4 Hillary DePiano
characters, they would have wanted me to assure you of this from
the start and I do so with all my heart. We have no pride, no reserva-
tions, nothing to keep us from amusing you. If we were concerned
about looking foolish, we would be sitting out there with you and
not down here dressed like clowns. So our only choice is to do our
best and hope that even if you find us untalented, you will laugh at
that and it will be good enough for us.
You know us already even if you've forgotten! We've been here all
along in the sketch comedy, the spoofs, the sitcom. You've met us
before by a million different names and faces. Try to remember! We
don’t understand why we fell out of your favor, for it wasn’t all that
long ago that you preferred us to the intellectual barrage of the artsy
fartsy. You used to treat us so graciously, yet now so many of our
Kind are unemployed, lying idle between the pages of dusty unread
books and cast aside with other fads and trends. Some of us seldom
see the light of day and, when we do, it is in the study of some crusty
theatre scholar, a classroom, or some poor fool writing a thesis. Is
it the jokes? The language? Aren‘t we hip enough? Is it right that
Harlequin and the Macarena lie in the same grave?
Just give us a chance. Remember, you no sooner threw out your
ghastly day glow bell bottoms when, lo, they were back in style and
twice as expensive. So don’t be so quick to judge our time as spent,
we may surprise you yet. In the face of so much horror, the constant
threat of war, suffering, and the world weighing down on us, I refuse
to believe there is no place for laughter! Levity is what saves us
from the load and there is and will always be room in this world for
amusement simply for amusement’s sake! What do you say? Will you
laugh with us in the face of reality and tell the world to get over itself?
You will witness many strange things this evening and we ask you
to please check your disbelief at the door of the theatre. I'm sure your
humble servants, the characters that make up this tale, will be ready
to begin as soon as they hear you call for them. Your applause and
laughter is the life that courses through their veins and once they
hear your willingness to give them a opportunity to show you what
they can do, it will wipe out all their initial reservations. So, are you
willing to give our old story a new chance? (He encourages them to
clap. Characters being to peek tentatively around the sides of the stage at the
sound, To the Light booth:) So, can we please have the lights down some?
(Lights dim.) Excellent. I'd like to tell you what the story is about, but
T'ma little afraid you'll laugh at me. Because the story is... (Unsure
of what to say:) well it’s mostly about oranges...and happiness...and
a little about love. Maybe you should just see for yourself. So just sit
back like you were a little child on your grandfather's knee and let
me tell you a story like you have never heard before.