Process

SCRIPT

Scene One:

Caroline: Oh, I can't believe I'm getting married tomorrow! No, no, calm down Caroline. Calm down and get through this day. And… oh right, tomorrow I'm not gonna have bone soup any more!

CM: My little angel is marrying that stupid Eric… What a shame to my whole family! Eric is not reliable. He is just a poor Bahamian janitor, but my baby Caroline is a school English teacher! There is no way for him to give my daughter a better future. Caroline? Caroline! Where are you! Your bone soup is ready! Carolin!

Caroline (enters the kitchen): Alright alright, I hear you！ (Mumbling) I won't have the bone soup tomorrow anyway.

CM: Why can’t you understand all I did is just for you! The more soup you have, the less torture you will get from your “so called” fiancé.

Caroline: How dare you! How dare you saying my Eric is a “so-called” fiancé?

CM: Caroline! Is this the way how you talk to me! I am your mom! Not your servant! Do you think what I did is not enough? I took care of you all by myself, ALL BY MYSELF after your father left! Why can’t you understand my pain! Why can’t you listen to me for JUST one second! Oh, Caroline, Caroline, over all, you are still a Haitian girl. Haitian girls marry Haitian husbands who can give them a better life… But look at your Eric! Your are a school teacher and he is just a janitor! I can see your terrible future without thinking! YOU，are the shame of our whole family!

Caroline: I am the shame of this family? Ok, ok, I'm done. I'm so done with it. I'm so done with the every day bone soup. I'm so done with you! Now you've said what you'd always been thinking in your mind. Yes, I don't understand you because I'm not a Haitian. I am an American! (slams the door and exits)

Scene Two: (Stage changes. Living room-->the mother’s room. At night)

Caroline: That stubborn old lady must be sleeping right now. Is there any of my stuff left in her room? (Enters the mother’s room, walks soundlessly towards the wardrobe and opens the drawer)

(Takes out an old diary) what is this? Diary? It should be mom’s.(starts reading)

‘Today you left. I stood at the wharf, watching you left. That figure on boat now is gone.’ (Lights off at C’s side. Lights on at CM’s side)

CM:( mumbling, washing dishes in Kitchen) I still remember a boy. It was a rainy day. I stood at the wharf, watching you left. That figure on boat is gone…

Scene Three:

Boy: (Holds an umbrella)I never know today will rain, seems like the city doesn't want me to leave. I hope the day were sunny, not a rainy.

Group Members:

l   Yimeng (Nancy) Lu

l   Yuexuan (Chantelle) Gao

l   Junliang (Johnny) Liu

Setting:

• New York City,1992 (the day before Caroline’s wedding)
• Haiti, 1959 (the day when the boy leave Haiti)

Scenes:

l   Scene one: Caroline is packing her stuff to prepare for the wedding. Due to the coming wedding, she is kind of nervous. However, the mother is always saying something about the wedding that she is not satisfied with and what her expectation is for the wedding. This angers Caroline, and she argues with her mom for the first time. The mother and the daughter have an intense conflict, arguing about their cultural differences and their perspectives. At night, Caroline wants to check if there is anything left, so she goes to her mom’s room since there might be some of her stuff. She opens her mom’s wardrobe and accidentally finds out her mom’s diary that her mom wrote about her first lover in Haiti decades ago.

l   Scene two: She opens the diary and starts to read. On the other side of the stage, CM lies on a rocking chair, starts day dreaming, and then begins her monologue. She recalls the days back to her seventeen year-old age. It was the day when the boy was leaving Haiti by boat.Then the light turns off on Cm’s side, and turns on on C’s side. C starts reading out loud the words she reads: “Today, you left me. Finally, you steps on the boat to Miami…”. Then the flashback starts. The girl meets the boy on the beach in Haiti...

l   Scene three: Flashback. The boy and the girl meet on a wharf. CM comes to say good bye to him.

l   Scene four: The next morning, Caroline has a long talk with her mother; therefore, they are able to understand each other and respect their cultural differences.

Staging:

Props:

l   Scene One: takes place in living room and kitchen--- sofa, wardrobe, a table, a bowl, a spoon, a cooking pot, and a table lamp.

l   Scene Two: takes place in bedroom--- a rocking chair, wardrobe, a coffee table, and a table lamp.

l   Scene Three: An umbrella.

l   SceneFour: takes place in Living room--- sofa, wardrobe, a small mirror, a coffee table, and a table lamp.

Costumes:

l   Scene One+Two: Caroline wears a long sleeve shirt and a sweat pants. Caroline’s mom wears a nightgown.

l   Scene Three: The girl (Caroline’s mom) wears a ripped dress, ties a scarf over head, and bare foot. The boy wears ripped jeans and a hoody on top.

l  Scene Four: Caroline wears a long white dress (wedding dress). Caroline’s mom wears a women’s formal wear.