|
Pulse of the Twin Cities Login |
|
If you do not have an account yet
Create One.
|
|
|
Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
|
|
|
|
Edifice Wrecks: A play in one act (with apologies to Sophocles)
Wednesday 24 January @ 18:38:59 |
 BY ED FELIEN
[Enter the Chorus, an alternative newspaper writer in a tie-dyed sweatshirt]
Chorus: Oh, woe is me. Woe is thee.
We’ve lost our libraries.
[He repeats this two more times.]
 [Enter the Library Board. He is robust, middle-aged and not quite as charismatic as he believes he is.]
Library Board: What’s the matter? Why all this groaning and moaning?
Chorus: You should know. You’ve closed our libraries.
Library Board: Now, now, don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this. I’m sure it’s just a temporary problem. You’ve got to see the big picture. Here comes my Director. Let’s ask her why the libraries have closed.
[Director enters. She is in her twenties. She wears a cheerleading outfit.]
Director: [to the Chorus] Have you been to the new downtown library? It is so way kewl.
Chorus: Well, no. It’s a little hard for me to get downtown and pay for parking and everything.
Director: Well, it’s just the most important building in Minneapolis. [to the Library Board] It is so beautiful and so important. It is your gift to future generations. They will worship you for it. And right at the entrance your names are carved in marble.
Library Board: But they were worried about some of the smaller branch libraries closing. What are we doing about that?
Director: Don’t worry about that. I’ve asked the Mayor and City Council to come by and give us some help with that. Here they are now. Let me handle this. [enter Mayor and City Council. Mayor is even more glamorous than the Library Board. The City Council is a matronly woman with glasses.] Now, Mr. Mayor and Madame City Council, what are we going to do about the poor little branch libraries? We’re going to have to close them if you don’t give us some more money.
Mayor: We’ve already given you your share.
Director: Yes. Well, it wasn’t enough. And the Governor cut back on how much we could have.
Mayor: He cut back on all of us.
Director: Well, why wouldn’t you let us raise taxes last year?
Mayor: We all agreed years ago that we would never raise property taxes more than 8 percent a year.
Director: You sure are picky. You didn’t think anything about raising a billion dollars for a baseball stadium
Mayor: That was different.
City Council: Please, no fighting. We’ll get you enough money from somewhere to get you through this year. OK?
Director: Well, OK. And thank you very much.
[The Mayor and City Council leave.]
Chorus: Now can we have our branch libraries back?
Director: Not so fast my friend. We wanted guaranteed money for at least three years. If we hire staff for just one year, and then we have to lay them off, that would just make a mess of things. And we don’t want to make a mess of things, do we?
Chorus: But isn’t closing three branch libraries making a mess of things?
Director: Have you been to the downtown library? It’s just so beautiful.
Library Board: She’s right you know. It’s quite beautiful.
Chorus: It’s not beautiful if it has destroyed the branch libraries.
[Enter the County Board. He is handsome, not quite as flashy as the Mayor.]
County Board: I understand you’re having some problems funding the libraries. Perhaps I can help.
Director: Oh, that would be so nice.
Library Board: It’s just a temporary problem.
Director: [to the County Board] Oh, don’t pay any attention to him. He really doesn’t understand what’s going on.
County Board: We could take you over and make you part of my County Library system. You would be the crown jewel.
Director: Oh, that sounds so lovely. Let’s go somewhere and talk about this. And we could carve your names in marble right in the entrance.
[They leave.]
Library Board: And what about me? What does that mean for me? What am I supposed to do?
Chorus: I think this is the point in the play where you recognize you were blind, that the problem wasn’t really because of someone else, and then you tear your eyes out and wander about from town to town.
Library Board. That sounds tragic, really tragic.
Chorus: Here’s a pair of sunglasses. Good-bye and good luck.
Curtain
|
|
 |
|
|
Comments -
Post Comment |
|
The comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for its content.
NO comments yet! Be the first!
|
|
|
