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Conrad A. Panganiban

Conrad A. Panganiban

playwright | conradap@gmail.com

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No More Monsters Play Image

No More Monsters – Play 13

Posted on 08/18/2019 by Conrad

ERIC ENRIQUEZ. He/Him/His. 20-30s. Sarah’s dad and Megan’s spouse. Person of Color.
MEGAN ENRIQUEZ. She/Her/Hers. 20-30s. Sarah’s mom and Eric’s spouse. Person of Color.

SETTING
2:30am in the backyard of the Enriquez house in a suburban city.

In a faint light, we can see a shadowy figure hitting a heavy bag with a baseball bat.

WHACK!
WHACK!
WHACK!

Lights switch on to see ERIC swinging a baseball bat and connecting it on a heavy bag.

WHACK!
WHACK!

Enter MEGAN in a bathrobe.

MEGAN
Eric?

WHACK!

MEGAN
Eric!

Silence.

MEGAN
Come inside. You’re going to wake up Alex.

WHACK!

MEGAN
ERIC!

ERIC
How can you sleep?

WHACK!

MEGAN
I can’t with you hitting that thing at 2:30 in the morning.

ERIC
I can’t close my eyes without seeing her.

WHACK!

MEGAN
I know, dear.

WHACK!

ERIC
Then how do you do it? How can you… How can you sleep at night knowing that…

WHACK!

MEGAN
I can’t. I can’t sleep either.

ERIC
I just keep playing that scene over and over. What could I have done differently? I should have gotten off work earlier. I should have called in sick. I should have known!

WHACK!

MEGAN
None of us could have known.

ERIC
It was bound to happen. And I should have known it was bound happen here.

MEGAN
Nothing happens here in Marina.

ERIC
They said nothing happens in Parkland.
That nothing happens in Sandy Hook!

WHACK!

ERIC (cont.)
That nothing happens here!

WHACK!

MEGAN
Stop it, Eric!
STOP IT!
Stop hitting that damn bag.
Stop blaming you!
And stop shutting everyone out!

ERIC
Then what the hell do you want me to do?

MEGAN
You can start by putting that down.

ERIC grabs the bat, looks at the bag ready to swing… and takes a breath as he lowers the bat.

MEGAN
Thank you.

ERIC
Over and over again. My mind is like a remote control that keeps hitting rewind from when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket to it stopping and then starting up again… then stopping… then started up again with the vibration ringing through my spine. I turned it to read your text-

MEGAN
There’s been a shooting at Sarah’s school.

ERIC
I couldn’t breathe-

MEGAN
My heart stopped-

ERIC
I ran out of the office without saying a word-

MEGAN
I held Alex as we cried together-

ERIC
The radio reporter kept saying that all traffic had been stopped in all directions on Reservation Road-

MEGAN
The helicopter video showed a row of police moving in caterpillar like single file with guns drawn as they approached the back of the school-

ERIC
A single white male carrying an AR-15 was spotted outside the playground-

MEGAN
His twitter handle, #MAGANow, was traced from the Manifesto he posted on 8Chan-

ERIC
If we can’t stop the invasion from coming into our country, then we can stop the invasion from growing up here.

MEGAN
We were born here.

ERIC
We were all born here.

MEGAN
And she died here too.

ERIC
The playground turned into a garden of sorrow as flowers, teddy bears and notes were left in the places of each of the 15 kids and 3 teachers were last standing

MEGAN
Playing…

ERIC
Breathing…
How can this keep happening, Megan? What did they do to deserve having their lives end before theirs even began?

MEGAN
They didn’t do anything.

ERIC
Good things are supposed to happen to good people, right?

MEGAN
Yes-

ERIC
And aren’t we good people?

MEGAN
Of course / we are-

ERIC
Sarah is a good person

MEGAN
She’s the / greatest

ERIC
All those kids were good people

MEGAN
Yes, they were-

ERIC
Then why are all of them dead. And not the shooter!

WHACK!

ERIC (cont.)
He was the bad person!

WHACK!

ERIC (cont.)
He was the one who took their lives!

WHACK!

ERIC (cont.)
He was the one who took my baby’s life!

WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK!!!!!

ERIC falls to his knees and starts to sob uncontrollably. MEGAN rushes to him.

A baby’s cry is heard.

MEGAN
I know, baby. I know. We’re all hurting too.

ERIC
I want to hurt him so bad. It’s not fair. It’s So. Not. Fair that that monster is still alive. That’s what’s not fair… and what he doesn’t deserve.

ERIC stands.

MEGAN
Where are you going?

ERIC
I have to check on Alex.

MEGAN rushes to stop him.

MEGAN
I’ll go with you. You shouldn’t-

ERIC
Shouldn’t what?

MEGAN
Shouldn’t feel this way?

ERIC
Alex is crying, I have to get him-

MEGAN
That’s what babies do, cry… but he’ll calm down. First he needs to calm down… you need to calm down, baby. We’re okay… he’s okay…

The baby’s cry starts to fade out before stopping.

MEGAN (cont.)
See. He’s falling back asleep.

ERIC
I don’t think I ever can until that monster…

MEGAN
Eric, look at me.
Look at me!
I need. Alex needs you. Stay here. Stay here with us.

ERIC
I am here.

MEGAN
No you’re not.
Eric, look at me.
You can’t beat the monster without being a monster. Do you hear me?

ERIC
Yeah.

MEGAN
What did I say?

ERIC
Megan.

MEGAN
What did I say?

ERIC
I can’t beat the monster without being a monster.

MEGAN
And you know Sarah didn’t like monsters.

ERIC
Megan-

MEGAN
You’re not a monster. You’re still a husband. My best friend. And still a father. All of us will move on because we will. We have to because we have to make this life mean something. So no more monsters. This world can’t afford to have anymore monsters in the world. Do you hear me?

ERIC looks at Megan and gives her a hug.

ERIC
No more monsters.

MEGAN
Let’s check on our baby.

ERIC
One more thing…

ERIC lays the baseball bat down and goes back to MEGAN as they exit.

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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