Out of the Wings

De aventuras (2011), Gracia Morales Ortiz

Adventures : ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 1 , ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 2 , ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 3 , ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 4

Adventures, translated by Gwynneth Dowling

ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 1

Context:

Young adventurer Aidun has managed to break free from her fictional world and enter the real world.

Sample text

AIDUN:: I managed to get out, haha! (Towards the spot where the images were projected and where the drawing of the dwarf remains – on its own.) Look! I got out! Me! All on my own!! (To the drawing.) Razatino! Did you see? I’m over here! Ha! And you said there wasn’t any point in trying. Always thinking of the negatives… But you should know by now I always manage to do what I say I’m going to do.
NARRATOR:: Meet Aidun. She’s the character Mario’s been working with for several years. The Adventures of Aidun. That’s the title of the books he publishes.
AIDUN: (Alert and wary, having heard the NARRATOR’s voice.): Who’s talking?
NARRATOR:: It’s me.
AIDUN:: Who?
NARRATOR:: Me.
AIDUN:: And who are you?
NARRATOR:: Aidun can’t see me, although she can hear me.
AIDUN:: Why can’t I see you? Where are you? Are you hiding? Come out here and fight if you dare.
NARRATOR:: Fight?
AIDUN:: Yes! Fight! Like a brave!
NARRATOR:: I can’t fight.
AIDUN:: What can you do?
NARRATOR:: Tell stories.
AIDUN:: Stories?
NARRATOR:: I’m a narrator. I tell stories. Right now I’m telling your story, and Mario’s.
AIDUN:: Who’s Mario?
NARRATOR:: Him. Your creator. His name is Mario…

Copyright

The above sample taken from the translation Adventures by Gwynneth Dowling is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 2

Context:

Mario is supposed to be going into hospital for an operation. He does not want to go. His niece, Dunia, tries to convince him that it is for his own good.

Sample text

DUNIA:: Are you really that scared?
MARIO:: Scared? No. At my age you don’t get scared anymore.
DUNIA:: But don’t you realise the…
MARIO:: Come on. Time to go, it’s already late.
DUNIA:: You’re scared, no matter what you say. It’s okay. I’ll see you later.; DUNIA gives MARIO a kiss on the cheek and leaves.
MARIO: (Talking to himself.): Why can’t they leave me in peace? Eh? It’s my decision. I’ve a right to… But everyone has something to say about it – you should do this, you should do that… Doctors, neighbours, and now Dunia too… They all talk about what they’d do if they were in my situation. But not one of them is in my situation! Not one of them has this illness! And I’m tired of tests, needles, this pain that won’t go away… I just want to stay here. Whatever will be, will be. Why doesn’t anyone understand that?; The NARRATOR makes the same gesture as before and MARIO stops moving.
NARRATOR:: You’ll have probably realised already just how much Dunia resembles Aidun.; A photograph of DUNIA appears on screen and we see how, from this photograph, a hand sketches AIDUN – amending and changing some aspects, until it looks like AIDUN.
NARRATOR:: Mario based the drawing on his niece. It was a present to her. He began making up stories to read to Dunia. Then he made up stories that she could read on her own. And as some of you may have already noticed, even the name Aidun is a play on the letters from the name Dunia.

Copyright

The above sample taken from the translation Adventures by Gwynneth Dowling is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 3

Context:

Aidun visits her creator Mario while he sleeps. Mario is disabled, but in his dreams he tries to fly. Aidun helps him to do so. She also asks him to write new adventures for her.

Sample text

AIDUN:: Mario… Mario, Mario…. Can you hear me?
MARIO:: Yes.
AIDUN:: Really?
MARIO:: Who are you?
AIDUN:: I’m Aidun.
MARIO:: Aidun.
AIDUN:: Yes. Your character. Remember me?
MARIO:: Yes.
AIDUN:: What are you dreaming about?
MARIO:: I’m jumping over rooftops.
AIDUN:: Great!
MARIO:: Aidun…
AIDUN:: Yes.
MARIO:: What are you doing here?
AIDUN:: I’ve come to talk to you. I’ve come to ask you to keep drawing adventures for me.
MARIO:: Adventures…
AIDUN:: Yes. At least one more. Anything you like. Whatever you feel like.
MARIO:: Aidun…
AIDUN:: You haven’t written a story for me in a long time. What’s wrong? Have you lost your inspiration? Or do I no longer amuse you?
MARIO:: I’m cold. (AIDUN pulls the covers over MARIO. The dreams begin to change, the blues start to darken, as if a storm were coming.) The wind! I’m falling!
AIDUN:: You’re not falling.
MARIO:: I am! The wind! My legs! They hurt!
AIDUN:: No, come on… It’s your dream. There’s no need to fall. Take another jump… Try it.
MARIO:: My legs…
AIDUN:: Come on! Up!
MARIO:: I’m scared.
AIDUN:: I’ve got you. Come on, I’m sure you can fly… Open your arms wide. Like that.; Gradually, on screen, the storm clears. The blue sky returns.
AIDUN:: Very good! Very good!
MARIO:: What if I fall?
AIDUN:: You won’t fall. It’s your dream. Don’t give up.
MARIO:: I’m flying!
AIDUN:: Come on, higher!
MARIO:: I’m a bird! Look! I’m flying over the city!
AIDUN:: Yes. You’re a birdman.
MARIO:: A birdman.
AIDUN:: Yes. But when you wake up, don’t forget what I told you.
MARIO:: Aidun.
AIDUN:: That’s right. I’m Aidun, and I’m waiting for you. I need your adventures. Understand?
MARIO:: Yes.
AIDUN:: I’ve just helped you keep flying, right? You need to help me, too.
MARIO:: Yes.
AIDUN:: An adventure in the skies. Like in your dream.
MARIO:: An adventure in the skies.

Copyright

The above sample taken from the translation Adventures by Gwynneth Dowling is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 4

Context:

For the first time in her life, Aidun has lost a battle because Mario was not there to draw and write for her. The Narrator explains the concept of freedom to Aidun, encouraging her to try to fight battles on her own.

Sample text

AIDUN:: I don’t like it. I don’t like losing.
NARRATOR:: That’s why you felt that knot in your stomach… your heart going thump-thump. Because you were really trying. Because when you were flying your plane, you didn’t know if you would win that battle.
AIDUN:: But I want to be invincible!
NARRATOR:: Well then you’ll have give up your freedom and wait until Mario starts making up stories for you again. But if you want to be free… If you want to be free and feel that adrenalin – the way you felt it today – then you’ll have to learn to lose.
AIDUN:: Learn to lose?
NARRATOR:: People who are free sometimes win and sometimes lose. Look at Mario. He’s lost many times.
AIDUN:: Is that why he’s like that? So… sad? Is that why he doesn’t draw anymore?
NARRATOR:: Maybe. But people who lose also gain a lot. They gain wisdom, because they learn how to overcome. How to fight anger, frustration. They also learn to admit their own mistakes, to know their limits…
AIDUN:: He’s learnt all that?
NARRATOR:: I don’t know… Everyone moves forward at their own pace. Maybe he’s learning little by little. And you? What are you going to do? Do you think you’ll try again?
AIDUN:: Another adventure? Against Captain Destroyer?
NARRATOR:: For example.
AIDUN:: I don’t know… What if I lose again?
NARRATOR:: That’s the risk.
AIDUN:: Although maybe I’ll beat him this time…
NARRATOR:: Maybe.
AIDUN:: It’s just that last time I got lost. I didn’t know his plane was so fast.
NARRATOR:: Now you can take that into account.
AIDUN:: And if I win, I’ll know that I won by myself. With no help from anyone.
NARRATOR:: And if you lose, you’ll learn what you did wrong.; AIDUN stands silent for a moment, thoughtful, trying to make a decision.
AIDUN:: Yes. I’m going to try. Yes.; The space changes again. AIDUN gets ready to fight Captain Destroyer. She is more careful this time. She tries not to make the same mistakes as before. Time passes and…; The stage slowly goes dark. Only the NARRATOR is lit, from above.
NARRATOR:: And so the hours passed. Mario kept to his routine: reading a book; eating whatever Dunia had cooked for him; washing dishes; listening to music… He didn’t return to his drawing all day. Aidun, meanwhile, went on new adventures. Sometimes she won, sometimes she lost. She was discovering, little by little, what freedom meant.

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