Faith

The "action" takes place on a minimally decorated set.  The ACTRESS reads a copy of "The Brothers Karamazov" and conveys through subtle facial movements a series of emotions beginning with delight, followed by uncertainty, bitter amusement, despair, fear, hopefulness, despair and finally elation.

The scene lasts four seconds long, but lighting is used to indicate that hours have passed.

SCENE 

Birds Without Words

A midwestern cherry orchard at dusk, autumn. Three crows pick at rotting fruit on the ground.

The largest crow spreads its wings, hitting the other crows. They each jump sideways, away from the largest crow. The largest crow returns to picking around the cherry pit.

A fourth crow descends from a nearby tree. The other three look up at her.

The largest crow tips its head sideways, in recognition.

THE END.

Time's a Wastin'

Cheap restaurant interior: vinyl seats, checkered tablecloth, writing on the walls from bored college students. An elderly man stares blankly ahead, eyes rimmed with red.

MAN: There's no one left.

A waitress walks swiftly by.

WAITRESS (over her shoulder): I'm sorry, I'll be right with you.

Grapes, sun, wind, a dash of daring, unfiltered laughter

Scene: two twentysomethings, one man and one woman, sitting in a small room, typing on computers. MAN is drinking red wine straight from the bottle. He grimaces occasionally at the taste. They both concentrate on their screens and type even while speaking.

MAN: You've been sad a lot lately.

pause

WOMAN: It's been a rough winter.

(Lights up.)

(A Taco Restaurant on a Street. A Man enters and walks Into the Taco restaurant. Another Man enters and Walks into the taco restaurant. Two Women enter AND THEN walk into the taco Restaurant. Three Others (A mix of Men and Women) enter, but walk into the adjacent Check Cashing Business. A schoolbus passes, honks. Then Honks. Then honks, three times, quickly, but without Necessarily any sort of urgency. Finally, Our Hero, Hank, Enters, Pauses, Then Walks Into The Taco Restaurant.)

(Blackout.)

Subway

(A subway station. Not sure if it is New York City or not, but the signs are in English. Posters for the summer blockbusters and graffiti cover the walls. Somewhere a starving artist strums an acoustic guitar.)

(At rise: One hundred people wait for the next train. People talk on their cell phones, look at their watches, read their newspapers, talk with their friends. A train approaches, blocking the audience's view of the one hundred people. Doors open, and one hundred other people get off the train, while most of the one hundred original people get on. During this entering and exiting, the following scene takes place, but because the train is there the audience cannot see them, and because the other actors are talking and the train is so loud, the audience cannot hear the following dialogue.)

MAN 1: Excuse me.
MAN 2: Sorry. (Seeing MAN 1's book, to himself.) Oh, I'm reading that.

END

(NOTE: MAN 1 can be played by a woman or a man, with appropriate pronoun changes to the dialogue. But MAN 2 MUST BE PLAYED BY A MAN)

Briefly!

Downtown, average-sized town, day. A construction worker wearing a hardhat and toolbelt straddles a utility pole, readying to climb. One hand on a climbing bar, one hand on his cell, his biceps glisten in the early morning light.

Construction Worker (into phone): No. See, you wash the pasta in the marinade, just briefly.

He tilts his head to the side, waiting and listening for a response.

Construction Worker (into phone): BRIEFLY!

Fin.