CLAY MCLEOD CHAPMAN

Director's Note | volume of smoke

One of the most generous things about Clay Chapman as a writer is that he writes no stage directions—as far as he is concerned, the writer's job ends with the characters' voices. I have attempted to add some stage directions so that you, the reader, can get some sense of what we did in our particular version of the play. So feel free to disregard all of it if you should be fortunate enough to produce the play yourself. The text is extremely flexible, from how the roles are divided to how they are performed to how the show is staged.

In the Richmond production, the first Physician's monologue was divided amongst the female cast members as a kind of choral piece. The full cast recited the italicized lines, with the women alternating at every new paragraph. The Bleeding Nun was divided amongst the full cast.

Characters:
reverend's wife
actor
stagehand
property man
carpenter
audience members (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5)
parents (#1, #2, #3)
children (#1, #2, #3)
orchestra member
blacksmith
physician
the bleeding nun
actress
reverend 

   Contributor's notes