Costume Party
Irene Sankoff and David Hein
[JANICE, spoken]
3:45 a.m. Overnight, the community's population has gone from approximately 9,000 to 16,000. I'm sure barely any of us have slept tonight. We're hopeful that our visitors will be back in the air come morning

[KEVIN T, spoken]
I woke up from this dream which I can't quite remember, but there was this music in it that I'd heard somewhere before

[KEVIN J, spoken]
I woke up from a dream that we were stuck in some backwater Canadian town and that my air mattress deflated

[BOB, spoken]
I woke up to the smell of... freshly baked bread?

[ANNETTE, spoken]
4am in Newfoundland is breakfast time in Germany. And we got a lot of passengers here from Frankfurt, so breakfast starts at 4am and we start scrambling eggs

[BOB, spoken]
Poached eggs, scrambled eggs, omelettes

[DIANE, spoken]
Fried Bologna
[NICK, spoken]
Something called "toutons"

[KEVIN T., spoken]
I saw a casserole dish I don't think I could lift

[BOB, spoken]
They made enough food to feed 7,000 people. It's like they never slept!

[BEULAH, spoken]
There's this one man, from the Middle East – well, we don't really know – hasn't said a word to a soul and some of the other passengers seem a bit wary of him. So it's a little odd to find him poking around the kitchen

[ALI, spoken]
Oh – hello

[BEULAH, spoken]
Hello. Can I help you with something?

[ALI, spoken]
I would like to be of assistance with the food

[BEULAH, spoken]
Oh, no. That's not necessary

[ALI, spoken]
But I am a-
[BEULAH, spoken]
Really. You go out there and sit down

[CLAUDE, spoken]
I've been going all night, but I can't stop, none of us can. I splash some cold water on my face and just keep going. We've got 7,000 scared and angry people who don't want to be here. And they're about to wake up

[DIANE]
In a crowded room
Filled with strangers sleeping

[KEVIN T]
An airplane blanket
And pillow on the floor

[DIANE]
The sun comes streaming
Through the window

[KEVIN T & DIANE]
And I can't sleep anymore

[KEVIN J]
Staring at these strangers
Waking up around me

[HANNAH]
Sitting in a crowd of people
Waiting for the phone
[KEVIN J]
And in a town that's suddenly
Doubled population

[KEVIN T, HANNAH, DIANE & KEVIN J.]
I feel so alone

[KEVIN J]
It's like any of us could have died
On Tuesday

[KEVIN T]
And like we're dared to see things
Differently today

[DIANE]
I'm feeling different

[HANNAH]
Distant

[KEVIN J]
Strange

[KEVIN T]
Who are these people here?

[HANNAH]
Where am I?

[DIANE]
No one knows me here

[KEVIN T, HANNAH, DIANE & KEVIN J]
Who am I if I don't feel like
The me from yesterday

[NICK, spoken]
I wake up in a crowded room full of people sleeping on the floor, and I see Diane and ask, "Are we leaving?"

[DIANE, spoken]
Any time now

[NICK, spoken]
Is your hair different? I mean, you look good. I like it

[DIANE, spoken]
Hm! Thank you. No shampoo for three days!

[KEVIN T, spoken]
They start handing out clothes to anyone who needs them

[KEVIN J, spoken]
I haven't changed my clothes in thirty-nine hours

[BOB, spoken]
I wanted to burn my socks

[KEVIN J, spoken]
Kevin puts on this plaid thing. He says he's "incognito" and that he's going to "blend in with the natives," but he just looks like a gay lumberjack

[DIANE]
Changing into another woman's
Donated set of clothes

[KEVIN T]
Looking different
Feeling kind of different too

[DIANE]
I can't quite explain

[KEVIN T]
But when I woke

[DIANE]
When David wasn't on that plane

[KEVIN T & DIANE]
It's like I changed into somebody else
But who?
And it's somehow like we're at a costume party

[KEVIN T]
And for a second you are not yourself

[DIANE]
You are not yourself

[KEVIN T]
And you look around
And blink your eyes

[DIANE]
And barely even recognize

[KEVIN T & DIANE]
The person in the mirror who's
Turned into someone else

[KEVIN J, spoken]
Hey little sister - Yeah, still here where they eat rainbows for breakfast. Are you taking care of mom? No, I just wish I was home. No, not LA – Brooklyn. Shut up. You're such a brat. No, I just needed to hear your voice

[BEULAH, spoken]
Excuse me? Are you Hannah?

[HANNAH, spoken]
Yeah – that's me

[BEULAH, spoken]
My name's Beulah – someone told me your son's a firefighter... Yeah, mine is too. Here in town. And I know Gander's not New York but... Is there anything I can do?

[HANNAH, spoken]
No, I just need to hear from my son

[BEULAH, spoken]
I understand

[HANNAH]
Praying for a phone call

[KEVIN J]
Praying for a way home

[HANNAH & KEVIN J]
Asking questions

[KEVIN J]
Asking can I get back on that Godforsaken plane?

[HANNAH]
And all around me, people chat

[KEVIN J]
And people snack

[HANNAH & KEVIN J]
Like nothing's happened
And I need to hear we're going back
Before I go insane

[BEVERLY, spoken]
Good morning! I'm Captain Bass. I've just heard from the airline. Now I know this is going to be hard to hear, but the American airspace remains closed. I can't tell you how long we'll be on the ground. But, we are gonna be here for some time

[DIANE]
Here for some time

[KEVIN J]
Here for some time

[HANNAH]
Here for too long

[KEVIN T.]
Here for how long

[KEVIN J, ACTORS 10, 12]
When will we know

[ACTORS 4, 5, 6, 7, 11]
When will we know

[COMPANY]
How much longer?

[HANNAH, spoken]
Beulah! Wait. Can you help me find a Catholic church?

[DIANE, spoken]
I can't sit here. I need to get some air

[KEVIN T, spoken]
Let's go see where we are. The sun's out. It'll do you good

[KEVIN J, spoken]
Seriously? You know what, go get lost in the woods. I'm going to be ready when we leave

[HANNAH & KEVIN J]
And it's somehow like we're stuck
Here at a messed up costume party

[DIANE & KEVIN T]
And there's nothing here familiar

[HANNAH & KEVIN J]
Far away from those you care for

[KEVIN T, KEVIN J, HANNAH & DIANE]
On an isolated island in between
There and here

[ALL OTHERS]
There and here
Write the lyrics for a rock song made in 2017, titled "Costume Party", by artist "Irene Sankoff and David Hein".