Synkroniciti is pleased to welcome playwright m. stickann of Indiana with “Detritus,” a short play about a man who can’t stop daydreaming. Martin is visiting his psychologist, Dr. Mocfort, increasingly frustrated by his lack of progress and his lack of connection with his family. The daydreams seem more compelling than real life.
“Dr. Mocfort, readjusting himself in his chair, preparing for a contentious tete-a-tete: I think you should allow yourself these daydreams. They’re like vacations for your mind. It’s respite from the everyday. I look at what you call pretending and I see self-care. I think it’s healthy.
Martin, slightly sarcastic, a bit incredulous: Healthy? Really? I’m 50 years old and every single day, sometimes multiple times a day, I’m someone else. Yesterday I was a general manager for the Cubs, a university professor fighting off 20-year-old sophomores who were both in love with me, and earlier this morning I was a Mafia hitman who decided to turn informant for the FBI because of a crisis of conscience. I even made up the number of people I killed.
Dr. Mocfort, deadpan: How many?
Martin, cocking his head like a confused dog: How many what?
Dr. Mocfort, persisting: How many people did you kill?
Martin, perturbed, frowning: I didn’t kill anyone. The Mafia hitman did.
Dr. Mocfort, gently laughing, letting Martin get warmed up in his self-deprecating way: How many people did the Mafia hitman kill?
Martin, flatly: 28.
Dr. Mocfort, nodding, with a slightly mocking approval: Wow. That’s an impressive number.”
The stage direction is well conceived and executed, providing an excellent map for the actors and readers–I am not of the camp that thinks we should cross-out or discard the valuable insight playwrights give us with these lines. The sense of humor and detail stickann gives the situation is human and tender–opening up emotional space to relate to Martin and Dr. Mocfort’s struggles. One of the most poignant moments in “Detritus” happens after Martin angrily walks out of his appointment. We see Dr. Mocfort call his wife for reassurance, just “to hear her breath” in his ear. We don’t often think of our medical professionals as people with needs and challenges and stickann shows us a side of reality that we miss most of the time. There is much wisdom in this entertaining and sensitive play.
Read “Detritus” in Synkroniciti’s “Dreams” issue, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Gosh, I am being tasked to introduce myself here. I believe all ‘creatives’ fall into two categories: one being the folks who crave the spotlight and thrive in it and the other being the introverts who shrink from attention and look for a place to hide. I ‘d say I fall in the latter category. As a former English teacher, I love to read, I love to write, and I love to imagine. I hope my piece is thought provoking and engaging for you.