The Ultimate Revenge for a Man Named Stan
by conrad a. panganiban
written 09/03/12
MOJO510:
Early 20s. Female. Art school, hipstress, very innocent look.
AMADI:
Mid 20s. Male. Rookie Pro basketball player.
Setting
An elevator.
Playwright’s Note
To set the mood, I am using the intro to the song, STAN, by Eminem in the script. Understandably, this song may not be able to be used for production. But that being said, please feel substitute this song with other royalty free music, which can be found throughout the Internet with the similar “urban” beat.
The other reason this music is used is to get the audience in tune with what AMADI is listening to, as this is also a device to draw the audience into the story as well.
Before the audience sees anything, we hear the intro (hook) music of Eminem’s STAN on a loop as lights up to reveal a center-staged rectangle with MOJO510 and AMDADI inside – they’re both in an elevator. AMADI has on shorts, a t-shirt, a backpack and headphones.
(AMADI is texting something on his phone while MOJO510 is in the other corner of the elevator watching him. Then she takes out her phone and texts something. Suddenly AMADI looks up with a suspicious look and turns around to see MOJO510 giving him a huge smile and a little shy wave.)
(As AMADI slips off his headphones the music fades out.)
AMADI
Mojo510?
MOJO510
Hi.
AMADI
Um. It’s nice to finally meet you.
MOJO510
Yeah. Hey!
(AMADI turns back around to face the audience/front of the elevator.)
Can I have an autograph?
AMADI
Uh, sure.
(MOJO drops her bag and takes out a picture and breaks out a sharpie.)
MOJO510
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! It’s for my dad.
AMADI
Sure. What’s his name?
MOJO510
You can just make it out to Stan.
(AMADI looks at the image and approvingly shakes his head.)
MOJO510
State Championships. Your dunk right before the buzzer to win it.
AMADI
I’ve never seen this.
MOJO510
I took it.
AMADI
Did you go to Seaside High too?
MOJO510
No. The other school – Mater Dei. Just happened to be under the basket when you beat us.
AMADI
Sorry about that.
(AMADI signs the photo.)
MOJO510
It’s okay. It was six years ago. No hard feelings.
(AMADI hands the photo back to her and she puts in back into her bag.)
AMADI
Do you have any more copies of this?
MOJO510
Of course! I’ll tweet you a copy.
AMADI
Thanks.
MOJO510
No problem.
AMADI
How come you never mentioned that you went to Mater Dei in your tweets?
MOJO510
Trust me, I haven’t thought about that school since…
(There’s the abrupt sound of an elevator stopping.)
MOJO510
What was that? How come we’re not moving? We’re not moving! Why aren’t we moving?!
AMADI
It’s okay. It’s okay. Chill out.
(AMADI pretends to push something on the side of the elevator and bends down to speak into a speaker…)
Hello? Hello-ooh? The elevator stopped working. Hello? This is Amadi Brooks from the Lakers. Anybody there?
MOJO510
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.
AMADI
Shhh… it’s okay. I’ve been in this situation before.
(AMADI types a number on his phone and holds it to his ear. Realizing that the call isn’t going through, he looks at his cell.)
No bars. Do you have any?
(MOJO510 looks.)
MOJO510
Damn! We’re so screwed.
AMADI
Chill.
MOJO510
What do you mean, chill?! We’re stuck in this metal box with no air… no bars… and no 3G! What are we going to do?
AMADI
I’m sure that someone’s going to notice that…
(AMADI returns to the speaker…)
Hello? Hello? Anybody there? Really, we’ll be fine. We just have to chill for a little bit.
(MOJO510 reacts very nervously and without breathing.)
But we could start out with breathing.
MOJO510
Trying to conserve air.
(AMADI points up.)
AMADI
Air conditioner’s still working.
MOJO510
Oh. Just making sure that we have enough then.
(Beat)
AMADI
So what brings you to BDA Sports?
MOJO510
What?
AMADI
What brings you here? Have an appointment with anyone here?
MOJO510
Oh… um a job. Well, trying to get a job. I heard, through the grapevine, that there was an opening for photographers for your agency, so, here I am.
AMADI
That’s why you have my photo?
MOJO510
From my portfolio. Maybe you could put in a good word for me? It’s been rough out there.
AMADI
Yeah. Sure. Whenever we get out of here.
MOJO510
Better be soon. So… Congrats on the new contract.
AMADI
Thanks. Just signed the papers before heading back to practice.
MOJO510
Yeah, you just tweeted that earlier. Must be nice to have all that money.
AMADI
It’s… nice.
MOJO510
Long way from the State Championships.
AMADI
Yup.
(AMADI re-checks his phone and shakes his head why there’s still NO BARS!)
MOJO510
My dad. He used to be an agent, sort of, when I was younger.
AMADI
You don’t say.
MOJO510
Yup. Wheeling and dealing. Making sure that he took care of every one of his clients.
AMADI
Who does he represent?
MOJO510
No one now. He’s passed.
AMADI
Sorry to hear that.
MOJO510
Thanks. He loved basketball. And he loved his clients. Sometimes I thought that he loved them more than his family.
AMADI
Don’t say that. A lot of agents aren’t like that. Like my agent now, Charlie Groves, cool cat. Been with him since college and never steered me wrong.
MOJO510
Like with your current contract?
AMADI
Possibly…
MOJO510
Just sucks sometimes…
AMADI
What does?
MOJO510
The business. One of my dad’s biggest prospective clients cut out on him right before entering the draft. He put everything into this kid: the hours of advice, the arranged meetings with all the college teams that wanted him, and just the love that he gave this kid. Like a father, he looked out for him. And then some sleezebags got into this kid’s ear and told him to drop my dad. Told him my father was dead weight. An old-timer. That he didn’t know the game. They didn’t just take his only client at the time, they shredded his passion for the game.
AMADI
They took his heart.
MOJO510
Nope. They didn’t. It was the kid who took it. Not only did he die with a broken heart, but with mountains of debt passed on to the only surviving member of the family.
(AMADI starts to get a little worried about something.)
You have to go to your left more. There’s no one who can stop you when you do.
AMADI
I thought you looked familiar.
MOJO510
I sat in the back of that big red Ford Thunderbird when we picked you up from your grandmother’s house to go to the playground. He was the one who taught you how to go to your left. Remember?
AMADI
I’m sorry about your father.
MOJO510
Do you even remember his name?
AMADI
Of course.
MOJO510
Say it.
AMADI
Excuse me?
(MOJO510 takes out a gun from where it once was tucked in her jeans near her back.)
MOJO510
Say his name.
AMADI
Woah. Put that down or you can get hurt.
(MOJO510 pulls down the gun’s hammer with her thumb.)
MOJO510
Say. His. Name.
AMADI
Mr. Johnson. Mr. Stan Johnson.
MOJO510
Did Mr. Stan Johnson treat you well? Did he ever do you wrong?
AMADI
No. Nothing. He didn’t do anything to me.
MOJO510
Then why did you screw him over?
AMADI
I didn’t. Charlie did. He told me that, that, that I wouldn’t be able to take care of my grandmother if your father was my Agent. He was looking out for me.
MOJO510
Then who was the one who took you in when you’re grandmother went to the hospital and put food in your mouth? Who was the one who grabbed a bat and went to 14th Street to get your ass out of that neighborhood with your so called friends? He could have died for you that night. And he would have. You meant that much to him! And then you go and leave him with nothing to show for it.
AMADI
So, what is this about? A guilt shake down? Something to pay you off as some kind of retribution? How much do you want? One, two million?
MOJO510
You think that’s how much my father’s life was worth?
(MOJO510 moves toward Amadi with the gun pointed at his head.)
AMADI
No! No no no. No, I mean. I mean. 10 Million. 10 Million, okay?
(MOJO510 points the gun down at his knee and fires! AMADI immediately crumples to the elevator floor with a scream!)
MOJO510
Now try going to your left.
AMADI
Argh!
(MOJO510 retrieves her phone from her pocket.)
Well, well, well. What do you know? 3 bars. Can you hear me now?
(MOJO510 dials a number…)
Hey, Mateo. You can start it up now.
(There’s the sound of the elevator restarting.)
(Before putting her phone away, MOJO510 checks the time.)
MOJO510
The guards will be back from their lunch break in five minutes, so you can try using the elevator speaker asking them to help you out.
AMADI
You can’t get away with this!
(MOJO510 reaches into her pocket, pulls out a piece of paper, and hands it to AMADI.)
MOJO510
Take this. Not only will I get away with this, but you will buy a Ferrari Enzo from the dealership on the piece of paper and have it delivered to that address.
AMADI
Why should I?
MOJO
To make things right. To clear my father’s debts.
AMADI
I could’ve you given you that! You didn’t have to shoot me in the leg.
MOJO510
Well, that was for beating Mater Dei. I guess I never did get over it.
(“DING!” goes the elevator)
Oh, and if you go tell the police about me or my dad, I know some people who’d like to pay Summerset Nursing Home a visit. Isn’t that where your Grandmother lives?
(As MOJO510 begins to exit the elevator.)
You broke my father’s heart, and now I get to break you. Oh, almost forgot.
(MOJO510 takes out the picture that Amadi had signed earlier from her backpack and drops it on Amadi.)
Keep the picture.
(Exit MOJO510.)
(Lights fade out as the intro (hook) music of Eminem’s STAN plays on a loop.)
END OF PLAY
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.