End of the Hunt
A play about searching and finding
This short play is part of the NOISE/QUIET cycle. If you are just joining, I recommend starting at the beginning with Overture: Sound Collage Collapse which can be read here.
I wrote this piece as a one-minute play in the spring of 2021.
At that time, I was stuck inside teaching theater workshops on Google Classroom as schools in New York City weren’t open for in-person instruction. Sometimes the remote teaching worked, often it didn’t—which was depressing, to put it mildly. I was aching for some kind of satisfying theater-making experience.
When I saw a call for submissions for a one-minute play festival, I decided to try my hand at writing one. I’d never written a one-minute play before, and since I was desperate for something that might bring a glimmer of joy and fulfillment into my life during the pandemic, I took the plunge.
It was a fun exercise. Writing a play with a beginning, middle, and end within one minute forced me to get my point across economically.
I was pleased with the result. I thought: if it gets rejected, maybe I can combine it with other short plays and make an evening out of them.
I submitted the script but never heard back from the festival.
As you’ve read in prior posts, I held onto the piece. Although it’s still short, I expanded it beyond one minute. Working on it inspired the other plays that became NOISE/QUIET. The play that follows was the inspiration for the entire cycle.
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End of the Hunt
Although this play has an absurdist spirit, it must not be performed with irony, sarcasm, caricature or exaggeration. The characters are sincere.
Dramatis Personae
A middle-aged female LIBRARIAN with a sunny disposition. She never frowns or expresses concern.
A mid-thirties male RESEARCHER who is dedicated and earnest.
Setting
Late afternoon at a library in the future.
The RESEARCHER breathlessly enters and meets the LIBRARIAN at the front desk.
LIBRARIAN: Welcome to the Thirty-Second North-Western branch of The Central State Free Library System. Home of the largest E-book collection on the Global Inter-Scape.
RESEARCHER: Hi, I’m looking for Nora. I had a virtual call with her yesterday about my research.
LIBRARIAN: I’m sorry, Nora’s not here.
RESEARCHER: She’s not? I thought she told me to meet her here this afternoon.
LIBRARIAN: Is there something I can help you with?
RESEARCHER: (Bewildered) Well… Nora thought some rare books I’m searching for might be in this branch’s archives.
LIBRARIAN: Rare E-books?
RESEARCHER: No, physical books. Titles that haven’t been uploaded to the Global Inter-Scape.
LIBRARIAN: Physical books? (With excitement) Yes! Nora did pull several out-of-print titles from the archives yesterday. She didn’t say who they were for; now here you are: a physical book hunter in the flesh!
RESEARCHER: (Blushing) Well…
LIBRARIAN: I didn’t think there were any left. Library card please? (RESEARCHER gives her his card) Thank you. (LIBRARIAN reads his card and checks computer) 438 Middletown Lane?
RESEARCHER: Yes.
LIBRARIAN: I always check to make sure the address is current so we know where to find people with overdue items.“Return on time, avoid the fine.” (Giggles at her cleverness) I know the rhyme’s not perfect, but I’m no Mary Poppins.
RESEARCHER: I’ll return the books quickly. I’m sure I won’t sleep until I’ve read them all!
LIBRARIAN: I live to find tenacious readers!
RESEARCHER: I searched every branch in the system for these books. They were so hard to find. I thought maybe someone didn’t want people reading them. Obviously, that was irrational and paranoid thinking because the books were here all along!
LIBRARIAN: We kept them safe and secure.
RESEARCHER: You have no idea what that means to me. I’ve been searching for these books for three years. Three years! My colleagues think I’m obsessed. My editor told me to move on. But I knew—I knew if I could find these sources, if I could just read what was in them… (Catches himself) Sorry, it’s just, being a researcher, chasing down lost information—it’s not just what I do, it’s who I am. When I couldn’t find these books, it felt like… like a part of me was being erased. Does that make sense?
LIBRARIAN: (Still sunny) Perfect sense! You’re a committed “Curious George.” You’ve got the passion that separates ordinary researchers from extraordinary researchers.
RESEARCHER: Thank you. It means a lot that someone sees. (Brightening) Now I can finally complete my research, publish the findings on the Global Inter-Scape, and expose the truth!
LIBRARIAN: Publishing that kind of research would have quite an impact.
RESEARCHER: Yes, and if these books confirm my suspicions, nothing will ever be the same.
LIBRARIAN: No doubt. Unfortunately, these physical books are no longer available.
RESEARCHER: Unavailable? Didn’t you say Nora pulled them from the archives yesterday?
LIBRARIAN: Yes, she did.
RESEARCHER: Did someone check them out already? I can’t imagine anyone else would be interested in this subject.
LIBRARIAN: No, the books were not checked out.
RESEARCHER: Then… where are they?
LIBRARIAN: They were burned.
RESEARCHER: …Burned?
LIBRARIAN: Yes, the books you requested were burned. Along with Nora.
RESEARCHER: What?
LIBRARIAN: Well… she wouldn’t put them down.
RESEARCHER: …
LIBRARIAN: …
RESEARCHER: May I have my library card back please?
LIBRARIAN: (Cheerily returning his card) Of course. Thank you for visiting the Thirty-Second North-Western branch of The Central State Free Library System. Have a safe trip back to Middletown Lane.
BLACKOUT
The sound of the digital future transforms into office chatter we might hear before a meeting.
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Continue the Cycle:
Next: Lizard People—A play about chaos and conspiracy
Lizard People
This short play is part of the NOISE/QUIET cycle. If you are just joining, I recommend starting at the beginning with Overture: Sound Collage Collapse which can be read here. If you are returning and want to remember the play that came before this in the cycle, you can read
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I am horrified that I laughed at the end. But couldn’t help it from the librarian’s cheerful tone.
Zing!