Appendix A
HONG KONG, CANADA
A One-Act Play
by
Tara Goldstein
©2001
Characters (in order of appearance)
Rita: 18-year old president of the student council; Toronto born, South Asian or African descent.
Ms. Diamond: Creative writing teacher at Trudeau; Toronto-born, Anglo-Saxon Protestant, European descent; early 40s.
Joshua: 18-year-old student in his last year of high school; editor of student newspaper named P.E.T. Tales; Toronto born Jew, European descent; Wendy's love-interest.
Wendy: 17-year-old student in her second-to last year of high school; assistant editor of P.E. T. Tales; Hong Kong-born Chinese.
Sara: 18-year-old student in a creative-writing English class; Toronto-born Jew, European descent.
Carol: 18-year-old student in a creative-writing English class; Hong Kong-born Chinese.
Sam: 17-year-old student in his second-to-last year of high school; advertising manager of RE. T. Tales; Hong Kong born Chinese.
James Wolfe: CRAB AM's talk show host.
Caller: Caller to James Wolfe's talk show.
Nana: Naomi, Joshua's grandmother, sculptor, recently widowed; Montreal-born Jew, European descent; mid-60s.
Setting
Pierre Elliot Trudeau Secondary School
Toronto, Canada
Fall, 1996
Set description
A high school in Toronto, Canada. The front door to the school is upstage center. On the wall above the front door there is a hand-painted banner on brown mailing paper that says, "Welcome to Pierre Elliot Trudeau, the home of P.E.T. Tales."
The rest of the settings—the principal's office, classrooms, the school newspaper office, the cafeteria, and Wendy's living room appear and disappear as needed.
SCENE 1
______________________________________________________________________________
(The house lights come down, a school bell rings, and the audience hears RITA make the following announcement.)
RITA Good morning, Pierre Elliot Trudeau Secondary School. This is Rita, your student council president and that was your 5-minute warning bell.
(The lights come up on entire stage.
Rita is standing in front of the old wooden desk in the principal's office, stage right. On top of the desk is an intercom system. She is reading a school textbook while she waits for the second bell to ring.
The English classroom downstage left is empty except for MS. DIA MOND who is correcting papers at her desk. The classroom has six metal desks with wooden tops arranged in two rows. These desks and their orange plastic chairs represent many more. There is a small teacher's desk and chair placed in front of the students' desks.
JOSHUA and WENDY are sitting on the sofa in the newspaper office, center stage, looking at some photographs and laughing together. Joshua has his arm around Wendy's shoulder.
The newspaper office also has an old wooden table and three wooden chairs. There is a small computer and printer on the wooden table and a large radio on a small coffee table beside the sofa.
SARAH walks through the front door and makes her way to the newspaper office. Hearing the laughter, she stops just outside the office, listens for a few seconds, then walks in).
SARAH (Brightly) Hi Josh! (Coolly) Hello, Wendy. What's so funny?
JOSHUA Hey, Sarah. We're just looking at the pictures Wendy took on our camping trip Labor Day weekend. They're great!
(Handing the photographs to Wendy)
What's up?
SARAH (Perching on the sofa arm nearest Joshua)
I just came by to give you a message from your Nana Naomi. I saw her the day before yesterday.
JOSHUA You were in Montreal?
SARAH Yeah, I was there for the High Holidays. My grandmother goes to the same synagogue as yours so I saw her at the service Wednesday morning. In fact, I sat right in front of her.
(Wendy gets off the couch, walks over to the table and puts the photos away in her knapsack.)
JOSHUA Cool. How did she look?
SARAH Fabulous. She said to give you a big hug for her the next time I saw you so stand up and let me give it you.
(Joshua laughs, stands up and lets Sarah give him a hug. She also gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, which he doesn't expect.)
The kiss is from me. See you later.
(Sarah walks out of the office and across to the English classroom. Wendy glares at her as she leaves.)
JOSHUA Later.
(A second school bell rings. Ms. Diamond leaves the English class room and walks to the front door. Rita turns on the microphone and makes a second announcement.)
RITA Please stand for our national anthem and our thought for the day.
(A tape recording of, "Oh Canada," comes on and everyone on stage stands at attention. Joshua walks over to where Wendy is standing and motions that he wants to see the photos again. Wendy reaches for her knapsack, rummages through, finds the photos, and gives them to Josh. She gives him a big smile and they look at the photos together. SAM and CAROL hurry into school through the front door. When they see Ms. Diamond standing by the door, they stop dead in their tracks. Ms. Diamond motions to Sam to take off his baseball cap. He does. In the English classroom Sarah pulls out a huge calculus textbook out of knapsack, opens it up, and begins reading. The national anthem comes to an end.)
RITA And here's your thought for the day: "All we own, at least for the short time we have it, is our life. With it we write what we come to know of the world." By writer Alice Walker. That's all for now Trudeau. Have a great day!
SCENE 2
______________________________________________________________________________
(Wendy sits down on one of the chairs. Joshua goes to sit down on the sofa. Ms. Diamond walks back to the classroom and sits down at her desk. Carol and Rita Walk over to the English classroom and take their seats. Carol sits in the back row alone. Sam walks over to the newspaper office and greets Joshua. After greeting Sam, Joshua turns on the radio and the tape-recorded voice of James Wolfe on CRAB is heard.)
WOLFE Good morning, Toronto. It's time for Talk Radio on CRAB AM. Today's topic: "To Canada, with cash: Hong Kong money likes Toronto." Over 20 years, almost 150,000 people from Hong Kong have moved here. They are changing the face of our city. What do you think Toronto? Are they changing the city for the better? Or is our country turning into "Hong Kong, Canada." Give us a call at CRAB. 737-1111.
SAM (Reaches over and turns off the radio)
Hey, Joshua. Can we turn it off? That guy is really bugging me. And it's going to get worse when the phone calls start coming in.
JOSHUA I love this show. I love the phone calls. I love the controversy. Controversy sells ads Sam. Controversy ...
WENDY (Interrupting) Sorry, Josh, but could we start the meeting? I can't stay too long. Ms. Diamond wants me to be in class in 15 minutes. I don't have a spare like you guys.
(In the English classroom, Ms. Diamond takes a magazine out of her briefcase and motions to the three girls to come up to the desk and look at an article in the magazine. Sarah and Rita go up to the desk and gather around the magazine. Carol stays at her desk.)
JOSHUA Sure, Wen, no problem.
(Walking over to the table and taking a seat next to Wendy)
Now that you're here, we can start the meeting.
(Sam joins the others at the table.)
Okay you guys, here's the problem.
(Lights fade on the newspaper office but remain on the English classroom. Ms. Diamond closes the magazine and walks out from behind her desk to stand in front of the class. Rita and Sarah sit down in their seats.)
DIAMOND Okay... This morning I'm going to give you time to work on some journal writing.
(Sarah, Carol, and Rita take their journal books out of their bags.)
I hope that everyone is trying to write for at least 10 minutes every day. Thirty minutes is ideal.
SARAH It's impossible to find the time to write 30 minutes every day. Especially if you're taking calculus.
(Rita laughs. Carol is silent looking straight ahead at Ms. Diamond.)
DIAMOND I know it's hard to find time to write everyday, but if you want to become writers, you've got to try.
(Lights fade on the English classroom and come up on the newspaper office.)
JOSHUA P.E.T. Tales is in big trouble. The editorial team last year left us with a deficit and Ms. Diamond says that the school has very little money to fund student activities because of the provincial budget cuts. So, the principal is willing to give us the money to produce the first issue of the paper, but after that we're on our own. So...
(Lights fade on the newspaper office and come up on the English classroom.)
DIAMOND Let's go over our rules for journal writing one more time.
SARAH Again?
DIAMOND Yes. Again. I want you to remember the rules because they are the beginning of all writing.
(Lights fade on the English classroom and come up on the newspaper office.)
SAM So if we are going to run any more papers after the first one, we've got to find a way to raise enough money to pay for the paper AND pay off the deficit from last year. Because the printer won't publish our paper if we don't pay up by the end of October so...
JOSHUA (Interrupting) So we have a month to come up with the money and enough money to run a first paper.
SAM How much do we owe?
WENDY $1,000.
SAM $1,000. That's not too bad. We can try to increase the advertising we get from the business community. We just have to show advertisers that lots of people at our school read the paper.
WENDY There's no way we can prove that lots of people at school read our paper because they don't. Hardly anyone reads the paper-wait a minute, what time is it? (Looking at her watch) I gotta go. See you later.
(Wendy rushes out of the newspaper office and runs toward the English classroom. Lights fade on the newspaper office and come up on the English classroom. Wendy walks in and takes a seat beside Rita.)
SCENE 3
______________________________________________________________________________
DIAMOND Okay, here are your instructions. Begin with the phrase, "I don't know." "I don't know." Got it? Begin with "I don't know" and keep going. Don't stop. If you get stuck and think you have nothing else to say, write, "I don't know," again and again until something comes. Just keep your hands moving.
(Ms. Diamond sits down at her desk. A spotlight shines on Sarah. Her voice, reading her journal entry as she writes it, has been tape-recorded.)
SARAH I don't know ... I don't know ... I don't know if I should drop calculus or not. I had to miss the second quiz this week because it was on Yom Kippur and I was in synagogue in Montreal. Mr. Majors said he would excuse me but he wouldn't let me write a make-up. I barely passed the first calculus quiz. Not like those kids from Hong Kong. Lots of them got nineties because they have already taken calculus back home. I wish I were as good in math as they are. There's so many of them in my class. Mr. Majors couldn't give a quiz on Chinese New Year. The class would freak out.
(Lights fade on the English classroom and come up on the newspaper office.)
SAM Maybe we should ask Ms. Diamond to ask the principal to lend us the money to run the paper until December. That will give us some time to increase our readership.
JOSHUA I don't want to wait until December to increase reader ship. I want to demonstrate increased readership with the very first issue.
SAM Why the big rush?
JOSHUA Applications for journalism school are due in November. I want to be able to talk about the way we saved the paper in that essay they make you write. You know the essay about why they should offer you a place in their programs?
SAM Yeah, I know. But Josh, building up readership takes a long time—
JOSHUA (Interrupting) That's why our first issue has to be controversial.
(Lights fade on the newspaper office and come up on the English classroom. Carol puts her pencil down, folds her hands together, and places them on the desk.)
DIAMOND (Looking up) Carol you've stopped writing. Why?
CAROL (Eyes down on her notebook) I don't know how to write —— well in English.
DIAMOND I know it's hard, but you have to keep trying. The only way your English will improve is if you practice. Journal writing is a perfect way to practice English. In Hong Kong, don't people keep a personal journal?
CAROL (Looking at Diamond) Yes. Many people write in journals in Hong Kong. But we don't write in English. We write in Chinese. So I don't know how to write well in English journals (eyes down on her notebook). What is in my heart, I want to write in Chinese.
DIAMOND And I want you to write in English. It's good practice for you. In university, you'll have to show your professors that you know how to communicate in English. If it's hard to write about personal things in English, then write about school things. Write about the talent show tonight. You're performing in it, aren't you?
CAROL (Eyes down on her notebook) Yes.
DIAMOND All right then. Write about Talent Night and how you feel about performing in the show.
CAROL (Eyes down on her notebook) Okay.
(Carol slowly unfolds her hands, picks up her pen and begins writing. Lights fade on the English classroom and come up on the newspaper office.)
JOSHUA Carleton, University of Western Ontario, and Concordia in Montreal.
SAM Montreal?
JOSHUA My grandmother lives in Montreal. We're pretty close. My grandfather died about a year ago. If I go to school in Montreal, I can help her out by paying room and board. We'll keep each other company.
SAM What about Wendy? If you're living in Montreal, you won't see her very often.
JOSHUA (Sounding uncomfortable) Yeah, I know. But maybe she'll follow me next year after she graduates. If she does a good job this year, she can run for editor of the paper next year and try to get into Concordia too. (Changing the subject) A controversial issue. I still think that's what will get people reading the paper. Do you know how many people listen to James Wolfe on CRAB AM? Lots. Do you know why? Because he deals with controversial issues like
SAM (Interrupting, sarcastically) Like "To Canada with Cash?" "Are we living in "Hong Kong, Canada?" C'mon Josh. What kind of question is that? If that's what it takes to attract readers, I don't want to be part of it.
JOSHUA You're too sensitive. The guy is only asking a question— can't we even ask questions anymore?
SAM Josh, questions like___
JOSHUA (Interrupting) Questions on national policies? Like immigration? Have we become so politically correct that we can't even ask questions?
SAM You want to hear what kind of answers you get to those kinds of questions? Turn on the radio!
(Joshua turns on the radio and the tape-recorded voice of James Wolfe is heard.)
WOLFE Thank you very much. Do you have a comment to make about our topic?
CALLER I sure do Jim. I have lived in Toronto all my life Jim. My father was born here; my grandfather was born here. My grandfather fought in the First World War and my father fought in the Second World War
WOLFE Yes, yes, can you get to your point? What's your point today?
CALLER My point, Jim, is that I grew up speaking English. My father grew up speaking English. My grandfather grew up speaking English. Now when I get on the bus or the subway, all I hear is Chinese. And I can't understand any of it. If people want to come to Canada, they should speak English. And that's the trouble with people who come to Canada from Hong Kong. They just don't learn to speak English. If they don't want to speak English, then they should go back to where they came from, Jim.
(Sam turns off the radio.)
SAM That's the kind of talk you get to those kinds of questions, Josh. That's the kind of talk you get. We don't need that kind of talk in our school. We don't need that kind of talk.
(Lights fade on newspaper office.)
SCENE 4
______________________________________________________________________
(The stage is dark. The end of the teachers' band performance is heard. It is followed by the sound of people clapping and whistling. Spot light up on Rita, who is standing downstage center. Rita is wearing a tuxedo jacket and holding a microphone. The clapping fades.)
RITA Let's give one more big hand of applause for that last act, the smartest rock band around, P.E.T.'s very own teacher band, The P.E.T. School Boys
(The sound of clapping and whistling is heard.)
Now P.E.T, I want you to give a big warm welcome to a newcomer to Talent Night. This is her first time on the P.E.T. stage and I know you are going to be impressed. She's a terrific singer and tonight she's here to sing a song made popular by one of Hong Kong's biggest pop stars, the "Hong Kong Diva," Faye Wong.
(Less clapping and a little booing is heard and then fades when Rita, looking angry, puts up her hand for quiet.)
For those of you who haven't heard of Faye Wong, she has millions of fans around the world. Here, to sing one of her most popular songs is Trudeau's own Carol Shen. Give it up for Carol, Trudeau!
(The sound of polite clapping is heard. Carol walks towards Rita from stage left and Rita hands her the mike. Rita leaves the stage. Music from one of Faye Wong's songs comes on and the clapping fades. Carol begins singing the song, which is in Cantonese. When Carol has sung 8 bars, the music and lights fade.)
SCENE 5
______________________________________________________________________
(As the lights come up on the entire stage, Ms. Diamond is standing by the front door. Rita is standing by the intercom in the principal's office. Joshua is in the newspaper office standing at attention. Sarah, Wendy, and Carol are in the English class, standing at their desks.)
RITA And here's your thought for the day, this fine Monday morning. "All serious daring starts from within." By writer Eudora Welty. That's all for now Trudeau. Have a great day!
(Ms. Diamond walks to the English classroom. Carol, Wendy, and Sarah sit down. Rita walks over to the English classroom and sits down. Lights fade everywhere except the newspaper office and the English class. In the English classroom, Ms. Diamond is taking attendance. In the newspaper office, Joshua turns on the radio. The tape-recorded voice of James Wolfe is heard.)
WOLFE Good morning Toronto. It's time for the James Wolfe Show on CRAB AM. Today's topic "Living in Hong Kong, Canada: Part 2."
(Lights fade on the newspaper office but stay up on the English classroom. Ms. Diamond walks out from behind her desk and stands in front of the girls.)
DIAMOND Okay, let's begin. First, I want to congratulate Rita and Carol who performed in Friday night's talent show. You were just terrific! Rita, you did an excellent job as MC.
RITA Thanks, Ms. Diamond.
DIAMOND And Carol, you were just wonderful! It takes a lot of courage to perform in front of everybody when you are new to the school, and I think you gave everyone a superb performance.
(Carol smiles back at Ms. Diamond in thanks. Sarah is visibly upset.)
Why don't we give a big hand for both Rita and Carol?
(Ms. Diamond and Wendy give the two some applause. Sarah does not applaud.)
DIAMOND Okay. Let's begin. Earlier this morning Rita read us a quotation by Eudora Welty. Rita, do you remember what she said?
RITA "All serious daring starts from within" ...
SARAH (Interrupting) Ms. Diamond, could I be excused?
DIAMOND (A little annoyed) Yes, go ahead.
(Sarah leaves the English classroom and walks toward the newspaper office.)
DIAMOND Right. "All serious daring starts from within." I want you to write a list of 25 things that you would like to do that require "serious daring" from you. Got that? You have 10 minutes. Come up with as many things as you can.
(Carol, Wendy, and Rita take out their notebooks out of their bags and begin writing. Ms. Diamond walks back to her desk, sits down, and begins to do some paperwork. Lights fade out on the English classroom and come up on the newspaper office, where Joshua is sitting on the couch. Sarah stops at the door, walks inside, and perches on the armrest beside him.)
JOSHUA So whose class are you skipping?
SARAH I'm not skipping. I'm just taking a little break. (Pauses) Hey...were you at the Talent Night on Friday? I didn't see you there.
JOSHUA No, I couldn't make it. My cousins from Montreal were in for the weekend and my mother wanted me home for dinner. How was it? I heard it was pretty good.
SARAH Yeah. Some of it was good. Like, the teachers' band, P.E.T. School Boys, they were good. And the dance.
الاكثر قراءة في Teaching Strategies
اخر الاخبار
اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة
