Five Encounters on a Site Called Craigslist

Sam Ward

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781786824356
• eBook ISBN: 9781786824363
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

Desperately hilarious and achingly bleak, this is an intricate and tender question mark around our attempts to encounter each other in a technologized world.

Sam wants to tell you about five encounters he had on a site called Craigslist.

Sam is anxious about the way he gets to know people. About the way he self-sabotages his attempts to communicate and reach out to those around him.

Sam wants this to be a chance for you to get to know him.

SAM is onstage as the audience enter the space. He greets some of them and gets into conversation. He dances to music. Sometimes he’s a little more reserved. It depends on how he’s feeling.

Onstage there is a chair centre stage. There is a large fan upstage centre. Somewhere there is a table with all the props SAM will need over the show.

All over the stage there are red and green balloons. When performed the number is usually thirty: fifteen green and fifteen red.

Hello

It’s nice to see you all.

How is everyone?

This is to someone specific.

Hello

What’s your name?

Audience member responds.

How are you? Have you had a good day?

Audience member responds.

Great.

This is to someone else.

And how about you what’s your name?

Before we start, could everyone take off their shoes please? You don’t have to if you really don’t want to but it will hopefully make us more comfortable. You can find a different way to sit on your chair if you like or sit on the stage or whatever you like.

Well thank you all for coming out to [name of theatre] this evening.

My name’s Sam

And I have a superstition about magpies where I have to salute them when I see them

That’s just a fact about me

About four years ago I started using a website called Craigslist to meet men online for sex. Over the course of two years I had a lot of different experiences and then a year ago I decided that I wanted to talk about some of them.

And so that’s what I want to do tonight.

I want to tell you all about five encounters I had with men I met on Craigslist

It’s probably worth saying at this point that

I’ve had encounters with women as well but I didn’t choose any of them for this show and that no sexual encounter I’ve had after deciding to make this features in the show in any way.

Oh and

Also if anyone needs the loo at any point

You can just get up and go

I don’t mind

Beat.

So who actually knows what Craigslist is?

Some audience members put their hands up.

Is there someone in the audience who could explain for those that don’t know?

SAM selects an audience member and they offer an explanation.

Thank you.

The most important thing you need to know about Craigslist is that it’s the largest online jobs board in the world,

Even the sex bit really is a jobs board.

So, for those that don’t know

Within Craigslist there is a section called the Personals section

And within the Personals section there is a section called Casual Encounters

And within Casual encounters there is a section called man for man (or m4m).

And casual encounters functions just like a jobs board: you post an ad saying you want a particular thing and people respond via an anonymised email service saying they can supply that thing. Then you send each other emails and try and get to know each other and then you arrange to meet.

And that’s where a lot of what’s going to happen tonight began. With me posting an ad on the m4m section of Craigslist from my university room.

Would you guys like to hear what my last ad sounded like?

This is read from a notebook.

This was posted 30th April 2016

This is where you really get to know me.

SLEEPY BOY WANTS TO SUCK COCK

Hi there. I’m a 22 year old white bisexual boy with a fit body. I’m based in the E1 area I’m feeling sleepy today and I really want to give someone a blowjob.

I want passionate, sexy fun. I want someone who’s going to invite me to somewhere nearby, drop their pants and just let me get to work. As my tongue runs round your cock you grab the back of my head and thrust deep into my mouth and get faster and faster until you come all over my face.

Hit me up. Pics go to the top of the queue.

So that gives you a good idea of the etiquette.

Both of Craigslist.

And the rest of this show.

Does anyone have any questions about how Craigslist works?

SAM waits and if necessary answers questions.

Great

Let’s get started

[name] would you mind helping me with this bit please?

SAM invites one of the audience members he greeted at the beginning onto the stage.

If you could just stand by this microphone.

And any instruction I give you, can you please perform it loudly and clearly into the microphone.

Could you start by testing that the microphone is working please?

Audience does so however they want. If lost, SAM encourages them to tap the microphone.

This is the story of my first encounter on a site called Craigslist with a man who we’ll call [name].

Which is also the story of my first proper sexual experience with a man.

[name] could you start peeling that carrot please?

The audience member does so, into the microphone. SAM pauses a moment to enjoy the sound.

We begin in my university room. I’m alone and I’m naked at my desk and I’m staring at an email I’ve just received from a man called [name].

So, earlier that day, I had responded to an advert. It was a long advert in which [name] said he offered a safe space where young men could come and explore...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Five Encounters on a Site Called Craigslist
• Appendix