Sequence Page 8
MR. ADAMSON
Exactly.
DR. GUZMAN
Only Pascal went mad. Mr. Adamson, you’re not in a wheelchair because of some divine plan. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
MR. ADAMSON
No! That’s not what happened.
DR. GUZMAN
Your bone-dice is nothing but a meaningless coin flip. God has no plans for you because he doesn’t exist.
MR. ADAMSON
How do you know that?
DR. GUZMAN
Because luck is embedded in our DNA. So we don’t need to invoke anything from above or from beyond. How did life begin? God? Or luck. You don’t need both. They’re mutually exclusive. It’s the chicken or the egg. So which is it? Decide for yourself. I say, in the beginning, in our blood, there was luck.
MR. ADAMSON slumps against his wheelchair, still on the floor.
MR. ADAMSON
Not a single tails.
DR. GUZMAN
What are the odds?
MR. ADAMSON rolls up his sleeve.
MR. ADAMSON
If I give you my blood, will you give me back my briefcase?
DR. GUZMAN produces a syringe and tourniquet.
DR. GUZMAN
Not only that. I will, one day, repair your defective gene. I will make you walk again.
She ties the tourniquet.
If I’m right, you will become the luckiest man alive.
DR. GUZMAN jabs the needle into his arm.
Auditorium
CYNTHIA
You really can’t lose.
THEO
What if… I get a stake in your test?
THEO produces the gun. He loads it.
What if this time, I use six bullets?
Laboratory
DR. GUZMAN
Quick and painless.
She snaps off the tourniquet.
Thank you, Mr. Adamson.
DR. GUZMAN pulls his id card from her pocket. She glances at it, returns it.
Theodore. Gift of God.
MR. ADAMSON
How did you know that?
DR. GUZMAN
I had a goldfish named Theodore.
Auditorium
CYNTHIA
Theo. Please just—
THEO
Open the envelope. Open it.
THEO lifts the gun to his head.
Laboratory
DR. GUZMAN hands MR. ADAMSON his briefcase.
DR. GUZMAN
I have to know. What’s the combination?
MR. ADAMSON
One one two, three five eight.
DR. GUZMAN
Really? Why that number?
MR. ADAMSON shows her his watch.
DR. GUZMAN
11:23:58.
MR. ADAMSON
My watch stopped at the moment of impact.
Auditorium
CYNTHIA
What the hell—
THEO
If the test result is positive, I’ll pull the trigger.
CYNTHIA
Are you insane? Put the gun down.
THEO
Open it. Please. This is what you wanted.
Laboratory
MR. ADAMSON
What if God doesn’t want us to be lucky? What if God doesn’t want us to win the lottery?
DR. GUZMAN moves toward the door.
DR. GUZMAN
Then that’s not fair. And maybe we, the terminally unfortunate, need to take matters into our own hands.
DR. GUZMAN feels in her pocket for the key. It’s not there. She turns.
MR. ADAMSON snaps open the briefcase.
MR. ADAMSON
Then this is God’s will.
He points a gun at DR. GUZMAN.
Auditorium
CYNTHIA
No. Put the gun down. Please.
THEO
I finally figured out how to share my luck. By giving myself a stake in your daughter. I can change your luck.
CYNTHIA
Because you can’t lose? Because you’re too lucky to die?
THEO
Exactly! So the test result will have to be negative. If I can’t lose, she can’t lose.
CYNTHIA
You’re very kind. And a little psychotic.
THEO
I couldn’t help my child. Let me help yours.
CYNTHIA
I’m going to tear it up.
THEO
I’m not going to die. Trust me.
CYNTHIA
How do you know that?
THEO
Because you’re here. Something brought you here today. Tell me this. Did you cheat? In the book draw? Are you here, right now, because you stuffed the jar with your name?
Laboratory
DR. GUZMAN
No. It’s not God’s will. It’s yours.
MR. ADAMSON
This is why He brought me here. This is why He kept me here. I know that now.
Auditorium
CYNTHIA
No. I didn’t cheat. Did you? Did you choose me because of my miniskirt?
THEO
No. I swear it was a random draw.
Laboratory
DR. GUZMAN
Random dice brought you here.
MR. ADAMSON
God brought me here!
Auditorium
THEO
Fibonacci brought you here. To me. So I can help you. Why else are we both here?
CYNTHIA
Coincidence?
Laboratory
DR. GUZMAN
Really? He brought you here today to shoot me in cold blood?
MR. ADAMSON
To stop you, one way or another. There was a reason. For everything. I was at the right place at the right time.
Auditorium
THEO
Are you sure? Let’s find out. Open the envelope.
CYNTHIA
You’re crazy. You have a fifty-fifty chance of killing yourself.
THEO
I don’t believe that. Do you?
Laboratory
DR. GUZMAN
Why don’t we ask Him. Did you, God Almighty, send this man here to kill me? Yes or no.
MR. ADAMSON
I already know the answer, Dr. Guzman.
DR. GUZMAN
Cynthia. My friends call me Cynthia.
MR. ADAMSON
That’s… my dog’s name.
Auditorium
CYNTHIA
I don’t give a shit what you believe. Do you really want to put your life in the hands of a coin flip?
Laboratory
DR. GUZMAN
Do it. Flip that bone thing. Heads you shoot me, in the name of God, and spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair praying for a miracle. Tails, you put the gun down and I will change your luck. It can be our little secret.
Pause.
Theodore. Theo. One in a billion is nothing if you have luck on your side.
Auditorium
THEO
I am not going to die. Deep down, you know that. Trust the numbers. Trust Fibonacci.
Laboratory
DR. GUZMAN
Trust your instrument. Heads is God. Tails is Science.
MR. ADAMSON
Why tails?
DR. GUZMAN
Call it a hunch. I feel lucky. Today’s my birthday.
Auditorium
CYNTHIA
I don’t believe in luck.
THEO
Prove it.
THEO drags the ladder in front of CYNTHIA.
Did you pray for a healthy child?
CYNTHIA
Yes.
THEO
What if I am the answer to your prayers?
CYNTHIA pauses, then takes a single step.
CYNTHIA now stands directly under the ladder. She looks up.
Auditorium/Laboratory
MR. ADAMSON
Forgive me.
MR. ADAMSON points his gun at DR. GUZMAN.
THEO
Open it.
DR. GUZMAN kneels down.
DR. GUZMAN
Maybe the chicken came first.
CYNTHIA holds the envelope.
As if she’s going to open it.
As if she’s going to tear it in two.
Slowly, simultaneously…
…DR. GUZMAN brings her hands together and prays.
…THEO raises his gun to his head.
…CYNTHIA tears opens the envelope.
…MR. ADAMSON shakes his bone-dice. He keeps shaking it.
With his gun against his forehead, THEO stares at CYNTHIA.
With his gun pointed at DR. GUZMAN, MR. ADAMSON looks down at his Bible.
MR. ADAMSON is across from THEO.
DR. GUZMAN is across from CYNTHIA.
Together, they resemble a double helix of dna.
The board is a mess of diagrams, numbers, and words, identical to how it appeared in the opening scene.
Simultaneously…
…CYNTHIA opens the lab report. She looks at THEO.
…MR. ADAMSON lets his bone-dice drop. He looks at DR. GUZMAN.
Darkness.
A single gunshot creates a Big Bang!
A sonic boom reverberates through time and space. Sounds and images of cosmic and microscopic events. A mirror unbreaks. Time warps before our eyes.
Lights up.
The wall mirror is now unbroken.
The board and the stage now look exactly the same as they did at the beginning.
The opening scene is now recreated.
DR. GUZMAN and THEO enter. THEO carries an unopened umbrella.
They converge at the whiteboard. It shows a mess of diagrams, numbers, and words.
DR. GUZMAN turns to face the board. She finds an eraser, wipes the board clean.
THEO turns to face the audience. With mock trepidation, he pops open the umbrella.
Playfully, he peers out from under it, looks upward. He closes the umbrella.
THEO moves to the ladder. He circles it. Mysteriously. Mischievously.
DR. GUZMAN takes a moment to find a marker. She accidentally drops it, picks it up again.
Abruptly, THEO ducks under the ladder. He emerges, welcomes the applause.
Chest pain! Is he having a heart attack? No, he’s just joking around.
DR. GUZMAN writes on the board with her left hand: which came first?
THEO strides to a wall mirror. He stumbles, almost trips on the way.
DR. GUZMAN addresses the audience.
THEO fixes his hair in the mirror.
DR. GUZMAN
The question is, which came first?
THEO suddenly takes a big swing with his umbrella handle, smashing the mirror.
end of play
End Notes
Casting: There should be sufficient similarity between the male actors, such that it is conceivable Mr. Adamson could grow up to be Theo. Similarly, Cynthia could possibly be a younger version of Dr. Guzman.
Epilogue: For the bookend closing scene (immediately after the “Big Bang” scene), the director may choose to reverse roles. The actors playing Cynthia and Mr. Adamson may, for this scene, assume the roles (and costumes) of Dr. Guzman and Theo, respectively. In every other way, this scene would be identical to the opening of the play. This reversal was performed successfully for the US premiere production.
Whiteboard: As written, the board begins with a “random mess of diagrams, numbers, and words.” However, there is an opportunity to use the board in a more specific manner to underscore the theme of the play.
For example, an apparently seamless four-panelled white board may be used. When the play opens, the words “The Big Bang” are seen spanning the entire board (e.g., diagram 1). As the play develops, the characters illustrate their dialogue with the specific drawings denoted in the script. The diagrams, words, and numbers should appear to be haphazardly sketched; however, each drawing is created and positioned precisely as per the diagrams.
Near the end of the play, just prior to the “Big Bang” moment, the board appears to be simply a random mess (e.g., diagram 2). However, immediately after the “Big Bang” and before the epilogue begins, the panels of the whiteboard rearrange their sequence. The audience now sees that “The Big Bang” has been written, once again, across the entire board (e.g., diagram 3).
That is, by re-sequencing the boards, the opening scene has now been recreated exactly. This technique was used successfully in the world premiere production.
(diagram 1)
(diagram 2)
(diagram 3)
Additional Reading
For those interested in reading more about the topics discussed in the play, you may wish to read:
“Does God Play Dice?” Stephen Hawking’s 1999 lecture. The full transcript can be found at: http://www.hawking.org.uk/does-god-play-dice.html.
The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow.
Acknowledgements
To have crossed paths with you, I feel:
A. Lucky
B. Blessed
C. All of the above
Thank you so much…
Mandy Bayrami
Ken Cameron
Adam Carpenter
Ellen Close
Joel Cochrane
Richard Cowden
Lee Cromwell
Ian Currie
Trina Davies
Brian Dooley
Jennie Franks
Anton de Groot
Paul Distefano
Annie Gibson
Tuled Giovanazzi
Jit and Cindy Gohill
Jessica Goldman
Braden Griffiths
Terry Gunvordahl
Taryn Haley
Alana Hawley
Louis B. Hobson
Stephen Hunt
Karen Johnson-Diamond
Nancy Kawalek
Kathi Kerbes
Michelle Kneale
David Krebes
Prem and Shamma Lakra
Laura Lottes
Corey Marr
Peter Moller
Simon Mallett
Kevin McKendrick
Colleen Murphy
Rich Orloff
Mieko Ouchi
Gordon Pengilly
Michael Petrasek
Sharon Pollock
Brian Quirt
Chad Rabinovitz
Trevor Rueger
Caroline Russell-King
Kelsey ter Kuile
Jenna Shummoogum
David Sheehan
Everybody Soin
Blake Sproule
Vicki Stroich
Sasha Sullivan
Wes Sutherland
Vern Thiessen
Margaret Whittum
and, especially,
Roopa, Taro, and Siya.
I am grateful for the support and encouragement of:
Alberta Playwrights’ Network (Trevor Rueger, Executive Director)
Bloomington Playwrights Project (Chad Rabinovitz, Producing Artistic Director)
Dow
nstage (Simon Mallett, Artistic Director, Ellen Close, Artistic Producer)
Hit & Myth Productions (Joel Cochrane, Artistic Producer)
STAGE (Scientists, Technologists, and Artists Generating Exploration) at the University of California Santa Barbara’s NanoSystems Institute (Nancy Kawalek, Founder/Director)
Telluride Playwrights Festival (Jennie Franks, Artistic Director)
Arun Lakra is a writer, doctor, and father. Arun has written a book on laser eye surgery, a supernatural thriller screenplay, a song to protest the demotion of Pluto, a heartfelt ballad about puke, a line of misunderstood T-shirts, and his share of illegible prescriptions. Sequence is his second stage play. His first play received rave reviews for balancing a wobbly table in his basement. Arun lives in Calgary with his wife and kids and divides his work week between his creative endeavours and his ophthalmology practice. You can find out more at www.arunlakra.com.