Hoping For Change (2015)

Dylan Breault and Milo Youngerman in Dylan Breault’s play “Hoping for Change”

HOPING FOR CHANGE

By Dylan Breault

Click here to watch “Hoping for Change”

Scene 1 – Matt’s apartment / Kyle’s House

MUSIC CUE: THE FUNERAL

BACKGROUND SLIDE – split screen between Matt’s apartment and Kyle’s Living room.

SET NOTE: Scene 1 – Matt’s apartment is SR, small kitchen table

Kyle’s house is SL, block for Kyle to sit on (He has a cell phone and a video game controller with him)

Scene 2 – 4 blocks (CS) to depict hospital waiting room

(LIGHTS UP on Matt’s apartment as he arrives home from work. He throws his coat, keys and phone on the table.)

SOUND CUE: Cell phone rings

MATT: (answering phone) Hello.

NURSE: (from offstage) Hello, may I please speak to Matt Gordon?

MATT: This is him.

NURSE: This is Laura from Main Street Hospital. I’m afraid I have some unfortunate news.

MATT: What seems to be the problem?

NURSE: We have your mother here in emergency care.

MATT: What happened?

NURSE: She’s had an overdose.

MATT: (furious) REALLY!!! AGAIN! (he kicks the table)

NURSE: Mr. Gordon, I’m going to need you to calm down.

MATT: (tries to calm down) Okay….(back up from table) what did she take this time?

NURSE: (Matt walks DS) We don’t know exactly what yet but we’ll know soon. The doctors suspect it’s from a combination of drugs and alcohol.

MATT: (look up) Of course it is.

NURSE: What was that, sir?

MATT: Nothing ….I’ll be there as soon as possible.

NURSE: We’ll see you soon.?

(Matt hangs up with Nurse and makes another phone call.)?

LIGHTS UP on Kyle in his living room, playing a video game.

BACKGROUND SLIDE(S) –

SOUND CUE: Cell phone rings

KYLE: Yo.

MATT: Hey, Kyle, it’s me, man…Mom is in the hospital again.

KYLE: Again? … Really?

MATT: Yes, again really. I’ll be there in five. Be ready.

KYLE: Ugh. Alright I’ll be ready. Bye.

MATT: Bye.

END SCENE – Lights out

MUSIC CUE: HOW TO SAVE A LIFE

Scene 2?- Hospital waiting room

SCENE NOTE – Action moves to CS, hospital waiting room.

MUSIC FADES, LIGHTS COME UP.

Kyle is standing downstage R, Matt is in one of the chairs.

KYLE: I can’t believe she’s in the hospital again.

MATT: Well, believe it.

KYLE: That’s the second time this year!

MATT: Yeah, and it probably won’t be the last either.

KYLE: Probably won’t be.

MATT: I just don’t get how she can do this to herself.

KYLE: (walks to edge of chairs) Cause when you’re a drug addict, you just don’t care.

(Matt gives Kyle an angry look)?

What? It’s true.

MATT: Just because it’s true doesn’t mean you have to say it out loud.

KYLE: Yeah, it does.

MATT: (gets up and X to Kyle) What the hell is wrong with you, man?

KYLE: What?

MATT: Why are you always putting her down saying messed up stuff all the time?

KYLE: Because.

MATT: Because why?

KYLE: (take one step toward Matt) Because she deserves it.

MATT: No, she doesn’t.

KYLE: Yes, she does.

MATT: (take one step toward Kyle) Why does she deserve it?

KYLE: Because she’s a bad mother and I hate her.

(Matt shoves Kyle. KYLE gives Matt an angry look and walks away BEHIND the chairs toward SL.)

MATT: What would you do if tonight was the last time you saw her?, If tonight was your last chance to apologize for every messed up thing you ever did to her and all you said was, “I hate you, you drunk piece of shit”. What would you do, huh? What would you do?

(Kyle turns away and looks down in shame.) (Matt X to Kyle)

What would you do, huh? What?

KYLE: I don’t know man.?(walk away and sit in chair)

MATT: You’re right. You don’t know ‘cause you don’t think. You never think. It’s always about you and how great you think you are and how bad everyone else is.

KYLE: Shut up, man. You don’t know anything about me.

MATT: (goes to sit next to Kyle) I know more about you than you’ll ever know.

KYLE: Whatever.

MATT: What are you going to do when we go into see her, huh?

KYLE: I’m going to say, “Hey, drug addict,” and laugh in her face.

Matt slaps Kyle in back of head. He gets up and walks SL

KYLE: Oww! Man, what was that for?

MATT: I swear to God if you do or say anything like that while we’re in there I’ll throw you out the window and leave you there to find your own ride home. Got it? (Pause.)?

I mean for God’s sake don’t you realize, that once she dies she’s gone forever. (x to Kyle, standing over him.) If you choose to go in and make fun of her and call her names and she dies tonight, in that hospital room alone with no one to hold and comfort her, those will be the last words she ever hears come out of your mouth. That will be what she has to remember you by. as a son who hates and despises her. (Matt is disguted, X SL) You think you could live with yourself knowing that you’ll never be able to say you’re sorry and that you gave up your last chance to hold her in your arms and tell her you love her one last time…. I know I couldn’t.

(Kyle is upset by what Matt has said and he doesn’t really know how to respond.

Lighting change as He walks DSC to say…

BLACK OUT THE HOSPITAL SLIDE FOR THE MONOLOGUE

KYLE: I just don’t understand, I just don’t get it, how can she live this way, how can she do this to herself, to US. She’s been this way ever since I can remember. It’s always something with her. Whether it’s looking for her next fix or trying to get her hands on another bottle, it never changes and it never will unless we make her change. We need her to change. I can’t live without my mom. I don’t know what I would do if I lost her, I mean I’m still in school. I don’t have a job or anything. I can’t live on my own.

(Light change as Kyle comes back to reality and returns to “waiting room”.)?

RETURN TO HOSPITAL SLIDE.

(to Matt) Don’t you ever think that if we say enough things about her and make her feel bad enough that she’ll want to change?

MATT: NO!

KYLE: Why?

MATT: (he’s really mad now) CAUSE THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS. YOU CAN’T JUST FORCE SOMEONE TO CHANGE IF THEY DON’T WANT TO. THEY HAVE TO WANT IT FOR THEMSELVES!

KYLE: But why?

MATT: Because if you force them to change, it won’t work. I mean, yeah, they’ll change for a little bit but once they’ve had enough, they’ll go back to their old ways. They always do. Don’t you remember what happened the last time she got out of rehab?

KYLE: Not really.

MATT: She got wasted the night she got out and stayed like that for three days.

KYLE: Oh yeah, I remember now. She’s done so much stupid stuff over the years I guess I forgot about that one.

MATT: Yeah, you did, but I didn’t. I never forget.?(Pause.)?

I don’t understand why you’re always putting her down, when she needs us the most. you’re always acting like a child and you think that you can say whatever you want and it doesn’t matter. But it does matter, it matters the most. Especially since we’re her children. We’re her last line of hope and when YOU act like that she loses all hope and gives up. when will you realize what you’re doing is wrong and it hurts her. Stop acting like a child. Be the son she needs.?(Pause.)?(X to Kyle) You remember what I said would happen?

KYLE: Yeah, man, I remember.

MATT: (gesture) Out the window. Find your own way home.

KYLE: Alright, man, I heard you the first time.

MATT: I’m just trying to make sure you don’t do something you’ll regret.

KYLE: I know it’s just hard to do the right thing sometimes.

MATT: Yeah, I know but you have to try…for Mom.

KYLE: Alright, I can try and do the right thing…for Mom.

(They both sit down.)

MATT: I’m glad to hear it.

KYLE: Can I say something?

MATT: Yeah, man, what is it?

KYLE: I know I don’t say this enough but…I love you, man.