CONSTELLATIONS
a play
by Deborah DeGeorge
Deborah DeGeorge
4516 Fort Totten Dr. NE
Apartment 8
Washington, DC 20011
deborahanne34@hotmail.com
202-355-5025
CHARACTERS
ANNE FREEMAN, mid-30’s, a wife and mother.
LUKE FREEMAN, late 30’s, Anne’s husband.
GREGORY FREEMAN, 8, Anne and Luke’s son.
DON, early 30’s, Luke’s brother.
CAROL, Anne’s friend.
TYLER, 8, Greg’s friend and Carol’s son.
TIME
The present
PLACE
The Freeman’s two-story house, in the Eastland suburbs. The action of the story takes
place in the living room and the kitchen of the house.
Though many scenes of the play take place in daylight, a feeling of a star-scattered night
should pervade the play.
Scene I
GREGORY (in the blackout)
“Tonight a boy is looking out the window at the night sky. Above his dark lawn the
white moon lights the clouds.”
Lights up on the kitchen. GREGORY sits at the table, reading from an
oversized book and pointing at each word as he reads it.
ANNE, dressed in a business suit, places a bowl of cereal in front of him.
She pulls lunch items out of the fridge; Gregory takes a bite of cereal.
And far away above the moon, the. . . mom?
ANNE
Arc.
GREGORY
“ . . . Arc of the sky stretches farther than you or I could possibly imagine. It is filled
with planets and moons and stars without number.” What’s the arc of the sky?
ANNE
Oh. Hmm. It’s like . . . the black part of the sky where the stars hang. That make sense?
GREGORY
Yup.
ANNE
Eat your cereal.
GREGORY takes another bite. Off stage, a car door slams.
Oh. Daddy’s back.
GREGORY
Do you think he forgot something?
LUKE enters and slams the door.
Hi, Dad.
LUKE
Hey, Greg.
1
ANNE
You forget something?
LUKE doesn’t respond. He exits the kitchen, knocking a chair over with
a bang. GREG looks at ANNE for an explanation; she gives a broad
shrug, then follows LUKE.
When ANNE leaves, GREG rises, picks up the chair and slides it into
place, then straightens the chair across from it as well.
In the living room, LUKE searches.
ANNE
What are you looking for?
LUKE
My damn briefcase.
ANNE
Ssh. Greg can hear. Wasn’t it upstairs?
LUKE
What?
ANNE
It was upstairs by the bed.
LUKE
In our room?
ANNE
Yes. It’s leaning on the nightstand.
LUKE
Okay. Sorry, I’m just –
LUKE exits. ANNE returns to the kitchen.
ANNE
Okay, I’ve gotta finish your lunch, and –
GREGORY
Is Dad okay?
2
ANNE
He’s all right. He lost his briefcase and he couldn’t find it. Ham or peanut butter?
GREGORY (through a mouthful)
Peanut butter.
ANNE
And bananas?
GREGORY
Jelly.
LUKE rushes back into the kitchen with his briefcase.
ANNE
You find it?
LUKE
Thanks.
ANNE
Want more coffee before you go?
LUKE
Yeah. Okay.
ANNE
Did Greg tell you about his science fair project? Luke?
LUKE
Huh?
ANNE
Did Greg get to tell you about his science project?
LUKE
No. What’s your project?
GREGORY
I haven’t decided, but its gotta be good. The best in the school goes to the city science
fair, and the winner of the city gets a prize.
LUKE
Really? You could do something with outer space, you know? A model or a star chart. I
could get down my old books –
3
GREGORY
Would you help me?
LUKE
Sure. We could -The clock on the wall CHIMES. LUKE looks at his watch.
Oh, sh – I’ve gotta go, I’m late. I’ll see you after –
ANNE
Don’t forget your –
LUKE kisses ANNE carelessly and snatches the mug from her hand. The
coffee sloshes onto the floor.
LUKE
Bye.
ANNE
All right, you finished?
GREGORY
Finished.
ANNE
Then stick your bowl in the sink and go get your backpack, okay? Carol and Tyler will
be here any second.
GREGORY sprints out of the kitchen. ANNE mops up the last of the
coffee spill. There is a KNOCK at the door.
Come on in, Carol!
CAROL and TYLER enter.
TYLER
Hi, Mrs. Freeman
ANNE
Hi, Tyler. Greg’s upstairs.
4
TYLER dashes out of the kitchen.
Sorry we’re running so late; it’s been crazy this morning.
CAROL (dryly)
Yeah, looks like a train wreck in here.
ANNE
Oh.
CAROL
Spotless. I’m so jealous. Mind if I grab some coffee?
ANNE
Sure, help yourself.
CAROL
Thanks. So what happened? Greg throw a tantrum? At my house, it’s always a tantrum.
ANNE
One loose tooth, but no major fits. No, Luke had a meeting. He . . .
ANNE balls up the dirty tablecloth.
. . . He couldn’t find his tie. He’s so disorganized. And his shirt wasn’t ironed, so I had
to do it.
She pulls a new tablecloth out of a drawer and spreads it on the table.
CAROL
I see, so it’s your husband making all the trouble. I know the drill. Gary’s a bear in the
morning. When he’s in a hurry he stands at the top of the stairs and bellows. “Where’s
my damn shirt?”
ANNE
Well, Luke’s not the type for that.
CAROL
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean –
ANNE
No. No, don’t worry.
CAROL
You all right?
5
ANNE
Sure, I’m fine.
CAROL
No, what is it? I’m sorry I joked around.
ANNE
It’s fine. I’m really fine. (Beat.) Luke and I fought this morning. That’s all, really.
We’re both under a lot of stress, with Greg and work, and that’s it. (Beat.) Luke’s been
talking about quitting his job. Well, no, not quitting, just switching to a new one. I don’t
know, it’s just talk.
ANNE wipes the tabletop vigorously with a rag. CAROL waits.
ANNE
He just keeps getting worked up about it. He says he hates it, keeps threatening to quit.
So I say, “Fine, just look for new one.” And then he just –
She throws her arms into the air, in an “explosion” gesture.
CAROL
Oh.
ANNE
He started today before we got out of bed. I’m just at a loss. He’s never really acted this
way before, and –
GREGORY and TYLER stampede down the living room stairs.
Oh, here come the boys.
GREGORY and TYLER enter the kitchen.
CAROL
All right guys, you ready?
GREGORY
Yup.
CAROL
Good. Let’s get this show on the road. Call me if you need me, all right?
ANNE
Thanks.
CAROL and the boys exit. Lights down.
6
Scene II
In the blackout, an answering machine beeps.
LUKE (offstage voice)
Anne, this is Luke. Hey, I'm sorry, I know it’s my night, but could you go ahead and start
dinner? I've got another meeting, and I don't know what time I 'II be done. Bye.
Lights up on ANNE, still in her suit. She prepares for dinner. The machine
beeps.
RECEPTIONIST VOICE
Mr. Freeman, this is Dr. Winston’s office, just calling to confirm your appointment for this
afternoon at 4 p.m. If you have any questions just give us a call before then. Thank you.
During message, Anne accidentally pushes a glass into the sink and breaks it.
ANNE
Damn.
There’s a knock at the kitchen door.
TYLER
Can Greg play?
ANNE
Sure, Tyler. (calling) Greg, Tyler's here.
GREGORY
(from upstairs) Okay.
Gregory descends the stairs.
GREGORY
Hi Tyler. What's up?
TYLER
Do you want to play Legos?
GREGORY
Sure. Mom, can we have some cookies first? Just one?
ANNE
All right. But only if you have milk too.
7
GREGORY
Oh yeah! I want to do a model of the solar system for my project. Do you know how many
planets are in the solar system?
TYLER
I do. There are nine.
GREGORY
Can you name them all?
TYLER
No.
GREGORY
There's Jupiter, Mars, Mercury .. . Saturn ... Pluto, Uranus . . .
ANNE
Starts with an “N” . . .
GREGORY
ooh, Neptune ..(then in a rush) Venus and earth.
ANNE
Very good. I'm glad you came up with such a great project. I hear you’re doing the human
body, Tyler.
TYLER
Yup, and I'm going to make a brain that you can open and see inside all the different parts of
it.
ANNE
That sounds neat. Sounds like you've both got some great ideas.
GREGORY
Maybe we'll both get first place.
ANNE
I bet you will. And then you can split the prize money, huh?
TYLER
No, or they'll give us both first prizes, so we will have two times as much money, and I
would buy the Starway Galactica Super Cruiser with shooting missiles.
TYLER and GREG make explosion sounds; they point their arms like
bazookas.
8
ANNE
Calm down, boys. Calm down. Don’t forget to put your glasses in the sink.
Pretending to be Galactic Cruisers, the boys zoom out of the room.
ANNE pulls a box of spaghetti from the cupboard.
DON, wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, enters silently through the kitchen
door. He sneaks up behind ANNE and covers her eyes. Blinded, she feels
his hands for clues.
Donald!
DON
Guilty.
ANNE
What are you doing here, and where is my husband?
DON
Your husband brought me home for dinner. A single guy can’t feed himself all the time
you know. And hey, pretty cook doesn’t hurt.
ANNE swats him with a dishtowel.
I know. Why did you ever marry into this family?
ANNE
So what, there’s a game tonight?
DON
Yessir, Cowboys and the Rams. If Dallas wins this one, they’re in the playoffs.
ANNE peers through the window.
ANNE
Where is your brother?
DON
Looking at the stars again, that’s all. No clouds, you know.
ANNE
That’s my Luke. Always out there, staring at the sky.
ANNE turns back toward the counter; DON catches her shoulder as she
passes, gives it a short squeeze. She smiles and touches his hand.
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DON drops into a chair; LUKE enters from outside.
DON
Ah, here he is. How are the stars, bro? Anne was gonna grab us a couple of beers,
weren’t you, Annie?
ANNE stares him down. DON gets the beer.
ANNE
How was your meeting, hon?
LUKE
(to DON.) Thanks.
ANNE
Go okay?
LUKE
Oh. Yeah . . . it went fine. Glenn just . . . . wanted to go over bridge plans. Didn’t take
long.
ANNE
Huh. Rare day when Glenn stays late.
LUKE
What?
GREGORY and TYLER charge into the kitchen.
GREGORY
Hi, Uncle Don!
DON
Hello, boys. What crazy things are you up to?
GREGORY
Legos.
TYLER
We’re building this huge fort with canons and a secret trap door.
DON
Construction work, huh? You take after Uncle Don here.
GREGORY
Do you want to help us build it?
10
DON
I’d love to guys, except that tonight is not Lego night. Tonight is football night. You
gonna watch the game?
GREGORY
Are we allowed?
DON
Sure. You can even bring your legos down if you want.
TYLER
Yeah!
GREGORY
Will you help us move the fort?
DON
Just lead me to it. Hey– (pats LUKE on the shoulder) don’t let Anne steal my beer, all
right?
GREGORY, TYLER and DON exit.
ANNE
Well, I guess you had a busy day.
LUKE
It wasn’t too bad. I’m sorry about dinner. You want me to –
ANNE
No, sit down. It’s just spaghetti. (Beat.) Mostly I was just hoping for a quiet night. Send
Greg off to bed, and . . . It’s been a while since we stayed up together. You know?
Remember that night last spring when we went out in the yard and . . .
She turns around. LUKE is staring off into space.
LUKE
What?
ANNE
Uh. Nothing. (Beat.) There was a message for you on the machine. Did you remember
your doctor’s appointment?
LUKE
What are you talking about?
11
ANNE
Your doctor’s appointment. There was a message on the machine, Dr. – Wilson?
Winston? I don’t know. It was for today; didn’t you go?
LUKE
Oh. No, I must have . . .
ANNE
Must have what?
LUKE doesn’t respond
Okay, fine. (Beat.) You know –
LUKE
Annie?
ANNE
What?
LUKE
If I were to -well, let's say - say I had to quit my job.
ANNE
I thought that discussion was over.
LUKE
That’s not what I mean this time. What if for some reason I needed to quit? We could get by
on your pay by itself, couldn't we?
ANNE
What are you saying? Why would you need to quit your job? You want to quit, that’s
different.
LUKE
No – I mean, yes. I do want to quit, I would prefer . . . but now I’m saying if I had –
ANNE
I don’t understand. Do you think you’re gonna get fired or something?
LUKE
No. It’s not – it’s just –
ANNE
It's one thing to change jobs, Luke; its another to quit your job entirely. Just because you’d
12
rather go be an astronaut or whatever, that doesn’t mean -LUKE
Working for NASA, I never wanted to be an astronaut. B-but that’s not . . . . I’m . . . I –
ANNE
What? What’s the problem? We talked this through, remember? We weighed our options,
and we said that –
LUKE
You, Anne. You weighed our options. You decided I couldn’t go back to school, because
we’ve got enough bills right now. And I agreed to that, I’m okay with that, be . . . because . . .
ANNE
Because of Greg –
LUKE
We’ve got to save up for Greg’s school now, that’s right, that’s – so I agreed, I’m okay with
that. I h—I hate it, but I’m okay . . .
ANNE
Then what are we talking about? Then what are we –
ANNE takes LUKE’s face in her hands and turns his head toward her.
LUKE!
LUKE drops his beer. It shatters on the floor.
LUKE
Shit –
ANNE
Dammit, Luke, what –
LUKE
Look, can we get by or not?
ANNE
No, we can’t!
LUKE
We can!
13
ANNE
Okay, sure, we can, does that satisfy you? Will you be happy when the bills are piling up?
When we can’t . . . You’re not talking sense, and somebody’s got to –
LUKE
Just for get it, all right?
LUKE slams his chair against the table and exits.
14
Scene III
Lights up as LUKE and GREGORY enter the living room, wearing jackets.
GREGORY carries a heavy bag of supplies.
LUKE
You sure you got that, tiger?
GREGORY
Yeah, I got it.
LUKE
All right. Now, where's Mom? Anne?
GREGORY
Where should I put it, Dad?
LUKE
What?
GREGORY
Where should I put it?
LUKE
Oh. Go ahead and put it on the table. Anne! We're back. Anne!
ANNE enters.
ANNE
Back already?
GREGORY
Yeah, but we couldn't find any big foam balls for Jupiter. I want it to be really big.
ANNE
That's okay honey. We can still get started. I'll get the craft stuff.
GREGORY
(pointing at the glue) Dad let me get some rubber cement. Can we use that instead?
ANNE
That's fine, Greg.
GREGORY pulls supplies out of the bag and arranges them on the table –
fishing line, foam balls, rubber cement, a bag of bath salt rocks and another
of bath beads.
15
ANNE holds up the bath salts and looks at LUKE.
ANNE (cont’d)
What are these for?
GREGORY
Meteors. The rocks are for meteors and the round things are for Mercury and Pluto, because
they’re so small.
ANNE
Oh, of course. I should have thought of Mercury and Pluto. You're pretty smart to think of
that.
GREGORY
Dad thought of it. I'm going to make all the other ones out of these. But I don't want just to
paint them. I want to cover them with other stuff, to show their surfaces are different.
LUKE sits down by GREG.
LUKE
Like what kind of stuff?
GREGORY
I don't know yet.
LUKE
For example, what kind of surface does Venus have?
GREGORY
Oh I know. It's covered with clouds and gas.
LUKE
That's right. So how might you show a cloudy and gassy surface? How could you show the
clouds on Venus's surface?
GREGORY
Oh, I know. I'll be right back.
GREGORY rushes up the stairs.
LUKE
He seems pretty excited about this project, huh?
ANNE
Yeah.
16
LUKE
I should get down some of my old astronomy books for him to look at. He made me go to
three different stores looking for Jupiter.
ANNE
What?
LUKE
Looking for the foam ball for Jupiter. He said he needed a bigger one.
ANNE
Oh. Yeah. He said so when he came in.
LUKE fingers an ornament from the mantel.
LUKE
Maybe he’ll be an astronaut. (beat.) Anne, I –
LUKE’s arm tremors. He drops the ornament.
LUKE
Oh, shit.
ANNE
Oh come on. Is it broken?
LUKE
Sorry, I –
ANNE
Yes, it’s cracked down the middle. I swear, you’re worse than Gregory sometimes.
She drops the ornament into the trash. Her blood is up now.
So did you quit your job today?
LUKE
What?
ANNE
Did you quit your job today? You said you –
GREG (offstage)
Mom, where are the cotton balls?
17
ANNE
Look in the cabinet under my bathroom sink.
GREGORY
Okay.
ANNE (half-whisper)
You said you were going to quit your job, so did you quit?
LUKE
I never said that. That isn't what I said.
ANNE
Well then, what were you saying? Really, Luke, I need to understand.
LUKE
It's hard to explain, Anne. Until I know — it's hard to . . .
ANNE
What's so hard to explain?
LUKE doesn’t respond.
Luke, please, I need to know what's going on. You’re acting weird.
LUKE
I know that. I know I’ve been acting weird. Not just here, at work, I feel like I’m going
nuts–
ANNE
(matching his volume.)And what, some day work's just going to crack you? Come on, Luke,
everybody hates their job –
LUKE
I'm not kidding. The accidents, the lapses, they’re getting out of hand.
ANNE
Out of--?
LUKE
The forgetfulness, and it’s every day now. I thought it was stress, so I went to a doctor.
ANNE
Luke, wh –
18
LUKE
Do you know what he said?
Heavy footsteps are heard, and GREGORY charges down from upstairs.
GREGORY
I found them!
GREG stops short.
Will these work okay for Venus?
LUKE
Oh sure, they'll be perfect.
ANNE
Why don't you and Daddy work on Venus for a little while, and I'll go finish up in the
kitchen?
GREGORY
Okay, but will you help me with Mars later? I want to make craters with that salty play
dough. Do you remember how to make it?
ANNE
Sure, baby.
ANNE exits to the kitchen, where she drops down at the table. The lights
go down on LUKE and GREGORY.
Time lapse. LUKE enters the kitchen through the living room.
LUKE
Gregory's in bed. I got him all dressed, and he brushed his teeth. Anne?
ANNE
So the late meetings were doctors’ appointments?
LUKE
Well, yeah. Tests at the hospital.
ANNE
I’m so sorry. I never would have guessed.
LUKE
You couldn’t have known. I’m sorry.
19
ANNE
Why didn’t you just tell me?
LUKE
I don’t know, Anne. I just couldn’t. I don’t even know why.
ANNE
So what exactly is it? Does he say what you've got?
LUKE
They're still running tests. I don't know. The doctor says it - might be pretty serious.
ANNE
Like what, how serious?
LUKE
I've been having trouble - remembering little things. Just little - but weird things, and
I've been moody - you know. The doctor says it might be neurological.
ANNE
Neurological?
LUKE
Like, a neurological problem - of some kind –
ANNE
What, like what kind?
LUKE
I don't know. The doctor mentioned Huntington's disease and some –
ANNE
Huntington's disease? Oh my God.
LUKE
He said that was very unlikely. It could just be stress, he said. But he also mentioned some
form of Alzheimer's, and a couple other things I can't remember.
ANNE
Why didn't you tell me?
LUKE
I just couldn't. Not because of you, just - sometimes lately, everything seems – (pause)
strange.
20
ANNE
Even me?
LUKE
Even Gregory, sometimes. (pause) It might get worse, you know. Dr. Winston says it
might. Anne, I don'tANNE
No. Luke, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all for us. I'm your wife no matter what.
I'm your wife.
21
Scene IV
LUKE (Offstage)
The constitution of the universe I believe may be set in the first place among all others in
grandeur by reason of its universal content; it must also stand above them all in nobility as
their rule and standard. Therefore if any man might claim distinction in intellect above all
mankind, Ptolmey and Coperincus were such men, whose gazes were thus raised on high and
who philosophized about the constitution of the world.1
Luke’s voice fades into the sound of Anne on the phone in blackout. Then
lights up. Anne is in the kitchen on the phone, Luke sits in the living room
recliner.
ANNE
. . . been feeling especially disoriented these last couple days, so his boss gave him the week
off. . . . uh huh. Yes, I'm very eager to. . . . Sure. . . . Wednesday would be fine. Three-thirty,
sure. All right. We'll see you then. Thanks, Doctor.
ANNE hangs up the phone.
Luke! We have an appointment with the doctor on Wednesday at 3:30, okay? Damn, I'm
going to be late.
LUKE
Can I help with anything?
ANNE
Umm, (pauses) Yeah, could you make Greg's lunch?
LUKE
Yeah, sure.
ANNE
Perfect. Thanks hon.
ANNE exits.
Luke moves to kitchen, opens two cupboards, grabs the bread out of the
second cupboard. He gathers the bread and ham, sets them on the table. He
takes out two pieces of bread, then pauses, looks around as if confused.
1
Galilei, Galileo. Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic and Copernican.
Stillman Drake, trans. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.
22
He goes back to the cupboard, gets the peanut butter and a knife. Spreads
peanut butter on both slices. Starts to put them together, but accidentally
knocks over a cup of juice on the table.
LUKE
Shit.
Luke gets a rag and cleans up the spill. Goes back to the sandwich, grabs
some ham, quickly finishes it up, and then starts getting out other stuff for
the lunch. Anne comes down the living room stairs.
ANNE
Five minutes, Greg! (enters the kitchen) You almost finished, hon?
LUKE
Yeah, sorry. I got held up. Sandwich is on the table.
ANNE
What's on this sandwich? Oh God.
LUKE
What?
ANNE
Ham and peanut butter.
LUKE
You’re kidding. Holy shit, I –
ANNE cleans up quickly. She throws the sandwich away.
ANNE
It's all right, its no big deal. Do you have any money, Greg can just buy lunch.
Luke searches pockets for money. Greg enters.
Thanks. Here honey, you can just buy today. Have you got everything?
GREGORY
Can I get a soda?
ANNE
No, I want you to get milk or juice. Here's your jacket. Bye Luke. Don't worry about it.
23
LUKE
Yeah. All right.
ANNE and GREG exit. LUKE falls into a chair. Lights down.
24