Stacey Isom Campbell’s plays include: 1999 (Play Lab selection, Valdez Theatre Conference); THE CONTROLLER (finalist, Seven Devils Playwriting Conference); THE LOOPHOLE (LORT-production, Barter Theatre / nomination, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize); BUFFALO CREEK (finalist, Rose Henley Playwriting Competition / finalist, The New Harmony Project / semifinalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival); LAUNDRY AT THE COIN & SPIN (equity-showcase approved production and publication, The Collective: NY); MEMORY OF ICE (semifinalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Seven Devil’s Theatre Conference and O’Neill Center’s National Playwrights Conference); ON THE 8’s (winner, Dan I Rodden Jr Award / finalist, Rose Henley Playwriting Competition / selection, Great Plains Theatre Conference). Her work has also been seen at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, L.A. First Stage, EstroGenius Xtended, and others. 

She is a Fellow of Hambidge Center, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, and Trillium Arts. She resides in Greenville, South Carolina with her partner and Shih Tzu.

Cicadias

Characters:

Eva: played by an actor in her 30s, the older sister, open casting

Jessie: played by an actor in her 20s-30s, a couple of years younger than Eva, open casting

Setting:

Eva's kitchen, present day, a small town in middle America.

An area to prepare homemade yogurt -- a table or bar and a microwave.

The suggested song could be replaced with any song.

A kitchen. Two women make two batches of homemade yogurt. EVA whisks and takes the temperature of her container of milk, as JESSIE waits for the second container of milk in the microwave.

JESSIE
I used to throw up at the sight of pudding or yogurt.

EVA
Yup.

JESSIE
It’s the texture. It jiggles.

JESSIE shudders.

Is it a liquid? Is it a solid? I don’t know! And I could, like, feel it. In my stomach. Jiggling.

EVA
I remember.

JESSIE
You know the moment right before -- the blood runs outta your face and sweat beads up in your palms and you just know!

The microwave DINGS.

I’m lookin’ for the nearest / garbage can so I could heave!

EVA
Get the milk outta the microwave.

JESSIE gets the milk-filled Pyrex out of the microwave.

Hurry. Get the temp before it drops.

JESSIE takes the temperature of the heated milk.

JESSIE
What’s it supposed to be?

EVA
A hundred-eighty degrees. Then, we cool it to one-twenty. Which is what I’m doing with this batch.

EVA’S container of milk is being cooled in an ice bath while she stirs it.

JESSIE
Why not just heat it to one-twenty?

EVA
Cuz it kills the bacteria. In the milk. I mean, we add bacteria to it -- with a starter. The bacteria is the whole point. But it’s good bacteria, not bad. So...

JESSIE
Oh. It’s not quite one-eighty.

EVA
Pop it back in the microwave. Thirty seconds.

JESSIE does.

But you gotta get the temp immediately when it comes out. To be accurate. And you can’t go over one-eighty or you’ll scorch it.

JESSIE
And then what happens?

EVA
It’s burnt.

JESSIE
And that kills too many bacteria?

EVA
No, it tastes burnt. And it doesn’t set up. And what you have is liquid yogurt. And you don’t want that.

JESSIE
I don’t know, maybe you do. Well, not you. But maybe some people would like to drink their yogurt.

EVA
They have that. It’s called kefir.

JESSIE
Oh. I bet I would like that. Cuz it’s fully liquid. Not in some kind of half-state of jiggliness.

EVA
Well, I’m not making kefir.

The microwave DINGS.

Quick.

JESSIE
Got it.

JESSIE measures the temperature.

It’s rising!

EVA
Yep. That’s good. Watch it to see where it stops.

JESSIE half-watches the thermometer.

JESSIE
So how I got out of that place of heaving at the sight of yogurt? I played a trick on my mind. I told myself a little lie -- this is not yogurt. It’s steak. And I would like pretend to cut my yogurt with a steak knife and fork, so I could imagine it was hard.

EVA
Watch the temp.

JESSIE
And it worked! But now I can’t eat steak!

EVA
Funny. What’s the thermometer read?

JESSIE
Maybe I should try that with other things. I could say to my brain -- this is not homework --it’s Netflix. I’m entertaining myself.

EVA
Jessie! What’s the temp?

JESSIE looks.

JESSIE
Um, it’s one-seventy.

EVA
Was it one-eighty and now it’s dropped while you were talking?

JESSIE
I don’t know.

EVA
Or even higher and it’s scalded and now we’ll never know because you were gabbing.

JESSIE
No. I’m sure it wasn’t higher. I’m sure it’s fine.

EVA
(sarcastic) Oh, you’re sure.

JESSIE
Yeah, cuz I think I did look and it was one-eighty and didn’t register, is all.

EVA
It’s ruined! Now we’ve got to toss it and start over.

EVA dumps the batch of milk in the sink.

Why are you telling me this story?! Is there a point that you’re making? No, really. Are you comparing your yogurt aversion to my situation? Cuz / it’s insulting.

JESSIE
No. I--

EVA
Start over. I’ll do it.

EVA pours precisely 4 cups of milk into the Pyrex measuring cup and puts it in the microwave during the following.

I need to make this yogurt. And it has to be exactly right. You know, for serious health reasons? Otherwise, I’d, you know, buy the fucking yogurt at the grocery story like everybody else on the planet. But I can’t. I have to make it because it’s actually really important that there’s no lactose and no sugar and no bad bacteria.

JESSIE
Okay, I’m --

EVA
I haven’t seen or talked to you in months and now you want to help. An excuse to gimme a little pep talk on how you overcame your yogurt aversion? Is that it?

JESSIE
No. I’m sorry. I didn’t... it wasn’t a “pep talk.” God, I was just... trying to make conversation.

EVA pours her container of cooled milk into a container with a lid, then puts it in a yogurt maker. There is an awkward pause.

Cicadas live for only one day. Did you know that?

EVA
Oh my god. Stop.

JESSIE
I saw it on a nature show.

EVA
That can’t be true.

JESSIE
Yep. After they like hatch and become adults and grow their wings and stuff, they have one day left.

EVA
Your point?

JESSIE
Nothing.

EVA
You have a point. Just say it so I can get on with making my yogurt. Please!

The microwave DINGS. EVA takes it out of the microwave and measures the temp while whisking.

JESSIE
It’s just... they don’t live very long that’s all. But they sing.

EVA
They sing?

JESSIE
Think of the song you’d sing if you knew it was now or never. I mean, you wouldn’t waste time feeling bad for yourself.

EVA
Are you saying--

JESSIE
You’d just... make the sound you were born to make.

EVA
I feel bad for myself, is that what you think?

JESSIE
I didn’t say that.

EVA
Maybe cicadas die after a day because they’re stupid.

JESSIE
What?

EVA
It’s not so they can “make the sounds they were born to make”. They didn’t adapt. And if I didn’t work at adapting, if I didn’t make these extreme changes in my diet to survive, I wouldn’t make it long either.

There is a long pause. They busy themselves with yogurt making.

JESSIE
When we were kids, you were always singing. Only time you stopped was when you fell asleep. You were a bad radio. Oh god, you sang “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips obsessively.

EVA
I did not.

JESSIE sings, trying to make EVA laugh.

JESSIE
“Don't you know? Don't you know things can change” --

EVA
You’re not funny.

JESSIE
“Don't you know? Don't you know things can change” --

Finally, EVA laughs.

God, I hated it! Just wanted you to shut up. But that’s who you are.

EVA
A bad singer?

JESSIE
I miss you, that’s all.

EVA
... I, um... I don’t have time to think about anything else but taking care of my body.

JESSIE
Okay.

EVA
It’s a full time job prepping my food. All my time and energy has to go into this for now. You understand?

JESSIE
Yeah.

EVA
So what I need is to be allowed to take care of myself for once.

JESSIE
What’s that supposed to mean?

EVA
I’ve taken care of you and everyone else my entire life..

JESSIE
We can’t all be perfect like you.

EVA
I’m not perfect! I just don’t share my problems and hang-ups with you.

JESSIE
Go ahead. Tell me one of your hang-ups.

EVA
No.

JESSIE
What? You imagine telling people off? You let the f-bomb slip once a decade?

EVA
Why are you here? What do you want? Cuz it’s not to help me make yogurt.

JESSIE
I came to retain your services.

EVA
What’d you do now?

JESSIE
Nothing! It wasn’t even my fault.

EVA
You said you quit drinking. Maybe you should do that mind-trick thing -- pretend water is whiskey and stop being a drunk!

JESSIE
This woman started a fight with me.

EVA
We both know you did something to provoke her.

JESSIE
Fine, don’t believe me. I’ll hire a lawyer who doesn’t judge me.

EVA
Fine.

JESSIE
Fine.

EVA
You wanna know one of my bad thoughts? ... I can barely look at you. Cuz all you’ve done for the last 15 years is try to die.

JESSIE
No, I haven’t.

EVA
It’s a slap in the face.

JESSIE
Alcoholism is a sickness, too.

EVA
Yeah, okay.

JESSIE
Okay, what?

EVA
Nothing.

JESSIE
You think it’s a choice.

EVA
No. We’re both sick. The difference is...

JESSIE
Go on. ... You think I don’t wanna get better.

EVA
I’m doing everything humanly possible to get my life back. Are you?

JESSIE
You’re gonna get better.

EVA
I don’t think I am. Any time you choose, you can get help. Truth is, it’s hard to be around you.

JESSIE
You hate me? ... Wow.

EVA
Told you I’m not perfect.

JESSIE
No shit. That’s--

EVA
Awful.

JESSIE
Yeah.

EVA
It’s a relief to finally say it.

JESSIE
I’m gonna go.

EVA
Don’t go. I don’t hate you. Not really. Not all the time.

JESSIE
If I could, I’d give my healthy body to you.

EVA
I know…

JESSIE grabs her coat and purse to leave.

This batch is 120. You can do the starter.

JESSIE
I don’t know how.

EVA
I’ll show you.

JESSIE comes back to the kitchen. EVA gives her a whisk. JESSIE stirs. They work together for a few moments. BLACKOUT. End of play.