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Larry Hamm's Virtual Universe
Larry Hamm's Virtual Universe
May Day
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Cast of Characters: A MAN in his late-50’s or early 60’s
Setting: A bare stage with four lit candles
Lights up on the MAN, center
MAN
I grew up in the 60’s. And, yes, I know the old joke about how if you remember the 60’s, you
weren't there. Well, I was there, and I do remember.
It was the time of my youth, and I believe that if a man forgets his youth, he loses his soul. Over
the years I've moved around a bit, but no matter where I've stood in our country I can close my
eyes and imagine standing there in the heart of that campus with my college classmates,
moving purposely between the buildings of golden Midwestern brick.
And at the center of my memories is Blanket Hill, that place on those grounds in Kent, Ohio
where in Spring couples would sit beneath the trees and study together, or eat lunch, or talk, or
kiss a little, or … hey, I did say it was the 60’s.
But mostly, I remember the battle that was fought there between the young men of the Ohio
National Guard, strategically spread out on the high ground, and the equally young men and
women, the voices of a generation determined to stop what they believed an unjust war,shouting
at them from the parking lots and the practice field below, throwing stones as well as insults,
while the stinging stench of tear gas hung a web of greenish smoke over the field.
As a countermeasure to the taunts of those “who would oppose higher education,” the troops,
under the command of General Canterbury, bayonets on their M-1 rifles, were told to “lock and
load,” as the general prepared to issue the order permitted him by Senatorial candidate Governor
James A. Rhodes.
And for a moment, the bayonets gleamed in the early May sun as Troop G knelt and aimed.
Sophomore Alan Canfora took a position in front of his fellow students, waving a black flag 60
feet from the line of aimed weapons, defiantly shouting that his generation, my generation, would
not give in to fear, would not trade silence for comfort, and would not seek power and abandon
the virtues of peace and love.
And then the shots began … Alan dropped the flag, pierced through the wrist, one of only two hit
from the front … because everyone was running … and falling … and … dying … Sandra
Scheuer and Allison Krause and Jeffery Miller and William Schroeder, 250 to 400 feet away …
and people kept running, and falling, shot through the back … my generation … eight more fell
wounded … while running … for thirteen seconds … running … through 67 rounds … my
generation … running … running.
And sometimes I believe we are running still…
Lights out
Man blows out candles and exits
Setting: A bare stage with four lit candles
Lights up on the MAN, center
MAN
I grew up in the 60’s. And, yes, I know the old joke about how if you remember the 60’s, you
weren't there. Well, I was there, and I do remember.
It was the time of my youth, and I believe that if a man forgets his youth, he loses his soul. Over
the years I've moved around a bit, but no matter where I've stood in our country I can close my
eyes and imagine standing there in the heart of that campus with my college classmates,
moving purposely between the buildings of golden Midwestern brick.
And at the center of my memories is Blanket Hill, that place on those grounds in Kent, Ohio
where in Spring couples would sit beneath the trees and study together, or eat lunch, or talk, or
kiss a little, or … hey, I did say it was the 60’s.
But mostly, I remember the battle that was fought there between the young men of the Ohio
National Guard, strategically spread out on the high ground, and the equally young men and
women, the voices of a generation determined to stop what they believed an unjust war,shouting
at them from the parking lots and the practice field below, throwing stones as well as insults,
while the stinging stench of tear gas hung a web of greenish smoke over the field.
As a countermeasure to the taunts of those “who would oppose higher education,” the troops,
under the command of General Canterbury, bayonets on their M-1 rifles, were told to “lock and
load,” as the general prepared to issue the order permitted him by Senatorial candidate Governor
James A. Rhodes.
And for a moment, the bayonets gleamed in the early May sun as Troop G knelt and aimed.
Sophomore Alan Canfora took a position in front of his fellow students, waving a black flag 60
feet from the line of aimed weapons, defiantly shouting that his generation, my generation, would
not give in to fear, would not trade silence for comfort, and would not seek power and abandon
the virtues of peace and love.
And then the shots began … Alan dropped the flag, pierced through the wrist, one of only two hit
from the front … because everyone was running … and falling … and … dying … Sandra
Scheuer and Allison Krause and Jeffery Miller and William Schroeder, 250 to 400 feet away …
and people kept running, and falling, shot through the back … my generation … eight more fell
wounded … while running … for thirteen seconds … running … through 67 rounds … my
generation … running … running.
And sometimes I believe we are running still…
Lights out
Man blows out candles and exits
The May 4th Memorial ...
surrounded by 58,175
daffodils, once for each
American life lost in the
Vietnam conflict.
surrounded by 58,175
daffodils, once for each
American life lost in the
Vietnam conflict.
MAY DAY is a short monologue about the events at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. I was still in high school
an hour's drive away when the confrontation occurred, but I never forgot my own confusion upon hearing of the
"massacre." When I attended graduate school at Kent later in my life, I was a reluctant visitor to the Memorial,
but I will never forget what I felt there. Like my walks through Gettysburg, the experience remains with me.
There are ghosts on the grounds surrounding Blanket Hill, but unlike those who haunt the Pennsylvania
battlefield, I believe these ghosts wonder at our disconnect from what took place. Sadly, there will always be
those who believe silence equates with peace, but we can never allow the fearful tenets of others to stop us
from pursuing what we know, in our hearts, is the correct course for mankind.
An abbreviated version of the play appeared in the Eclectic Theatre Company's Got A Minute production in 2008
and repeated as a "Best of" in Got A Minute 2010. The full version was first produced as part of Theatre
Odyssey's 3 x 3 event in February 2009. Most recently, MAY DAY was produced at The Island Players on Anna
Maria Island as part of their Evening of One-Act Plays staged November 12th and 13th in 2010. All shows have
starred Tom Aposporos, who truly "owns" the role, embodying the voice I heard while writing the piece.
an hour's drive away when the confrontation occurred, but I never forgot my own confusion upon hearing of the
"massacre." When I attended graduate school at Kent later in my life, I was a reluctant visitor to the Memorial,
but I will never forget what I felt there. Like my walks through Gettysburg, the experience remains with me.
There are ghosts on the grounds surrounding Blanket Hill, but unlike those who haunt the Pennsylvania
battlefield, I believe these ghosts wonder at our disconnect from what took place. Sadly, there will always be
those who believe silence equates with peace, but we can never allow the fearful tenets of others to stop us
from pursuing what we know, in our hearts, is the correct course for mankind.
An abbreviated version of the play appeared in the Eclectic Theatre Company's Got A Minute production in 2008
and repeated as a "Best of" in Got A Minute 2010. The full version was first produced as part of Theatre
Odyssey's 3 x 3 event in February 2009. Most recently, MAY DAY was produced at The Island Players on Anna
Maria Island as part of their Evening of One-Act Plays staged November 12th and 13th in 2010. All shows have
starred Tom Aposporos, who truly "owns" the role, embodying the voice I heard while writing the piece.