Anarchist: A Comedy - Act 2 Outline

Act Two

Scene 6: In Which The Betrayals Begin

Jodie sends her mother an e-mail, wondering why she hasn’t heard from her in so long and asking if she’s seen or heard from Roger. Roger’s been harassing Jodie, looking for information about Barbara. Roger shows up at Barbara’s, looking for real intel. The conference has begun and the first day was marred by chaotic protests and he and his group need to know if the protesters are going to get their act together to do something organized. Barbara tries to find out what happened to the protesters from him, but he presses her, finally threatening her home and her family. Barbara tries to distract him by invoking their own past and even attempting to seduce him. She and Roger are interrupted, though, by Shango. Shango stands up to Roger and chases him off. The protests fell apart and he and Athena were separated. Barbara and Shango share a moment of concern and connection. They’re interrupted by Joachim, still acting squirelly. Athena arrives, upset that she lost Shango and that the protests fell into chaos. They’re planning a bigger thing for the next day, and Athena pushes Shango to hold it all together. Finally Orst arrives, bloodied and beaten by the police during the protest.

Scene 7: In Which Action is Considered and Re-considered

Alex sends his mother an e-mail, complaining about Roger harassing him as well, and trying to figure out what’s going on with Barbara. She ignores it. It’s later that night. Orst is resting on the couch and Barbara is ministering to him. Shango and Athena are arguing in the backyard about how this affects their plans. Shango wants to step up their action, do something more dramatic and effective. Athena think they should stick to their plan. Barbara comes out and joins them. Athena is reluctant to include Barbara in their plans, in order to protect her, but Shango decides to include her. They were planning to break into the hotel hosting the event, hanging a banner out of the building and spreading fake blood all over the hallways. Barbara encourages Shango to take it further, especially given what’s happened to Orst. Athena argues against any escalation, which would lead to more violence. Orst rises to remind her that violence has already started and if there’s going to be any change it has to be met equally. Athena rejects all of that, and reminds Shango that they’ve already tried violence and it didn’t work. She admits that they’re on the run for a series of environmental arson attacks. She wants change, but is no longer willing to risk her life or anyone else’s to get it. Shango finally agrees with her and they head off. Orst tries to tell him that he found an old, bomb-making friend at the protest and he could give them supplies. Shango tells him they don’t want any. But, when they’re gone, Barbara asks him for more information about his friend and the bomb.

Scene 8: In Which The Best Laid Plans Go Awry

Roger sends Barbara an e-mail, thanking her for providing such useful information, finally and assuring her that a check will be on the way. Barbara is watching the demonstration on television. It’s total chaos, again, but even worse. The police are overreacting, the demonstrators are nearly rioting, it’s awful. The police response is so coordinated, it’s like they know what’s coming. She’s obviously very upset about what she’s seeing. As she watches, Joachim enters. Barbara’s surprised to see him. She expected that he would be at the protests. He hems and haws, hiding a bag behind him. Finally, Barbara gets him to tell her his secret: he loves the circus. It’s not really about the animals or the activism for him. He always wanted to be a clown, but his family pushed him to do something “meaningful.” But he’s found happiness in the circus. He isn’t sure if that’s enough. Barbara is at a loss. They both watch the news unfold.

Scene 9: In Which Revelations Leads To Action

In the aftermath of the disastrous day, Shango, Athena and Orst try to piece together what happened. Barbara is out, getting food. Orst is pretty sure they were betrayed by someone from the inside, but Athena refuses to believe that. Orst can’t see any other way that the authorities knew as much about their actions as they seemed to. Although they all just barely managed to escape the police, Athena thinks it’s not a total waste. They can use the still-roiling anger of the protesters as leverage to force a meeting with the conference attendees. If they fear more chaos for the final day, and Shango and Athena can keep the protesters at bay, that could give them the upper hand in negotiating. Shango is frustrated at that plan, feeling like it won’t be enough. Their argument gets pretty heated. When Athena storms off, Shango asks Orst about his friend the bombmaker. Orst says he lost track of him during the protest. Shango has been further radicalized by the events of the day and wants to take more drastic action. Orst says he can make a few calls and see what he can find out. Barbara arrives to find Shango alone, still fuming about it all. He vents to her about his feelings of helplessness and loss of control. They bond over that feeling, and Barbara says that they can do something about it. She tries to show him what she’s got in her bag, but they’re interrupted by Roger. He’s come to negotiate on behalf of the conference. Shango is shocked to find that he knows Barbara. He outs her as an operative. Shango won’t believe her when she protests and storms out. As he goes, Athena comes down, far more professionally dressed. She’s actually the person who called Roger. She had provided inside information on the protests to him in an effort to win a place at the table. Barbara is shocked that she would betray everyone, but Athena argues that it’s the only way to make real change. She and Roger head off to meet with the bigwigs. Joachim enters, heading out to leave town with the circus. Barbara is left with her mysterious bag. Orst reappears, having been unsuccessful in his attempts to find more bombmaking materials. He admits that he wasn’t really trying all that hard. He likes the protests, the easy love and the conversation, but all of the drama just gets in the way. He didn’t really expect Shango to take him so seriously and want to take action. He figures that the last day will be a bust, so he’s already heading down to Mexico to protest at a resort or two. Once he’s gone, Barbara opens her bag to reveal a bomb. Shango re-enters and finds her with it. She says that she wanted to do something to take action and make real change. Shango tries to talk her down and get the bomb away from her, but she won’t let it go. The family she’s built is dissolving around her and she can’t stand it. Shango tries to talk her down as she becomes more frantic. As it seems like she’s going to set the bomb off, Shango grabs it from her. Athena returns for some of her paperwork and materials, and sees Shango with the bomb. She freaks out and starts calling the police. Shango goes to get rid of the bomb in the backyard, but it goes off. Barbara and Athena are left in the wreckage.

Scene 10: In Which A Death Has Consequences and Decisions Are Made

Barbara sits in the wreckage of her living room, bandaged and wrapped up. Jodie and Roger are there. Alex didn’t even bother to come back. They’re obviously distraught about what’s happened to her and the house. Jodie is now threatening to stay and take charge of her mother’s life. Roger is in agreement. Barbara clearly can’t be left on her own, they reason. They’re going to fix up the house, maybe sell it, move her away. Barbara takes it all in, not speaking. Jodie and Roger get frustrated with her and demand that she explain what’s been happening. She doesn’t answer them. She just gets up and goes to her computer, and checks her e-mail. They try to get her to focus, but she ignores them. She opens an e-mail from Joachim. She sees him in full clown regalia, juggling. He tells her how happy he is in the circus, how it’s where he’s always wanted to be and the important thing in life is finding the things that make you happy. Barbara laughs with joy at Joachim’s tricks and joy. The lights fade on her.

-End of Play-