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| The Trash Can of L.A. Available on Amazon! |
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The Trash Can of L.A.: A Reality Play (Paperback)
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Summary: In this tragicomedy, a homeless woman and an ambitious
producer of a reality-based TV show clash when their interpretations of reality
differ. The woman, hired to portray her own life, translates reality literally,
while the producer insists on a script—no matter the actual truth. Despite his
own conflicts, a washed-up screenwriter attempts to mediate between the feuding
woman and producer.
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* * *
About This Play: TILLY ZEACE, a homeless woman, has been approached
by OSCAR FISHBEIN, a washed-up screenwriter, to participate in the first
segment of TONY THORNTON’s new “reality-based” TV show.
STREET SHOCK, a Unicorn Studio
Production, would feature each week a different segment of the underclass. For
the first episode, TONY wishes to feature TILLY and other street people in a
segment about the homeless; he and a videographer, armed with a hand-held
camera, would follow TILLY around as she does what homeless people supposedly
do.
TILLY is drawn to
this project because she believes that the American public has a skewed view of
street life, and she wishes to present another point of view. However, while
TONY wants the final product to “feel real” to his audience, he also wants the
segment to have a plot, so the studio has hired OSCAR to write up a script, one
filled with stereotypes about street people and depicting TILLY as a shabby
alcoholic and drug addict who has no choice about her circumstances. However,
as OSCAR gets to know TILLY better, he slowly sheds these preconceived notions.
For a time, it
seems as though TILLY will be able to present the “real Tilly as street person”
to the American public, but a complication presents itself: the DIVINE MS. ALTA
UNIVERSE, a “New-Age” guru and the new owner of Unicorn Studios, adds her own agenda
to the script; she insists on adding a scene in which TILLY converts to a
new-age Christianity and abandons her “evil” life. Adding to this mix, TILLY,
in a monologue, reveals that she is not exactly what she appears to be.
In the middle of
this muddle, GINGER, a shallow young woman harboring her own secret, shows up
on the set and complicates everyone’s life even more, especially TONY’s.
TILLY soon
discovers that reality-based TV has its own set of rules, so she must decide
whether she wants to play by those rules or retain her unfettered way of life.
But then a
dramatic change occurs, affecting each major character in some significant way;
even so, this STREET SHOCK episode
has limped along through production and is now ready for its debut.
What happens when
STREET SHOCK is finally shown to a
live audience? Will theatre goers get a genuine glimpse into the life of a
homeless woman? What overall commentary does this play impart about American
culture and entertainment?
Throughout the
play, these questions are addressed, some implicitly and some answered in the
“The Wrap.”
For the overall
societal implications for our culture, each reader/playgoer must arrive at his
or her own conclusions.
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