DANCERS

DANCERS:

A SHORT PLAY
BY
BINA SHARIF

copyright:binasharif 2019

CHARACTERS

JESSICA: A WOMAN OF COLOR

MARY: A WHITE WOMAN

TWO DANCERS PREPARING OR A PERFORMANCE

(Jessica has just finished her rehearsal

Mary is at the bar doing her warm ups.

Jessica approaches her when Mary finishes

JESSICA:

ARE YOU ALRIGHT MARY?

MARY:
(In a very strange mood which is kind of un-expected)

YES,  WHY? WHY DO YOU ASK?

JESSICA:

BECAUSE YOU SEEM PALE

MARY:

THANKS FOR YOUR CONCERN BUT I AM ALRIGHT AND WHY SHOULD I NOT LOOK

PALE? I AM PALE.  I AM OF IVORY SHADE WHICH LOOKS AS PALE AS A PALE PEARL

AND I LOOK THAT WAY...UNLIKE YOU...

MARY:

WHAT? UNLIKE ME?  WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

JESSICA:

YES, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN.  UNLIKE YOU.  YOU WHO COME FROM SOME GOD

FORSAKEN HOT DESERT AND LOOK LIKE AS IF SOME ONE PAINTED YOUR FACE

YOUR ARMS, YOUR LEGS,  YOUR WHOLE BODY WITH DARK CHARCOAL,  WITH

BOILING COAL AND HOT LAVA AND YOU LOOK AND SMELL LIKE JET BLACK INK

ALWAYS BOTHERING ME ABOUT MY SKIN COLOR, INSTEAD OF ACKNOWLEDGING

THAT YOU ARE JEALOUS OF MY IVORY COMPLEXION.  AT THE SAME  TIME YOU

PRETEND TO BE NICE AND CONCERNED, ALWAYS ASKING ME, "WHY DO I LOOK SO

PALE? AM I ALRIGHT? AM I FEELING WELL."

LET E TELL YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL.  I LOOK PALE BECAUSE I AM PALE. I AM WHITE.

NOT OFF WHITE OR OFF OFF WHITE BUT WHITE, PURE WHITE. I AM NOT JET BLACK

LIKE YOU AND YOU ARE JEALOUS, JEALOUS OF MY BEAUTY, MY DELICATE AND

FRAGILE SKIN UNLIKE YOUR SKIN WHICH IS LIKE A PARCHMENT STRETCHED OUT

LIKE TOUGH LEATHER OF CHOCOLATE LAYERING .

THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR SKIN COLOR AND COLOR OF COAL.

YOU MUST COME FROM COAL COUNTRY.  YOU MUST COME FROM THE KINGDOM

OF BLACKNESS, BLACK AS A DEEP DARK NIGHT.

YOU WHO HATES YOURSELF, YOU WHO WANTS TO BE LIKE ME, YOU WHO WANTS TO

, SMELL LIKE ME, INSTEAD YOU WISH THAT MY COMPLEXION IS BECAUSE OF SOME

KIND OF SICKNESS, CONSUMPTION PERHAPS AND YOU WANT TO SHOW EMPATHY

TOWARDS ME BUT MY SWEET BLACK HONEY, DON'T WORRY.  I AM NOT GOING TO
.
DROP DEAD ANY MINUTE SOON.

I AM WELL ENOUGH TO DANCE.  HEALTHY ENOUGH TO DANCE AND BREATH

FREEDOM, FIT ENOUGH TO LOVE, TO LAUGH, TO CONSUME, TO SHOP, TO TRAVEL,

TO LIVE, TO LIVE, TO LIVE FOREVER.

IT'S YOU WHO AFTER SEEING ME DAY AFTER DAY CAN'T BREATH.

IT'S YOU WHO IS GOING TO DIE OF YOUR BLACKNESS OR A HEART ATTACK SOON.

I HOPE YOU STOP BREATHING SOON SO I CAN GET RID OF YOU AND YOUR

 MANIPULATIVE PHONY CONCERNS ABOUT MY WELL BEING.

JESSICA:
(In total shock, Her body is completely still. She is unable to move, unable to react, unable to

comprehend and absorb what just happened to her.  She always knew that she lives in a white an

black world, she knew she is surrounded by racism, bigotry, unpleasantness, but have never

experienced these kinds of emotions, this kind of emotional trauma of such blatant racist attack on

.her person.  She started to grasp for air.  She started struggling...struggling to breath.  She couldn't

breath.  She finally collapsed on the dance floor.)

MARY:
( Jubilant)

I KILLED HER.  I FINALLY KILLED HER.  I GOT RID OF THE NEGRESS IN TEN SECONDS

WHAT THIS COUNTRY COULDN'T ACHIEVE IN 300 YEARS.  I ACHIEVED IT IN A

FRACTION OF A SECOND.  I FINALLY HELPED END THE WHITE AND THE BLACK

PROBLEM.  ALL THIS BULLSHIT...WE HAVE TO BE POLITICALLY CORRECT TOWARDS

BLACKS, TOWARDS PEOPLE OF COLOR.  FUCK PEOPLE OF COLOR.  I WANT TO LIVE

AMONGST WHITE PEOPLE AND WHY NOT?  I AM WHITE, I WANT TO BE AMONGST

WHITE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALL PALE COMPLEXIONED, THIN BODIED, CLAD IN PALY

COLORED CHIFFON SCARVES, SILK GOWNS, CASHMERE JUMPERS AND DANCE ALL

NIGHT WITH TALL, WHITE PALE RICH MEN ALL NIGHT.

I DON'T EVEN WANT BLACK PEOPLE AND PEOPLE OF COLOR AS MY SERVANTS.

THEY GIVE ME TE CREEPS AND I HAVE TO SMILE AND SAY NICE THINGS TO THEM,

HELL NO.

I AM GOING TO SAY RIGHT TO THEIR FACES WHAT WE, THE PALE WHITES OF THIS

ISLAND, THIS VAST WHITE LAND, WE THE OWNERS OF THIS WHITE LAND, WHAT WE

EXACTLY FEEL, HOW WE EXACTLY FEEL ABOUT THEM AND ARE AFRAID OF SAYING

IT BECAUSE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS...

CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT THIS WORLD HAS COME TO...W HAVE TO BE POLITICALLY

CORRECT TO OUR SLAVES NOW?

GIVE E A FUCKING BREAK.

AND YOU BLACK AND BLUE WOMAN OF COLR BITCH, STOP BREATHING ALRIGHT...

IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO ALREADY...

I NAM NEVER GOING TO CALL THE AMBULANCE... THAT'S FOR SURE...

HELL YES, NO AMBULANCE IS COMING FOR YOU BITCH BECAUSE i AM NEVER

CALLING 911. GOOD LUCK IN BLACK HELL FULL OF PEOPLE OF COLOR....