Drama
Sreejith Poilkave
Announcement
Dear ones,
May I have a humble and simple question for the civilized society around?
What is our attitude towards the marginalized transgender group?
Are we treating them as a human?
It’s a fact that the transgender group of Kerala achieved the present social status through several struggles.
In the year 2014 far in the United States Of America, a young transgender girl committed suicide.
The ground of this drama is nothing other than the tearful and touching suicide note written by her before ending her life.
Now we go for the presentation of the drama.
Leelah…
SCENE 1
[Dim light on the stage. On the right side of the stage, we can see the shadow of a girl looking into the mirror. She is doing some makeup. Masked people holding symbols of gender enters the stage. They are dancing slightly. On the left side, a person like a priest is sitting on a chair. Dancers come around him and murmurs to him as if his son is not good. When the light brightens slowly, we can see the face of the girl sitting in front of the mirror. The first part of Leelah Alcorn’s suicide note is heard. The priest stands up with anger- he is the father of Leelah.]
FATHER– the wages of sin is hell and for the sinners, it is the hellish suffering … oh Jesus hallelujah hallelujah ..!!
MASK PEOPLE– hallelujah… hallelujah…
what kind of nonsense is this? What are you doing here? face cream lipstick nail polish, (picking up these things from the floor by masked people)
shame on you ! are you a girl or what?? Show me your nails … Jesus…(He cuts her nails )!! Why can’t you live like a man ? from everywhere I get complaints about you, from the school, your tuition centre … even from the church… everyone is disgusted with you playing a girl.. I repeat are you a girl or what? let me see if I can make you a proper girl …!!
[Dancers enter the stage with big scissors. They start cropping her hair and removes her pink frock. Now Leelah is bald-headed with underwear only. She cries loudly. Dancers light up candles. Light fades slowly.]
-BLACK OUT-
SCENE 2
[A dressing room. On one side of the room, sister Emma is stitching a cloth. On the other side, Leelah stands near the dress stand where female costumes are hanged. She notices a bra and wears it. Emma sees this with discomfort.]
EMMA– Hey what is this? why are you taking this? All these things belongs to girls na ? remove it soon else I will call mother … mamma … mamma…
LEELAH– Emma… before I remove , let me say something
EMMA– don’t say anything. I know what you are going to say
“from the beginning itself , I am a women, whenever I mingle with men, the relation turns into love” your mind is of women… these are the things you want to say right ?
LEELAH- no… not just my mind.. I am a woman….
EMMA– ( with love ) my brother is a complete boy, look at the growing mustache, look at growing hair in your chest. You just leave your useless thoughts brother…
LEELAH- Emma, please hear me I can’t understand why you people can’t even think about the ones who are between men and women. Physically I am a boy but mentally I am not.
EMMA- your mind. You are gay. That’s your problem. You need a good treatment… remove it immediately, it’s irritating me (she removes)
LEELAH– Emma…. Please understand me.. I am so jealous of you. You are a complete girl!! How many days should I wait to be a complete girl..!!
EMMA– brother.. please forget these things…!! I cant see you like this.. like a mule, neither a boy nor a girl ..!! ohhh..!!
LEELAH– Emma.. I wont touch this anymore (bra)
EMMA-I don’t trust you( she takes the bra and goes out. Slowly light fades.)
-BLACK OUT-
SCENE 3
(Leelah surfing on a laptop. She is chatting with her friends. Friends appear on the stage. )
FRIEND 1– I face many problems, more than you. My family gave only importance to the dreams of boys and girls. Being a transgender, I became a burden to my family. They sent me to a faraway college. There too… I face the same problem! They gave importance only to boys and girls. I become a joke.. dressing like girls.
FRIEND 2– do you know. They made me like a mental patient only because I dressed like girl. Is it a mental disorder to change the sex from man to woman? It’s quite a hormonal right ?
FRIEND3– when the world accepts science, why can’t they accept we transgender, we all know that, from the beginning of the human race, we the transgenders were also born, why the people never accept us? Never?
[We can include some transgender issues with the interaction of real transgenders.]
-BLACK OUT-
SCENE 4
[The last scene continues. The audience can see the visuals of Leelah engaged in video chatting with other transgender friends. Her mother enters the stage with a cross. She stops video chatting suddenly and stands with fear.]
MOTHER- Emma told me some serious matters today. You wore her…!! Huh..!! come… come here… come I say…!! how shame of you child ? what nonsense were you doing? Are you mad? hallelujah hallelujah .. first of all… believe in god, everything is the creation of god.! Even you, hallelujah hallelujah.. pray for child…pray… oh my Jesus… oh lord.. help my son to get rid of his sins…. Take care of my son from evil spirits.. go away the evil spirits from you… go away … go away…
FATHER– (enters with the nun) treesa… take something to drink for the sister
NUN– Do this child have the problem?
FATHER– Yes he always wanted to be a girl. He is behaving like a girl all the time, like a mule…
NUN– oh pasture.. please stay outside, let me talk with him
(Father goes. Sister looks at Leelah with lust.)
NUN-don’t worry, these all are the decisions of God, have you ever loved
anyone?
LEELAH-yes
NUN– tell me their names….
LEELAH- Robert…!
NUN– then…?
LEELAH- Alfred….!
NUN-then….?
LEELAH– Martin…
NUN– (angrily) not even loved a woman?
LEELAH– No…!!
NUN– (angrily) huh…. !! (pushing him )
NUN 2 –don’t you like women… ?
LEELAH-no
NUN2– Don’t you ever feel like touching a woman’s body ?
LEELAH-no
NUN1 and NUN2– you have to feel women like a sweet-smelling rose flower
NUN2– I am a woman..!! I expose my love in front of you.. come..!!
EMMA-(enters) stop it..! (NUN2 disappears)
[Leelah crying on the stage. Light fades]
-BLACK OUT-
SCENE 5
[Before light appears, the second part of Leelah Alcorn’s suicide note is recited. When light brightens, we can see Leelah in front of the mirror. Doctor entering to the stage. Leelah looks at him doubtfully. Mother entering to the stage. ]
Mother: Meet him. Always like a girl. Can you cure it ?
DOCTOR– it is a disease. A serious dangerous disease but it is curable and there are medicines for it. There is a mix of herbal leaves, neem, aloe vera and som other secret mythical leaves, that I got from my ancestral generation !! if he consumes it for a month, he will become a complete man..!! like me…
MOTHER– should he follow any diet or something?
DOCTOR- give him only some food… and avoid non-veg completely!
MOTHER-( to leelah) have you heard this son? ( leelah shaking his head )
These all for you good..!!
LEELAH-I don’t want to be a man..!!
MOTHER– what ? what? what you just said ?
LEELAH– I don’t want to be a man..!!
MOTHER– (angrily) mule… a complete mule, whatever you eat… grass or water… you can only a mule…
Oh jesus ( leelah cries)
MOTHER– (to doctor) is the medicine ready ?
DOCTOR-yeah… here it is… oh Jesus!!
MOTHER– oh Jesus…!! Take care of my son..!!
MOTHER– have it son… have it… have it i say..!!
(leelah drinks the medicine and vomits. Leelah’s phone rings. It rings like a group.)
LEELAH– now I understand the bitter life (looks to the vessel) ho… fed up..!! like a cell phone, a useless cell phone which cant even ring once..!! when I hear other cell phone rings.. I am feared.. (ring) no…no.. its not my phone, this phone is always silent…silence,.. silence… I must overcome this eternal silence.. I must..!! oh.. fed up with this damn silence..
[Light only on Leelah. Light fades in the sadness of Leelah.]
-BLACK OUT-
Scene 6
( Third part of Leelah Alcorn’s suicide note can be heard. Leelah’s room. A group of transgenders enter the stage with a cake.)
FRIEND1- happy birthday leelah
FRIEND2– come on leelah, lets enjoy..!!
Leelah- Oh.. Its my sweet seventeen.
(happy birthday happy birthday happy birthday, and they dance)
FATHER– what nonsense is going on here ? what are you doing here ?You mules party… treesa treesa… (calls mother)
MOTHER(treesa)- what is happening here? What are you doing here ? oh jesus…. Who are you ?
FRIEND1– we are leelah’s friends..!!
MOTHER– who is leelah? Who is leelah…. ? my sons name is Joshua… you all made him leelah..!!
FRIEND2– leelah… we are leaving…!!
MOTHER- wait… are you Christian ?
FRIEND2- yeah… I am RC..!!
FATHER– that is the problem… you mules party..!!
FRIEND1-don’t ever repeat it..!!
FATHER– I will repeat, what you are going to do ?
FRIEND 1– fuck you..!!
FATHER– you mule… get out… get the hell out of here….
LEELAH– oh no… pappa… no pappa…. Plzz.. plzz…
FRIEND1– leelah we are going..!!
MOTHER– (stops leelah) you are having company with these kind of criminals right ?
FATHER– from where did you meet them ?
LEELAH-facebook
FATHER-facebook
MOTHER- huh… facebook… where is your laptop? Tell me….
(Father and mother searches for laptop, mother taking lock and key)
MOTHER– you will never leave this house without me…. Huh.. where is your mobile… ? I asked where is your mobile ? (founds mobile) give it… give it to me… (leelah cries)
FATHER– will they come today ?
MOTHER-yeah, they will come..!!
FATHER– the only cure for his disease is devotional convention.. (people from church comes)
Treesa,… here they are …!!
PRIEST– come on children.. let us pray…. Oh Jesus… hallelujah hallelujah…
[Leelah alone inside a group of people who are praying.]
-BLACK OUT-
Scene 8
[Leelah alone on the stage. Laptop in the hand. The final part of Leelah’s Alcorn’s suicide note recites as she types. Stage turns to a street. On the stage, people wearing gender signs of male and female move fastly. Sound of vehicles becomes louder and louder. The sudden break of a vehicle remembering an accident. Leela’s cry. Slowly light fades. When light brights, we can hear the sound of a train and a group of transgenders entering the stage dancing to a Tamil song. And distributing translated version of Leelah Alcorn’s suicide notes to the audience. Drama ends when transgenders fills among the audience..]
Curtain
End
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