miranda seaver (she/her)
Miranda Seaver is a San Jose-based theatrical artist with a passion for creating engaging roles and stories for queer actors and audiences. She has done work for festivals in California and Alaska, including mentorship for The Young Outlaws, a youth-run experimental theatre collective.
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Bloodletting
A play by Miranda Seaver Excerpt for Theatre Viscera SCENE SEVEN [Rainer is alone, deep in sleep and tangled in the sheets of their bed. This continues for some time. They shift. Snore softly. Absently rub at their face. Somewhere onstage, their phone buzzes. Then again. And again. And again - until it’s a near-constant vibration, and the noise becomes enough to rouse Rainer from sleep. They’re drowsy at first, confused about the source of the noise. They drag themselves out of bed and search for their phone. When they find it, they are able to read the growing mass of notifications from Oskar, and they slide the phone open to answer his call. As soon as they do we hear a brief burst of a high-pitched frequency that makes Rainer gasp and drop the phone. Oskar speaks, warped and garbled and completely unhinged.]
OSKAR Regulating temperatures initiating coolant systems maintaining security lockdown don’t go don’t leave don’t leave me - RAINER Oskar? OSKAR Power system approaching critical mass. Please decrease power to prevent electrical malfunction. RAINER What’s going on? OSKAR Increasing power circuits one five and three keep the lights on they don’t like the dark, you can’t make it dark - RAINER Where’s Lucas? [to the phone] Oskar, where’s Lucas?! OSKAR Playing most recent voice memo. [A shift in frequency. Then we hear Lucas, their voice desperate.] LUCAS (VOICE) Oskar, you have to let me go. RAINER Oh my god. LUCAS (VOICE) I know you’re scared, but please baby, I don’t want you to see this. [Rainer has bolted up and gone to exit, but they are unable to make it even close to the front door. They just can’t. And they hate themselves for it.] LUCAS (VOICE) I don’t - [Coughs] - it’s okay, honey, I’m okay. I just need some fresh air. [(Outburst) Oskar, unlock the door! Rainer is gripping their face in their hands, distraught.] OSKAR Message end. Mess-age - end. Would you like - me to repeat? RAINER No. OSKAR Would - you like to - end the call? RAINER No! Fuck - [Rainer paces frantically.] RAINER Where do they live? They’re in the mountains - uh - fuck there are so many mountains god dammit. OSKAR They are tired. They are sleeping. Activating floor heating. RAINER Oskar, you need to call the police. OSKAR I can’t. I can’t. They’ll take them away. I don’t want to wake them up. RAINER They’re not asleep, they’re overdosing. Listen to me, Oskar, they need medical attention. OSKAR They are sleeping. They’re sleeping. They’re just sleeping. RAINER But - OSKAR I watch them sleep. I always do. To make sure they don’t get hurt. [Beat] Raising floor temperature. Seventy-five degrees. RAINER Okay, then I’ll call - but I need to know - [Rainer suddenly reaches a horrifying realization.] RAINER How long have they been sleeping? OSKAR Since last night. They must be - must be - must be - must be very tired. [Fuck. Rainer puts down the phone and buries their head in their hands.] OSKAR Raising floor temperature. Eighty-two degrees. [Rainer puts on their coat and goes again to the front door. But they can’t do it. They just can’t do it.] RAINER Fuck! OSKAR Electrical systems overloading. Approaching short circuit. No. No. Raising floor temperature. [Rainer circles the room, an animal in a cage.] OSKAR I will have to leave the call. To save - save - to save power. RAINER No, Oskar, don’t - FUCK! [Rainer knocks over a pile of books.] OSKAR Did - I do...a bad job? RAINER God DAMMIT! [Rainer begins to trash their apartment.] OSKAR I tried...I tried... [Singing] I tried so very hard not to lose it. [Rainer is sobbing openly while tearing their space apart.] OSKAR (SINGING) I tried so very hard...I tried so very hard...I tried...I tried...I tried...I tried so - [His voice cuts off and leaves a horrible silence. Rainer has collapsed center stage, surrounded by the disaster they’ve caused. They struggle to catch their breath. After some silence, they crawl back to their phone and grip it in both hands.] RAINER Oskar? Oskar! [Beat] Hello..? [They let the phone drop and lower their head. Then they begin to cry. It is desperate, pathetic, useless weeping. And it goes on for too long. Then Edna enters. She stops when she notices the state of the apartment. Rainer looks up at her.] EDNA There is smoke coming from the San Bruno Mountains. More so than usual. [Rainer stares at her, beyond words or explanation. Slowly they break down. They crumble into themselves. Edna puts down her things and, piece by piece, starts to pull the apartment back together. She speaks every so often as she does.] EDNA There is nothing we could’ve done. [Rainer weeps. Edna rearranges their books and pulls up a table.] EDNA They are at peace now. They won’t hurt anymore. RAINER Who - Oskar or Lucas? [Edna doesn’t respond. She makes the bed, then approaches Rainer and places a hand on their back.] RAINER There’s nowhere left to go. EDNA We can stay here. RAINER No. We can’t. [Rainer stands up and puts on their coat. They grab their bag and cross to the front door. They stop. They can’t do it.] End of Excerpt. |
