BY LADARIAN SMITH
Copyright © by LaDarian Smith. All rights reserved. Published with permission from the author. Inquiries concerning rights should be addressed to LaDarian Smith at ladarian2014@gmail.com.
Presented October 25, 2013 | Kenan Theatre, UNC Department of Dramatic Art | Directed by Dana Coen
Original cast members are in brackets.
TYLER GREEN 19, male, African American basketball player [Kashif Powell].
DEBRA GREEN 48, female, African American, Tyler’s mother [Kathy Atwater].
ERIC GREEN 48, male, African American, Tyler’s father [Trevor Johnson].
Present. An indoor basketball court.
On an indoor basketball court. At the top of the stage a GAME CLOCK IS TICKING DOWN FROM 00:13.
TYLER GREEN, a tall black male wearing a basketball jersey and shorts, STORMS into the light, carrying a basketball. He’s frantic and wide-eyed.
TYLER [breathless] Time! I SAID TIME!!!
[The clock STOPS at 00:11.]
TYLER [to the audience] Eleven seconds left in the fourth quarter. Score is seventy-nine to seventy-eight. I’m at half-court, ball in my hand, and sweat flying everywhere.
[He takes a long beat and calms as he reflects on the moment.]
TYLER I’ve been playing ball since I could walk. . . . rec leagues, summer camps, high school, all of it. Nothing ever came more naturally. It was my escape from everything and everyone.
[beat] Except Drew. He made everything different.
[DEBRA GREEN APPEARS. Tyler BOUNCES HER THE BALL.]
DEBRA [fuming] What is wrong with you, Tyler? Out of all the things you could’ve been doing.
TYLER [to Debra] Mama, calm down!
DEBRA Boy, look at me. This is serious. You’re lucky your coach caught you and not some big-mouth.
TYLER Please, list. . . .
DEBRA Who were you with?
TYLER What?
DEBRA Don’t act like you can’t hear me.
[He turns away.]
DEBRA [her worst fear] I knew it. Boy, are you crazy? I see Drew’s mother every day at prayer, and you’re down at the school doing this?
TYLER Coach didn’t see who I was. . . .
DEBRA I thought basketball meant I wouldn’t have to worry about things like this!
[ERIC GREEN, Tyler’s father, APPEARS from the other side.]
[Debra BOUNCES HIM THE BALL.]
ERIC [voice shaking] All I could do is laugh at first. I say, “Tyler did what? You got to be mistaken.” And then when it’s quiet on the other end, it hits me like a damn train!
DEBRA Calm down before you hurt somebody. This is your son!
ERIC [struggling to form the words] My son. . . . is not a faggot.
DEBRA Our son. . . .
ERIC Don’t act like I’m the only one that ain’t happy right now! Too busy locked up in the church all day to notice. [beat] All that praying and speaking in tongues, and what do you get for it?
TYLER [to Eric] Yeah? And when’s the last time you even set foot in a church? Or is the receptionist down at your shop the only person you have time for nowadays?
ERIC What I do down at my shop is none of your business. The money I make is what put those damn shoes on your feet and what sent you to those expensive camps. Those girls down at the school. . . . they don’t catch your eye? You’d rather be sweet on another nigga’ than a woman? Because I’m just trying to understand how this happens to a basketball player!
DEBRA Eric. . . .
[Eric holds a hand out to silence her.]
ERIC None of that even matters now. If this gets out, who do you think is going to put you on their team? Then what are you going to do?
[Tyler has no answer for them. Eric BOUNCES THE BALL BACK TO TYLER. He and Debra EXIT on their respective sides of the stage.]
TYLER [to the audience] He moved into my neighborhood. I remember meeting him on the court and watching him drive the ball to the net. He smiled the entire time, and I could tell he was in love with the game. I was the first person he picked to be on his team. Boys ever since. [beat] We got older and we’d compare sizes, and then laugh it off and throw some random girl in the conversation to make ourselves feel better. All of this right after morning workouts and before homeroom. [beat] But the looking turned into slight touches here and there. Then the touches became a grab. [becoming rougher with the ball] Then the grabs became rubs, and finally. . . .
[Tyler SLAMS the ball down. It BOUNCES HIGH, then descends back into his arms.]
TYLER [to the audience] I fought it. Went and slept with some of the baddest girls in school, waiting for my body to finally get the message. [beat] It never did. Nobody makes me angrier, more self-aware, more confused, and more vulnerable than Drew Anderson. I’m not saying we’re “dumb athletes,” but neither of us was getting any money to go to college for our grades. This was literally our only way out and if I wanted to keep it, for both me and for Drew, the best thing to do was to just let it go. Stealing glances and pretending to accidentally brush hands was the best we could do. [beat] He wanted to go to the same school, but I didn’t. It was too much. I ended up in Kansas. He went to Syracuse. I’d hoped by getting away from everything it would give me a chance to think about what it was I wanted. But, it just made me angry at myself for pushing him away. Eventually, we stopped talking altogether.
[Tyler STARTS DRIBBLING but handles the ball SLOPPILY.]
TYLER [to the audience] My game was off. And practices weren’t good because I felt like I couldn’t see anyone. And I’m a point guard, so if I’m off then everyone feels it. My teammates ended up sitting me down just to make sure I was all right. [beat] Things wouldn’t get better for some time, but once I’d made an effort to stop beating myself up, my game improved. We ended up making it to the final round of the NCAA tournament. I remember sitting in front of the TV, watching Syracuse play for the last spot and praying that they’d lose so I wouldn’t have to play against Drew. [beat] But they didn’t lose. And a week later I was face to face with him on the court. Everything about it felt right, even if his cold eyes said otherwise.
[The GAME CLOCK RESTARTS. Tyler SIMULATES A GAME, running up and down the court, moving and juking.]
TYLER [to the audience, picking up the moment from the top of the play] Eleven seconds left. Not much time to do anything, but I have to try. No sooner than I’m passed the ball, I’m off! I feel Drew’s angry breaths behind me as he tries to take the ball from my possession. I fake him out and storm past, watching him slide neatly across the floor and out of bounds. My heart is pounding through my ribs. I get a clear shot, take it. . . .
[He SHOOTS. The ball CLANGS OFF THE RIM and bounces back to Tyler. The BUZZER sounds! The GAME CLOCK reads 0:00.]
TYLER [to the audience, beat] The arena is chaos. My eyes are racing to keep up with my thoughts. [beat] And then, there he is. The smile is back. . . . and just like that we are locked.
[Tyler symbolically embraces his basketball, taking in the smell and feel of it.]
TYLER [to the audience] My ears are hot and I can feel tears burning my eyes. My head leans into the curve of his neck. I can hear the cameras clicking.
[Debra and Eric APPEAR upstage from their opposite corners and stare down at Tyler. They are emotionless.]
TYLER [to the audience] I look up into the crowd to find my parents. I half expect them to come down from the stands and rip me from Drew’s arms. [beat] So what do I do when none of this is supposed to happen? What do I say when words don’t do anything? [beat] I listen.
[Tyler DRIBBLES THE BALL rhythmically.]
TYLER [to the audience] I hear his heart beating. Fast. Strong. Proud. I feel sedated by his pulse. I couldn’t leave even if I thought about it. The sweat from his body swirls with mine and the breath on my neck is numbing. This is us, in high definition, embracing life itself and only stopping because the moment is up and we have to clear the court. I don’t know what’s going to happen next.
[He STOPS DRIBBLING.]
TYLER But I don’t care.
BLACKOUT
END OF PLAY