Group Theory
a play for one actor

In Group Theory, a week's worth of misdelivered mail leads an apartment dweller on a journey into surprising connections.

Group Theory was written and originally performed by Dave O'Meara, and is one of the plays for one actor included in A Metaphysician in the Dark. Individual chapters may be read here, in PDF format. For the convenience of a printed copy, purchase A Metaphysician in the Dark online at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, or Lulu.com, or by special order from any bookstore.

  • Group Theory Part 1

    When did the doorbell ring? It rang
    Earlier today,
    About one, one-thirty in the afternoon, while I...

  • Group Theory Part 2

    Why would I
    Receive a subpoena? Well, actually, I get them
    Quite often—you see, I'm the manager ...

  • Group Theory Part 3

    What if I had denied
    Being me? What if I had gone downstairs,
    Opened the door ...

  • Group Theory Part 4

    Where did I get
    A crazy idea like that? You see, for a moment there—
    In my panic, my desire ...

  • Group Theory Part 5

    What was so funny
    About Gunther Mandrake? Well, nothing, really—
    To judge ...

  • Group Theory Part 6

    Who was tending the store while I
    Gave evidence
    That Monday morning? It was Paulie, my boss ...

  • Group Theory Part 7

    Is Oxford the name of the street
    I live on?
    No, it is not. It's the name, instead, of the street behind me ...

  • Group Theory Part 8

    And to whom
    Was this second letter
    Addressed? Well, from the stamps and the postmarks...

  • Group Theory Part 9

    Was it becoming routine, the next day
    When I found
    The third letter? Well, not quite, but let's say...

  • Group Theory Part 10

    What did I think when I returned home
    At lunch the next day, after my opening shift to find
    The fourth...

  • Group Theory Part 11

    Did I wake up
    The next morning with a recriminatory
    Hangover? I certainly did ...

  • Group Theory Part 12

    What did I get out of it? Not the drugs—
    I haven't used that stuff in—
    What is It? Nine—

  • Group Theory Part 13

    Did I feel like a drink
    When the part—timer
    Arrived to relieve me at noon? Boy, did I ever! Now...

  • Group Theory Part 14

    What did she say when she kicked me
    Out of bed?
    "Oh my god, it's four o'clock, I've gotta...

  • Group Theory Part 15

    What was my bright
    Idea the next morning—Saturday, that is,
    The one morning...

  • Group Theory Part 16

    Have I phoned Paulie to ask him to open
    The store
    Tomorrow morning? No, I have not. Instead, I called in ...

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