Reading
City Circle Theatre
2011
Fictional Murders
Development History
- ,,
Production History
- ,Community Theater,Dreamwell Theatre2013
Fictional Murders by
Loneliness and anonymity combine online in ways both surprising, twisted, funny, and heartbreaking.
Following a brief prologue, the play begins with the BOY and MARK sitting in separate spaces onstage, in their bedrooms, online, wandering around chatrooms. The Boy and Mark are both frustrated by the fact that no women seem to ever be online – until the character of JULI begins speaking to Mark....
Following a brief prologue, the play begins with the BOY and MARK sitting in separate spaces onstage, in their bedrooms, online, wandering around chatrooms. The Boy and Mark are both frustrated by the fact that no women seem to ever be online – until the character of JULI begins speaking to Mark....
Loneliness and anonymity combine online in ways both surprising, twisted, funny, and heartbreaking.
Following a brief prologue, the play begins with the BOY and MARK sitting in separate spaces onstage, in their bedrooms, online, wandering around chatrooms. The Boy and Mark are both frustrated by the fact that no women seem to ever be online – until the character of JULI begins speaking to Mark. Through some quick, imaginative flourishes she easily seduces Mark, performing a virtual sex act on him. However, at the tail-end of the scene, it is revealed that Juli is actually an online creation of the Boy’s, who created the Juli-persona out of boredom and curiosity.
In the next scene, Juli, online, introduces Mark to her “brother” – which is the Boy – and the two young men quickly become online friends. The Boy, however, is frustrated that Mark seems to want to spend more time with Juli so she can write out the virtual sex-acts which so excites Mark. Finally, the Boy refuses to allow the Juli-persona to come forward at Mark’s demand and when pressed, tells Mark that Juli is dead.
Act One ends with the Boy creating and revealing to Mark the online persona of the STALKER, an anonymous figure who claims to have murdered Juli and is now trailing the Boy.
Act Two and the two young men are playing a game together online. DAD comes in to the Boy’s room and berates and mocks him, suggesting he’s a homosexual, that Mark is his boyfriend. The Boy considers that possibility and his frustration that Mark doesn’t seem to care for him as much as he did Juli. And then, through a series of online subterfuges, the Boy suggests to Mark that he and his family are connected with British Intelligence – appealing to Mark’s fascination with the Bond films.
At this point, the Boy develops the character, “Janet.” Janet only exists in the mouth and words of the Boy. Janet claims to be a member of British Intelligence and tells Mark that the Boy is vitally important to them. Then, using Janet, the Boy gets Mark to strip and perform a variety of solo sex acts for his webcam. DAD enters, sees it, and confronts the Boy. The Boy finds himself frustrated and lonely with all his lies and finally informs Mark that the Janet is also dead, killed in the line of duty.
With the Boy feeling more and more unstable, MARY appears. She is an older, matronly figure, and although only a construction of the Boy speaks first to the Boy, promising to bring him the peace he needs. Then Mary convinces Mark that he needs to kill the Boy.
The penultimate scene has Mark take the Boy into an alley and stab him.
In the closing scene, it’s revealed that the Boy survived. All aspects of the situation are brought to light and the Boy is reduced to a vacant, robotic figure.
Following a brief prologue, the play begins with the BOY and MARK sitting in separate spaces onstage, in their bedrooms, online, wandering around chatrooms. The Boy and Mark are both frustrated by the fact that no women seem to ever be online – until the character of JULI begins speaking to Mark. Through some quick, imaginative flourishes she easily seduces Mark, performing a virtual sex act on him. However, at the tail-end of the scene, it is revealed that Juli is actually an online creation of the Boy’s, who created the Juli-persona out of boredom and curiosity.
In the next scene, Juli, online, introduces Mark to her “brother” – which is the Boy – and the two young men quickly become online friends. The Boy, however, is frustrated that Mark seems to want to spend more time with Juli so she can write out the virtual sex-acts which so excites Mark. Finally, the Boy refuses to allow the Juli-persona to come forward at Mark’s demand and when pressed, tells Mark that Juli is dead.
Act One ends with the Boy creating and revealing to Mark the online persona of the STALKER, an anonymous figure who claims to have murdered Juli and is now trailing the Boy.
Act Two and the two young men are playing a game together online. DAD comes in to the Boy’s room and berates and mocks him, suggesting he’s a homosexual, that Mark is his boyfriend. The Boy considers that possibility and his frustration that Mark doesn’t seem to care for him as much as he did Juli. And then, through a series of online subterfuges, the Boy suggests to Mark that he and his family are connected with British Intelligence – appealing to Mark’s fascination with the Bond films.
At this point, the Boy develops the character, “Janet.” Janet only exists in the mouth and words of the Boy. Janet claims to be a member of British Intelligence and tells Mark that the Boy is vitally important to them. Then, using Janet, the Boy gets Mark to strip and perform a variety of solo sex acts for his webcam. DAD enters, sees it, and confronts the Boy. The Boy finds himself frustrated and lonely with all his lies and finally informs Mark that the Janet is also dead, killed in the line of duty.
With the Boy feeling more and more unstable, MARY appears. She is an older, matronly figure, and although only a construction of the Boy speaks first to the Boy, promising to bring him the peace he needs. Then Mary convinces Mark that he needs to kill the Boy.
The penultimate scene has Mark take the Boy into an alley and stab him.
In the closing scene, it’s revealed that the Boy survived. All aspects of the situation are brought to light and the Boy is reduced to a vacant, robotic figure.