The Pardon
a play in two acts
by Charles Deemer
First performed at Theatre Workshop in Portland, Oregon, on March 16, 1979. Directed by Steve Smith.
THE CAST (4M, 4W):
Frank, the narrator
Horace, his father
Evelyn, his mother
Sheri, his sister
Carl, his brother-in-law
Les, his uncle
Harriet, his high school sweetheart
Jocelyn, his Canadian lover
THE TIME:
Spring, 1977; and other events, before and after.
THE PLACE:
Rutherford, on Maryland's Eastern Shore; and in the mind of the narrator
ACT ONE
(We are in the landscape of the conscience, where time and space are awash. The stage area is open and free: boundaries flutter, actors move through time and space in an instant, sometimes "presenting" the action, sometimes "representing" it, often quickly moving back and forth between the two forms.
The actors never leave the stage. When not "in" the action, they sit in chairs or on stools — or, in Horace's case, in a wheelchair.
These areas must be defined: a radio station; a living area; a podium area, with an open area adjacent to it.)
(AT RISE: all the actors are in their chairs. Then FRANK gets up and moves forward to speak to the audience.)
FRANK: There was a war. Perhaps you remember. There was a war but there were no heroes.
I assumed I'd never return. Who could have foreseen a Presidential pardon? So I'd learned to live with it. At least, after ten years, a few things were going my way again. I found a job in my profession, which is radio. And I met someone. You'll meet Jocelyn later. I really don't know where I'd be without her. Not that a sense of debt is the best foundation, if you know what I mean.
