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Horst and Graben at the Chateau Godot

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“I enjoyed it. Nice austere but riveting small piece.”

Jon Jory, The Actors Theatre of Louisvilleon HORST AND GRABEN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UNFINISHED MAN

“Jeff Gold’s work is smart, original, surprising, and satisfying. He knows the theatre well, what it can do and what makes it exciting. He also has a nose for interesting characters in unique situations. His is a wonderful theatrical voice. No question about it.”

Award-Winning Playwright Julie Jensen (Two-Headed, White Money)

“FITCH TODD by Jeffrey Gold shows a playwright very much in command of the form—able to shape rich and dense content into a short play with mystery and humor. The payoff of this play is very strong. You know why you’ve been watching it with attention from its opening moment and feel the curtain pays all that attention off.”

David Kranes, Former Artistic Director, Sundance Playwright’s Lab

“Jeff Gold’s work has a unique and quirky feel about it. His plays get under your skin, get stuck in your teeth until you find yourself compelled to laugh... to cry. A welcome voice in the world of theater.”

Playwright Jeff Metcalf, Founder, Sawtooth Writer’s Conference

Reviews

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“I was truly affected by his well written concise work. In each play, the dialogue flowed naturally, the ending gripped me and the final irony left me entertained with strong emotions.”

Kristin Ettinger, Assistant Editor, Pioneer Drama Serviceon HORST AND GRABEN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UNFINISHED MAN and FITCH TODD

“HORST AND GRABEN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UNFINISHED MAN caught our attention as an unusual, interesting and well written piece... we’d like to include it in our annual Short Play Reading Festival.”

Dena Nathanson, Director, Boca Raton Theatre Guild

“HORST AND GRABEN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UNFINISHED MAN takes the conflicts and hardships of daily life and presents them in the form of a Vaudeville routine, in the spirit of Samuel Beckett.”

Steve Mathews, Director, Just Off Broadway Theater, Kansas City, Missouri

“DEDEKIND by Jeffrey Gold... is sure to hit the mark with a Lab [Theatre] audience. You know, them artsy types.”

Craig Froehlich, Red Magazine

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Plays by Jeffrey Gold

In the Pursuit of Svetla (2001)

Horst and Graben in the Context of the Unfinished Man (2002)

Fitch Todd (2002)

Percolation Theory (2002)

Dedekind (2003)

Horst and Graben at the Chateau Godot (2003)

Candycane Hurricane (2003)

Execution at Paradais Island (2004)

Displacement: A Fish in Water Story (2004)

Grieving at Doors (2006)

Fair Shake (2007)

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Horst and Graben at the Chateau Godot

by Jeffrey Gold

Dramatica Press

New York • Los Angeles

2010

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Horst and Graben at the Chateau Godot © 2003 Jeffrey Gold

Horst and Graben at the Chateau Godot is published by Dramatica PressNew York (347) 788 0037 • Los Angeles (213) 787 6066 • www.dramaticapress.com

All rights reserved. Except for short passages quoted in newspaper, magazines, radio, or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, including photocopying or recording (visual or audio), or stored in an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Dramatica Press.

This material is subject to a royalty and is fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions. All rights, including but not limited to professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcast, and the rights of translation into foreign languages, are expressly reserved.

Use of this material by educational institutions can be secured from the author’s publisher, Dramatica Press, or the author’s representative, Corpus Polymedia, or the author.

Library of Congress CataLoging-in-PubLiCation Data

Gold, Jeffrey.Horst and graben at the chateau godot / Jeffrey Gold.—1st ed.

p.cm.ISBN: 1451514921

EAN-13: 9781451514926

Cover photograph: “Restaurant in Street,” © 2009 by Rodolfo BelloliAuthor photograph (Cover): Jennifer Arnold

Author photograph (Interior): Benjamine Justine Hubert

Cover design: Corpus PolymediaText Design: Dramatica Press/Corpus Polymedia

Text Font: Optima

First Edition, March 2010

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For my brother, Lawrence Gold

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Introduction

Horst and Graben at the Chateau Godot is the second installment in the Horst and Graben series. I can say that it was just as much fun to write as their first play, Horst and Graben in the Context of the Unfinished Man. As I write this, I imagine the pair at a beach in their golden years; I chuckle at the prospect of writing a Horst and Graben at the Seashore—where I surmise they begin to tolerate, if not understand, each other. I have already started Horst and Graben at the Jaffy Lube, but I’m not sure yet how to finish it. Horst is a tortured soul, and in that way probably most resembles the playwright. Horst just wants to be left alone—adrift in the wind. He would like to walk between the raindrops, like Fitzgerald’s Gatsby, but without the wealth. Graben is also a tortured soul. He doesn’t know where to land. He doesn’t fit it. He’s too unrefined to fit in, but he had raw intelligence that was forged into street smarts— through hardscrabble years of living on the run from internal contortions—where for others the same intelligence would have presented access into polite society. I feel sorry for both. Yes, I am responsible for making them what they are, but in the back of my mind there is always hope—hope that both will eventually find what they are looking for—and what we are all looking for: serenity.

Jeffrey Gold

SugarhouseMarch 2, 2010

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Production History

Horst and Graben at the Chateau Godot was first produced at the Black Box Theatre, Center for the Arts, at Elon University, North Carolina on November 17–18, 2006.

Horst and Graben at the Chateau Godot was directed by Lydia Jane Graeff.

Cast:

Horst Teddy ScottGraben Carter BeidlerWaitress Elizabeth MillerBeautiful Woman Courtney Markovitz

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Characters

Horst (pronounced “Horst”) has been living on his own in New York for the last five years. His daughter lives in upstate New York, which is the primary reason he made the move to the Big Apple. The other impetus was employment, but he hasn’t quite found the employment that is stable enough for him to feel very comfortable in his relatively new environs. He lives in a sparsely furnished apartment, and can often be seen eating string cheese while looking at the city from the vantage point of his bedroom window. Aware of the cosmopolitan aspects of living in the big city, Horst went out and found a framed print of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” to hang on his wall, adding contrast to an otherwise maudlin collection of black & white photos of his daughter.

Graben (pronounced “Grayben”) Through the last five years, since he last saw Horst, Graben has grown more bitter and more cynical. He’s been surviving in New York, where every opportunity, just around the corner, has mysteriously eluded him. His father recently died, and this has made his relationship with his mother more strained than ever. Confusing self-loathing with self-deprecation, a quality he never had, he has ramped it up a notch or two. A user and abuser surviving by his street-smarts, he wouldn’t know friendship even if it kicked him in the groin.

Waiter (pronounced “Waiter”) serves menus, wine, and dinner. We’ve seen this guy before: he is an exemplar of efficiency and professionalism, and obviously hand-picked by S.-F. Becquet, the notoriously fastidious owner of the Chateau Godot.

Beautiful Woman (pronounced “Babe”) is a buxom bombshell just waiting to explode. A full ten seconds of countdown.

Setting

An expensive French restaurant. Evening.

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Horst and Graben at the Chateau Godot

HORST is dining at a table in the foreground. His table is centered in front of a series of large windows.

He faces stage left.

The conservative sound of a fine dining establishment is heard.

A WAITER enters from stage left and saunters over to his table and refills his glass of water.

HORST acknowledges his service with a nod, as if lost in thought.

The WAITER departs stage right.

HORST looks at his watch.

He fumbles with the menu, giving it half his attention.

Through the series of windows, we see a man, GRABEN, entering from stage right. He passes behind the series of windows and briefly glances in the window overlooking HORST’s table.

He spots HORST. He stops and raps on the window. HORST looks up at the stranger in the window and is befuddled.

Some time passes before GRABEN enters from stage left with the WAITER, who points at HORST’s table.

GRABEN, carrying a rucksack, approaches and points, gun-like fashion, in a strange parody fusing the braggadocio of Tom Cruise with the suavity of Elvis Presley.

GRABEN(light proclamation)

Harry.

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HORST doesn’t react too much, but is somewhat embarrassed by the intrusion, as if worried about something.

GRABEN(light proclamation)

Harvey.

HORST doesn’t react.

GRABEN

Hogan.

Again, HORST doesn’t react too much, but he’s uncomfortable.

GRABEN(shaking his finger at HORST)

Hans.

HORST puts down his menu.

GRABEN

Preston?

HORST(beat)

Horst.

GRABEN

That’s right: Horst. Of course. How the hell are you, man?

HORST

Do I know you?

GRABEN

Graben. Remember?

HORST

No.

GRABEN

Graben? Come on man, you gotta remember. We met in the desert.

HORST

Graben?

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Dramatica Press

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A Corpus Polymedia Company