE KNOX
There’s only factories on the North Bank.
DEENA GRAY
A hundred years ago, there were houses there.
HAZEL BROWN
What are your parent’s names?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
There’s only my mother, Elizabeth Follows.
DEENA GRAY
What’s her phone number?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Phone? Do you mean a telephone?
HAZEL BROWN
Yes, her telephone number.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
We can’t afford a telephone. They’re much too expensive for people like us.
DEENA GRAY
Who’s the prime minister at the moment?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Sir Wilfred Laurier, of course.
HAZEL BROWN
And who’s the Queen?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Queen? Don’t you mean the king? King Edward the Seventh?
DEENA GRAY
She certainly knows her history well enough.
HAZEL BROWN
Any child can find that information on the internet in a second.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Internet?
PICKY CARTER
You see? She’s from the past. Why don’t you leave her alone so she can get on with saving us!
RAGS TARLOK
Leave her alone!
BECKA KAPINSKY
She’s got better things to do than talk to a couple of stupid social workers.
CONSTABLE SOLE
(to the homeless people)
You take it easy now! We don’t want no trouble!
CONSTABLE KNOX
(to the homeless people)
You want to spend the night in the tank?
CHARLIE KINSEY
What’s going to happen to her?
DEENA GRAY
Nothing’s going to “happen” to her.
HAZEL BROWN
We’re going to see to it that she gets the care she needs.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
But I can’t leave the park!
DEENA GRAY
Sure you can, Trinity. We’ll make sure you’re all right.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
No, I can’t leave! You don’t understand!
HAZEL BROWN
Just try to relax, Trinity. Officers, could you help us escort her out of here?
CONSTABLE SOLE
She’s not going to go gently.
CONSTABLE KNOX
She’s pretty worked up.
DEENA GRAY
Just lend us a hand. Everything will be fine.
(They try to take TRINITY by the arm.)
CHARLIE KINSEY
(before they can touch Trinity)
Leave her alone!
(to the others)
They’re going to hurt her! We’ve got to make them leave her alone!
HANK ROMAN
She doesn’t want to go!
GOGO SEEKER
You can’t make her do something she doesn’t want to do!
PICKY CARTER
Yeah! Leave her alone!
RAGS TARLOK
She’s a ghost!
BECKA KAPINSKY
Leave her be, you big bullies!
(CHARLIE and HANK grab CONSTABLE SOLE by the arms. GOGO and RAGS grab CONSTABLE KNOX by the arms. PICKY holds HAZEL BROWN and BECKA holds DEENA GRAY.)
CHARLIE KINSEY
Run, Trinity, run!
PICKY CARTER
Hide in the bushes, little ghost girl!
(TRINITY flees offstage.)
HAZEL BROWN
Let us go, right now!
DEENA GRAY
You want to be charged with assault?
CONSTABLE SOLE
Let go of me, you little devils!
(He shakes GOGO and RAGS off. They fall down. He pulls PICKY away from HAZEL BROWN.)
CONSTABLE KNOX
You’re breaking the law!
(She breaks loose from CHARLIE and HANK, who also fall down, then pulls BECKA away from DEENA GRAY.)
HAZEL BROWN
We must catch that girl before she hurts herself!
(The CONSTABLES and the SOCIAL WORKERS exit.)
CHARLIE KINSEY
(getting up off the ground)
Come on! We can’t let them get Trinity!
(They all get up and exit.)
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 1:
(GERTIE BOSCH and POLO NASH enter.)
GERTIE BOSCH
I don’t like doin’ these evening shifts, Polo.
POLO NASH
Yeah. It’s kinda creepy out here in the dark.
GERTIE BOSCH
They should put in more lights.
POLO NASH
Walking around picking up litter and looking for trouble’s not my idea of a good time.
GERTIE BOSCH
We’re not security guards.
POLO NASH
We shouldn’t have to go around hassling people like them kids.
GERTIE BOSCH
They just wanna have a good time out here without no adults looking.
POLO NASH
They’re not so bad, just mixed up like teenagers everywhere.
(PROFESSORS CASTOUT and BEGONNE enter.)
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Miss Bosch and Miss Nash!
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
Have you seen any strange goings on this evening?
GERTIE BOSCH
Well as a matter of face we have, Professors.
POLO NASH
There’s a girl in the park who thinks it’s 1906.
GERTIE BOSCH
She’s running around out here somewhere.
POLO NASH
Poor kid must be a little bit crazy.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
No, Miss Nash. It’s something more than craziness.
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
The Shadows of Fear and Darkness are on the loose. I’m sure of it!
GERTIE BOSCH
The Shadows of Fear and Darkness!
POLO NASH
No wonder I got the shakes!
GERTIE BOSCH
Can we stay with you, Professor Castout and Professor Begonne?
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Yes, my frightened little lambs, you may stay by our sides.
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
The power of science will protect you.
GERTIE BOSCH
Maybe that girl Trinity Follows really is a ghost from the past.
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
Trinity Follows?
POLO NASH
That’s what she called herself.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Good heavens! Trinity Follows is the name of the girl who disappeared from this park one hundred years ago!
GERTIE BOSCH
How do you know?
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
There is much we know about this park.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
It is a place of deep scientific significance.
POLO NASH
What are you gonna do, Professors?
PROFESSOR BEGONNE and PROFESSOR CASTOUT
(in unison)
Send the Shadows of Fear back to the Darkness from whence they came!
(They exit, with POLO and GERTIE hurrying after them.)
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 2:
(MAYOR VAUGHN and VALERIE VISOR enter.)
MAYOR VAUGHN
We seem to have lost Donna Story and Belinda Nethers.
VALERIE VISOR
I’m sure they’re nearby.
MAYOR VAUGHN
It’s getting rather dark. I think perhaps we should be on our way home.
VALERIE VISOR
But we can’t just abandon Miss Story and Miss Nethers, Mayor Vaughn.
MAYOR VAUGHN
You know, this park really is a strange place at night.
VALERIE VISOR
Getting it on television is going to draw visitors from all over the world.
MAYOR VAUGHN
Yes, but perhaps we should be a bit more cautious in the way we go about it.
VALERIE VISOR
You’re nervous because it’s getting dark and we’re alone out here. In the light of day, you’ll feel better.
MAYOR VAUGHN
I hope so.
(TRINITY FOLLOWS runs in upstage. She freezes when she sees the MAYOR and MISS VISOR.)
VALERIE VISOR
Look! What’s that?
MAYOR VAUGHN
A girl in old-fashioned clothing!
VALERIE VISOR
Who are you?
(TRINITY doesn’t answer.)
VALERIE VISOR
I said, who are you?
(TRINITY flees offstage.)
MAYOR VAUGHN
Where the heck are those television people?
(DONNA STORY and BELINDA NETHERS enter.)
DONNA STORY
Mayor Vaughn! Belinda and I have found some remarkable evidence!
BELINDA NETHERS
Footprints, made by shoes from a hundred years ago! They’re everywhere!
MAYOR VAUGHN
We just saw a girl in old fashioned clothing.
VALERIE VISOR
(pointing)
She was just over there!
DONNA STORY
Old fashioned clothing? That might have been her!
BELINDA NETHERS
I feel something…yes, yes, something…something….ahhhhhh!
(running about the stage, yelling)
Here! Here! And over here! She’s here! She’s here!
(Suddenly she collapses, exhausted. The others go to her and prop her up.)
MAYOR VAUGHN
What’s wrong with her?
DONNA STORY
She’s terribly sensitive to the supernatural. She’s had an overdose of energy from the spirit world.
VALERIE VISOR
Miss Nethers! Miss Nethers!
BELINDA NETHERS
(getting up, filled with the spirit of TRINITY’s mother)
I am the mother of Trinity Follows, and you are trying to harm her!
MAYOR VAUGHN
What’s going on? What’s she talking about?
DONNA STORY
(filming with her camera)
She’s filled with the spirit of the missing girl’s mother!
VALERIE VISOR
Keep filming! Keep filming!
BELINDA NETHERS
You must not harm my daughter!
(moving toward the others, who back away)
You must not harm my daughter!
(BELINDA suddenly screams and throws herself down, then becomes still.)
DONNA STORY
(still filming)
This is great!
MAYOR VAUGHN
(going to BELINDA with VALERIE, and helping her up)
Miss Nethers! Are you all right?
BELINDA NETHERS
Where am I?
VALERIE VISOR
In Forget-me-not Park, remember? You’ve had a bit of a fit, Miss Nethers!
BELINDA NETHERS
I can’t remember anything. Oh, I’m so dizzy…something’s filling up my mind…
(becoming TRINITY’s mother again)
Trinity! I’ve got to find Trinity!
(BELINDA shakes off the others and rushes offstage.)
MAYOR VAUGHN
I swear I’m going to have a heart attack before this night is over!
DONNA STORY
Isn’t it exciting!
(They exit in pursuit of BELINDA.)
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 3:
(The NITECATS enter.)
VANDA HAMMER
Were the heck are those stupid professors, anyway?
BARB BARIAN
Maybe they fell in the pond and drowned.
LUCY PILLAGE
When we don’t need them, they’re always around, lecturing us about shadows.
BARB BARIAN
Then when we need them for something, they disappear.
VANDA HAMMER
That weird kid with the demon in her head has got to be here someplace.
BARB BARIAN
Are you scared, Vanda?
VANDA HAMMER
Why should I be scared?
LUCY PILLAGE
Demons can be mean, Vanda. They, like, pull the heads off kids like us, and rip out our guts and that.
BARB BARIAN
Yeah. I saw this movie, and a demon turned a girl inside out just by looking at her.
VANDA HAMMER
That demon kid don’t scare me. If she tries anything, I’ll bust her one in her demon chops.
LUCY PILLAGE
Where are those turds who call themselves the “BadBoys”?
VANDA HAMMER
Maybe the demon kid got ‘em.
BARB BARIAN
I hope so. They make me sick, with their strutting and bragging. And they’re ugly, too.
(The BADBOY GANG enters.)
SLAM DUNKER
Hey, why’d you NiteKitties run away from us?
BARB BARIAN
We’re not your mamas.
LUCY PILLAGE
We don’t have to look after you every second.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
You want that demon kid all to yourselves.
MASH NORTON
You want her to turn you into her demon sisters.
VANDA HAMMER
Aw, shuddup, you little creeps.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
Slam saw something bizarre in the bushes over there.
MASH NORTON
Yeah, something deeply disturbing.
VANDA HAMMER
What was it, Mash, your ugly butt?
SLAM DUNKER
It was this demon monster thing, wiggling around on the ground and screaming.
BARB BARIAN
We never heard no screaming.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
Perhaps because your ears are full of wax from your lack of personal hygiene.
BARB BARIAN
(grabbing BUSTER and throwing him across the stage)
I’m gonna kill you, you little runt!
(BARB tries to go after BUSTER, but VANDA stops her.)
VANDA HAMMER
Take it easy, Barb.
(to SLAM)
What kind of demon?
SLAM DUNKER
I dunno. What kinds are there? All I know is it was pale and it wiggled and screamed.
LUCY PILLAGE
That’s creepy.
MASH NORTON
It wiggled and screamed.
BARB BARIAN
That’s creepy.
VANDA HAMMER
I don’t believe it. You’re lyin’ to us.
SLAM DUNKER
Hey, on my honour!
BARB BARIAN
You don’t got no honour, Slam Dunker.
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
Why don’t you go over there in the bushes and look for yourself, Vanda.
VANDA HAMMER
I don’t got to do anything, Buster Hoolihan.
SLAM DUNKER
Chicken! Chicken! Bawwkkk! Buk! Buk! Buk!
(SLAM moves around the stage like a chicken. MASH and BUSTER join in. The three NITECATS watch with disgust.)
BARB BARIAN
What a bunch of babies!
LUCY PILLAGE
When are they ever gonna grow up?
VANDA HAMMER
(grabbing SLAM DUNKER)
He’s gonna grow up right now!
(VANDA knees SLAM in the groin. He goes down hollering with pain.)
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
What’d you have to do that for, Vanda?
VANDA HAMMER
To show him he’s a boy, not a chicken.
MASH NORTON
Poor guy, right in the crotch.
BARB BARIAN
We got to stop all this stupid fighting and start looking for the demon kid!
(BELINDA NETHERS runs in shrieking, possessed by the ghost of TRINITY’s mother.)
BELINDA NETHERS
(running amongst the terrified youths)
Aieeeeeeeeeeee! Aieeeeeeeeee! My daughter! My daughter! You must not harm my daughter!
(BELINDA grabs MASH NORTON like a rag doll tosses him through the air. He goes down screaming. She spins BARB BARIAN, who spins into LUCY PILLAGE, knocking her down. She pushes VANDA HAMMER so she stumbles over SLAM DUNKER and falls, and she chases BUSTER HOOLIHAN around the stage, with BUSTER screaming in fear. They all scramble to their feet, and rush offstage screaming, pursued by BELINDA. MAYOR VAUGHN, VALERIE VISOR, and DONNA STORY enter.)
VALERIE VISOR
What a lot of noise.
MAYOR VAUGHN
I hope none of my constituents got hurt.
DONNA STORY
Darn! I didn’t get it on camera!
(They exit pursuing BELINDA NETHERS and the others.)
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 4:
(RAGS TARLOK, PICKY CARTER, and BECKA KAPINSKY enter.)
PICKY CARTER
What could have happened to our lovely Trinity?
RAGS TARLOK
Where is she? We must find her!
BECKA KAPINSKY
Someone finally comes along to save us homeless people, and they scare her away.
PICKY CARTER
I knew it was too good to be true. She was so beautiful and so full of magic, and they made her run away.
RAGS TARLOK
I want to punish them all.
BECKA KAPINSKY
Why don’t they understand? It’s all so simple. She appears from the past and brings us hope for the future.
PICKY CARTER
She’s so gentle and quiet, and they’re all full of noise and anger.
RAGS TARLOK
It’s not fair.
BECKA KAPINSKY
And now we’re going to be homeless forever, wandering around ‘til we die with nothing but broken hearts under these rags we wear.
PICKY CARTER
We search and search and finally we find her, and then she’s gone, chased away, leaving us behind to grieve.
RAGS TARLOK
I wish I could have touched her hand.
PICKY CARTER
Yes, just one touch of her hand would’ve ended our sorrow. Just one small touch. That’s all it takes, you know.
BECKA KAPINSKY
Just one touch. Such a simple thing.
(The POOR CHILDREN enter.)
CHARLIE KINSEY
Did you guys see Trinity anywhere?
PICKY CARTER
She just disappeared, like a flame on a birthday candle that’s been blown out.
HANK ROMAN
They treated her like crap.
GOGO SEEKER
Making her so scared she had to run away. I’d like to make them run away!
RAGS TARLOK
I’d like to punish them all.
CHARLIE KINSEY
She’s got to be around here someplace.
BECKA KAPINSKY
She might have gone back to 1906. She might have slipped back into the past forever.
HANK ROMAN
I felt like she had a message for me. I felt like she needed to tell me something.
RAGS TARLOK
A message from the past.
GOGO SEEKER
She said she was just an ordinary girl, but I know she was more than that.
PICKY CARTER
Come on, Rags and Becka, we’ve got to keep looking. Maybe she’s just over there. Maybe she’s waiting for us.
RAGS TARLOK
I hope so.
BECKA KAPINSKY
I’m so tired, Picky. I don’t know if I can take another step. But I’ll try.
(PICKY, RAGS, and BECKA exit.)
GOGO SEEKER
You look so sad, Charlie.
CHARLIE KINSEY
Yeah, Gogo. So do you.
HANK ROMAN
I’m sad too.
GOGO SEEKER
Charlie’s the saddest.
HANK ROMAN
Yeah, he’s the saddest.
GOGO SEEKER
Why are you the saddest, Charlie?
CHARLIE KINSEY
I don’t know.
GOGO SEEKER
Do you want us to leave you alone?
HANK ROMAN
Do you want to sit here by yourself for a while?
CHARLIE KINSEY
I dunno.
GOGO SEEKER
C’mon, Hank, let’s leave him for a while.
HANK ROMAN
We’ll come back in a few minutes, Charlie.
GOGO SEEKER
You need to be alone, Charlie, anyone can see that.
CHARLIE KINSEY
I guess.
(HANK and GOGO exit. CHARLIE sits by himself for a moment. Then TRINITY enters. He sees her. She goes to him quietly and sits beside him.)
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Hello, Charlie.
CHARLIE KINSEY
Hello.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Thanks for defending me.
CHARLIE KINSEY
You’re welcome.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
You were very brave.
CHARLIE KINSEY
So were the others.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
But you were my hero, getting your friends to help me like that.
CHARLIE KINSEY
I don’t feel like a hero.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Why are you so sad?
CHARLIE KINSEY
Because you’re going to go away.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Am I?
CHARLIE KINSEY
Yes. Everyone I love goes away.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
You love me?
CHARLIE KINSEY
I know it sounds stupid.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
No it doesn’t.
CHARLIE KINSEY
I’ve only just met you.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Some things are meant to be.
CHARLIE KINSEY
You’re a ghost girl. It’s all crazy. I don’t know what to do.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
You don’t have to do anything.
CHARLIE KINSEY
I don’t?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Because I love you, too.
CHARLIE KINSEY
How could you love me? I’m nobody.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Some things are meant to be.
CHARLIE KINSEY
You’re beautiful.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
You make me feel beautiful.
CHARLIE KINSEY
I can’t hold your hand, can I.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
It might be dangerous. I’m beginning to disappear, you see.
CHARLIE KINSEY
Disappear?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I can feel myself becoming lighter, fainter, like a fading photograph.
CHARLIE KINSEY
What would happen if I held your hand?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
You might get hurt.
CHARLIE KINSEY
Yes. I might get hurt.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
But if you really want to hold my hand, I’d try very hard to make it safe for you.
CHARLIE KINSEY
I know you would.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Here’s my hand, if you want it.
CHARLIE KINSEY
Thank you.
(CHARLIE reaches carefully and takes TRINITY’s hand. He seems to be fine at first, but suddenly faints away while she is still holding his hand. He is holding on tightly. She gently removes his hand, kisses his cheek, and exits. GOGO and HANK enter.)
GOGO SEEKER
(going to CHARLIE and gently shaking him)
Charlie, Charlie!
(to HANK)
Is he asleep?
HANK ROMAN
He looks like he’s fainted or something.
GOGO SEEKER
We got to get a doctor!
CHARLIE KINSEY
(coming out of his faint)
Gogo? Hank?
GOGO SEEKER
What happened to you, Charlie?
CHARLIE KINSEY
I fell asleep and had a dream.
HANK ROMAN
What did you dream about?
CHARLIE KINSEY
I dreamed that Trinity let me hold her hand.
GOGO SEEKER
What happened when you held her hand?
CHARLIE KINSEY
Just for a moment, I saw the face of the universe.
HANK ROMAN
The face of the universe?
GOGO SEEKER
What do you mean, Charlie?
CHARLIE KINSEY
I guess I mean I saw love, Gogo. I dreamed I saw love, as if it was something I could touch, like Trinity’s hand.
HANK ROMAN
All I ever dream about is riding a motorcycle.
GOGO SEEKER
Oh, Hank, must you spoil such a romantic moment?
HANK ROMAN
What are we going to do now?
GOGO SEEKER
Keep on looking for Trinity.
CHARLIE KINSEY
I don’t think we’ll find her now.
HANK ROMAN
But we’ve got to keep on looking, Charlie.
GOGO SEEKER
Come on, Charlie. Maybe you’ll see her one more time.
CHARLIE KINSEY
It was only a dream.
GOGO SEEKER
No it wasn’t.
(They exit.)
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 5:
(HAZEL BROWN, DEENA GRAY, and CONSTABLES KNOX and SOLE enter.)
CONSTABLE SOLE
I don’t see how that girl could disappear like that.
CONSTABLE KNOX
Maybe we should phone for backup.
HAZEL BROWN
No, that’s not necessary.
DEENA GRAY
I don’t think the girl’s in any danger.
CONSTABLE SOLE
Them kids and them homeless people got no respect for the law.
CONSTABLE KNOX
They assaulted us while we were doing our duty.
CONSTABLE SOLE
They ought to be charged and brought to court.
HAZEL BROWN
They were overly excited by that girl’s strange manner.
DEENA GRAY
She had some sort of strange power over them.
CONSTABLE SOLE
Don’t tell me you think she’s really a visitor from the past.
CONSTABLE KNOX
You’re supposed to be professionals, and you believe that nonsense?
DEENA GRAY
I didn’t say I believed her. I just said she has some sort of power.
HAZEL BROWN
Like a celebrity or hero, or religious leader.
CONSTABLE SOLE
She just seemed like a regular kid to me.
CONSTABLE KNOX
Kind of old fashioned, which was nice. Not all lippy like the kids today.
DEENA GRAY
She didn’t say much, but when she spoke, everyone paid attention.
HAZEL BROWN
I guess you could say she’s what Joan of Arc must have been like, or maybe Helen Keller.
CONSTABLE SOLE
Helen Keller? Wasn’t she blind and deaf?
DEENA GRAY
Trinity Fellows seemed sort of blind to her own importance, if you know what I mean.
CONSTABLE KNOX
Heck, she’s just some kid who got high and thought she was a ghost from the past.
CONSTABLE SOLE
Stuff like that happens all the time. She wasn’t nothing special.
HAZEL BROWN
Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourselves that she’s ordinary.
DEENA GRAY
You felt it too, didn’t you? That power she had?
CONSTABLE SOLE
I’m a cop. I don’t believe in that stuff. I just do my job.
CONSTABLE KNOX
Just got to do our jobs, that’s all. So why don’t we get to work and find that kid?
HAZEL BROWN
What if we don’t find her? What if she’s disappeared?
CONSTABLE SOLE
She’s not gonna disappear.
DEENA GRAY
You’ve got to rein in your imagination a bit, Hazel.
CONSTABLE KNOX
Or you’re gonna end up running around looking for that girl as if she really was gonna save the world or something.
HAZEL BROWN
I get tired of everything having to have an explanation. Wouldn’t it be great if just once, something unexplainable and wonderful happened? If a kid who claims she’s from the past helped us see something we’ve never seen before, about ourselves, I mean?
CONSTABLE SOLE
So let’s go find her, or you’ll never get a chance to see if she’s some sort of miracle kid.
(They exit.)
Ghost Girl by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 6:
(PROFESSORS CASTOUT and BEGONNE enter with GERTIE BOSCH and POLO NASH.)
GERTIE BOSCH
We’ve been searching for ages, and we haven’t found the Shadows of Fear and Darkness yet.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
I sense their presence.
POLO NASH
But we got to do more than just sense it, don’t we?
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
Of course. But we must be patient. The Shadows are not easy to catch.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
And they’re even harder to chase away.
GERTIE BOSCH
If I was a Shadow of Darkness, I’d go home to bed and get a good night’s sleep, instead of running about in this park.
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
Gertie Bosch! How can you say such things! Never wish to be a Shadow of Darkness!
GERTIE BOSCH
I’m just saying I’m tired, that’s all.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
It shouldn’t be much longer.
(RAGS TARLOK, PICKY CARTER, and BECKA KAPINSKY enter.)
PICKY CARTER
Have you seen a girl in old fashioned clothes around here?
RAGS TARLOK
We’ve got to find her.
BECKA KAPINSKY
She’s a ghost girl from the past come to save us.
POLO NASH
They’re talking about that girl Trinity, the one we told you about.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
What do you want her for?
PICKY CARTER
She’s a magic miracle girl. She’s full of love and kindness and she’s going to make it so we don’t got to wander about no more.
RAGS TARLOK
But them cops scared her away.
BECKA KAPINSKY
Now we got to find her before she disappears forever.
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
What do you mean, “disappears forever”?
PICKY CARTER
She’s a ghost girl. She might just fade away anytime. Then what are we gonna do?
RAGS TARLOK
We got to find her.
BECKA KAPINSKY
You got to help us! You got to do some science or something.
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
You three stay with us. We’ll make sure the girl does not come to harm.
GERTIE BOSCH
What if that girl’s a Shadow of Darkness in disguise?
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
These gentle homeless people are convinced the girl means no harm. That’s good enough science for us.
POLO NASH
They may be gentle, but they smell like the mothers of all bad smells! Phew!
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
Sometimes the smelliest have the purest, clearest minds.
(MAYOR VAUGHN, VALERIE VISOR, and DONNA STORY enter.)
DONNA STORY
Have any of you seen a woman running about screaming?
GERTIE BOSCH
Nope. What about you folks?
PICKY CARTER
A woman?
VALERIE VISOR
This is Donna Story, from Spirit TV. She’s lost her assistant.
POLO NASH
Say, ain’t you the mayor?
MAYOR VAUGHN
Why, yes I am, my good woman. I’m here on a special visit to assess the potential of the park as a tourist destination.
RAGS TARLOK
Talk English, lady.
BECKA KAPINSKY
Don’t use big word with us, Mrs. Mayor. It’s a waste of time.
DONNA STORY
I’m rather worried about Miss Nethers, my assistant. She’s in a bit of a state.
GERTIE BOSCH
What’s the matter with her?
DONNA STORY
She’s very sensitive to supernatural phenomena. And this park is full of spiritual energy.
PICKY CARTER
What’s she talking about?
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
She’s talking about the Shadows of Fear and Darkness.
MAYOR VAUGHN
The Shadows of Fear and Darkness! Why, what on earth do you mean, Professor?
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
There’s something dangerous here in this park.
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
It’s no wonder that woman’s running around screaming.
(The NITECATS run in.)
VANDA HAMMER
You got to help us!
BARB BARIAN
We’re being chased by a madwoman!
LUCY PILLAGE
She’s going to kill us all!
(The BADBOYS run in.)
SLAM DUNKER
Help us! Help us! A monster’s after us!
MASH NORTON
A monster! It wants to eat my head!
BUSTER HOOLIHAN
It’s a giant woman as big as an elephant!
VANDA HAMMER
She threw Mash Norton across the park like a football!
BARB BARIAN
She says she’s the mother of that girl Trinity.
LUCY PILLAGE
Where are them cops?
SLAM DUNKER
They got to shoot her with their guns!
DONNA STORY
They must be talking about my assistant, Miss Nethers!
VALERIE VISOR
Perhaps she got a bit carried away.
MAYOR VAUGHN
A bit carried away? A bit carried away, Miss Visor! She’s trying to harm these children! Your plan has gone terribly, terribly wrong!
VALERIE VISOR
But Mayor Vaughn…
MAYOR VAUGHN
No “buts”, Miss Visor. This is turning into a disaster! It could cost us a lot more than our jobs!
(CHARLIE KINSEY, HANK ROMAN, and GOGO SEEKER enter.)
CHARLIE KINSEY
What’s going on? Is it about Trinity?
HANK ROMAN
Have you seen her?
GOGO SEEKER
Did you do something mean to her again?
GERTIE BOSCH
Take it easy, kids, she’s not here.
VANDA HAMMER
There’s a mad woman out there.
BARB BARIAN
She tried to kill us.
LUCY PILLAGE
She said she was Trinity’s mother.
CHARLIE KINSEY
Trinity’s mother?
DONNA STORY
It’s my assistant, Belinda Nethers. She’s fallen under some sort of spell.
GOGO SEEKER
What if she’s done something terrible to Trinity?
HANK ROMAN
We got to find Trinity and protect her!
(CONSTABLES SOLE and KNOX enter with DEENA GRAY and HAZEL BROWN.)
CONSTABLE SOLE
All right, who’s in charge here?
CONSTABLE KNOX
Look, it’s the mayor!
MAYOR VAUGHN
It’s all right, constables. I’m in charge.
CONSTABLE SOLE
There’s been a bit of trouble in this park tonight, your worship.
MAYOR VAUGHN
I know, I know. Whatever you do, if you see a screaming woman, don’t shoot her!
DEENA GRAY
A screaming woman?
DONNA STORY
It’s my assistant.
HAZEL BROWN
Your assistant? And who are you?
MAYOR VAUGHN
We don’t have time for introductions. Have you seen the girl who calls herself Trinity Follows?
CONSTABLE SOLE
We’ve been looking for her all night.
(BELINDA NETHERS rushes in like a demented monstrous thing. DONNA STORY starts filming her.)
BELINDA NETHERS
My daughter! My daughter! You must not harm my daughter!
(She runs screaming through the crowd, who draw back in horror.)
BELINDA NETHERS
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
(After one long scream, she collapses. TRINITY FOLLOWS enters. Everyone gasps. DONNA STORY keeps filming. TRINITY goes to BELINDA, who is unconscious.)
TRINITY FOLLOWS
It’s all right, Mother. I’m going home now. I feel myself slipping away, bit by bit.
BELINDA NETHERS
(becoming conscious for a moment)
Trinity, Trinity, I’ve found you!
(She lapses into unconsciousness again.)
PICKY CARTER
Trinity, you got to help us poor, homeless people!
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I know. You can come with me, back to the past, if you want.
RAGS TARLOK
We can go with you?
BECKA KAPINSKY
Back to the past?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Yes. I don’t know why I know this, but I do. You can come with me.
(The three HOMELESS PEOPLE go to her.)
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I think I came here to fetch you, because you were in the wrong time somehow. That’s why you’re homeless. I’m going to take you back to the right time. I’m going to take you home.
GOGO SEEKER
What about Charlie? Are you going to take him too?
TRINITY FOLLOWS
I can’t. All I can do is say goodbye. I’m glad I came here to Forget-me-not Park, through some sort of magic. I’m glad I found a boy to love, because love lasts forever, through all time, past and present.
CHARLIE KINSEY
Goodbye, Trinity.
TRINITY FOLLOWS
Goodbye, Charlie. I love you.
(She exits with the three HOMELESS PEOPLE. BELINDA NETHERS wakes up and sits up.)
BELINDA NETHERS
What’s happening? Miss Story, where are you?
DONNA STORY
(still filming)
I’m right here, Belinda, and I’ve got it all on camera.
MAYOR VAUGHN
Thank heavens for that! It’ll be a sensational scoop for Grayston City!
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
No! That video is the work of the Shadows of Fear and Darkness!
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
If you have any respect for love…
PROFESSOR BEGONNE
…and for scientific necessity…
PROFESSOR CASTOUT
…you’ll destroy the video and let all this slip into the past as a story to be told by those who were here!
DONNA STORY
(fiddling with the camera)
Wait a minute! Something’s wrong! Nothing’s come out! The darn thing’s completely blank!
VALERIE VISOR
Blank? How could it be blank?
DONNA STORY
I don’t know. Everything was working.
CHARLIE KINSEY
It’s blank because you couldn’t touch Trinity.
HANK ROMAN
No one could.
GOGO SEEKER
Except in our dreams.
CHARLIE KINSEY
And now those dreams are over.
HANK ROMAN
All that’s left is a story.
GOGO SEEKER
Be careful how you tell it, for dreams are fragile.
CHARLIE KINSEY
And a story about a dream is always more fragile than the dream itself.
(TRINITY enters with the three homeless people. The cast makes a big tableau.)
FULL CAST
Our dreams are stories more fragile than the dreams themselves.
END OF PLAY.