carpentry from three houses by dave malloy

SADIE
in the game, my specialty was carpentry.
my grandpa had been a luthier—
so i modeled the master carpenter on him

(grandfather appears, holding a hurdy-gurdy.)

GRANDFATHER
i make mandolins,
cellos, dulcimers, and lutes
i can turn a stick
into a stirring alto flute

i can make violas
that sound really purdy
and i can even make
a very special hurdy-gurdy

SADIE
grandpa’s hurdy-gurdy!
this crazy violin-in-a-box—

he kept it in the downstairs closet
underneath some shoes
he only brought it out
when i was feeling kind of blue

and every halloween
he would let me turn the crank
while he and grandma passed out
brand new pennies from the bank

my grandpa instilled in me
a deep respect for wood.

GRANDFATHER
remember sadie, we don’t play the instrument
the instrument plays us.
we are merely the vessels;
the conduits through which the spirit of the wood chooses to sing.

SADIE
sneaking in to grandpa’s shed
just to smell the wood;
running my hand through the sawdust,
watching it sift
through my fingers
in the sunlight.

• Experimental
• theatre
• New York