Todd Stadler's blog

3 short pantomimes about labor struggle to be performed outside a large ground-level office window inside of which a meeting is taking place

1. In Which Management Does Not Take into Account the Welfare of the Workers

Worker A pantomimes some form of manual labor. Perhaps the symbolism would be most striking if he were to use a hammer or sickle.

Suddenly, Worker A strikes his thumb with the hammer or otherwise hurts himself with the means of production in due course of earning his menial wage.

He hops about, perhaps on one foot, mouthing a great scream, perhaps calling down curses upon the bourgeoisie.

The Manager appears from window left, carrying several large sacks of money (identifiable by the large dollar signs painted on their sides) and expresses great discontent with Worker A's laziness.

If possible, The Manager twirls the ends of his waxy moustache.

He exhorts Worker A to return to work immediately, whether injured or not, in order that The Manager may continue to exploit his being and make obscene amounts of money.

Worker A protests that his injury precludes him from working, and asks that he may be given the rest of the day off to recuperate and ponder the creation of a utopian economic state, in order to return tomorrow to work that much harder.

The Manager takes out a gun and shoots him. Owing to the lax labor laws in effect at the time of this pantomime, he is not arrested.

Fin.

2. In Which Management Quashes an Organized Protest in Order to Further its Exploitation of the Workers

Worker A (and, if possible, Workers B through K) gather together at window left, raising a pantomimed hue and cry about their poor working conditions.

The dramatic effect would be greatly increased if most of them carried signs mounted on wooden poles, although in keeping with the pantomimed nature of these plays, the signs themselves should be blank.

At various points during this protest, Worker A causes the marching and sign-waving to cease in order to pantomime several stirring speeches.

He complains about the corrupting nature of power, promotes the bond formed by people working side-by-side to the best of their ability, and advocates a need for the means of production to be owned communally.

If this cannot be effectively pantomimed, Worker A may also take off his shoe and pound it dramatically.

After each speech, the workers go back to their routine of marching about, waving signs, chanting slogans, and so forth.

This goes on for quite some time.

At some point, the town police, having been bribed, arrive with The Manager and summarily arrest the whole lot of the workers on trumped-up charges.

The Manager then giddily skips off screen in order to count his gold pieces.

Fin.

3. In Which an Allegory on the Nature of Symbiosis Lays Bare the Truth about Labor Relations

Workers A through E mill about aimlessly, attempting to make their way in life with their particular abilities and possessions, but feeling that such an existence is not ideal.

Suddenly, Worker E pantomimes having a great idea, and he gathers the other workers together into a huddle. The audience does not observe what is being discussed, although they are led to believe that it is something exciting and interesting.

As the huddle breaks up, Worker E's plan is made clear: the workers are to form a giant super-man by joining themselves together, with Workers A and B forming the feet and legs, Workers C and D forming the arms and body, and Worker E forming the head.

Working together as one, the workers find that they can more efficiently harvest and process food, manufacture goods, do battle with any foreign armies or creatures, and share among themselves the fruits of their labor.

After a while of these idyllic goings-on, The Manager enters from window right, wearing clothing that is vaguely leech-like.

He attaches himself to the super-man formed by the workers and dangles there, failing to help them in any way, and yet acting as a drain on their system.

Eventually, The Manager steals all the money the workers had earned, forcing them to break up and abandon their symbiotic ways. The Manager expresses glee in a leech-like way.

The workers feign a kind of allegorical death, but The Manager, unhappy with the amount of time the workers have spent away from their jobs while working on this allegory, has them illegally executed because he can.

Fin.