31 Plays in 31 Days: #3 - "Service is its Own Reward"

Yesterday, niobien commented on the piece from day two that it was rather dark. I confess I hadn't really thought about it until she mentioned it, but yeah, it really is. So is piece number one from the day before. And, surprisingly or unsurprisingly, so is my piece for today. I am drawn to tragedy; I suppose I really am a goth in my soul. But it's funny that I wouldn't even notice the trend until Carolyn said something.

This piece is about a wealthy older gentleman who is found sitting up at night by his faithful butler, who has been in his employ for years. The idea for it came to me as I was trying to fall asleep last night, fretting about what the hell I was going to write about today. I scribbled a few notes in the dark in a notebook before I passed out so I wouldn't forget it in the morning. As with all of these I am posting them in rough, unedited, first-draft form, but I think this one has serious ten-minute play potential. The conflict may need to be upped, the point of view of the butler may need to be strengthened, but I think there are the bones of a solid ten-minute play here that I could fix up and submit to competitions and stuff.

( Day #3 - "Service is its Own Reward" )