Sequence (9 page)

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)

Downstage (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)