Genre:
Drama
Runtime:
90 - 0 mins
Cast:
4 male(s), 2 female(s), gender-flexible
Synopsis:
"Kigali" is the tale of four Americans who travel to Rwanda a few years after the genocide to find out how neighbor can turn against neighbor almost overnight. They come to Africa with their own agendas of self-promotion and discover that that heart of darkness beats inside all of us.
Mike Marcott and Scott Andrews are former cops. Andrews retired with a life-threatening head injury after being beamed with a fire extinguisher in the opening hours of the LA riots. Marcott escaped LA and went into politics in his home state of New Mexico. He's come to Rwanda as state Attorney General to investigate probable charitable fraud… but also to announce launch his campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Also along for the trip is local TV reporter Carol Thornton, who's determined to use the Rwanda trip to catapault her to the networks, hopefully with dramatic stories from Africa. Marcott is determined to finally get her into bed.
The last member of the group is Carol's African-American friend and cameraman Horton Howard, a kid who knows where to draw the line between right and wrong.
The trip quickly falls apart – the group's camera and tapes are stolen, Marcott's plans for seduction go awry, and the group meets yet another American: a mysterious former humanitarian aide worker who was also in Los Angeles at the time of the riots.
There is a sixth character in the play – a Rwandan chorus of sorts: one actress who plays all the Rwandan characters.
Notes:
The play requires minimal set, but lots of sound.
- Featured Staged Reading, Great Plains Theatre Conference – Omaha, 2008
- Staged Reading, First Look, Full Lengths, Ensemble Studio Theatre 2005
- Staged Reading, Winterfest, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Hollywood, 2003
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