Funeral Question

A One-Minute Play

by Diana Stout © 2005

2006 Award Winner, Lamia Ink! Inc. Published & produced at The Bowery, New York NY

 

SETTING:  Funeral Parlor, visitation hours.  TIME: present.

CHARACTERS:  3 women (First, Second, Young); 2 men (Minister, Man); Teenager.

(As the lights rise, we see a closed casket stage R. Visitors mill around, small groups forming, and we hear snatches of conversations. The deceased is Kathy.)

 

                                                                 FIRST WOMAN

                                                                 (She looks around.)

I don’t see Kathy’s husband. Isn’t he here?

                                                                 SECOND WOMAN

Can you blame him? I shudder to think of him finding her like that.

                                                                 MAN

I’ll never forget how she brought meals every night when Maggie spent a month at Hopkins, and then when she came home how Kathy took care of her.

                                                                 YOUNG WOMAN

She was wonderful at story hour. My Barry wants to be a writer because of the way she told stories. No child was ever left out or forgotten.

                                                                 TEENAGER

Sunday School just won’t be the same.

                                                                 MINISTER

Fundraising, Bible vacation school, she ran the nursery, sang in the choir–

                                                                 FIRST WOMAN

Why a shotgun? It just doesn’t make sense.

                                                                 (She looks to the closed casket.)

To destroy that lovely face that way.

                                                                 (She shudders.)

 She was such a natural beauty.

                                                                 MAN

Inside and out. She just took care of everyone.

                                                                 (Beat.)

                                                                 SECOND WOMAN

Who took care of her?

THE END