Script
Buried Child
Sam Shepard
Cast in order of appearance:
- Mom: Andrea Oh
- Dad: Ashleigh Plummer
- Daughter: Cara Roth
- Dodge: Ashleigh Plummer
- Tilden: (unvoiced)
- Halie: Andrea Oh
- Father Dewis: Ashleigh Plummer
- Shelly: (Unvoiced)
- Bradley: Cara Roth
- Vince: (unvoiced)
Introduction with Thesis Statement:
It is revealed later in the plot that Dodge, the head of the family, killed his own wife and son’s child to keep the family from falling apart. Though originally intended to retain prosperity, Dodge's betrayal of his family through murder, in Sam Shepard's Buried Child, suspended familial development by seeding a dysfunctional rift, focusing on how the strain of fixating on achievements alienate relations.
Text
Scene 1:
“(Dodge falls into deep sleep. Tilden just sits staring at him for a while. Slowly he
leans toward the sofa, checking to see if Dodge is well asleep. He reaches slowly under
the cushion and pulls out the bottle of booze. Dodge sleeps soundly. Tilden stands quietly,
staring at Dodge as he uncaps the bottle and takes a long drink. He caps the bottle and
sticks it in his hip pocket. He looks around at the husks on the floor and then back to
Dodge. He moves C. and gathers an armload of corn husks then crosses back to the sofa.
He stands holding the husks over Dodge and looks down at him as he gently spreads the
corn husks over Dodge and looks down at him as he gently spreads the corn husks over
the whole length of Doge’s body. He stands back and looks at Dodge. Pulls out bottle,
takes another drink, returns bottle to his hip pocket. He gathers more husks and repeats
the procedure until the floor is clean of corn husks and Dodge is completely covered in
them except for his head. Tilden takes another long drink, stares at Doge sleeping then
quietly exits L. Long pause as the sound of rain continues. Dodge sleeps on.
The figure of Bradley appears U.L., outside the screen porch door. He holds a
wet newspaper over his head as a protection from the rain. He seems to be struggling
with the door then slips and almost falls to the ground. Dodge sleeps on, undisturbed.)”
(Shepard 25-26)
Scene 2:
“(Halie appears outside the screen porch door, U.L. with Father Dewis. She is
wearing a bright yellow dress, no hat, white gloves and her arms are full of yellow roses.
Father Dewis is dressed in traditional black suit, white clerical collar and shirt. He is a
very distinguished gray-haired man in his sixties. They are both slightly drunk and felling
giddy. As they enter the porch through the screen door, Dodge pulls the rabbit fur coat
over his head and hides. Shelly stands again. Dodge drops the coat and whispers intently
to Shelly. Neither Halie nor Father Dewis are aware of the people inside the house.)
DODGE. (To Shelly in a strong whisper.) You promised! (Shelly sits on stairs again.
Dodge pulls coat back over head. Halie and Father Dewis talk on the porch as they cross
toward R. interior door.)
HALIE. Oh father! That’s terrible! That’s absolutely terrible! Aren’t you afraid of being
punished? (She giggles.)
DEWIS. Not by the Italians. They’re too busy punishing each other. (They both break out in giggles)
HALIE. What about God?
DEWIS. Well, prayerfully, God only hears what he wants to. That’s just between you and
me of course. In our heart of hearts we know we’re every bit as wicked as the Catholics.
(They giggle again and reach the R. door.)
HALIE. Father, I never heard you talk like this in Sunday sermon.
DEWIS. Well, I save all my best jokes for private company. Pearls before swine you
know. (They enter the room laughing and stop when they see Shelly. Shelly stands. Halie
closes the door behind Father Dewis. Dodge’s voice is heard under the coat talking to
DODGE. (Under coat, to Shelly.) Sit down, sit down! Don’t let ‘em buffalo you. (Shelly
sits on stair again. Halie looks at Dodge on the floor, then looks at Bradley asleep on the
sofa ands sees his wooden leg. She lets out a shriek of embarrassment for Father Dewis.)
HALIE. Oh my gracious! What in the name of Judas Priest is going on in this house!
(She hands over the roses to Father Dewis.) Excuse me Father. (Halie crosses to Dodge,
whips the coat off him and covers the wooden leg with it. Bradley stays asleep.) You
can’t leave this house for a second without the devil blowing in the front door!
DODGE. Gimme back that coat! Gimme back that goddamn coat before I freeze to
HALIE. You’re not going to freeze! The sun’s out in case you hadn’t noticed!
DODGE. Gimme back that coat! That coat’s for live flesh not dead wood. (Halie whips
the blanket off Bradley and throws it on Dodge. Dodge covers his head again with
blanket. Bradley’s amputated leg can be faked by having it under a cushion on the sofa.
Bradley’s fully clothed. He sits up with a jerk when the blanket comes off him.)
HALIE. (As she tosses blanket.) Here! Use this! It’s your anyway! Can’t you take care of
BRADLEY. (Yelling at Halie.) Gimme that blanket! Gimme back that blanket! That’s my
blanket! (Halie crosses back toward Father Dewis who just stands there with the roses.
Bradley thrashes helplessly on the sofa trying to reach the blanket. Dodge hides himself
deeper in the blanket. Shelly looks on from staircase, still holding cup and saucer.)
HALIE. Believe me, Father, this is not what I had in mind when I invited you in. I keep
forgetting how easily things fall to pieces when I’m not here to hold them together.
DEWIS. Oh, no apologies please. I wouldn’t be in the ministry if I couldn’t face real life.
(Father Dewis laughs self-consciously. Halie notices Shelly again and crosses over to
her. Shelly stays sitting. Halie stops and stares at her.)
BRADLEY. I want my blanket back! Gimme my blanket! (Halie turns toward Bradley
HALIE. Shut up Bradley! Right this minute. I’ve had enough! It’s shameful the way you
carry on. (Bradley slowly recoils, lies back down on sofa, turns his back toward Halie
and whimpers softly. Halie directs her attention to Shelly again. Pause.)
BRADLEY. You gave me that blanket.”
(Shepard 56-58)
Scene 3:
“HALIE’S VOICE. Dodge? Is that you Dodge? Tilden was right about the corn
you know. I’ve never seen such corn. Have you taken a look at it lately? Dazzling.
Tall as a man already. This early in the year. Carrots too. Potatoes. Peas. It’s like
a paradise out there, Dodge. You oughta take a look. A miracle. I’ve never seen
it like this. Maybe the rain did something. Maybe it was the rain. (As Halie keeps
talking offstage, Tilden appears from L., dripping with mud from the knees down.
His arms and hands are covered with mud. In his hands he carries the corpse
of a small child at chest level, staring down at it. The corpse mainly consists of
bones wrapped in muddy, rotten cloth. He moves slowly D. toward the staircase
ignoring Vince on the sofa. Vince keeps staring at the ceiling as though Tilden
wasn’t there. As Halie continues, Tilden slowly makes his way up the stairs.
His eyes never leave the corpse of the child. The lights keep fading.) Good hard
rain. Takes everything straight down deep to the roots. The rest takes care of
itself. You can’t force a thing to grow. You can’t interfere with it. It’s all hidden.
Unseen. You just gotta wait ‘til it pops up out of the ground. Tiny little shoot.
Tiny little white shoot. All hairy and fragile. Strong though. Strong enough to
crack the earth even. It’s a miracle, Dodge. I’ve never seen a crop like this in
my whole life. Maybe it’s the sun. Maybe that’s it. Maybe it’s the sun. (Tilden
disappears above. Silence. Lights go to black.)”
(Shepard 73)
Transitions:
Transition to scene 1:
This scene is Tilden’s symbolic way of getting revenge on Dodge for his son’s murder. By covering him in corn husks he is not only “burying him” but also allowing the empty corn husks to symbolize the absence of prosperity among the family and their farm.
Transition to scene 2:
The nasty fight that takes place here shows just how dysfunctional the family has become after Dodge’s actions. The family is split apart, they are shown to be emotionally immature and unable to deal with one another.
Transition to scene 3:
At the end of the play, the family finally renews itself when the secret of the buried child is revealed, the child’s corpse is unearthed, and the family passes into a new age the hands of Vince who intends to restore the family’s prosperity. The corn Halie finally sees out the window is symbolic of the family’s rebirth.
Conclusion:
In the end of the play, it explains that the family’s dysfunction is because of the act that Dodge commits and even though he intended to bring his family together, it actually causes a rift in which the family was suspended by the strain of trying to retain prosperity.
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