Norris - Downstate

Bruce Norris DOWNSTATE NICK HERN BOOKS London www.nickhernbooks.co.uk Downstate was co-commissioned and its world premiere was presented by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago (Anna Shapiro, Artistic Director; David Schmitz, Executive Director) and the National Theatre, London (Rufus Norris, Artistic Director; Lisa Burger, Executive Director). Downstate premiered on 30 September 2018, at Steppenwolfs Upstairs Theatre, Chicago, and opened on 20 March 2019 in the Dorfman auditorium of the National Theatre, London. The cast, in alphabetical order, was as follows:

COPS (Chicago)	Elyakeem Avraham
Maura Kidwell
Nate Whelden
GIO	Glenn Davis
COPS (London)	Mark Extance
Brinsley Terence
Shelley Williams
DEE	K. Todd Freeman
FRED	Francis Guinan
ANDY	Tim Hopper
IVY	Cecilia Noble
FELIX	Eddie Torres
EFFIE	Aimee Lou Wood
EM	Matilda Ziegler
Director	Pam MacKinnon
Set Designer	Todd Rosenthal
Costume Designer	Clint Ramos
Lighting Designer	Adam Silverman
Sound Designer	Carolyn Downing
Vocal Coach	Gigi Buffington
Staff Director	Eva Sampson
Stage Manager (Chicago)	Laura Glenn
Assistant Stage Manager (Chicago)	Christine D. Freeburg
Stage Manager (London)	Alison Rankin
Deputy Stage Manager (London)	Fiona Bardsley
Assistant Stage Manager (London)	Abigail Thornton

For Martha LaveyCharacters ANDY, late thirtiesforties, white, professional EM, late thirtiesforties, same as Andy FRED, seventies, white, glasses, motorized wheelchair, childlike, not unlike Fred Rogers DEE, pushing sixty, black, thin, languid GIO, thirties, black, muscular, clean-cut, ambitious, voluble FELIX, forties, Latino, heavyset, solitary, silent IVY, fortiesfifties, black or Latina. Probation officer overworked, weary EFFIE, late teens early twenties.

Any ethnicity. Hyperactive. Too much eye make-up COPS (non-speaking), two male, one female, to be played by understudiesSetting A group home for sex offenders, downstate Illinois: a single-story house, built in the 1950s or 60s, now deteriorated. Superficial attempts have been made to make the place livable but they fail to relieve the general dreariness of the place. Ugly contemporary sofa, small flat-screen TV, second-hand dining table and chairs, window-unit AC. One broken window, repaired with duct tape and cardboard.

In one corner, a weight-training bench with barbells. In another, an electric keyboard. An aluminium baseball bat leans next to the front door. Kitchen partially visible through a doorway. A hall leads to a bathroom and bedrooms. To the rear of the main room, an accordion door has been added to create a fourth bedroom from an alcove.

When the door opens we can see into Felixs cramped room: single bed, crucifix upon the wall, personal items, mini-fridge, etc. No music should be used in the play except as indicated. The time is the present. This ebook was created before the end of rehearsals and so may differ slightly from the play as performed.

June. Saturday morning. Warm outside.

Windows closed, shades drawn. A window unit hums feebly. ANDY and EM together on sofa, opposite FRED in his wheelchair. ANDY stares at some printed pages in his lap. EM looks at him expectantly. Long pause. She places a hand on his knee. EM. Ready? ANDY nods, clears his throat. ANDY. For a number of years EM.

Take your time. ANDY (calm, measured). For a number of years I told myself my life was good. And to the casual observer, this would appear to be true: I have a loving partner, I have a family, I have a home. And as long as I told myself this story, I believed it, too: Life was good and the past was the past and had no power over me in the present. (Beat.) But after my child was b His voice catches. EM touches him. (Very quietly.) Sorry.

EM (whisper). Youre okay. ANDY (whisper). Im fine. EM (whisper). Another deep breath. Another deep breath.

He resumes. ANDY. But after my child was born I started having panic attacks. And at first I didnt want to make the association. I kept telling myself that fear and anxiety were normal responses to parenthood, what any adult would naturally feel when faced with the responsibility of caring for an innocent life. But then I started to notice that other parents were not anxious, on the contrary, they seemed happy and fulfilled. And it was only then I began to accept that we can never truly escape the past, and that evil exists in the world, and for me, at this moment, one part of that acceptance, is to look you in the eye today, and tell you to your face that you are a fundamentally evil person.

EM nods, gravely. FRED (gently). Are you sure you dont want some coffee? EM. Hes not finished. FRED. Sorry. EM.

Lets let him finish. FRED. Okay. ANDY takes a breath, continues reading. ANDY. I used to fantasize about how I would kill you. Okay. Okay.

ANDY (calmly). I would park outside your apartment and wait until you pulled in the driveway. And I would bring along my mothers .38, the one she kept in her bedside table, and when you stepped out of your car I would hold it against your head and duct tape your mouth so I wouldnt have to listen to any of your toxic bullshit FRED. Sure. ANDY. and Id drive you to the edge of the forest preserve, and youd kneel down in the dirt EMs cell begins to ring.

She glances at the screen. and Id rip the tape off your mouth and jam the barrel of the gun down your throat, so that you so that you might (Noticing phone, to EM.) you wanna ? EM answers her phone. EM (sotto). Whats up? ANDY and FRED stare at the floor. Okay, but what did we say about the whiny voice? Yes, much better. Thank you. (Beat.) I dont know. Maybe forty-five minutes? ANDY gestures apologetically to FRED. ANDY. ANDY.

Theres games on the TV. EM. Daddy says they have games on the TV. ANDY. Smash Brothers. EM. Daddy says they have Smash Brothers.A bedroom door opens in the hall. GIO briefly appears in sweatpants and a tank top.

He inconspicuously enters the bathroom, closing the door behind him. ANDY notices. Yeah ask Maria to set you up with Smash Brothers and by the time youre finished well be back. Tell her charge it to the room. ANDY (to FRED). Sorry. FRED. ANDY. ANDY.

Taking him to the water park. FRED. That sounds like fun. EM (on phone). Well, what did I just say? Soon as we get back to the hotel, okay? Okay. (She hangs up.

To ANDY.) Sorry. ANDY looks for his place in the letter. ANDY (to FRED). Um. I dont remember what I FRED. The gun in my ANDY. Right. Right.

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