The Piano Lesson Page #3

Synopsis: 1930's Pittsburgh, a brother comes home to claim "my half of the piano", a family heirloom; but his sister is not wanting to part with it. This is a glimpse of the conditions for African-Americans as well as some of the attitudes and influences on their lives. But whether he is able to sell the piano so that he can get enough money to buy some property and "no longer have to work for someone else" involves the story (or lesson) that the piano has to show him.
Genre: Drama, Music
Director(s): Lloyd Richards
Production: Republic Pictures Home Video
  Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 11 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.1
PG
Year:
1995
95 min
1,549 Views


Sc 15 EXT BUSH ON WAY TO BEACH DAY Sc 15

Through a dense bush walk a party of fourteen MAORI people and two

EUROPEAN MEN. The wetness, closeness and darkness of the bush is such

that the air seems green, like at the bottom of a deep sea. Two of the

MAORIS share one pair of shoes and all of them are clothed in a

mixture of native and European costume. Of the Europeans one is small

and has a shy manner. He has a half completed Maori tattoo across his

cheeks. The other is a similar age about 45 and wears a suit, muddy

and out of place here in the bush. He staggers, spurts forward then

slows to a stop. His hair and face are wet and his skin reflects the

green foliage. BAINES the younger man turns and slows.

BAINES:

Are we stopping?... Do you want

to stop?

The MAORI voices and laughter are becoming fainter. BAINES watches

torn between his concern for STEWART and the split in their party.

3-See Notes

BAINES:

Shall we stop?

Unable to get an answer BAINES runs after the MAORIS.

BAINES:

Tai hoa! Me tatari tatou .., me

tutatou I konei.

(Wait! We are stopping.. we're

stopping.)

SUBTITLED:

STEWART takes out a comb and drags it dazed and zombie like through

his wet hair. Inside the darkness of his pocket, he turns over and

over a small, worn edged photograph, a smudge of green light allows us

to see ADA's tumbling face. Taking it in the heel of his hand he

secretly looks at it. Just as the party return and settle he stares on

ahead possessed and determined.

STEWART:

We must get on.

The MAORIS look at BAINES bewildered.

TAME:

Aue tepatupsiarehe!

(The fairy people, what can you

expect?)

SUBTITLED:

Sc 16 EXT BEACH MORNINGSc 16

It is early morning. The sea is calmer and the tide is again low. The

party or two EUROPEANS and fourteen MAORI MEN and WOMEN come out on to

the beach. About half the MAORI party head straight for the shoreline

where an older woman loudly organises a pipi collection. All sorts of

containers are used from flax baskets to shirts with knots in their

arms. The rest follow STEWART and BAINES over to the boxes. STEWART

automatically re-combs his hair, patting it against his forehead,

where it sticks in a raked pattern. On his head he carefully places a

formal top hat, oddly dean compared to his mud splattered suit. The

party stops short of the petticoats where a tell-tale foot reveals its

occupants.

Rate this script:3.7 / 3 votes

August Wilson

August Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama more…

All August Wilson scripts | August Wilson Scripts

2 fans

Submitted by shilobe on March 28, 2017

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Piano Lesson" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_piano_lesson_1111>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    The Piano Lesson

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.