By Cleveland O. McLeish
After his death, Joe stands before the Judge of the Universe. Forced to review his life, he is found wanting. The ending, though sad, lays the foundation for an altar call for both Christians and non-Christians who don't want to share Joe's fate. (Author's note: I also want to highlight that getting saved is not just about avoiding Hell, but having a true and fulfilling relationship with our Creator and Saviour, not just in our earthly life…but for all eternity.)
JOE - Main Character
VOICE OF GOD
MARTIN - Joe's Father
CHARLINE - Joe's Mother
MARK - Joe's Non-Christian friend
SALLY - Non-Christian friend
MARY - Joe's Girlfriend
GEORGE - A stranger from Joe's past
Additional characters where necessary.
Mostly a bare stage. There's a bible on a little stand SL: A Filing Cabinet with four drawers SR. The Rest is just a combination/ mixture of light and dark.
(The Stage is dark, at first. Then there is the sound of a faint groan. The lights start to come up slowly and we see someone lying onstage. He stirs, the lights come up to full…He sits up. He holds his head as if having a headache.)
VOICE: Joe.
(Joe shakes at the sound of his name. He starts to shiver…growing uneasy, uncomfortable…he looks around for the source of the voice…but there is no one. He stands to his feet and walks about the empty stage. He tries to find a way of escape, but there is none to be found. He goes DS, then backs Away slowly to CS…he looks at his hands, he's confused.)
JOE: Where am I?
(Martin and Charline enter from backstage. Charline cries uncontrollably. Martin tries to comfort her, any way he can.)
CHARLINE: I can't believe he's gone.
MARTIN: I know, but God knows best.
JOE: Mom…
(They can't see or hear Joe.)
CHARLINE: He was supposed to be at church today, Martin…Why wasn't he at church? What was he doing all the way across town…at that hotel…
(Charline breaks down again.)
JOE: Dad…
MARTIN: I don't know, dear.
(Joe tries to reach them, but he can't touch them. It's as if they are in different worlds.)
MARTIN: I still can't believe he's gone.
(Martin leads Charline down the aisle and through the exit. Joe tries to follow, but somehow he can't leave the stage. He's even more toubled now…he starts biting his nails.)
JOE: What is happening?
VOICE: Joe…It is time to start putting the fragments of the puzzle together.
(oe looks around shakingly.)
JOE: Who…who said that? What puzzle? Who…who are you?
(Silence.)
JOE: How…do you know my name?
(Silence.)
JOE: Hello..!
VOICE: I will only answer questions that are relevant as we progress through this…time. We will waste no time with mediocrity and vain babblings…is that understood?
JOE: Who are you?
VOICE: For years I was known as the Saviour…but today you will know me as a Judge.
(Joe considers. He starts to chuckle and shake his head.)
JOE: No, no. This is a dream. Just another one of my sick nightmares.
VOICE: Is that how you deal with truth, Joe. Pass it off as some nightmare, never to be remembered?
JOE: Nightmares aren't worth remembering.
VOICE: Why not?
JOE: They form a part of your bad side…the side of you that don't need to be shown.
VOICE: A part of you that needs to be addressed, nonetheless.
JOE: Why…why would we need to pay attention to that side?
VOICE: Because ignoring it doesn't make it go away. Instead it grows stronger and stronger and eventually you lose control.
JOE: If you say so, anyway…If you don't mind, I would prefer to wait in silence until I wake up.
(Silence. More Silence. Joe taps his feet. Even more silence.)
VOICE: They say that in dreams you feel no pain.
JOE: Ha…you're right.
(Joe pinches himself hard. The pain quickly seeps to his brains.)
JOE: Owww! Ow! Oh God, that really hurt.
(Joe considers. He starts shaking again.)
JOE: No, no, no. I can't be dead. Am I dead?
VOICE: It depends on your definition of the word.
JOE: Am I in heaven?
VOICE: No.
JOE: But, this is not hell…is it?
(Silence.)
JOE: This couldn't be Hell…I'm a Christian. Christians go to Heaven.
VOICE: Not everyone who says Lord is saved.
JOE: You're confusing me.
VOICE: I am?
(Joe stops for a beat. He holds his head tight to think.)
JOE: What's happen…
(Joe suddenly realizes. He goes to SL and picks up the Bible…he skips through it quickly and stops at a specific verse.)
JOE: "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after that the… judgment."
(Joe replaces the bible.)
JOE: I am dead!
(Joe backs away from the little table.)
JOE: This is my judgment!
VOICE: Some say that in The Room your whole life flashes before your eyes. The truth is, in here the value of your life's deeds are measured…your final faith decided.
JOE: How…how did this happen? How did I die?
(Enter Mark and Sally from US.)
MARK: Where's Joe?
SALLY: He's already in the van.
MARK: And Mary..?
SALLY: She'll be waiting for us at the motel.
MARK: Good, good. I still can't believe we got the jerk to skip his stupid church meeting to hang out with us this weekend.
SALLY: Yeah. Mary's pretty excited. She's been dying to get some.
(They laugh all the way down the aisle and exits. Joe remains in silence, his shoulders slump.)
VOICE: You put great value on your friends.
JOE: He called me a jerk!.!
VOICE: Your best friends were not saved, Joe…what did you expect. They were not guided by the rules of value and morality that I set for my children. They served different masters.
JOE: I only skipped church once…only once.
VOICE: In body, I may be forced to agree…but otherwise…you see Joe…where your treasures are, there your heart is also.
JOE: My treasures.
VOICE: Yes, let's talk about your treasures.
JOE: What defines my treasures?
VOICE: Not what…who?
(Joe knows the answer.)
JOE: Me.
VOICE: You're beginning to see the puzzle a little clearer. In life, you get the opportunity to decide what value to place on everything that concerns you. You have a savings account with a huge lump sum that you'll never spend, and none of your family will benefit because you were too selfish to add their names to your account.
JOE: I was saving for my house.
VOICE: So for that reason you never gave to charity, or to the homeless or needy, you wouldn't even help your niece with some school books.
JOE: If I did all that, how would I achieve anything, how would I achieve owning my own house?
VOICE: Do you have a house now, Joe?
(The answer is obvious.)
VOICE: The truth is a little deeper than that, Joe. The truth dictates that you did not trust Your Heavenly Father enough to provide these things for you.
JOE: This isn't fair.
VOICE: I'll be the judge of that.
JOE: Money wasn't all I valued.
VOICE: True…you took great pride in how you dressed, you worshipped your car…you sacrificed selflessly for women you want to go to bed with…well, selflessly may not have been an appropriate word there, right?
JOE: Ok…but I did ask for forgiveness on many occasions.
VOICE: Yes, you did.
(Silence.)
VOICE: You see that filing cabinet over there.
(Joe looks SR.)
JOE: Yeah.
VOICE: Open the top drawer and pull out a file.
(Joe reluctantly goes to the cabinet afraid of what he will see. He opens the top drawer and pulls out a 5" thick file.)
VOICE: That is one of twenty-five files with lies that you told that were never forgiven.
JOE: Twenty-Five?
VOICE: That whole filing cabinet is one of five that has a record of your unforgiven sins.
JOE: No, no. This can't be right. I was never that bad.
VOICE: Your record shows that you averaged one lie every seven minutes. Do the math!
JOE: I, I….please tell me this is a dream.
VOICE: I can't lie, Joe.
JOE: Then say it, please just say this is a dream and it will be just that.
VOICE: You seek mercy, Joe…but there is no mercy here. In the end Joe, there is no mercy.
JOE: Then why take this long route….why not just sentence me here and now…why not just send me to Heaven or Hell…
VOICE: I sent my son to die for your sins. You have to give an account for the blood He shed for you.
(Joe falls to his knees weeping.)
JOE: Please, give me another chance. I don't want to go to hell.
VOICE: Why?
JOE: Because it's hot down there and I'll be tortured and tormented for all eternity.
VOICE: That's your answer?
JOE: Of course. What did you expect me to say?
VOICE: That you didn't want to be eternally separated from your Creator…that you loved Jesus and wanted to be with Him for all eternity.
JOE: Well, yeah…that too.
(Two individuals enter from backstage dressed in black.)
VOICE: Your priorities are twisted, Joe.
(The two individuals walk past Joe bouncing him left, then right. They continue towards the exit down the aisle. More and more individuals appear from backstage bouncing Joe as they past. Joe recognizes the last one to bounce him as he past.)
JOE: Mark…Mark…
(Of course, Mark can neither hear nor see Joe. Joe watches as everyone disappears down the aisle.)
JOE: Who are these people?
VOICE: Didn't you recognize any of them.
JOE: Well, yeah…my friend Mark…
VOICE: Some you will recognize and some you won't…These are those who are lost because of you.
JOE: Excuse me?
VOICE: You kept the message of the gospel to yourself.
JOE: I am not responsible for these people. I am responsible only for myself.
VOICE: I know that is what you believe. But just because you believe it doesn't make it the truth.
JOE: I was taught that every man should stand on his own…work out his own salvation with fear and trembling.
VOICE: My Son taught the necessity to be your brother's keeper…but you wouldn't know His teachings because your Bible has been merely a trophy for you.
JOE: I read the Bible…when I could.
VOICE: You will find that most of the answers you give will end with those three words.
JOE: This is really not fair. All you're doing is pointing out the bad in me…what about all the good that I've done in my life.
VOICE: For example….
JOE: Well…there was this one time I gave money to a beggar.
VOICE: Twenty cents.
JOE: He didn't need more than that.
VOICE: How do you know that?
JOE: I just…know.
VOICE: Let's not just look at the little picture….let me show you what I saw.
(Enter homeless man. He stops a few feet from Joe with his hand outstretched.)
VOICE: I was the homeless man at the corner of the street that you ignored everyday.
(Enter man on crutches. He also stops short of Joe.)
VOICE: I was the lame man you ignored at the grocery store.
..................................
Note: This is not the full script of The Room. In order to obtain the complete script, please contact the author below.
…………………………
Copyright 2005, Cleveland O. McLeish, all rights reserved.
For permission to perform this play, please contact the author, either at cabcom2000@yahoo.com
or at cleveland@christianplaywright.org
Website: www.christianplaywright.org