Answers

ANSWERS
A one-act play by Matt Butcher

Dramatis Personae
Nate Carpenter
(Voice of) Doctor- a psychiatrist

Setting
Dimly lighted set with a bare wooden chair center stage. Spotlight focuses on Nate throughout play (small light always on chair). No other part of the set can be seen.


(Spotlight opens on an empty chair. A few moments pass, then the voice of the Doctor speaks over a microphone.)

VOICE: Okay, my next session is with a Nate Carpenter. His file is very impressive. Number one in his class,a National Merit Scholar. . . tons of awards and honors. Hmm, he's going to be a business man, an advertising exec. Maybe some journalism also. This kid's got ambition, that's for sure. But lately he's been distraught, after the death of his best friend, h'even tried committing suicide. Well . . . let's see what makes this kid tick.

(Nate crosses from Right, slowly, and sits in chair. He is very stiff and awkward, shuffling his hands and looking down at his feet. Nervous is the first word that should pop into the audience's mind.)

VOICE: Welcome, Nate. It's nice to have you here today. (Nate never looks up. Pause) Well, let's just start. What do you want to talk about?

NATE:(Long pause.) Well, there's . . . It's just the . . . Oh, I don't know. I thought you just asked questions or something.

VOICE: Now don't worry, Nate. It's okay. People tend to be nervous their first time here. So I'll begin. Now just answer truthfully and fully. What brought you here today?

NATE: (After long pause.) My best friend. He just died in a car accident. The other driver was drunk and broadsided Marty. Marty's car flipped over a few times and crushed him. (Intense shuffling of hands and feet now. A long pause.) I should have been in that car with him. I was gonna go with him to his aunt's house to get these old newspapers from when JFK was assassinated for this report we were doing together. I stayed home because I was waiting for this girl, Karen, to call. (A long pause, audience should be able to tell that he's trying to keep from crying.) I should have been in there with him. Why did he have to die? Maybe it coulda been avoided if I was there or . . . or maybe . . . (Long pause.) Oh, God . . . why am I alive? (Shouts:) Why am I alive? (Puts his head in his hands and cries audibly.) I'm sorry, doc. (He tries to straighten up, sniffles, wipes eyes and his nose with his hand.)

VOICE: You're doing fine, don't worry about me. This is exactly what I want. (Pause.) Why do you feel that you should have been there?

NATE: I was supposed to go with him. I didn't because of a girl. And that killed Marty.

VOICE: Do you feel responsible?

NATE: I feel . . . bad. Maybe not responsible . . . but something tells me I should have been in there with him.

VOICE: Then why did you wait for Karen's call if you had to be with Marty?

NATE: I guess it's probably because she's a popular girl.

VOICE: So you're wondering if that was any reason to abandon Marty.

NATE: (Extra long pause.) Why do we do it? I mean, everybody tries to get with the "in" crowd, no matter what. I've seen people step on other people just because they're "in." Is that right? Why do we do that? Why do we destroy others just to get ourselves ahead? I mean, that's like having our thoughts picked out for us. (Stands up and begins to pace.) Are our lives always dictated by other people. We always try to "be in" with the top crowd. Heh, (laughs like he's losing his mind) to be or not to be. (Pause, then shouts loudly, kicking chair in a great burst of anger.) That is NO question! Whether . . . whether it's nobler in the mind to be "hip," or simply to think for ourselves. Ay, there's the rub. Because when we do have a mind of our own, we're shunned from others because we're unique. Is that right? Is that what everybody's destined to? A life of non-thinking conformity? A life where being in is better than being ourselves? (Pause.) I need some answers! Is there anyone out there that can tell me? (Sobs softly.)

VOICE: Have you ever had problems finding friends?

NATE: No, not really.

VOICE: Then why did you find Karen's call so important?

NATE: I don't know! I turned my back on Marty for a girl, a girl! Why did he have to die? (Talking through tears) Or at least I should have been with him.

VOICE: That's called survivor's guilt. You shouldn't feel reponsible.

NATE: But I do. That's just it.

VOICE: (After a long pause.) Nate, do you believe in God?

NATE: (Long pause.) Heh, that's what this whole thing comes down to, doesn't it? I mean, with that plan of His and His mysterious ways. There's no way to prove that He does exist. It's all a matter of faith. (Pause.) there's no annual report or State of the Union address or anything. (Pause.) But . . . I believe in something kind and gentle up there, that's always watching, and waiting, with a patience that we can't understand. (Long pause.) Yes. I believe in God.

VOICE: (Long pause.) Well, that does it for our time today, Nate. What are you going to do now?
NATE: Now? I'm going to go on with my life . . . and my beliefs. And be the best NATE CARPENTER that I can be.

(Spotlight fades softly into blackness.)


This was written for my Senior journalism class, 1991. I received a 94, an A. I remember Mrs. Lehman said this reminded her of an episode of Family Ties where Alex goes to the psych doctor in a darkened room. She was right. I used that premise, simply because that episode really affected me. I always acted this one in my head and felt that I could really pull it off on stage. I still do, after reading it again.