THE INVESTIGATION

a short play
by

Evan Guilford-Blake

Copyright March 2014 Evan Guilford-Blake and Off The Wall Play Publishers

http://offthewallplays.com

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REPRODUCTION WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED
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hereby warned that The Investigation is subject to royalty. It is fully protected under the laws of
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5.30.03
 THE INVESTIGATION

CHARACTERS:

THE PSYCHIC - Male or female, early 30s or older. A legitimate practitioner of the
mystical arts and sciences.

ESSALYN TOMPKINS - Female, late 20s or older. She is not well-educated and a little
nervous, but she needs desperately to obtain the information she is seeking.

CLAUDE DAVIES - Male, about Essalyn’s age and of her background, and her close
friend. A skeptic and very ill-at-ease about what might be revealed.

VIVIAN MORRISSEY - Female, at least Essalyn’s age, perhaps significantly older.

Essalyn’s next door neighbor. Among other things.

THE SETTING: The Psychic’s parlor.

THE TIME: A day in the late fall of this year.

synopsis

A man and a woman seek the help of a psychic to discover the reason a spirit seems to be
present in the woman’s house, and, in the process, discover a surprising revelation.

Production/award history
PRODUCTIONS: Dragon Lady Players, Syracuse, NY (2009)
Blacktown City Community Theatre (Seven Hills, NSW, Australia) (2008)
Carrollwood Players, Tampa, FL (2006)
Panoply Arts Festival, Huntsville, AL (2005)
Colonial Playhouse, Aldan, PA (2004)
Lebanon (PA) Community Theatre (2003)
AWARDS: Winner, 2003 Lebanon (PA) Community Theatre Playwriting Competition
Winner, 2005 Panoply Arts Festival Competition

For Roxanna
The Investigation 1

AT RISE: The PSYCHIC is seated at a table, reviewing papers, as CLAUDE and

ESSALYN are heard offstage. As the PSYCHIC hears them, S/HE tucks the paper into a
folder and puts the folder on a table or desk other than the one at which S/HE was seated.

ESSALYN
(OFF)
... certainly a very nice vestibule.

CLAUDE
(OFF)
I still don’t like it, comin’ ---

ESSALYN
(OFF)
Ssh! [S/He’ll] hear you, you don’t ---
(THEY enter the PARLOR area and
stop.)
Oh. We, um, we don’t mean to intrude, but the, the sign on the door said to just come in...

PSYCHIC
(His/Her back to them)
Good afternoon. Just one moment, please.
(S/HE finishes with the folder and
returns to the table but remains
standing.)

CLAUDE
We, um, we made an appointment? Claude Davies and Essalyn Tompkins?

PSYCHIC
And you are exactly on time. Please come in. Would you like a cup of tea? Or some
water?

ESSALYN (TOGETHER) CLAUDE

No. Thank you. Unh-uh.

PSYCHIC
Well, I’m going to have some.
(S/HE pours hot tea from a carafe.)
Have you ever met with a psychic before?

ESSALYN
No; we never done nothing like this.
The Investigation 2

CLAUDE
But you, um, you were highly recommended?

ESSALYN
By Vivian Morrissey. She’s my neighbor.

CLAUDE
New neighbor. She just moved into the house next door to Ess’s. Last month?

PSYCHIC
Yes, Vivian and I are old friends. She mentioned you.
(S/HE returns to the table and sits.)
Well -- what did you need.

ESSALYN
We’ve come about -- well, it’s - sorta hard to talk about it.

CLAUDE
We, um, Mrs. Morrissey told us? that you - knew.

ESSALYN
Things.

CLAUDE
Or, or that you could - divine, them. Using your, what-do-they-call-’em cards and crystals
and - stuff?

PSYCHIC
I can help find things. Find out things. Some things. These
(A Tarot deck)
can be helpful.

ESSALYN
Uh-huh. Tarot.
(SHE pronounces it TARE-OTT)

PSYCHIC
Tarot.

ESSALYN
Oh. Tar-ohhhh.
The Investigation 3

PSYCHIC
But they have more to do with glimpsing possibilities of the future.

CLAUDE
Oh. We’re here, um, it’s, um, about ... well, we’re tryin’ to - find out somethin’.

ESSALYN
About --- well, there are these - sounds.

PSYCHIC
What sort of sounds, Ms. Tompkins?

ESSALYN
In my house. At night.

CLAUDE
And durin’ the day too, sometimes.

ESSALYN
Yeah. They’re real - peculiar. We told Mrs. Morrissey about them and she said you could
maybe help.

PSYCHIC
Help? You mean make them stop? Or tell you what they are.

CLAUDE
Well, we, um, we think it’s maybe gotta do with Essalyn’s husband.

PSYCHIC
Why would you think that?

CLAUDE
Well -- he, um, died.

ESSALYN
In June. It was real sudden. They started, right after that.

PSYCHIC
He was an older man?

ESSALYN
Oh, no, just about my age. It was - an accident. He’d went for a drive, right after supper --
he’d drank wine, three ’r four glasses, and, and he - fell asleep drivin’, and....
The Investigation 4

PSYCHIC
I’m very sorry.

ESSALYN
Thank you.

CLAUDE
But see, what we wanna find out? We need t’ find out if, um, if, um...

ESSALYN
If he’s - all right. ’Cause there’re these - sounds.

CLAUDE
And Vivian? um, Mrs. Morrissey? she said you c’d help us - find out.

PSYCHIC
I’ll certainly try. Please: be seated.

CLAUDE
If it’s all the same to you? we wanna stand.

PSYCHIC
We need to form a circle of hands, Mr. Davies.

ESSALYN
Well, if you say we should.

CLAUDE
Ess ...

ESSALYN
You said you’d do whatever [s/he] said.

CLAUDE
I know, but ...

ESSALYN
We gotta find out, Claude.

CLAUDE
All right, all right. I’ll - sit down.
(THEY do.)
The Investigation 5

PSYCHIC
(Lighting a candle as S/HE speaks)
Now: I will try to get in touch with your husband’s spirit. What is his name?

ESSALYN
Henry. His name was Henry.

PSYCHIC
And his full name?

ESSALYN
Henry Stephen Tompkins.

PSYCHIC
Henry Stephen Tompkins. Now: We must all join hands and close our eyes while I try ---

CLAUDE
Close our eyes! How come we gotta cl---

ESSALYN
Claude!

CLAUDE
It’s silly, Ess. I mean, if he’s gonna - appear or somethin’? I wanna be able t’ see him, in
case, um, in case ...

PSYCHIC
He won’t appear, Mr. Davies.

ESSALYN
He won’t?

PSYCHIC
Ghosts and spirits are very different. Ghosts often have a visible form, but spirits are
ethereal and possess only a voice.

ESSALYN
Oh. Etheeer-reuhl.

CLAUDE
C’n we, um, c’n just we talk t’ him? Privately?
The Investigation 6