" CONSOLIDATION [and its adverse effects on a North American Soccer Mom ] " (2015)

"CONSOLIDATION" is one of two full-length plays I wrote by longhand -- with an actual pen on actual paper -- during 2014 and 2015, while I dealt with the onset of carpal tunnel issues and spine damage in my lower back and upper neck. Working at a computer became impossible, and writing longhand was what saved me. I rediscovered what it was to be a writer, and broke new ground as a playwright by completing two major large-scale works that I had been thinking about for 15 years.

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I began writing this play in the Fall 2008 while I was in residence at The MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, NH. I finally re-started writing again in the cafe bar of TEATER NO.99 in Tallinn, Estonia on December 2-4, 2014. The bulk of the text was written later that month, while I was a recipient of a Saari Residence Fellowship at the Kone Foundation in Finland. One of my major breakthroughs was writing a monologue for a Businessman character lamenting why his life was never as "great" or his country was never as "great" as everyone told him it would be when he was growing up. This was six months prior to Donald Trump's famous speech in Manhattan where he pledged to "make America great again." The play was finally completed while writing in the cafe bar of Kunstencentrum Vooruit in Gent, Belgium during June 14-16, 2015. This coincided almost simultaneously with Donald Trump announcing his candidacy for President by floating down his golden escalator in New York's Trump Tower on June 16, 2015. A final read-through and revisions were completed at the Monty Kultuurfaktorij in Antwerpen, Belgium. I remain indebted to the generous staffs at each institution for their support, encouragement, and ample supplies of Westmalle and Orval.

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"CONSOLIDATION" depicts the waiting room of a normal American car dealership as the room fills up to absurd levels with customers appearing from all aspects of American life and history -- all of them waiting in suspension for their car repairs to be completed. A suburban North American Soccer Mom waits and waits, but is unable to leave, due to the presence of a surreal Car Salesman -- who functions like a well-dressed snake oil salesman, or some ringleader of a twisted, demonic consumerist circus. It is a recurring archetype in American theatre -- dating back to early 19th Century American drama -- one who bears an uncanny resemblance to Donald Trump. The Car Salesman keeps re-appearing at the door to reassure the North American Soccer Mom, while ushering in more and more customers, and absurd levels of donuts. The play operates on a large tapestry -- borrowing absurdist techniques I have always admired in Václav Havel, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Max Frisch, Caryl Churchill, and my own mentor -- Michel Vinaver.

 

The play warns of the threat of growing compression and consolidation in American culture, public discourse, and economy -- while issuing a clear (although absurdist) warning about the emergence of a "Trumpian" figure in the United States. As is often the case in history -- playwrights are the first to sound the alarm.

 

Like my other large-scale work from this time period -- "when after all, it was you and me" -- this play "CONSOLIDATION" remains un-produced.​

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I write these words as Donald Trump begins his second term in office as President. As the long-term process of "terraforming" the United States into a polar opposite of the version it once aspired to be in the post-Civil War/Mark Twain Era or the post WWII/New Deal Era -- is now complete. As the warnings first depicted in this play back in 2015 have now all finally come true -- an entrenched and permanent aspect of this new version of America. I believe it is in the public interest to make the full play text of "CONSOLIDATION" available for free on my website. I strongly recommend printing out an actual copy on actual paper, and reading this play while holding it in your own hands. It is how the play was written -- by hand and on actual paper.

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Readers (and any potential director) may also want to brush up on some Leonard Cohen, Baltimora, and The Cars before arriving at the ending:

- Leonard Cohen

- Baltimora

- The Cars

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Good luck.

 

To all of us.​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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For Calder.

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