plays

Funeral Strains: A One Act Play By Gary Beck

Scene 1

(Pre-show. Offstage. Blaring sounds of anti-gay, anti-military protest, by a radical church group, attempting to disrupt the burial service of a gay Marine, Tom Richardson, killed in combat in Afghanistan. ‘God hates fags’. ‘Thank God for dead soldiers’.  ‘America is doomed’. ‘Thank God for IED’s’. ‘God hates you’. ‘Mourn for your sins’. ‘Fags doom nations’. ‘God hates America’. ‘God is your enemy’. The protest is heard distantly at different times during the play. Enter John Richardson, Tom’s father, and Tom’s younger brother, Cal. As they enter the sounds of protest fade.)

John: I never thought I’d be glad to see bikers. When they asked my permission to shield the ceremony from that hate group I was really embarrassed at the public attention of you know what. But when they chased those church fanatics further away I felt like getting a motorcycle jacket, catching up to them, ( He mimes gripping the handlebars and makes  sounds revving the motor) and buying them a beer.

Cal: I don’t know about them, Dad. Most bikers are violent criminals and some are drug dealers. I’m not sure what they did was legal.

John: The hell with legal. They helped us, didn’t they? Those guys are vets, sticking up for their own. The sheriff wouldn’t do anything. Said: (Mimicking) “Those church people have a constitutional right to protest.” You’d think a church would respect the rights of a family burying their 

son. I shouldn’t have to listen to them yelling all that filth, but it got to me. I was so mad I was going to get my rifle from the truck and run them off, if the vets hadn’t shown up.

Cal: What if the protesters wouldn’t go? Would you have shot them?

John: I don’t know, Cal…. But we have a right to bury Tom without their

blaring away like that. It’s bad enough the town knew about our shame. With the media here, they’re broadcasting it to the whole world…. Maybe if I popped a few of them, they’d find another way to spread their twisted message of god. At least they’d go away.

Cal: Then you’d go to jail. That wouldn’t solve anything.

John: I’d feel a lot better.

Cal: Maybe…. But they’re not much different than you, Dad.

John: The hell they are.

Cal: You were pretty violent when you found out Tom was gay. You said 

worse things about him then they did.

John: Yeah. But I was never anti-military.   I served my country proudly,

Cal: Well, so did Tom. But you drove him to enlist when he needed your help.

John: That was his choice…. I almost died of shame when they caught him making out with a guy, and him the captain of the football team. What else could I do? (Sounds of protest, ‘God hates fags’. ‘Thank God for dead soldiers’. They fade away).

Cal: You could have stood by him…. He’d still be alive if you hadn’t kicked 

him out of the house.

John: The hell you say. So now you’re blaming me for his death?

Cal: He’d be alive and safe in college, if you supported him when he needed you.

John: I wouldn’t have a faggot for a son. There’s no way I could live with that.

Cal: That’s an ugly word, especially now that he’s dead.

John: Does the truth hurt?

Cal: That’s not what Tom was.

John: He was a dirty pervert.

Cal: Don’t say that. He was my brother and I loved him.

John: That’s your choice, but I can’t go to that gravesite and face the Marine honor guard.

Cal: Why not?

John: Because they know what he was.

Cal: How do you know they’re not gay?

John: Are you nuts? Whoever heard of gay Marines?

Cal: (Stares at John until reality sinks in.) As long as someone’s willing to

fight and die for his country, what do you care what his sexual preferences

are?

John: (Looks at him strangely) It should matter. We never had gays when I was

in the Corps.

Cal: I’m sure you would have noticed.

John: What do you mean by that?… Maybe you’re a homo. Is that why you’re defending him?

Cal: Say that again and I’ll kick your teeth in.

John: (Laughs derisively.) That’ll be the day. You better get your girlie-man friends to help you. (Cal starts towards John, but stops when his mother, Ellen Richardson, and his younger sister, Norma, enter.)

Scene 2

Ellen: Are you two fighting about Tom again? This is my son’s funeral, John. It’s

bad enough I have to listen to those hate mongers screaming those awful things about Tom, without hearing my own husband echoing them.

John: Ellen. That’s no way to talk to me.

Ellen: It’s true, isn’t it? You call him nastier things then they do.

Norma: Mom’s right. My brother died a hero. You shouldn’t insult his memory.

John: So all of you are against me…. Well I’m used to that…. How do we know he was really a hero?

Ellen: His captain wrote that letter telling us how he died saving his buddies during a Taliban attack. I know my Tom. That’s what he would do.

John: (To Norma) I seem to remember that you and your friends were tweetering, or whatever you call it, not too long ago, saying the war was unjust. Now all of a sudden it’s alright because your brother died?

Norma: I don’t care about the war right now. I miss my brother and I don’t want

you saying mean things about him now that he’s dead. I stuck up for him

when everybody turned on him, and I don’t want you insulting Cal for

defending the brother he loved and admired.

John: What’s wrong with you people? Tom almost destroyed this family. They 

came close to firing me from my security job at the mall.  Your Mom’s good friends stopped talking to her. Cal’s buddies ignore him and your girlfriends call you insulting names. (Sounds of protest. ‘Thank God for IED’s’. ‘Mourn for your sins’. ‘Fags doom nations’. They fade away.)

Ellen: None of that matters now. I don’t care about anything else but saying

goodbye to the son I loved and lost. (To John.) I know I didn’t always speak up when I should have. Maybe if I did he’d still be alive. Now it’s time to put your bad feelings behind you. I want you to behave like the man I thought you were when we first got married.

John: (Sullenly) Doesn’t it matter what I feel?

Ellen: I should hope you feel the same loss as the rest of us. (John shrugs.) What’s the problem now?

Cal: (Cuts in before John can answer) Dad says he’s not going to the grave.

Ellen: Don’t worry. He’s going. (To John) And you’ll behave respectfully. 

This is the time for our family to mourn Tom and set an example for those who condemned him. Now no more arguing. Come with me. (Exit Ellen and John. Cal and Norma remain.

Scene 3

Norma: It’s about time she spoke up.

Cal: That’s a shocker.

Norma: At least she did it…. What were you and Dad fighting about?

Cal: The usual. He still blames Tom for everything. Then he called him a 

faggot.

Norma: (She looks around, then steps closer.) There is another side to it.  I 

understand why he’s so upset.  He’s not the kind of man who can deal

with that kind of thing.

Cal: (Angrily) Are you taking Dad’s part?

Norma: No, silly. I feel the same way you do about Tom. But just think how it

affected our big, macho Dad. His golden boy son caught in the locker room doing whatever men do to each other. It ripped his world apart.

It was beyond his ability to deal with it reasonably.

Cal: I know that. Believe me. It shocked me too, when I found out. But I never forgot that he was my brother.

Norma: If Tom only told Dad that he was gay before anything happened….

Cal: Yeah. Right. You must be thinking of some other father. Dad would have

reacted the same way and thrown him out of the house even sooner.

Norma: It might have been different if Tom had confided in Dad privately. He 

might have stood by him.

Cal: Don’t make me laugh. Have you ever been able to confide in him?

(She shakes her head no.) I sure haven’t. He’d never accept that a son of his was gay. I’ve been waiting for him to call me a faggot, because I like books. Just before you and Mom got here he asked me if I was a homo.

Norma: (Teasingly) Did you confess?

Cal: Smart ass…. I told him I’d kick his teeth in.

Norma: That’s the kind of talk he understands. I tell you what. I’ll buy you a set of weights for your birthday. You can work out and build some muscles. That should reassure him you’re not gay.(He laughs despite himself and she joins in.) I’m glad you can still laugh.

Cal: There’s not much else I can do. It hurts too much to cry…. I miss Tom all

the time.

Norma: So do I…. I keep asking myself if I could have done anything to prevent him from leaving home like that.

Cal: I didn’t know what to do…. I didn’t want him to go, but I knew he couldn’t live here anymore…. Sometimes I feel like there’s a curse on us.

Norma: Don’t talk like that…. We’ll get through this somehow…. Let’s go to the grave site and not let anyone stop us from saying goodbye to the brother 

we loved. (Exit Cal and Norma. The distant sounds of protest. ‘God hates fags’. ‘Thank God for dead soldiers’. ‘America is doomed’. ‘Fags destroy nations’. ‘Thank God for IED’s’. ‘God hates you’.)

Date Rape: A Play by Gary Beck

(image is of the author, http://www.garybeck.com)


Scene 1 (Sunday morning. The living room of the Bennett family. Enter Jennifer. Distraught. Megan enters.)

Megan: “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been walking around this morning like death warmed over. Are you sick?”

Jennifer: “I’m not sick.”

Megan: “Then what is it?”

Jennifer (She looks around to be sure no one can hear her) “I was raped.”

Megan: “Oh, no. (she rushes to Jennifer and hugs her) When?”

Jennifer: “Last night. At a frat party.” (she cries)

Megan: “My poor baby. (comforts her) Tell me about it.”

Jennifer: “A guy in my lit class invited me to the Lacrosse team party. Larry was away this weekend, so I went. There was a lot of drinking, pot smoking, I think some of them were snorting coke. I didn’t like it, but it didn’t threaten me. People were dancing and having fun. Ron, the guy who invited me, offered me coke, but I refused. He got me a beer and we danced. I started feeling dizzy and he led me to another room. I guess I passed out, because the next thing I knew when I woke up was my clothes were off, he was on top of me and he was inside me. (Jennifer looks at Megan, horrified) He was doing it to me. I tried to push him off, but I could barely move. It was hard to talk, but I said: ‘Stop. Get off me. Please stop’. But he kept on until he came in me, moaning like an animal.” (She breaks down sobbing)

Megan: (comforts her, asks) “What happened after that?”

Jennifer: “He left. I found my clothes, got dressed and snuck out of there. I didn’t want anyone to see me. When I got back to the dorm I was so agitated I couldn’t stay there. I was afraid I’d go crazy. So I came home.”

Megan: “Well we’ve got things to do.”

Jennifer: “What?”

Megan “First we’ve got to to go the emergency room and get you examined and let them take DNA samples of your attacker. Then we got to the police and report it…”

Jennifer: “I don’t know if I can deal with that…”

Megan: “You’ve got to. Monday morning we’ll go to the school and report it.”

Jennifer: “No. I can’t. Everybody’ll know.”

Megan: “You didn’t do anything wrong. He did. Let them look at him. It sounds like he gave you that date rape drug, then assaulted you. He’s a criminal. You’re an innocent victim. (Megan hugs her and whispers) If you don’t have him arrested, the same thing that happened to me will happen to you.”

Jennifer: “What do you mean?”

Megan: “I was raped when I was your age.”

Jennifer: “Oh, Megan. I didn’t know”

Megan: “I was so ashamed I didn’t tell anyone. I started drinking, had panic attacks, became depressed and dropped out of school. When I finally told Mom, she took me to the doctor and he diagnosed me with post-traumatic-stress-disorder.”

Jennifer: “I had no idea. Mom told me you were sick, but she never explained what was wrong.”

Megan: “What did you expect? You were 12 years old. She couldn’t tell you I was raped. You were an innocent kid. You wouldn’t have been able to deal with that.”

Jennifer: “Someone should have told me something to make me understand what was wrong with you. All they said was you were sick.”

Megan: “It took me a year to finally tell Mom what happened. By that time I was an alcoholic. I was miserable and had lost control of my life, which was a mess. I was beginning to think about suicide. Out of desperation I told Mom. She got me help, but it took two years and a lot of money we couldn’t afford before I got back on my feet. Then I went back to school and rebuilt my life.”

Jennifer: “I wish knew. Maybe I could have helped.”

Megan: “There was nothing you could have done. Now we have to make sure the same kind of thing doesn’t happen to you. I know what you’re going through. I was there. You have to protect yourself. The only way to do it is by overcoming your shame and feelings of guilt that it was your fault, then facing what has to be done.”

Jennifer: “I don’t know if I can. It’s so humiliating.”

Megan: “That’s why it’s so important to get treatment, with proof that it happened, and have your attacker arrested. He’ll be the one who’s humiliated when he’s in jail.”

Jennifer: “Alright. I’ll do it. But you’ve got to go with me.”

Megan: “Of course, Jen. I’ll stay with you every step of the way. First you’ve got to

tell Mom and Dad.”

Jennifer: “Do I have to?”

Megan: “Sure. They’ll be part of your support system. We’ll need them.”

Jennifer: (Hugs Megan) “Thanks, Meg. Last night I thought I’d die of shame. As long as you’re with me I can face it.”

Megan: “All the way, sis.” (exit Jennifer, Megan)

Scene 2 (Late afternoon. The Bennett family living room. enter Jennifer. Megan leads in Julia and Mitchell Bennett)

Mitchell: “What’s up? We were about to take a power walk before dinner.”

Megan: “Jennifer has something to tell you.”

Julia: “I assume that’s why you brought us here. What is it?”

Jennifer: (Megan gestures for Jennifer to speak. Jennifer stares at her parents for a moment) “There’s no easy way for me to say this. I was raped last night.”

Julia: “No. No”. (Rushes to her. Mitchell stands there stunned. Then slowly goes to her and hugs her. Julia and Jennifer are crying. Mitchell is miserable)

Megan: “We went to the hospital and they checked Jen thoroughly. They found some of his hair on her clothes and one of his pubic hairs. They also found his semen on her abdomen, even though he used a condom. They tested her blood which still had a heavy presence of Ryphonol. There was almost no alcohol level, which proved she wasn’t drunk. Then we went to the police station, spoke to a detective and filed a complaint. We gave them the medical records and after they questioned Jen they issued a warrant for his arrest. Jen was terrific. You can understand how she was feeling, but she did everything right.”

Julia: “Well thank heavens for that. We couldn’t survive another case of a daughter keeping her mouth shut and going nuts.”

Megan: “Mom! Don’t talk like that. Jennifer did us proud. She actually asked the detectives if they could arrest the guy in class.”

Mitchell: “Good for you, Jen. That took nerve. (He pats her fondly) We’re here for you. Whatever you need we’ll get for you.”

Jennifer: “Thanks, Dad. I’m glad you’re not mad at me.”

Mitchell: “Of course not. It’s him I’m mad at. If they don’t send him to jail I’ll get him.”

Julia: “Don’t talk that way, Mitch. Jen was smart enough to go to the police. They’ll take care of him. You don’t have to pound your chest like the righteous avenger.”

Mitchell: “Are you telling me I can’t hate the guy who violated my daughter?”

Julia: “No, Mitch. Just don’t stir her up. She’s going through enough as it is.”

Mitchell: “I know this is hard for you, Jen, but you did the right thing going to the police. This way everyone’ll know the scumbag’ll get what he deserves.”

(Jennifer nods, beginning to believe that she can deal with the nightmare.)

Megan: “I told her what happened to me.”

Julia: “Did you tell her what it cost us because you didn’t have she sense to speak up?”

Megan: “No, Mom. I thought it was more important to help her, rather than tell her about how much you spent on doctors, therapy and medication.”

Mitchell: “We did whatever we had to in order to save our daughter. Just like we’ll do for Jennifer.”

Julia: “Judging by how sensibly she’s dealing with this, she won’t need addiction rehab, or hospitalization.”

Megan: “That’s a little cold-blooded, Mom.”

Julia: “I didn’t mean it like that. We’re still paying off our debt from your treatment. We just couldn’t afford another major treatment expense.”

Mitchell: “Let’s stop talking about money and do whatever we have to to take care of Jen.”

Julie: “Of course. That’s what we all want.” (exit all)

Scene 3 (Sunday evening. The living room of the Bennett family. Enter Jennifer and Larry)

Jennifer: “I have something to tell you.”

Larry: “Let me guess. You’re not going to sneak into my dorm room tonight.”

Jennifer: “No. It’s something serious.”

Larry: “Like what?”

Jennifer: (She hesitates) “I was raped last night.”

Larry: “What?”

Jennifer: “You heard me.”

Larry: “Are you joking?”

Jennifer: “No. It happened.”

Larry: (Getting upset) “How?”

Jennifer: “I went to a frat party last night…”

Larry: (Amazed) “Why did you go to a frat party?”

Jennifer: “You weren’t here. It was Saturday night. I was bored, so I accepted an invitation from a Lacrosse player.”

Larry: (Indignant) “You went on a date?”

Jennifer: “It wasn’t a date. It was a party.”

Larry: “Some guy asked you and you went? Sounds like a date to me.”

Jennifer: “That’s not important. I’m trying to tell you what happened to me.”

:Larry: “So you went out with this guy and he raped you?”

Jennifer: “I didn’t go out with him. I met him there. He gave me a drink that was drugged  and I passed out. When I woke up he was raping me.”

Larry: “Did you try to stop him?”

Jennifer: (Outraged) “Of course I did. I had trouble speaking, but I told him to stop. I was so groggy that I couldn’t resist.”

Larry: “Did you enjoy it?”

Jennifer: “Are you crazy? How can you ask that?”

Larry: “You know what they say. Most rapes are invited by the way women dress and act.”


Jennifer: “I don’t believe you said that. I was drugged and overpowered. It wasn’t my choice. I was violated. Don’t you understand that?”

Larry: “It wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t go to the party.”

Jennifer: “Are you saying I asked for it?”

Larry: “What else should I think? You went out with a strange guy to a frat party. We 

know what happens at those kind of parties.”

Jennifer: “I hoped you’d understand and care about what happened to me.”

Larry: “What do you want me to do? Go find the guy and beat him up?”

Jennifer: “I expect you to be concerned that something terrible happened to me. Instead you’re saying it was my fault.”

Larry: “Well you shouldn’t have been there.”

Jennifer: (Crying) “You’re just making it worse. Get out of here.”

(Larry shakes his head angrily and stalks out. Jennifer exits.)

Scene 4 (Evening. The living room of the Bennett family. Enter Jennifer, then Megan)

Megan: “So how did it go?”

Jennifer: “Not good. He thinks it’s my fault I got raped because I went to a frat party.”

Megan: “Why the lousy bastard. What did he say?”

Jennifer: “That if I didn’t go out on a date it wouldn’t have happened.”

Megan: “I’m so sorry. I thought he was a nice guy, though I didn’t know him very well.”

Jennifer: “I couldn’t believe he blamed me. He was always so nice. It was a shock to find  out how he really felt.”

Megan: “Just remember that guys don’t always know how to deal with something like this. It can threaten their masculinity.”

Jennifer: “Are you defending him?”

Megan: “No. I’m just trying to be fair.”

Jennifer: “Well don’t. He turned out to be an insensitive jerk.”

Megan: “Better to find out now, when you have a support system and can do without him.”

Jennifer: “That’s one way of looking at it.”

Megan: “You have to develop a different mindset now. You were victimized. That doesn’t mean you’re helpless. Someone took advantage of you, but you began fighting back today. That shows character. It may take some time, but you’ll come out stronger from this.”

Jennifer: “It doesn’t feel like that.”

Megan: “Give it some time. You’ll see. You’re a survivor. You’ll come out of this alright.”

Jennifer: “I hope you’re right. But how can I ever trust a guy after this?” (Exit Jennifer and Megan)

Gary Beck