Featured Playwright of December #1
This month’s featured playwright is... a tie! “Long Abandoned” by Samantha Oty and “Coming Home” by John Ladd were both too good to pick a winner, so I’m going to do a two-part post to celebrate both playwrights. This post is about “Long Abandoned” by Samantha Oty.
Samantha is a graduate of Radford University (B.S. English; Technical Editing and Writing) and The George Washington University (M.P.S. Publishing; Editorial/Marketing and Promotion). Her first play, Demolition Lovers, was written her sophomore year of high school and won the 2010 New Voices playwriting contest. Sadly, due to a conflicting trip to Europe, it would be another two years before she would see that play performed. She has been writing plays ever since. Her plays have appeared in Junto Magazine and in 5th Wall Productions' Rough Draft Reading series. When not working on new plays, Sam is half the team behind the Real Horrorshow Podcast and one of the founding members of Postcard Press. She may or may not actually be two ten-year-olds wearing a trench coat.
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Long Abandoned
By Samantha Oty
Cast
Alex
(M)
20-something
Should be wearing summer clothes, with a jacket
Waverly
(F)
17-19 years old
Dressed in a white sundress
A Dark Figure
(M)
**Both WAVERLY and ALEX should use their left arm at the bare minimum.**
Setting
A small, rundown church at night, now used for campus storage. Should be filled with boxes and lawn care supplies.
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AT RISE: Lights up. ALEX is sitting on one of the pews by himself, deep in thought. WAVERLY enters stage left wearing a white sundress.
ALEX
Hey.
She jumps, startled by her unexpected guest.
ALEX
I’m sorry; did I scare you?
WAVERLY
Hesitant
No . . . I just wasn’t expecting anyone to be here.
ALEX
Yeah, I guess it isn’t really your typical Saturday hangout spot. Would you like to sit down?
She hesitates for a moment.
WAVERLY
What are you doing here?
ALEX
Nothing. I just wanted a quiet place to think for a little while. What better place to think than a church?
WAVERLY
I was here to think too.
She walks over to the pew and sits next to him, rubbing her left arm.
WAVERLY
Why would you pick this church? Don’t you think it’s kind of creepy? It’s been abandoned for as long as I can remember.
ALEX
I don’t know. It seemed like a peaceful place, and I assumed no one else would be here. Also, I heard Asbestos poisoning was a good excuse to get out of finals.
WAVERLY
She smiles
I’m sorry . . . If you want me to go I can leave.
ALEX
No, it’s fine. My name is Alex.
WAVERLY
I’m Waverly.
ALEX
That’s different.
WAVERLY
Yeah, it means Quaking Aspens. It’s English.
ALEX
You know the meaning of your name?
WAVERLY
Yeah, don’t you?
ALEX
Not really.
WAVERLY
Oh, I like looking up the meaning of people’s names. I think it says a lot about their personalities, like, your name is Alex. Which I’m guessing is short for Alexander, which means the protector of man . . .
ALEX
I was named after my grandfather. He fought in Vietnam so that makes sense.
WAVERLY
I’m sorry if I’m being weird or something . . . I have a lot of time on my hands, and I don’t get to meet new people very often.
ALEX
Don’t worry about it.
Beat. Waverly goes back to rubbing her left arm, this catches ALEX’s eye.
ALEX
It’s kind of cold in here. Do you want to borrow my jacket for a little while?
She moves away from him.
WAVERLY
No . . . It feels the same that it always does. This place never changes.
ALEX deflates and shyly rubs his left shoulder.
ALEX
So, you’re from around here?
WAVERLY
Yeah, are you?
ALEX
No, I just go to the college around the corner.
WAVERLY
Oh . . . I never liked that school.
ALEX
It’s good enough.
WAVERLY
I never wanted to stay close to home; I always wanted to get out of here.
ALEX
So, why are you here now?
WAVERLY
Sometimes you don’t always have a choice . . . Sometimes you just can’t escape the place you want to the most.
ALEX
I hear that.
WAVERLY
I used to come here all the time growing up. I didn’t care that it was creepy . . . It was a temporary escape.
ALEX
I get it. It’s a shame that they only use it for storage now.
WAVERLY
It’s also a cool place for kids to sneak into and share ghost stories—or so I’ve heard.
ALEX
Yeah, I mean, what else can they use it for? Ever since that girl was killed here.
WAVERLY
Oh . . . So you’ve heard that story.
ALEX
Yeah, it’s kind of this town’s big claim to fame.
WAVERLY
Well, I think it’s awful! Some poor girl gets brutally murdered, and it becomes a story frat boys tell at their bonfires to scare freshmen.
ALEX
Yeah . . . I mean, it sucks but what can you do about it?
WAVERLY
Did they ever catch the guy?
ALEX
What?
WAVERLY
Did they ever catch the guy who did it?
ALEX
I don’t know . . . What’s it matter? It was over thirty years ago. He’s probably dead now.
WAVERLY
Did they ever find her other arm?
ALEX
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
WAVERLY
Before he tried to hide the body he chopped her up. Over there . . .
She points Upstage with her right arm.
And they never found her left arm. It was the arm she wore her charm bracelet on. Every year her mother would go someplace and bring her back a new charm.
ALEX
You sure know a lot about this.
WAVERLY
Of course I do. I grew up here, remember?
ALEX
Does it scare you?
WAVERLY
No . . . Like you said, it was thirty years ago.
ALEX
You’re kind of strange, Waverly.
WAVERLY
Says the guy who goes to a haunted church to think.
ALEX
Hey! I never said that I didn’t like weird. And who says this place is haunted? Ghosts aren’t real.
WAVERLY
Of course ghosts are real. Aren’t they just the metaphors for the past?
ALEX
That’s pretty deep.
WAVERLY
I have a lot of time to think. Is your arm all right? You keep rubbing it?
ALEX
Huh? Oh yeah . . . I think I must have just banged it into something last night.
Beat.
ALEX
How long do you think you’ll be in town?
WAVERLY
Oh, I’ll be here for a while.
ALEX
We should do something—
WAVERLY
I don’t know about that.
ALEX
Why?
WAVERLY
Things are complicated.
ALEX
Why? Do you have a boyfriend or something?
WAVERLY
Yeah. Well, I used to.
ALEX
Used to?
WAVERLY
If you haven’t seen them in a really long time are they still your boyfriend?
ALEX
Well, how long has it been?
WAVERLY
A few years.
ALEX
Do you still talk to him?
WAVERLY
I would like to.
ALEX
Does he?
WAVERLY
No . . . I don’t think he wants to talk to me anymore.
ALEX
Well then I don’t think he’s your boyfriend anymore.
WAVERLY
Oh . . .
ALEX
I’m sorry.
He goes to put his arm around her but she stands up and paces, thinking.
WAVERLY
I would like to see you again, too. I get really lonely sometimes.
ALEX
Awesome—well, not about you getting lonely! The first part is awesome.
WAVERLY
Laughs
We just have to meet here.
ALEX
Why?
WAVERLY
It’s complicated.
ALEX
Overprotective father?
WAVERLY
Not anymore.
ALEX
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Did he pass recently?
WAVERLY
No, no. He’s still alive.
ALEX
Oh, well . . . Then what’s—
WAVERLY
I can’t leave the church.
ALEX
Why?
WAVERLY
I used to come here to think.
ALEX
Uh-huh . . .
WAVERLY
And what better place to do it in than a church?
ALEX
Right.
WAVERLY
And you can see me Alex . . . It’s been a really long time since anyone saw me.
ALEX
You’ve lost me.
WAVERLY
The last person to see me was thirty years ago.
Beat.
WAVERLY
I came here thirty years ago because my parents were fighting. I don’t understand why they never got a divorce. Small town, I guess they didn’t want everyone talking.
ALEX
Thirty years ago?
WAVERLY
Continuing with her story.
I was just so flustered that I didn’t notice him following me . . .
ALEX
What are you talking about?
WAVERLY sits next to him again.
WAVERLY
Ghosts are real. We are so, so real . . .
ALEX
Are you trying to tell me?
WAVERLY
I’ve been so lonely.
ALEX
Is this a joke?
WAVERLY
They never found my arm—Not even my charm bracelet. I wish they did. I want my mother to have it.
ALEX
You’re . . . dead?
WAVERLY
Please don’t go. I haven’t talked to anyone since in so long.
ALEX
I’m not going to go anywhere . . .
WAVERLY
Thank you.
ALEX
They never caught the guy.
WAVERLY
Is that why I’m still here?
ALEX
Maybe . . . That’s what happens in the movies.
WAVERLY
I don’t want to be here anymore.
ALEX
I can understand.
WAVERLY
This place used to be where I’d go to escape. Now I’m trapped here.
ALEX
I’m sorry.
WAVERLY stands and begins pacing, again.
ALEX
What’s wrong?
WAVERLY
Something’s not right. You can see me? Why can you see me?
ALEX
I don’t know! Why is the sky blue?
WAVERLY
They never caught him . . . And he’s still alive!
ALEX
Calm down, you’re starting to scare me.
WAVERLY
I was scared too.
ALEX
When?
WAVERLY
Right before he came in, right before I died . . .
ALEX
Waverly?
WAVERLY
You need to get out. Please!
ALEX
What’s wrong? I thought we were getting along? I thought we were starting to be friends!
WAVERLY
We are! Please just get ou—
A dark figure walks across the stage carrying a bag, which has an arm
hanging out of it. He doesn’t seem to see either of them. ALEX stands up
and puts his arm on WAVERLY’s left shoulder. She jumps, suddenly
realizing why he can see her.
ALEX
Can you please tell me what’s wrong?
WAVERLY
I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry.
END OF PLAY
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