WHAT I AM

"What I Am," is a creative and thought-provoking piece. It personifies the oranges to explore themes of life, purpose, and the human condition.

CHARACTERS

• Ripe Orange

• Unripe Orange

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ACT ONE

An orange tree in an orchard in the east of Nigeria. The tree is laden with a bounty of unripe and ripe, juicy oranges. Dry and healthy weeds litter its surroundings along with its shredded leaves. Two oranges are hanging a few feet apart from each other on the tree’s branch; one is ripe while the other is UNRIPE. They begin the morning conversing, as the tree branches shake carelessly.

UNRIPE: Morning, dear neighbor. You seem not to notice this beautiful morning. What is the cause of the unhappy look on your face?

RIPE: [ruefully] I am not unhappy; I’m just thinking, that’s all.

UNRIPE: [smirks] Well, I would believe you if the way you sound doesn’t betray your claim. You sound like a depressed lioness.

RIPE: [angrily] Do you expect me to sound like a crazy hyena? What am I?

UNRIPE: I am sorry, friend, but it is not good to see you this way this morning. This is not like you.

[UNRIPE makes to turn away from RIPE, but RIPE calls after him]

RIPE: Please don’t turn away. It is true, I am not happy. I’m sorry, dear friend.

[UNRIPE stops and turns towards RIPE]

UNRIPE: It’s okay, some days are like that. If you want to talk about it, I want to listen.

RIPE: I wish more than anything that I were a…[suddenly begins to sob]

UNRIPE: Oh dear! Please, friend, why do you cry? I’m without hands to wipe your tears. We are quite a few feet away from each other, and even if not, my leaves cannot dry your tears either. Please stop. You know the implication of getting this way – you’ll turn sour and unattractive to the orange picker and consequently become unfit for procession -

RIPE: I don’t like being an Orange! I want to live for a longer time. I wish I were a human! [RIPE sobs more]

UNRIPE: Human? Why?

RIPE: Yes. Human. Being a human is more purposeful than being an ordinary orange that doesn’t get any further than becoming a juice and serving as a health matter.

Unripe: Do you think that you’re not just as purposeful?

RIPE: Why? I opened my eyes to find myself on a tree, oddly shaped and immobile. Who asked me if I wanted to be a fruit? Look at the birds, the earthworms. Oranges have no interesting lifecycle.

UNRIPE: [laughs] Let me tell you something. Soon, you shall be going away from this tree and me. Why? Because you’re going to be used to solve problems humans cannot fix. I believe  Humans can’t do much without things that don’t live longer than them. Take Water, Air, and Apples. for example.

RIPE: You’re just saying that because you can’t imagine life as any other living thing that can make decisions for itself.

UNRIPE: Do you think that oranges cannot make decisions, move, and do all the other kinds of stuff other living things do?

RIPE: I want to be able to do lots of things; I want to be free to live a life of choice.

UNRIPE: Do you know oranges never die? We simply relocate. Oranges regenerate, unlike humans. [pause] Would you believe me if I told you I have regenerated in twenty-three countries and this is the second time I’m regenerating in Nigeria? You are only lucky to have ripened before me.

Do you want to know something that would be amusingly surprising to you if we met each other again in time? I might be the ripened one while you probably would be budding; we don’t come close to each other as you and I are now, but by chance, in the future, we could hang too close or be separated by branches, yet still communicate.

RIPE: [stares in surprise] That is a lot of adventure for a fruit like an orange. I did not know about this because this was my first existence.

UNRIPE: Yes. Only… it takes having to relocate for a long period, as long as about a century to be able to perceive the cycle of regeneration.

RIPE: [smiling] Thank you, friend. That is a lot of relevance for an orange.

UNRIPE: I think there is no better purpose than being a problem solver; you probably don’t also know that oranges are a top fruit in the family of fruits. While you go on in time, you’ll learn that serving as a sweetener where there’s thirst and bitterness and being a consumable that can lighten up moods are a lot of natural gifts that even the best of humans require to be their best.

When you are separated from this tree, your produce and seeds will travel further from here. then you will see and learn a lot about the world.

RIPE: I am truly lucky.

UNRIPE: Yes, you are.

Ripe: Today is my separation day from the orchard, and here comes the picker. If you shared these privileges I have as an orange, sooner, I think I would have ripened faster. Nonetheless, I am grateful, my friend.

I look forward to seeing you again in the future. I hope you will be the one who ripens first so that I can watch you go on to make more discoveries about the world while I stay and enlighten the buds that might take after my displeasure in being us.

UNRIPE: I trust you will do well. The weather is changing. Change is like citrus.

[Both laugh]

                                                                                                                                                    FINALE 

Playwright’s Note:

I wrote this script during my sophomore year at university for a scriptwriting course. The assignment was to create a one-page script on any subject of our choice. My lecturer and classmates were fascinated by my choice of story, as well as the depth of character, plot message, and figurative themes.

Recently, I expanded the plot, and it now exceeds the one-page limit. I'm glad to have added more imagery, lines, and thoughts to the script. It is now a more illustrative piece.