TIES

Content warning: Depictions of blood, death, and gore.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

NAM E                                                DESCRIPTION                                            AGE                                               GENDER
BABY                                                   A person, growing.                                     Various.                                        Dealer’s choice.
M OM                                                  A working mother.                                     Late 30s .                                      F
NIKKI                                                  A girl.                                                            Teen                                               F
TEACHER                                          A teacher.                                                     30s                                                 Dealer’s choice.
COUNSELOR                                    A summer camp employee.                      20s                                                 Dealer’s choice.
TYLER                                                A college student with a prescription.    20s                                                 M
CIGARETTE GIRL                           A pharmacist.                                              30s                                                 Dealer’s choice.
DEAN                                                  A college dean.                                            50s                                                 Dealer’s choice.
PUPPETEER                                     Unseen.                                                         N/A                                               N/A

 

 

 

BEFORE

BABY floats in nothingness. No beginning
or end. No good or bad.

Endless calm.

The moment lingers eternally.

THEN

A voice from off.

MOM

Baby… Baby!… BABY!

A kitchen. Lower middle class.

They don’t have everything, but they want
for nothing.

MOM enters the kitchen. She is a bloodied
corpse suspended and animated by
marionette strings.

MOM

I’m late, Baby. You didn’t hear me calling you?

BABY

Uh-uh.

MOM

You know, I work really hard…

BABY

I know, M om.

MOM

Then why do you treat me like this? Here. Eat your damn breakfast.

MOM puts a breakfast plate on the table.

BABY

I’m not hungry.

MOM

FINE. STARVE. I gotta go.

MOM picks up her work things and goes to
leave. M aybe she is a nurse. M aybe she was
a nurse, but is now a paralegal.

MOM stops at the door and turns around.

BABY sits in front of the untouched plate
of food.

MOM

You know, you should be grateful. You don’t know how good you have it.

MOM leaves, slamming the door.

BABY

I’m just not hungry.

THEN

The kitchen transforms into a classroom.
BABY sits at a desk. BABY has a bleeding
wound. One of BABY’s arms is suspended
by a marionette string.

BABY writes with the marionette hand.

NIKKI sits at another desk.

NIKKI has a bleeding wound. One hand is
suspended by a marionette string. The hand
writes.

NIKKI

I want you.

BABY

What?

NIKKI

I want you.

BABY

What do you want to do with me?

TEACHER reprimands from offstage.

TEACHER

SHHHHH.

NIKKI

I want to touch you.

BABY

We have to be quiet.

NIKKI tries to stand up and go to BABY,
but her marionette hand keeps writing.

She wrestles with it for a moment, but it will
not let her stop.

She stands awkwardly and reaches for
BABY, writing all the time.

NIKKI

Come here.

BABY

We should just work.

NIKKI

Just for a second.

BABY

You’re distracting me.

NIKKI

I’ll stop distracting you if you come here.

BABY sighs.

BABY stands and reaches for NIKKI.
BABY’s marionette hand keeps writing too.

They reach for each other, hands writing
furiously.

Then NIKKI grabs BABY, groping them. It
is aggressive, violating. Clumsy and hard to
watch.

BABY grimaces.

NIKKI

You like that?

BABY

No.

NIKKI

Yeah you do. I know you do.

The TEACHER speaks from offstage again.

TEACHER

BABY. Stop distracting the other children.

TEACHER enters. They are a corpse,
suspended by marionette strings.

TEACHER

Have you finished your work?

BABY

No, I…–

TEACHER

Then what are you doing fooling around? Back to your desk.

BABY sits back down. So does NIKKI.

TEACHER

Do you know how lucky you are? You should be grateful. There are kids in Africa who
would kill to be able to come to school.

TEACHER exits.

THEN

The classroom becomes the woods. A
summer camp. An archery range.

BABY is bleeding more heavily now. Both
of their arms are tied to marionette strings.

They shoot an arrow at a target. The
marionette strings make it difficult.

A COUNSELOR watches. She is a corpse,
suspended by marionette strings.

COUNSELOR

Great job! Try again.

BABY

I want to do something else.

COUNSELOR

Oh, I know, but this is the activity right now. Try again.

BABY does, the next arrow goes wide.

COUNSELOR

Great job! Try again.

BABY

Can I just go swimming?

COUNSELOR

No. Try again.

BABY

Why not?

COUNSELOR

It’s important to stick with things, you know.

BABY

But I don’t like this.

COUNSELOR

You never like anything.

BABY

I don’t think that’s true.

COUNSELOR

Try again.

BABY

I’d rather go swimming.

COUNSELOR

If we go swimming, you’ll get bored of that too, and you need to learn to stick with things. Try again.

BABY

But, why?

COUNSELOR

It’s good for you to stick with things. It shows perseverance.

BABY

But what if I just really don’t like it?

COUNSELOR

It doesn’t really matter how you feel. That’s not really important. What’s important is that you keep at it.

BABY

But if I don’t like it, shouldn’t I try something else?

COUNSELOR

You don’t know what you like yet. And honestly, I think it would be good for you to be a little more grateful. Not every kid gets to come to summer camp to try all of these new things in the first place. Try again.

BABY looses another arrow.

It lodges in the corpse of the camp
COUNSELOR.

COUNSELOR

Great job! See, doesn’t it feel good to improve.

BABY

I guess I do feel a little better.

THEN

The woods transform into a college library.

BABY is heavily wounded.

Two arms and a leg are controlled by
marionette strings.

The wounds are starting to take their toll.
BABY is weakened. They lean in the
strings, relying on the support.

BABY reads from an impossibly thick
textbook.

BABY can barely keep their eyes open.

TYLER enters. He is similarly strung up,
but his step is light. Still, he bleeds.

TYLER walks by and notices BABY falling
asleep.

TYLER

Cramming?

BABY

Hm?

TYLER

Finals?

BABY

Oh. Yeah.

TYLER

Need a hand?

BABY

Like a tutor? No I’m good.

TYLER

No. Not like a tutor.

TYLER looks at BABY pointedly.

BABY

What?

TYLER snorts.

TYLER whistles and waves.

A CIGARETTE GIRL wearing a sexy
nurse’s outfit enters. She is a corpse,
suspended by wires. She carries a tray of
prescription bottles.

TYLER picks up a bottle from the tray.

TYLER rattles the bottle in BABY’s face.

TYLER

Adderall. Help.

BABY

I think I’m good.

TYLER

I have a special, two for twenty-five. For the season.

BABY

No thanks.

TYLER

And it makes sex feel extra incredible.

BABY

I said no, dude.

TYLER

Whatever, asshole.

TYLER goes to leave, then turns back.

TYLER

You know what, you should really be grateful. I don’t offer that deal to everyone.

BABY

Thanks but no thanks. Can you leave me alone? I’m trying to study.

TYLER

I’m just trying to be friendly.

BABY

I’m not looking for a friend right now.

TYLER

What about something more?

BABY

What?

TYLER

Like. I just… I thought you were really beautiful and I wonder if I could get your number?

BABY

Dude. No. Leave me alone.

TYLER doesn’t leave.

Silence.

BABY

What?

TYLER

Okay, I get it, but we could fuck, right? Let’s take a study break. I know a spot. The
stairwell on the north side.

Beat.

TYLER

Well?

BABY

I cannot believe you just asked me that.

TYLER

Turns you on though, right?

BABY

If you don’t leave me alone right now I’m gonna call security.

TYLER

Whatever. As if I could even get off with you. You should be thanking me, begging to suck
my cock. Good luck getting anyone to touch you, pig.

TYLER leaves.

BABY studies, bleeding a little harder.

THEN

The library turns into a graduation.

The DEAN is a corpse, suspended by wires.
He hands out diplomas.

DEAN

Baby.

BABY wears a cap and gown. Their three
marionette strings compel them toward the
DEAN. They are weak, dragged along, pale
and covered in blood.

BABY reaches the DEAN and their wire
hand reaches out, shaking his.

The DEAN only looks at BABY’s hand.

Pause.

The DEAN clears his throat.

BABY reaches into their gown and pulls out
a crumped wad of cash, staining it with
blood.

BABY hands it to the DEAN.

The DEAN hands BABY a diploma.

BABY takes it with their untethered hand,
staining it with blood.

THEN

The DEAN vanishes. The graduation
disappears.

BABY stands alone in a void, similar to the
one BEFORE.

The diploma rises out of BABY’s hand. It
floats to the ceiling.

As it rises, a wire, connected to BABY’s
free hand, unspools from the diploma.

The last wire connects BABY’s last limb.
They are now entirely controlled by wires.

An unseen PUPPETEER forces BABY to
dance.

The dance is lively. BABY is exhausted.
BABY whimpers, struggling to keep up.

BABY collapses.

The wires yank BABY to their feet again.

BABY cries out in pain.

The wires cut into BABY’s skin. More
blood.

The dance is strenuous, furious. BABY
seems to be losing consciousness.

The dance reaches its crescendo and as it
does, BABY dies.

The dance continues, beautiful and wild.
Now that BABY is dead, the PUPPETEER
can control the corpse with ease.

The dance resolves in a passionate
dénouement.

BABY’s corpse is suspended onstage. It
hangs limply on its wires.

BABY’s dead eyes stare, unblinking.

AFTER

 

 

 

About the Author
Aaron Klass is a playwright, actor, director, designer and founding member of the Colorado-based Blunt Force Drama theatre company. He has written, produced, directed, and/or acted in every piece in BFD’s decade-long production history from Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” to his own play, “Ruin”. He has joint custody of several unimpressive screenwriting and filmmaking accolades and awards. Aaron has spent his career in public museums focused on visitor and interpreter education through the use of experimental archaeology and historical costuming focused on the mid-19th century. Aaron lives and works in Longmont, Colorado where he coerces his friends and loved ones into participating in and supporting his artistic endeavors.