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Conrad A. Panganiban

Conrad A. Panganiban

playwright | conradap@gmail.com

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the wait guitar image

The Wait – Play 10

Posted on 08/16/201908/16/2019 by Conrad

The Wait

BETH. She/Her/Hers. 20s-30s. Guitar playing badass!
BETHANY. She/Her/Hers. Pre-teens. A guitar playing badass in training.

Before lights come up, we hear a fast progression of chords that are being played on a guitar before it stops at the end of a song. Immediately lights up on BETHANY, holding a guitar. She’s just finished playing an entire concert with her band, but when the lights come on, there’s nothing on the stage but her, her guitar, a young girl sitting on the side of the stage, and silence.

She opens her eyes to be blinded by the stage lights shining on her.

BETH
Hello?
Anybody out there?

BETHANY
I’m here.

BETH
Who are you?

BETHANY
You.

BETH
You who?

BETHANY
You, you meanie. Don’t you remember this shirt?

BETH
Oh yeah. That was / my favorite-

BETHANY
My favorite shirt.
That’s why I’m wearing it again.

BETH
So what are you doing here Bethany?

BETHANY
Just waiting.

BETH
Waiting for what?

BETHANY
You know. The thing you’re always waiting for after you play a song.

BETH
Yeah. You’re right. So, where is it?

BETHANY takes a look around.

BETHANY
I don’t know really. It’s usually here by now.

BETH
That is strange.
Do you mind if I sit with you until it does come?

BETHANY
I’m you. Would you mind?

BETH sits next to BETHANY

BETH
Guess I wouldn’t.

BETHANY takes out a Twizzler and holds it out to BETH which she gladly accepts and takes a bite on. BETHANY takes another one out and chews on it the same way as BETH.

BETH
It’s taking a while, isn’t it?

BETHANY
Does it matter?

BETH
Well, yeah in a way. How else would I know if what we did was good?

BETHANY
You didn’t have to wait for it before.

BETH
But that was when I was a kid.

BETHANY
Hell-ohhh!

BETH
Right.

BETHANY
So, why do you need to wait for it now?

BETH
It’s like I don’t need to.

BETHANY
But you are, aren’t you?

BETH
You wouldn’t understand. You’re too young.

BETHANY
YouR avoidance of providing the detailed nature of your inner need for acceptance is stunting my growth.

BETH
Mother fucker.

BETHANY
And it has nothing to do with our father.

BETH
You’ve always been wise beyond your years.

BETHANY
Thank me.

BETH
Smart ass.

BETHANY
Takes one to know one.

BETH and BETHANY share a fist bump.

BETHANY
But really, you know you don’t have to wait for it anymore.

BETH
I guess I’ve gotten used to it. The sound of it.
You know how long we’ve been working at this. When mom bought us our first guitar-

BETHANY
And we threw a fit because we wanted the drums instead-

BETH
Right! But then mom showed us how to play She Loves You, Can’t Buy Me Love, I Want To Hold Your Hand-

BETHANY
Noregian Wood, Here Comes the Sun, and Blackbird.

BETH
“Good job, Beth,” she’d say.

BETHANY
And then she’d say, “Now let’s learn, some AC/DC!”

They both throw both horns up in the air for a Metal Salute.

BETHANY
See, we didn’t have to wait for it back then.

BETH
But it’s different now. I don’t know… We’ve been lucky enough to tour around the world-

BETHANY
Remember Orlando?

BETH
The first or the second time?

BETHANY
The fourth.

BETH
Ulk… don’t remind me.

BETHANY
What about Germany?

BETH
Hey! You’re too young to know about Germany!

BETHANY
What was his name… Sven!

BETH
Bethany!

BETHANY
And who can forget Moscow? Moscow was a total blast-

BETH
Yeah. Moscow was the best.

BETHANY
And you didn’t have to wait for it then.

BETH
But, I guess, today…

BETHANY
Oh, yeah… today.

BETH
Today, if it came, it’d make everything worth it, don’t you think? Maybe that’s why you’re here. The both us waiting for it to arrive… and the wait is killing me.

Silence

BETH
Where is it?

BETHANY
Why?

BETH
Why what?

BETHANY
Why do you need it so bad? Why does it feel like you’re suffocating in the inside without it? Why do you wait?

BETH
You know.

BETHANY
You have to say it out loud for it to come.

BETH
Fine. I guess, I guess, it’s to know that we connect with an audience.

BETHANY
Did you hear them sing along with you?

BETH
It’s to know that I’m good enough.

BETHANY
We know much we practiced before any of the hit records and tours. We are good enough and you’re avoiding again!

BETH
I need it so that it’s something that she’d be proud of.

BETHANY
Go on.

BETH
I figure that if I played well enough. If I played every note perfect. If everyone who came to see us got lost in our music just long enough to forget their problems or troubles. If a little girl came to see me play, then she’d know that she could be a bad ass too and not have to ever worry about whatever she did was right or wrong, she could just… be. Then I’d know what we did was worth while. With that applause, that cheer, that sound of glee… that noise made between each of their two hands clapping or the oscillating vibrations between vocal chords of approval would be loud enough to travel far and wide enough to reach mom’s spirit. To jog her soul into knowing that every minute she spent with us and the guitar she bought on layaway was worth it. That together we did something right in this world. Everything I knew she wanted to hear when she gave up playing with her band to provide for us and our brothers when we were born.

BETHANY
I miss her too.
Happy birthday, Mom.

BETH
So, that’s why I wait.

BETHANY stands.

BETHANY
Why we wait.

BETH stands.

BETH
For the applause.

BOTH
For her applause.

As the sound of a crowds’ applause cracks the air, BETH and BETHANY hold hands, smile at each other, and start to bow.

Lights fade out.

END OF PLAY

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Headshot of Conrad A. Panganiban

Conrad A. Panganiban (he/him/his) is an award-winning Filipino American playwright representing the San Francisco Bay Area. His plays include Daryo’s All-American Diner, Welga, and River’s Message. Conrad’s work has been produced by Bindlestiff Studio, The Chikahan Company, CIRCA Pintig (IL), the MaArte Theatre Collective, and CATS (Contemporary Asian Theatre Scene) . Awards include: Best Play of 2023, Daryo’s All-American Diner (BroadwayWorldAwards Chicago), Best New Play, Daryo’s All-American Diner (Chicago Reader, Best of 2023), Susan Fairbrook Playwright Fund Awardee (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), 2023 New Voices in Comedy Writing Fellowship (Killing My Lobster), James Milton Highsmith Award Winner (SFSU), National Ten-Minute Play Festival Finalist (Actors Theatre of Louisville), and Bay Area Playwrights Festival Semi-Finalist (Playwrights Foundation). Resident Artist: Bindlestiff Studio. Member: Dramatist Guild of America, and Theatre Bay Area. MFA, San Francisco State University. @consplayspace

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