Panic Day

Characters

First Woman

Second Woman

Third Woman

Fourth Woman

First Woman:

8:00 a.m., hairdresser. 2:00 p.m., notary. 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., photographer’s for filming. 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., wedding hall. Then our house with close relatives.

Third Woman:

Modern youth! They don’t believe in anything anymore. They just make fun of anything you tell them to do.

Fourth Woman:

We haven’t invited too many people; just close relatives: aunts, uncles, and their families, right?

Third Woman:

Unlike us. There are very few things we can make fun of anymore.

Fourth Woman:

I told everyone to come to the wedding hall. I feel more comfortable this way and I know my son will be happier.

Third Woman:

What our kids make fun of has now somehow become a part of our dreams.

Fourth Woman:

I really am not up to facing a crowd and greeting people.

Third Woman:

I talked them into getting a hairdresser, bridal gown, and ceremony. I figured even if we just got a small thing going it would be better than nothing at all. I told them, “You’re too young to understand such things.”

Fourth Woman:

I told his father not to even think of coming close to me. All I want to do is to concentrate on our groom here.

First Woman:

This is our plan for the wedding day.

First Woman picks up the bridal gown lying at her feet. The sound of women cheering. The Second Woman plays out a bridal march on her tambourine. First Woman dances with the bridal gown. The women sing the bridal song, lay out a tablecloth and place the traditional wedding paraphernalia on it.

Third Woman:

We’ve been bumping into each other since this morning in this house.

Fourth Woman:

It’s hot.

Second Woman:

It’s been like this for a couple of days now.

Third Woman:

I don’t know half of these people and I only wish I didn’t know the other half.

Second Woman:

It’s not just hot, it feels strange; like it’s dirty.

Fourth Woman:

It’s been worse today than the other days.

Third Woman:

These people aren’t bothering me; it’s just that they’re messing up the house and that makes me sick.

Second Woman:

When you breathe, you just inhale a mass of dust and grime.

Third Woman:

They keep turning around themselves. They’re all over the place destroying things.

Second Woman:

There’s something else in the air too. Some kind of tension.

Third Woman:

I can’t stand this smell of perfume, sweat, and grime that has spread through this house.

The First Woman turns on the radio and the daily news is broadcast. The Second Woman is bringing in something to place on the wedding spread when she drops and breaks it. Suddenly everyone panics and stops working.

Second Woman:

My canary died today. It’s not good to start a day with death.

First Woman:

My throat has cramped since this morning. I can hardly swallow my own saliva.

Fourth Woman:

There’s something in the air today that is getting to me.

First Woman:

My hands and feet are numb. My head feels as heavy as lead.

Second Woman:

Our neighbor’s wife is wondering why we’ve left the window open. Poor thing, she’s suffocating from all the dust. How was I to know? I thought fresh air would be good for her.

Third Woman:

I couldn’t find a moment’s peace all night long. I kept on tossing and turning.

Fourth W...