 | STORY |
Memories of Childhood is a one-act play comprised of "family portraits" linked, in part, through music and dance that evoke remembrances - both painful and funny - of childhood in modern America.
| PRODUCTION HISTORY |
Performed originally at Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., 1989.
Other Performances: Stewart Theatre, North Carolina State University, and
various colleges in NC, 1990
| SELECTION |
FROM PORTRAIT #6: Dad and Joey and Ma and Me...
Character Description ("Me"): Lost soul… looking for answers in all the wrong places.
I just left. Think it was spring. I'd cut school to get high and hang out. Dropped by the movies that afternoon to see some Kung Fu flick. (LAUGHING) Chop, chop, chop. After the movie, instead of going home, I drove straight out of town - opposite direction. Called 'em from a fast food place in Iowa City. "I won't be home for dinner… don't wait," I said. And then I hung up. Didn't write or call for five years.
Got out of the joint a year ago. Have a regular gig now - cookin' at Jimmy's. Done a pretty good job, too. People actually come in to eat my burgers and fries.
Called the folks the other day. I was flippin' a shake and as the milk bubbled over, I wondered, "how are they?" It took a minute before Ma recognized my voice. There was this pause. I didn't know what to say. So I hung up.
Yeh. Five years since I left. I should miss them but I don't. I miss the idea of them. I watch "Little House on the Prairie" too. But we weren't like that - my family. I don't know how we were. But we weren't like that.
There's a picture in our living room of the four of us. We're at a barbecue by a lake somewhere or other. Dad is stoking the fire…Joey is eating a hot dog - in the picture he's got his mouth wide open and the dog is stuck half-way in. Ma is folding napkins and taking out paper plates - and I'm lookin' straight at the camera. Straight at it. With my tongue out. Like this (STICKS TONGUE OUT).
Dad and Joey and Ma and Me. I didn't know them. Any of 'em. Dad and Joey and Ma and Me. Sounds like a rhyme, doesn't it? Dad and Joey and Ma and Me… we all lived in separate countries… Dad in Africa, Ma in Spain, Joey in Antarctica, and Me in pain… Me in pain… (PAUSE)
Five years from now, I wonder if they'll recognize my voice?