FoxFireAlchemist
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 |  Subject: The Catalyst  Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:24 am | |
| The Catalyst CharactersCorinne (“Cory”) LeClairMr. Astor LeClair- Corinne’s fatherJames Kobayashi- Corinne’s cousinRussell Frost- Corinne’s best friend & Alchemy tutorMichelle Frost- Russell’s older sisterAct 1- Scene 1[The play begins in the interior of Astor LeClair’s house. The stage is set in the main room of the house, the large living room. There appears to be a hallway on either side of the stage, the left leading to the entryway of the house, the other leading further into the house. We can see the entrance to the kitchen near the right hallway, a large bookshelf between the two. A white curtain hangs in the doorway leading to the kitchen. The wall to the left of the kitchen also has a few bookshelves lining it. In the middle of the room there is a couch facing the audience and two chairs on either side of it, facing inwards. There is an area rug in the middle of this setup, as well as a lamp on the right side of the couch. On the right arm of the couch sits a pile of freshly folded laundry. It is morning outside.As the play begins we see Corinne LeClair sitting on the couch, reading a fairly thick old book titled “The Basics of Alchemy: A Resource Book”. Corinne is a tall, attractive girl around 17 years old. She has very pale skin and long, jet-black hair. She is a brilliant girl who is well-known for her intellect; and to top it off she has a very sarcastic, “I’m superior to everyone” attitude. She skipped 3 grades, making her a sophomore in college. Every month or so, Corinne visits her father for a two-week period, since her father’s house isn’t that far from her school. Corinne appears to be totally absorbed in her book, but she is interrupted by the sounds of a door being unlocked and opened. She looks over at the left hallway quickly, then jumps up, sits on the book she was reading, and grabs a magazine that was under the couch. Mr. LeClair, a businessman of about forty, walks into the room from the left hallway, wearing a black business suit. He also has jet black hair, is very handsome, and he only looks to be around thirty. He naturally walks very fluidly and gracefully, with a distinguished air, a trait that was passed on to his daughter. He has a stoic yet handsome face, much like his daughter’s stoic and beautiful face, although Corinne’s face is slightly more expressive, presumably a trait inherited from her mother whom she has never met. He appears to have just gotten home from work. He stops when he sees Corinne on the couch.]Mr. LeClair: Hello Corinne, I wasn’t expecting you to get here so soon. What’s that you’re reading?Corinne: [nonchalantly, without looking up from “reading” the magazine] It’s nothing really. Just something I picked up on the way home from shopping.Mr. LeClair: You didn’t go to school today? Why?Corinne: [turning to look at him with a look that says, “Seriously?] Dad. It’s Saturday. And it’s a holiday, so there were no classes; and you’re living off of bread crumbs and tap water. I went to go pick up some real food from the farmer’s market.Mr. LeClair: Oh. (pauses.) I’m sorry, it’s been a long night. My meeting ran over. (raises an eyebrow.) You’ve been back into that Alchemy nonsense, haven’t you.Corinne: (starts to stand, but remembers the book and stays in her seat. She manages to keep a straight face, but the irritation in her voice leaks through.) No, I haven’t. And it’s not “nonsense”. You would see that if you would just give it a chance!Mr. LeClair: Let’s not argue about this right now. I’m sorry I pushed the topic. (pauses.) I need a drink.Corinne: Have fun with that. [He heads into the kitchen. Corinne waits until she’s sure he’s not coming back out, then tosses the magazine aside haplessly and whips out the book she was sitting on and begins to read.][As she reads, Russel Bishop silently enters from the left hallway and stops just a few inches into the room. He is a year older than Corinne, is a head taller than Corinne, has long blonde hair with bangs that fall just past his eyes, and is fairly lanky. He also has a mild tan from working on a field in the islands.]Russell: Cory!Corinne: [she jumps, startled, but remains seated] Russell! Jeez, do you have to sneak up on me like that? [she sounds irritated, but also genuinely amused.]Russell: [as he casually crosses over to the couch,laughing.] Aww, you’re not mad at me now, are you Cory? [he stops in front of the couch and stands next to her.]Corinne: [returns to reading her book] I’ll forgive you this time, but next time you won’t be so lucky. And I hope you know Cory is guy’s name. Why do you keep calling me that? [Russell grins and shrugs.] In any case, you better keep it down. “Old man LeClair” is in the kitchen. Russell: [in a hushed voice, smiling ear-to-ear] Oh really? You’re grandfather’s visiting? Should I call a medium?Corinne: [kicks Russell in the shin without looking up from her book] You really shouldn’t joke like that, you could really offend somebody. Russell: [holding his injured shin] Oww… Message received. [looks at the book she’s holding] Hey, you studying last week’s material?Corinne: [with implied sarcasm] No, I just thought I’d stare at this book for three hours ‘cause it’s soooo pretty.Russell: Ha ha, very funny! So do you remember what we covered? Let’s hear it, then. [Corinne shoots a “you have got to be kidding me” glare at him] C’mon, humor me!Corinne: Fine, fine. [While she recites the next lines, all the other stage lights go out except for one focused on Russell and Corinne] “Alchemy is the science of breaking a material into its most simple components, then reconstructing those key components into a new substance. This is done by harnessing enough energy to break the bonds of the original substance apart completely. Then, the baisic particles are rearranged into the chemical formula of the desired product; and finally new bonds are formed between the molecules, thus completing the reaction. This is done through a process called Transmutation, where a pattern consisting of a circle and various runes are used to denominate the flow of power in the reaction. The type of varying geometric patterns and runes used will vary depending on the type of transmutation, but there must always be a basic circle within the formula for it to work.” [After this, the rest of the stage lights come back on]Russell: Hey, you were listening!Corinne: Well, yeah. I mean, that part is so simple. From there it’s more complicated. Taking the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy into account, and then there are laws against things like creating gold- [sounds are heard from the kitchen. Corinne looks up from her book to the doorway that leads to the kitchen nervously]Russell: -Aaand there’s the fact that your father has forbidden you from practicing it, which implies that it probably had something to do with your mother’s death.Corinne: [correcting him in a mildly harsh tone] Disappearance!Russell: Yeah, the lack of a body and a funeral makes it more of a disappearance. [he pauses for a short moment to think] You know, in all these years I’ve known you, you’ve never really told me why you want to find your mother. [more sounds are heard from the kitchen]Corinne: [jumping up from the couch nervously] -I’m just sick of not knowing. [Russell looks at her, obviously not believing her, and appears to be about to say more; but suddenly Corinne whirls around and kicks him onto his hands and knees, landing with a loud “thump”] Russell: Hey, ow! Not funny!Corinne: [nervously grabbing a white sheet from the top of the pile of laundry on the couch] Will you just hush? [she throws the white sheet over Russell, then lifts up the middle couch cushion and quickly throws the book underneath, returning the cushion to its original position. She grabs the magazine from where she had thrown it earlier, sits back down on the couch and puts her feet on Russell’s back just as her father walks back into the room from the kitchen. She quickly flips the magazine opens and pretends to read it nonchalantly]Mr. LeClair: [looking around the room] Is someone here?Corinne: [without looking up from the magazine] Just me, myself, and I. Mr. LeClair: I thought I heard another voice.Corinne: [giving him a sarcastic glance to accompany her sarcastic tone] Yeah, we’re having a rave out here. Care to join?Mr. LeClair: [amused, although you can only tell by his voice] I think I’ll pass, thank you. [he pauses, his gaze now resting on Corinne’s makeshift “foot rest”] When did we get an ottoman?Corinne: [her eyes shifting back to the magazine as she begins speaking] When I went down to the basement, grabbed an old end table and a pillow, drug them back up here and made one.Mr. LeClair: Well that would explain the thumping. [still looking at the footrest] So, what about the sheet?Corinne: [slaps the magazine down onto her lap and sighs heavily] It was dusty and an eyesore, and I really need a place to put my feet while I’m here.Mr. LeClair: Fair enough. [pauses] Well, if you don’t need anything else I’m going to take a nap. It’s been a long two days.Corinne: [reading the magazine again] That explains why you weren’t here when I got here this morning. Ah well, go get a nap.Mr. LeClair: Alright. Goodnight. [he exits through the right hallway, followed by the sounds of someone going up a staircase and ultimately a door shutting. Upon hearing the door shut, Corinne quickly jumps off the couch and flings the magazine away, yanking the sheet off of Russell. Russell slowly gets back on his feet and stretches himself out] Russell: You could’ve just told me your dad was coming. I could’ve found a place to hide.Corinne: Well, that wouldn’t have been quite as funny, now would it? [she lifts up the couch cushion and grabs her book, then presses it back into place] Okay, let’s get moving.Russell: Right. If we hurry we can probably make it to the island before the coastguards shift posts.Corinne: That’s the idea. [she crosses the stage and exits through the left hallway, but before Russell can follow she calls back] Hey, could you grab that stack of books on the last shelf by the door?Russell: Sure! [he quickly spins on his heel, walks to the bookcase and grabs the pile of five or so old books] Alrighty then, let’s go. Someone’s waiting on us. [He crosses over and exits the stage. Lights fade; curtains fall]END SCENE 1Act 1- Scene 2[The curtains open and the lights fade in to the back patio of the Frost family farmhouse; located on Verda Island, the third and largest island in the Island Chain, where alchemy has thrived and evolved. The house itself is on the right side of the stage, although it is not visible onstage. The patio scene takes up the entire span of the stage. On the right side of the patio is a sizeable table with an open umbrella, complete with a set of five chairs. On the left side of the patio is a plastic storage bin sealed off with a lid, and directly to the left side of it is a grill.It is now around midday of the same day, and the light onstage is much stronger. As the stage lights come on at the beginning of the scene, a young man in his early twenties steps out onto the patio. A door is heard shutting just before this, implying that he came from the house offstage. His name is James Kobayashi. He has dark hair, dark eyes, and very pale skin. He very vaguely appears to be from Asian descent. He is focusing on a laptop that he holds in one arm, and with the other he carries a neat stack of papers in the other; accompanied by a laptop bag hanging from his shoulder. He walks over to the table, sets down the laptop and the papers, and lets the laptop bag slide off his shoulder with a loud “thump”; his eyes never leaving the laptop’s screen. He leans over to grab a pair of headphones out of the bag, slides them over his head, and continues to work.Russell and Corinne walk onstage from the left, engaged in conversation. James appears to be completely unaware of their presence and continues to focus on his work, occasionally tapping away at his laptop. Russell sets the small pile of books he brought on the storage bin as they walk in.]Corinne: Jeez, there are so many farms here!Russell: That’s because the people on this island specialize in Agricultural Alchemy and Bioalchemy. A farm is the ideal place to find raw materials.Corinne: Well, yeah, I think I know enough about Alchemy to figure that out on my own at this point. I just can’t fathom how they managed to fit all these big farm areas onto a lone island.Russell: [laughing] Fair enough. [noticing James] Hey look who’s here! [James doesn’t respond at all. Russell sneaks past him and stops directly behind him, then backhands the back of his head]James: [yanking the headphones off] Ouch! [he jumps out of his chair a whirls around to face Russell, rubbing the back of his head] For the love of … Was that really necessary?Russell: [laughing harder] Well, I had to get your attention somehow!James: Well, couldn’t you have found a less painful way to do it!?Corinne: [walking over to join the other two] Okay, break it up ladies. [to James] So, did you find out anything about that obituary I gave you?James: [returning to his seat] Yeah, I found something. Either your mom had a bunch of clones or she died more than once.Russell: So, you’re implying that she- [he is cut off by the sound of a telephone ringing inside the house] –Hang on, I better get that. [he dashes into the house offstage]Corinne: [as he runs out] Run Frost, run!James: [looking up at her] Now, I assume you want to hear more about the obituary.Corinne: Yeah, let’s hear your findings, Sherlock.James: [grabbing a newspaper clipping off of the top of the stack of papers] The obituary you gave me said that she died of heart failure on March 15, 2003.Corinne: Yup, that’s the story my dad’s been telling me.James: However, I looked up the incident in the morgue archives from the hospital she supposedly taken to-Corinne: Wait. How did you even get access to those?James: Please, give me some credit; I am a cybercrime specialist. Where would I be if I didn’t know all the tricks of the trade?Corinne: So, let me get this straight. In a nutshell, you are no better than the criminals you track down for a living, right?James: Well, I guess you could look at it that way, but…Corinne: [with a heavy sigh] So, what did the morgue records say?James: [pulls a chair over and rotates the laptop in her direction] Here, take a look for yourself. [As Corinne sits down and begins to read what’s on the laptop, Russell silently re-enters from the house. He sneaks right up behind Corinne and James, both unaware of him being there.]Corinne: [dumbfounded by what she’s reading] -What!? That doesn’t make any sense… at all! Russell: [mimicking Corinne as loudly and obnoxiously as he can possibly muster] WHAAAT doesn’t make any sense… AT ALL?!?James: [startled and frustrated; clutching at his heart] Really Russell, again?! Are you serious!? I think I’m going to have a heart attack!!Corinne: [indifferent and impatient] Ha ha, very funny. Russell. Quit harassing my tech stooge; that’s my job.James: [pointing a finger in Russell’s direction] Ha! [pauses to think for a moment] Wait, what?Corinne: Tech stooge, stop being such a pansy.James: Now wait just a second- !Corinne: [ignoring him; pointing to the laptop screen excitedly] Listen to this: The records from the morgue of the hospital that my mom was taken to say she died on January 7, 2005.Russell: [reading] “…Cause of death was a severe potassium deficiency…” Well, that makes sense. A lack of Potassium can cause a person’s body to shut down very rapidly, leading to heart failure. James: True, but then there’s the issue of the dates being so different. And there’s still more.Corinne: Read the line below that.Russell: [continuing to read] “… Patient suffered from kidney failure and died in-hospital.” …What? [pausing for a second, choosing his words carefully] But I thought… The obituary said your mom was found dead?James: And the reports don’t stop with those. [taps out a few keystrokes on his laptop as Russell takes a seat next to Corinne] Take a look at some of these.Russell: Hey, this one is dated from 1993! That’s before you were even born!Corinne: That’s messed up.[As they crowd around the laptop, Russell’s older sister Michelle Frost enters the scene from the left. She is about 23 years old and has shoulder-length blonde hair. She appears younger than her age both in appearance and personality. She is dressed in a uniform and appears to have just gotten off of work. She is the only sibling Russell sees regularly, and as such she is the closest family member to him. The small group at the table doesn’t notice her initial appearance.]Russell: Since there’s absolutely no physical evidence whatsoever on record anywhere to validate these claims; it looks like someone really wanted her to disappear.Corinne: Well thanks for that, Captain Obvious. Now, it’s all a matter of finding out who and why. Is it possible to find out if she changed her name and then moved somewhere?James: It’ll be hard, by I can try.Michelle: [joining the group at the table] Heya everyone, whatcha up to?Russell: [reaching over and shutting the laptop] Nothing much, ‘Chell. How are you doing?Michelle: [rubbing her neck and pulling another chair up to the group; and promptly sitting down in it] I just started my new job working as a secretary for a big company on the mainland, and I’m beat! Man, those mainlanders are workaholics! [turning to face Corinne] Speaking of mainlanders, look who finally decided to come for a visit!Corinne: [leaning over to Russell and muttering] Mainlander? [Russell shrugs. Corinne straightens back up in her chair] Well, at least it’s better than “Cory”. And let’s not forget, I can’t completely abandon my summer courses. Michelle: Well, if you became a full-time alchemist you could… [looks at James] Hey, there’s another one today! What’s your name?Corinne: This is my cousin, James. He followed me and my dad over from France, and now he works as one of the government’s bloodhounds.James: [frustrated] I am not a dog; I am a Computer Forensic Investigator! That joke isn’t even funny anymore!Corinne: [grinning at him, continuing to tease him] You’re right; it’s that much funnier.Michelle: So you guys are both French? That’s so cool! You know, you guys really look like each other. More so like siblings than cousins! [At this, Russell and James look at each other and begin to laugh. Corinne lets out an aggravated sigh, but even she seems fairly amused.] Why are you laughing?Corinne: [slightly annoyed] I just don’t understand why everyone thinks we look so much like each other. I don’t know whether to take it as an offense or a compliment anymore. [to James] No offense, dude.James: [casually] None taken. At least she didn’t say I look like Russell. Now that would’ve been offensive.Corinne: [enthusiastically; her stoic outer shell, normally devoid of emotion, broken by the glee in her face and voice] Oh-hoho-ho!! Ouch!Michelle: [utterly lost] What are you guys talking about?James: Corinne and I aren’t related by blood. My father married Corinne’s father’s sister.Corinne: [still bursting with enthusiasm] Hey, remember the first time I met you?James: How can I forget? The second I walked into your house, the very first thing you said was, [mimicking her trademark sarcasm] “Aww, you guys got me a pet geek!”Russell: [laughing] I just knew that the whole “pet” thing started like that!Michelle: [also laughing] You guys really are just like siblings! [getting up from her chair] Well, I’m going in the house to get a drink.Russell: Just don’t trip on your way in. It’s been a while since I had a chance to clean.Michelle: What do you mean by “a chance to clean”? You’re the only one who lives here, and the only other place you go to is the mainland!Russell: [sheepishly] I get busy with other things, like farmwork and teaching | |
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