Model by: Brigitte Bechtel
A twisted, half-collapsed, white foam core frame, balances over a white foam core floor, against a black background.
THE MUSIC OF MEMORY
by Andrew Maust
CHARACTERS
SAM
A former musician, a little older
TAYLOR
A former musician, a little younger
ACT ONE
Scene 1
(A modern ruin. The stage is filled with old objects, damaged by time and neglect. On stage left is an old piano, covered with debris, perhaps from a caved-in ceiling. Objects are rusty, broken, and splintered. Two characters enter, SAM and TAYLOR, picking their way through piles of wreckage. They are both wearing similar baggy outfits with long sleeves and pants. Their clothing is stained and dirty.)
SAM
I think this is all that’s left.
TAYLOR
I don’t know what I expected.
(TAYLOR gingerly steps over the rubble. Debris crunches under TAYLOR’s shoes.)
SAM
I think I expected this.
TAYLOR
You expected this?
SAM
I expected it to be worse. I didn’t know if there’d be anything left.
TAYLOR
Do you think it still works?
(TAYLOR gestures to the piano.)
SAM
I don’t think so.
(SAM walks over to the piano. He pauses before brushing off the bench to sit down).
TAYLOR
Be careful, there could be something sharp.
SAM
Help me clear off the keys.
TAYLOR
We should have brought something to clear it off with. A shovel or broom.
SAM
I didn’t think there’d be anything left.
TAYLOR
I think it’s worse this way.
SAM
Worse?
TAYLOR
Worse.
(TAYLOR and SAM clear off debris from the piano together).
SAM
I don’t know what to play.
TAYLOR
You don’t have to play anything. It might not work.
SAM
Then why did we come here?
TAYLOR
Why did we come here?
SAM
Do you remember any of the songs we used to play?
TAYLOR
Not anymore. It’s been too long.
SAM
It’s been too long.
(SAM’s fingers stretch over the keys. The keys make an empty, hollow sound. No notes are heard.)
TAYLOR
I think that was one of them. What was it called?
SAM
I don’t remember.
TAYLOR
(As if choking back tears)
It sounds beautiful.
(The lights slowly fade with SAM still pressing silent keys, and TAYLOR staring at the old piano)
(Blackout)
Audio Recording
Sam: Andrew Maust
Taylor: Rebekah Unsworth
Directed by Ryan Douglass
Andrew Maust
Andrew Maust is a teacher, writer, poet, and playwright. He received his MA in English in 2016 from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Andrew has taught English in higher education for over half a decade, most recently at Penn State University, where he teaches business writing, technical writing, and composition and rhetoric.
Andrew has recently had pieces accepted for publication by The Raven's Perch, Defenestration Magazine, and Inkblot. His poem “My Grandfather’s Old Photos” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by MockingHeart Review. In 2020, he was awarded a second-place prize in Winning Writer’s Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry contest.
Brigitte Bechtel
Brigitte enjoys work as a scenic artist and designer. Brigitte and her paintbrushes have collaborated with Cobalt Studios, The Cape Playhouse, Emerson College, Mystic Scenic Studios, Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals, and Arizona Theatre Company, to name a few. She is currently the charge scenic artist with Tantrum Theater. She teaches scenic painting and design at Ohio University. A portfolio of her work may be viewed at www.brigittebechtel.com.
