Remember the Alamo by Justin Hoffman

REMEMBER THE ALAMO
By
Justin Hoffman


CHARACTERS

DAVY
Cowboy dressed circa 1836.

JIM
Cowboy dressed circa 1836.

FRANCISCO
Mexican dressed circa 1836. He must remain calm and flat
throughout, calculating.

SETTING

Should look like the interior of the Alamo in 1836, sort
of. Let’s just give the suggestion of it, but not the
exactness. Stucco walls would be nice. Back wall needs to
be relatively clean and clear for the projection; at least
a large flat surface of some kind. A chair sits in the
exact middle of the stage facing the audience. It is
clearly modern, whatever that means.
Time is meant to be skewed.



SCENE 1
(FRANCISCO is sitting on the chair, alone,
under a spotlight. He can’t move like he’s
been tied up, but there are no visible
bonds. The rest of the stage is lit by the
projection. A modern home-video-styled film
of the Alamo plays on the wall. There is no
sound. It is about 30 seconds long. He cries
as he watches this video.
The video ends and the lights come up. JIM
and DAVY enter from the left. They are
shaking hands and laughing. The video starts
again. It is on a loop with a bit of
blackness between cycles.)

JIM
We’ve got you now.

DAVY
It’s clear what you’ve been up to.

JIM
Maybe we should send him back to Santa Anna

DAVY
In a body bag.

FRANCISCO
What?

JIM
Espionage

DAVY
Is a capital crime.

FRANCISCO
I never...

DAVY
We know.

JIM
(pointing at projection)
Looks good, doesn’t it?

FRANCISCO
It made me cry

DAVY
Just like a baby.

JIM
We saw.

FRANCISCO
I thought you would kill me. But instead you torture me
with visions.

DAVY
Visions?

JIM
What are these visions you’re talking about?

FRANCISCO
On the wall.

JIM
That’s a video.

FRANCISCO
Never heard of it.

DAVY
Well you just made one

JIM
and got caught.

FRANCISCO
I don’t understand. What’s video?

DAVY
It’s what you just saw.

FRANCISCO
Why go to all this trouble?

DAVY
Does it look real enough?

JIM
Sound.

DAVY
What?

JIM
It’s missing sound.

(Sound starts filtering into the video. It
is random sounds of war that creates a
symphony of destruction. This should not be
overwhelming.)

FRANCISCO
(breaks into a tiny smile that quickly
fades.)
Yes.

DAVY
Yes?

JIM
What do you mean?

DAVY
Do you think he’s lost his mind watching this for so long?

JIM
Ask him again.

DAVY
Ask him what?

JIM
What you were asking him.

DAVY
I don’t remember.

FRANCISCO
(makes sign around ear)
Loco.

JIM
What is?

FRANCISCO
The sound’s creation.

DAVY
What’s that?

FRANCISCO
It’s no longer sights. It’s sights and sounds.

JIM
(sarcastic)
He’s a genius. Where did you find this guy?

DAVY
Find him?

JIM
Yes.

DAVY
I didn’t.

JIM
(sarcastic)
Is he a ghost?

FRANCISCO
I am not a ghost.

JIM
What were you planning on doing with this video?

FRANCISCO
I was going to sell it to Santa Anna. I need the cash for
mi familia back home.

DAVY
You aren’t with the army?

FRANCISCO
What army?

DAVY
The one outside the Alamo right now.

FRANCISCO
Alamo?

JIM
That’s where we are, stupid.

FRANCISCO
Fuck you. I’m not stupid.

DAVY
So you’re not with the army. But you’re going to sell this
video?

FRANCISCO
That’s what you want right?

JIM
Well we were going to sell you back to Santa Anna.

DAVY
But now you tell us you don’t even work for him.

JIM
What do we do now?

(There’s a long pause. They all watch the
video, which means FRANCISCO looks at the
audience. When the video goes black he
talks.)

FRANCISCO
(starts soft and slow)
Maybe I could take this video back and sell it to Santa
Anna. And then I’ll send you some of the money. With
information like this it’s bound to get a good price. We’d
all be rich.

(JIM and DAVY go over to stage left.)

JIM
What do you think?

DAVY
What do you think?

JIM
Can we trust him?

DAVY
Can we?

JIM
He’s not American.

DAVY
Can we even trust them?

JIM
I’d like to think-

DAVY
Don’t be an idiot.

FRANCISCO
(breaking things up)
Do we have a deal? I’ve got to get home soon.

JIM
You’re our prisoner.

DAVY
You can’t go until we say so.

FRANCISCO
You’d better hurry up or this thing will be over.

DAVY
We can’t miss our chance.

JIM
You are very persuasive.

FRANCISCO
Thank you.

JIM
You have a deal.

DAVY
We didn’t talk money yet.

JIM
You said to trust him.

DAVY
I never.

FRANCISCO
(standing)
Amigos. Relax. I’ll send you the money.

DAVY
Thank you.

JIM
A pleasure.

(Everyone shakes hands. JIM and DAVY with
each other last. As this happens FRANCISCO
dashes out stage right.)

JIM
We’ll be rich.

DAVY
Millionaires.

JIM
Brilliant idea.

DAVY
I thought you said he was-

(The video stops. The sound stops. The stage
is black.)

DAVY
What was that?

JIM
Lights went out.

DAVY
Why?

FRANCISCO
(offstage)
Kill them all.

DAVY
That sounded like

JIM
Francisco.

(The war sounds start again. No video. JIM
and DAVY are solemn, respectful.)

DAVY
We’re gonna die.

JIM
Goodbye Davy.

DAVY
Goodbye Jim.

(JIM and DAVY exit during blackness. Only
the chair is on the stage when a new
projection starts up. It’s stills of
soldiers from all kinds of American armies
in their bases having fun. These should move
quickly and there should be a lot of them.
But it should last no longer than 20
seconds.)

END PLAY

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Justin Hoffman lives in Chicago with his wife and two cats. He's written a baseball
play looking for an audience. And the collection of short stories is about half done.

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