Welcomeby Richard Stuart Dixon
© Richard Stuart Dixon, 2005
(Note: Performance of this play requires the author’s permission. Please contact Good School Plays for details.)
Production Notes:
• running time: approx. 50 minutes.
• style: satirical realism
• suitable for general audiences
• 27 characters (14 female, 13 male)
• black-box staging (no set required)
Summary of Script Content:
• “Rising and Falling” is a comedic cautionary tale, offering four stories that explore four stages of romantic love.
(This play was first performed on November 7, 8, 9, 10, & 14, in the year 2005, at Gleneagle Secondary School in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.)
Go to:
Act One, Scene 1
Act One, Scene 2
Act One, Scene 3
Act One, Scene 4
Act One, Scene 5
Act Two, Scene 1
Act Two, Scene 2
Act Two, Scene 3
Act Two, Scene 4
Act Three, Scene 1
Act Three, Scene 2
Act Three, Scene 3
Act Three, Scene 4
Act Four, Scene 1
Act Four, Scene 2
Act Four, Scene 3
Act Four, Scene 4
Act Four, Scene 5
CHARACTERS:
Group 1: Finding and Falling
Mark Tabani
George Eddy
Bernie Rotox
Ellen Sanchez
Taxi Norton
Mona Stratton
Manette Leung
Group 2: Ecstasy
Max Berringer
Brad Sobieski
Vern Hankerman
Jane Restrick
Bobbi Grant
Lilly Vale
Group 3: Struggle
Dax Helstrom
Crash Rockwell
Vic Charles
Grant Portal
Lisa Rose
Heather Green
Connie Hill
Dawn Carol
Group 4: Goodbye
Glen Rekani
Milo Popov
Ernie Blanc
Faith Long
Kitty Rankin
Hope Reisner
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 1:
(All actors are on stage.)
FULL CAST
(speaking in unison)
A Tragic Romance in Four Acts.
GROUP ONE
(speaking in unison)
Act One: Finding and Falling.
(MARK TABANI and ELLEN SANCHEZ go downstage.)
ALL THE BOYS
(to MARK)
Get out there and find her, big guy!
MARK TABANI
Don’t push me!
ALL THE GIRLS
(to ELLEN)
You’ll never find him if you don’t look!
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I’ve got to find myself first!
(The cast and ELLEN exit. GEORGE EDDY and BERNIE ROTOX go downstage to MARK.)
GEORGE EDDY
Sorry I didn’t show up last night, Mark.
MARK TABANI
Me and Bernie worked past midnight to get it done, George.
BERNIE ROTOX
Past midnight, George.
GEORGE EDDY
I’m grateful.
BERNIE ROTOX
Asexual reproduction…not the most stimulating topic for a report.
MARK TABANI
If you pass this term, George, it’ll be because of Bernie and me.
GEORGE EDDY
I said I’m grateful. Do you want cash as well?
BERNIE ROTOX
Cash would be fine.
MARK TABANI
Where were you, anyway?
GEORGE EDDY
With Kathleen.
BERNIE ROTOX
Kathleen Morgan?
GEORGE EDDY
None other.
MARK TABANI
How’d you get hooked up with Kathleen?
GEORGE EDDY
I phoned her on a hunch.
BERNIE ROTOX
A hunch?
GEORGE EDDY
I got an instinct for that sort of thing.
MARK TABANI
What sort of thing?
GEORGE EDDY
Sexual chemistry.
BERNIE ROTOX
You mean you got lucky?
GEORGE EDDY
Kathleen and I had a pleasant evening together.
MARK TABANI
So while Bernie and I were taking notes on asexual reproduction, you were sexually reproducing?
BERNIE ROTOX
You’re such a slut, George.
GEORGE EDDY
A hungry man has to eat.
MARK TABANI
Kathleen Morgan is not a Big Mac.
GEORGE EDDY
You would have done the same thing in my position.
BERNIE ROTOX
Sure, if I knew how to get into that position in the first place.
MARK TABANI
Do we have to talk about positions?
GEORGE EDDY
Awww, little Marky’s all embarrassed!
MARK TABANI
There’s more to life than sex.
BERNIE ROTOX
No there isn’t.
MARK TABANI
You’re pathetically desperate, Bernie.
BERNIE ROTOX
All I need is a girlfriend.
GEORGE EDDY
Too complicated. One night stands are best.
MARK TABANI
We’re human beings, not animals.
GEORGE EDDY
Here comes the sermon.
MARK TABANI
We don’t have to be slaves to our biological urges.
BERNIE ROTOX
Yes we do.
GEORGE EDDY
You think you can control your urges, Mark?
MARK TABANI
Absolutely.
GEORGE EDDY
I’ll tell you something, Mark. One day, you’re going to meet a girl and fall hopelessly in love.
MARK TABANI
What do you know about love? You’ve never even had a steady girlfriend.
BERNIE ROTOX
A steady girlfriend! Think of the possibilities….
GEORGE EDDY
(to MARK)
Guys like you, you think you’ve got it all under control. Then one day, bang, you turn into a love-crazed lunatic.
MARK TABANI
It’ll never happen, my friend. At least, not until I’m ready.
BERNIE ROTOX
Ready?
MARK TABANI
Ready. Like when I’m done school and travelling and getting a good job…
GEORGE EDDY
Uh huh.
MARK TABANI
I mean it. I’m not falling for any girl until the time is right.
BERNIE ROTOX
But what if you had the opportunity for a little fun?
MARK TABANI
Unlike some guys, I respect women.
GEORGE EDDY
Hey, I respect them! It’s like business…they give me what I want, and I give them what they want.
MARK TABANI
That’s kind of depressing, George.
BERNIE ROTOX
No it isn’t. Could you teach me how to do business, George?
GEORGE EDDY
That sort of thing can’t be taught, Bernie. You’ve either got it or you don’t.
MARK TABANI
You two are pathetic.
GEORGE EDDY
Don’t act so high and mighty, Mark. You’re no better than us. You got the same urges, the same needs, and one day it’s all going to hit you like a brick.
BERNIE ROTOX
Like a brick, Mark. And George and me are going to laugh so hard.
MARK TABANI
Sorry, fellas…it’s not going to happen.
(He exits.)
GEORGE EDDY
The poor sap.
BERNIE ROTOX
The word “denial” comes to mind.
(They exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 1.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 2:
(MANETTE LEUNG enters with TAXI NORTON.)
MANETTE LEUNG
I’m so angry, Taxi!
TAXI NORTON
Is it Jerry again, Manette?
MANETTE LEUNG
I’m through with him!
TAXI NORTON
That’s what you said the last time.
MANETTE LEUNG
This time, I mean it!
TAXI NORTON
What’d he do now?
MANETTE LEUNG
He said he’d pick me up after work, and he didn’t show.
TAXI NORTON
So you had to take the bus home in the dark late at night?
MANETTE LEUNG
Yes, with a bunch of drunks who thought I was a hooker.
TAXI NORTON
I told you you shouldn’t get a job at a restaurant that makes you wear a tube top and a mini skirt!
MANETTE LEUNG
It’s all Gerry’s fault! What kind of guy makes his girlfriend take a bus with a bunch of drunks?
TAXI NORTON
A bad one?
MANETTE LEUNG That’s right…a bad one. The jerk.
(MONA STRATTON enters.)
MONA STRATTON
What’s the matter with Manette?
TAXI NORTON
Gerry.
MONA STRATTON
Give him up, Manette. He’s a loser.
MANETTE LEUNG
Don’t go calling him a loser, Mona.
MONA STRATTON
Why not? That’s what he is.
TAXI NORTON
First, you say you’re going to dump him, then you defend him, Manette. You got to make up your mind.
MONA STRATTON
Use ‘em and lose ‘em, I say.
TAXI NORTON
And I say they’re all a waste of time.
MONA STRATTON
They’re only good for one thing.
MANETTE LEUNG
There’s got to be at least one good one.
TAXI NORTON
They just get in the way. One day when I’m rich and famous, I might take on a boy toy or two, but not now.
(ELLEN SANCHEZ enters.)
MONA STRATTON
Well look who’s here….goody two shoes.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I don’t want to be late for English.
TAXI NORTON
Why not? It’s just stupid Shakespeare.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
But it’s so hard. I don’t understand any of it.
MONA STRATTON
It’s easy. Romeo and Juliet are hot for each other, then they kill themselves.
MANETTE LEUNG
I’m going to kill Jerry.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Did Jerry let you down again, Manette?
TAXI NORTON
He made her ride a bus at night in her mini skirt and tube top.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
That sounds exciting!
MONA STRATTON
Don’t be an idiot, Ellen.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Nothing exciting happens to me.
TAXI NORTON
That’s because you’re boring.
MONA STRATTON
No, she’s bored because she never does anything exciting.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I am boring. I’d do anything to be unboring!
MONA STRATTON
Have a fling with a bus driver.
MANETTE LEUNG
Can we stop talking about busses?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
A bus driver?
MONA STRATTON
Right on the bus, at the end of his route.
TAXI NORTON
You’re a sick, sick woman, Mona Stratton.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I could never do that.
MONA STRATTON
Even if it was romantic?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
How could rolling around on the filthy floor of a bus with a sweaty, middle-aged bus driver be romantic?
MONA STRATTON
Use your imagination…a young, well-muscled bus driver…from Argentina!
TAXI NORTON
Stop it! You’re making me sweat!
ELLEN SANCHEZ
It’s just a stupid fantasy.
MONA STRATTON
That’s why you’re boring! You won’t even let yourself have a little fantasy now and then.
MANETTE LEUNG
Fantasies are fine. Reality is awful, like Gerry.
TAXI NORTON
Maybe you’ll fall in love one day, Ellen. But I doubt it.
MONA STRATTON
Forget about falling in love. Just get out there, find a guy, and have some fun for once.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
If only it was that easy.
MONA STRATTON
It is easy! A woman can make a man do anything for sex.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Mona! How can you say that! It’s like being a prostitute!
TAXI NORTON
Of course you can make a man do anything for sex, but why bother? It’s messy and dangerous, and after they get it, they treat you like dirt.
MANETTE LEUNG
Speaking from experience, Taxi?
TAXI NORTON
No, my mom told me, and I believe her.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I just want some excitement without danger.
TAXI NORTON
Never gonna happen.
MONA STRATTON
Can’t have one without the other.
MANETTE LEUNG
Jerry’s in danger. I’m going to kill him.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Maybe one of the guys who sit near us in English will ask me out.
MONA STRATTON
Ask one of them out yourself.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I could never.
End of Act One, Scene 2.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 3:
(MARK, GEORGE, and BERNIE enter.)
MONA STRATTON
Well, look who’s here…the three little pigs.
GEORGE EDDY
Mona! You look lovely today.
MONA STRATTON
Oink oink.
TAXI NORTON
Did you guys do the group report on “Romeo and Juliet”?
MARK TABANI
No. We had to do the biology project. Higher priority.
BERNIE ROTOX
Me and Mark did it. George was “busy”.
GEORGE EDDY
Something came up.
MONA STRATTON
Uh huh.
MANETTE LEUNG
I hate English.
MARK TABANI
So tonight we’ve got to do the “Romeo and Juliet” report.
TAXI NORTON
You and Bernie are gonna end up doing it by yourselves.
GEORGE EDDY
What’s that supposed to mean?
TAXI NORTON
It means you won’t be there, stud.
BERNIE ROTOX
“Stud”! She called you “Stud”, George!
GEORGE EDDY
I got no problem with that.
MANETTE LEUNG
You should have made a group of four, like us.
TAXI NORTON
Then if one can’t make it, it’s no problem.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I’ll come over and work with you guys on the “Romeo and Juliet” report tonight, if you like.
MANETTE LEUNG
What about the biology report, Ellen?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
You three can do it without me. You owe me anyway.
MARK TABANI
Thanks, but we can do it ourselves.
BERNIE ROTOX
No we can’t! We need all the help we can get!
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Then I’m your girl!
BERNIE ROTOX
Our girl?
GEORGE EDDY
A figure of speech, idiot.
BERNIE ROTOX
Meet us at Mark’s house at 7:00 tonight.
MARK TABANI
My house?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I’ll get the address from Superpages. Your dad’s name is “Owen”, right?
TAXI NORTON
You know his dad’s name?
MONA STRATTON
How do you know his dad’s name?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I just do.
MANETTE LEUNG
You just do?
GEORGE EDDY
Are you a psychic?
BERNIE ROTOX
I need psychic advice.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I’ll be over at 7:00! Time for class!
(She exits.)
MARK TABANI
I don’t think this is a good idea.
GEORGE EDDY
It’s a great idea. We need help, and she wants to help.
BERNIE ROTOX
She’s smart; we’re dumb.
MARK TABANI
I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I need a drink of water.
(He exits.)
MONA STRATTON
You guys aren’t going to Mark’s tonight.
BERNIE ROTOX
We’re not?
MONA STRATTON
Nope. He’s going to be alone with Ellen.
GEORGE EDDY
Fine with me. I got better things to do.
BERNIE ROTOX
But it’s not fair to Mark and Ellen!
GEORGE EDDY
You really are an idiot, Bernie, you know that?
BERNIE ROTOX
You mean Mark and Ellen….
TAXI NORTON
Yes, that’s what we mean!
MANETTE LEUNG
Ellen’s going to have a little adventure.
GEORGE EDDY
Poor Mark. He doesn’t have a clue.
(They all exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 3.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 4:
(MARK enters. He paces.)
MARK TABANI
Where the heck are George and Bernie?
(there’s a knock on the door)
Thank god. Come in!
(ELLEN SANCHEZ enters.)
Ellen! I thought it was George and Bernie.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Sorry to disappoint you, Mark.
MARK TABANI
Oh, I’m not disappointed. I mean, I’m okay. I mean…what the heck do I mean?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
We can get started without them.
MARK TABANI
Get started?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
On the project…
MARK TABANI
Oh yeah, the project. Which one is it again?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Romeo and Juliet? For English?
MARK TABANI
That’s it. Romeo and Juliet.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I suggest we read the balcony scene together.
MARK TABANI
Are you sure?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Of course I’m sure!
MARK TABANI
All right then. You start.
ELLEN/JULIET
Ay me!
MARK/ROMEO
She speaks:
O, speak again, bright angel!
ELLEN/JULIET
What man art thou that thus bescreen’d in night
So stumblest on my counsel?
MARK/ROMEO
I know not how to tell thee who I am:
My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,
Because it is an enemy to thee.
ELLEN/JULIET
If they do see thee, they will murder thee.
MARK/ROMEO
Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye
Than twenty of their swords.
ELLEN/JULIET
I have no joy of this contract to-night:
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden;
Sweet, good night!
MARK/ROMEO
O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?
ELLEN/JULIET
What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?
MARK/ROMEO
The exchange of thy love’s faithful vow for mine.
ELLEN/JULIET
I gave thee mine before thou didst request it:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite!
(They fall into a passionate embrace, then, after a few moments, break apart, embarrassed.)
MARK TABANI
I guess that’s good enough for tonight.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
But we haven’t done anything yet!
MARK TABANI
That’s what I mean.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Oh.
MARK TABANI
Do you want to?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Want to what?
MARK TABANI
Do something?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Do you?
MARK TABANI
I guess.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Let’s do that last part again.
MARK TABANI
But we’re not supposed to act it out.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I wasn’t acting.
MARK TABANI
Oh.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Were you acting?
MARK TABANI
I guess I could try it again and see.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Okay.
(They embrace again…longer…then break apart.)
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Was that acting?
MARK TABANI
No. It was doing.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Doing what?
MARK TABANI
Doing what my heart told me to do.
(They embrace again, then break apart, hold hands, and exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 4.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 5:
(GEORGE and BERNIE enter.)
BERNIE ROTOX
So Mark’s gone completely insane.
GEORGE EDDY
I warned the guy.
BERNIE ROTOX
He’s like a stranger. Guess we’ve lost a friend.
GEORGE EDDY
For now.
BERNIE ROTOX
What do you mean “for now”?
GEORGE EDDY
He’s a fool in love. He’ll get over it.
BERNIE ROTOX
I don’t know, George. He’s pretty serious.
GEORGE EDDY
They all are, for a while. Then reality sinks in.
(TAXI, MONA, and MANETTE enter.)
BERNIE ROTOX
Thanks a lot for making Mark go nuts.
TAXI NORTON
What? We didn’t do anything!
MONA STRATTON
It was Ellen’s idea to go to Mark’s house that night.
MANETTE LEUNG
Nobody forced them to fall in love.
TAXI NORTON
Besides, they make a cute couple, in a syrupy sort of way.
MONA STRATTON
It’s disgusting the way they carry on.
MANETTE LEUNG
They practically do it in front of everyone!
TAXI NORTON
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Ellen with a baby carriage.
(MARK enters.)
MARK TABANI
Have you guys seen Ellen?
BERNIE ROTOX
No we haven’t. Does that make you anxious, Mark?
MARK TABANI
She was supposed to meet me by my locker before English class.
GEORGE EDDY
Gee, Mark, maybe she got hit by a bus!
MONA STRATTON
Leave him alone, Mr. Piggy.
MARK TABANI
She’s never late.
TAXI NORTON
I saw someone who looks like her talking to Jason Nowicki.
MARK TABANI
Jason Nowicki? Why would she talk to him?
MANETTE LEUNG
Jason’s cute.
MONA STRATTON
Don’t panic yet, Mark. Wait until you see them hugging and kissing.
MARK TABANI
Where the hell is she?
(ELLEN enters.)
ELLEN SANCHEZ
Sorry I’m late!
MARK TABANI
Ellen, are you all right?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
The bus was late.
MARK TABANI
(embracing her and hanging on for dear life)
Ellen, don’t scare me like that.
MONA STRATTON
Isn’t he pathetic!
GEORGE EDDY
Poor guy.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I’m fine, Mark.
TAXI NORTON
If she doesn’t suffocate.
(MARK lets ELLEN go and they hold hands and look into each other’s eyes.)
MANETTE LEUNG
They don’t even know we’re here.
BERNIE ROTOX
Mark! Hey, Mark! Nothing. It’s like they’re surrounded by a bubble.
MONA STRATTON
Let’s go to English. This is revolting.
GEORGE EDDY
Admit it, Mona…you can’t handle it because you got the same feelings for me.
MONA STRATTON
Don’t make me throw up.
TAXI NORTON
Has anyone told them about birth control?
MANETTE LEUNG
It used to be that way between me and Jerry.
BERNIE ROTOX
Now I see what it’s like, I don’t think I want it anymore.
(They exit.)
ELLEN SANCHEZ
We don’t need anyone else, do we, Mark?
MARK TABANI
No way. We should find an island someplace for just the two of us.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
You’re my other half.
MARK TABANI
Two halves make a whole.
ELLEN SANCHEZ
We’re so lucky to have found each other.
MARK TABANI
Yeah. With all the people there are in the world, who would have thought I’d find my soul mate in English class?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
It was meant to be, Mark. It was meant to be.
(They exit clinging to each other.)
End of Act One, Scene 5.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 1:
(The FULL CAST assembles.)
FULL CAST
(speaking in unison)
A Tragic Romance, Act Two.
GROUP TWO
(speaking in unison)
Ecstasy.
(MAX BERRINGER and JANE RESTRICK go downstage.)
ALL THE BOYS
(to MAX)
Hey, Max, you wanna shoot some hoops?
MAX BERRINGER
I don’t need you guys anymore.
ALL THE GIRLS
(To Jane)
Oh, Jane, you’re soooo lucky!
JANE RESTRICK
Don’t I know it!
(BOBBI GRANT and LILLY VALE go downstage to join JANE. Everyone else exits. BOBBI and LILLY have been jogging along the beach and come across JANE, who is staring out at the ocean.)
BOBBI GRANT
Well, look who’s hanging out at the beach! Where’s your hubby?
JANE RESTRICK
Don’t call him my “hubby”, Bobbi. It’s way more than that.
BOBBI GRANT
Sure, kid. Way more.
(She turns away and makes gagging motions with her finger and tongue.)
LILLY VALE
Come on, Bobbi! Why can’t you just accept the fact that Jane’s happy and you’re not?
BOBBI GRANT
She just thinks she’s happy.
JANE RESTRICK
You wouldn’t understand, Bobbi.
BOBBI GRANT
Oh, I understand. Max is the master and you’re the slave, and that’s the way you like it.
LILLY VALE
She’s just kidding, Jane.
BOBBI GRANT
No I’m not.
JANE RESTRICK
Max is not my master, Bobbi, and I’m not to blame for what happened between you and Brad.
BOBBI GRANT
You think I’m bitter because Brad dumped me?
JANE RESTRICK
I know it.
LILLY VALE
You guys shouldn’t talk about this in front of me. It’s bad luck.
BOBBI GRANT
Bad luck?
LILLY VALE
How am I supposed to meet someone with all this negativity around me?
JANE RESTRICK
I couldn’t be happier. It’s Bobbi who’s “negative”.
BOBBI GRANT
You think Max is so wonderful, but one day you’ll get a double dose of the truth, and it won’t be pretty.
JANE RESTRICK
What “truth”?
BOBBI GRANT
That all men are jerks. Every one of them. Every one, Jane. No exceptions.
LILLY VALE
Even your Dad, Bobbi?
JANE RESTRICK
Lilly! Don’t you know?
BOBBI GRANT
My dad’s an alcoholic who two-timed my mom with some hustler down at the Duck and Cover.
LILLY VALE
The Duck and Cover?
JANE RESTRICK
That bar down on Angel Avenue.
BOBBI GRANT
Don’t even talk to me about my dad.
LILLY VALE
But Max is a good guy, isn’t he, Jane?
JANE RESTRICK
He’s more than good. He’s perfect…I mean right now in my life he’s perfect.
BOBBI GRANT
Then where is he? Looks like “Mr. Perfect” is “Mr. Invisible”.
JANE RESTRICK
We were going to meet here, but I might have gone to the wrong part of the beach.
LILLY VALE
What part did he say?
JANE RESTRICK
The Big Bend.
LILLY VALE
That’s farther down.
JANE RESTRICK
I’m useless at finding things. Max always takes me.
BOBBI GRANT
Nothing like being dependent on a man to get you where you need to go.
LILLY VALE
Jane does things for Max too.
BOBBI GRANT
I’m sure she does.
LILLY VALE
Not that. I mean helping him out with things he can’t do for himself.
BOBBI GRANT
You’re just digging yourself in deeper, kid.
JANE RESTRICK
I help Max pick his clothes.
BOBBI GRANT
Great. Every boy needs a mother to help him dress himself.
LILLY VALE
Bobbi, this is so unpleasant. Can’t you say anything good about Max?
BOBBI GRANT
He’s not here. That’s good.
LILLY VALE
Don’t listen to her, Jane. I’d give anything to have a guy like Max. I mean it. But I can’t find anyone who’s even close to being as great as he is.
JANE RESTRICK
There’s a lot of guys out there, Lilly. You’ll meet the right one some day.
LILLY VALE
I mean, there was Cayden, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
BOBBI GRANT
No kidding. The guy was a dealer, Lilly.
LILLY VALE
He said he was doing it to get money for a ring.
BOBBI GRANT
So romantic…a ring paid for with drug money.
JANE RESTRICK
Cayden really loved you, Lilly.
LILLY VALE
You can’t keep up a relationship with a guy who’s fighting drug charges.
BOBBI GRANT
It’s funny.
JANE RESTRICK
No it’s not. Don’t mess with Lilly’s feelings, Bobbi. It’s not fair.
BOBBI GRANT
To who?
JANE RESTRICK
To all of us. Let bygones be bygones.
LILLY VALE
Come on, Jane. We’ll walk you down to the Big Bend so you can meet your sweetie.
BOBBI GRANT
I hate it when people call other people “sweeties”, like as if they were chocolate bars.
LILLY VALE
You hate everything, Bobbi.
(They exit.)
End of Act Two, Scene 1.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 2:
(MAX BERRINGER enters and paces. After a while, BRAD SOBIESKI and VERN HANKERMAN, who’ve been jogging, enter.)
BRAD SOBIESKI
Max! What are you doing out at the Big Bend?
MAX BERRINGER
Waiting for Jane.
VERN HANKERMAN
Where is she?
MAX BERRINGER
I guess she got lost. I should have picked her up at her place first.
BRAD SOBIESKI
But that’s way out of your way.
MAX BERRINGER
I don’t mind putting a few klicks on the old Honda if it’s for Jane.
BRAD SOBIESKI
She should learn to find her own way around.
MAX BERRINGER
She does the best she can, Brad. Not everyone has a good sense of direction.
VERN HANKERMAN
Does Jane have any attractive female friends?
MAX BERRINGER
Ask her yourself, Vern.
VERN HANKERMAN
I mean, if she does, maybe you could get her to fix me up with a date.
BRAD SOBIESKI
The boy is so naïve.
MAX BERRINGER
Fix yourself up, Vern, like everyone else does.
VERN HANKERMAN
Every time I try, it turns into a joke.
MAX BERRINGER A joke?
VERN HANKERMAN
A joke, as in “You’re a nice guy, Vern, but let’s just be friends, okay?”
BRAD SOBIESKI
Vern’s like a little stray dog…the girls like to give him a cuddle, but only because he’s lost and lonely.
VERN HANKERMAN
I am not like a little stray dog. I’m more like a lone wolf, out on the prairie, sniffing the wind in search of prey.
BRAD SOBIESKI
Sniffing the wind, Vern?
MAX BERRINGER
Let him dream, Brad. Nothing wrong with having a dream.
BRAD SOBIESKI
You want to go dirt-bike riding out along the hydro line next Saturday?
MAX BERRINGER
Nope. Jane and me are going to the health fair.
VERN HANKERMAN
The health fair?
BRAD SOBIESKI
You’re whipped, man.
MAX BERRINGER
If you prefer riding a bike down a hydro line to spending an afternoon with a beautiful woman, that’s your problem.
VERN HANKERMAN
I’d like to do both at the same time.
BRAD SOBIESKI
Exactly. I could understand if Jane liked to do the stuff you like to do, but she doesn’t.
MAX BERRINGER
I’m okay with that. I learn new things when I do stuff with her.
BRAD SOBIESKI
Her things. One day, you’re going to wake up and realize you don’t have a life any more.
VERN HANKERMAN
I’m the one that doesn’t have a life.
MAX BERRINGER
That’s right. You guys don’t have a life. I never knew what I was missing until I met Jane.
BRAD SOBIESKI
It’s amazing what a guy will do for sex.
MAX BERRINGER
Watch it, Brad. It’s not like that with Jane.
BRAD SOBIESKI
Whoa! Take it easy, Mr. Sensitive.
VERN HANKERMAN
I’d do anything for sex.
MAX BERRINGER
You could start by growing up.
BRAD SOBIESKI
Don’t be cruel to animals, Max.
VERN HANKERMAN
I’m not a little stray dog. I mean it.
BRAD SOBIESKI
Well, well, look who’s coming down the beach.
VERN HANKERMAN
Jane and Lilly and Bobbi. Uh oh. It’s Bobbi, Brad.
BRAD SOBIESKI
No kidding.
VERN HANKERMAN
This is going to be uncomfortable.
BRAD SOBIESKI
The past is the past.
VERN HANKERMAN
Oh yeah? The past’s walking right up to you, and she looks mad.
BRAD SOBIESKI
I can handle Bobbi Grant.
MAX BERRINGER
Don’t make trouble, Brad. This is a public beach.
BRAD SOBIESKI
And Bobbi’s a public nuisance.
End of Act Two, Scene 2.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 3:
(JANE, BOBBI, and LILLY enter. JANE goes to MAX. There’s an awkward silence. Finally…)
BRAD SOBIESKI
Hi, Bobbi.
BOBBI GRANT
What’s that?
BRAD SOBIESKI
I said hi, Bobbi!
BOBBI GRANT
Did anybody else hear that? It sounded like a worm slithering around in a bucket of dog crap.
LILLY VALE
I don’t think Bobbi wants to talk to you, Brad.
VERN HANKERMAN
That’s okay with me.
JANE RESTRICK
This is kind of awkward.
BOBBI GRANT
No it’s not. It’s perfect. Look out there…a beautiful sunset over the water. But oh, look, something’s wrong with this picture! There’s a guy standing there with his head up his butt!
LILLY VALE
Bobbi!
BRAD SOBIESKI
I miss you too, Bobbi.
MAX BERRINGER
You got to let it go sometime, Bobbi.
JANE RESTRICK
Can’t you at least be polite?
BOBBI GRANT
So much peer pressure. What’s a girl to do?
VERN HANKERMAN
Hi, Lilly.
LILLY VALE
Vern.
VERN HANKERMAN
You look pretty tonight.
LILLY VALE
Tonight?
VERN HANKERMAN
All the time…I mean, all the time…you look pretty always, Lilly. Always.
BOBBI GRANT
Don’t look so scared, Vern. Lilly won’t bite you.
VERN HANKERMAN
(blurting)
How about a movie?
LILLY VALE
What?
VERN HANKERMAN
Um, a movie. You know, I take you to a movie or something.
LILLY VALE
Maybe. But only as a friend.
BRAD SOBIESKI
A little stray dog.
LILLY VALE
Huh?
BRAD SOBIESKI
Nothing.
JANE RESTRICK
You still working for Burger Barn, Brad?
BRAD SOBIESKI
The management program. I’m on my way up.
MAX BERRINGER
He’s not on the training wage any more.
BRAD SOBIESKI
They need young men with vision.
BOBBI GRANT
Hard to see anything with your head up your butt, Brad.
JANE RESTRICK
Don’t you think that’s getting a bit tired, Bobbi?
BOBBI GRANT
I still find it amusing.
VERN HANKERMAN
I’ve got a job now, Lilly.
LILLY VALE
Do you?
VERN HANKERMAN
Twice a week for two hours. Down at the garbage warehouse. It’s a start.
LILLY VALE
What do you do?
VERN HANKERMAN
When they bring in the garbage, I show the trucks where to dump their loads.
LILLY VALE
Isn’t that kind of toxic?
VERN HANKERMAN
I wear a special suit and a mask.
BOBBI GRANT
“Who is that masked man?” It’s the Lonely Stranger!
VERN HANKERMAN
Everyone’s lonely except Max and Jane.
MAX BERRINGER
You got that right, Vern.
JANE RESTRICK
There’s a girl out there somewhere for you, Vern.
LILLY VALE
Don’t look at me; I’m not her.
BRAD SOBIESKI
Vern and I were just leaving.
BOBBI GRANT
Good.
VERN HANKERMAN
Forget I ever mentioned a movie, Lilly.
LILLY VALE
That’s okay. You’re a nice guy, Vern.
VERN HANKERMAN
Yeah. That’s the problem.
BRAD SOBIESKI
See you, Bobbi.
BOBBI GRANT
Not if I see you first, you jerk.
(BRAD and VERN exit.)
LILLY VALE
Well, that was pleasant, in a horribly painful kind of way.
BOBBI GRANT
I feel better.
JANE RESTRICK
Well, I guess anger is better than sadness.
LILLY VALE
But it all leads to depression, Bobbi.
BOBBI GRANT
Great. I’ve got something to look forward to.
MAX BERRINGER
Brad’s hurting as much as you, Bobbi. He just holds it in better.
BOBBI GRANT
He dumped me, not the other way round.
LILLY VALE
I feel lonely.
BOBBI GRANT
Get used to it.
LILLY VALE
Maybe I should go to a movie with Vern. As friends, of course.
BOBBI GRANT
He doesn’t have that certain something Cayden had? Like a criminal mind?
LILLY VALE
You can say what you want about Cayden, but at least he didn’t dump me. Sorry, Bobbi, I didn’t mean that.
BOBBI GRANT
Yes you did. Come on, you little dope. I’ll let you buy me a coffee as a way of showing you I forgive you.
LILLY VALE
Still friends?
BOBBI GRANT
I’m not quite ready to put a restraining order on you.
(They exit.)
End of Act Two, Scene 3.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 4:
JANE RESTRICK
I’m sorry, Max. I don’t know why I hang out with those two.
MAX BERRINGER
I’m sorry, too. Brad and Vern aren’t exactly fun to be with, either.
JANE RESTRICK
I got lost. I went to the wrong beach. Lilly and Bobbi showed me how to get here.
MAX BERRINGER
So they’re good for something.
JANE RESTRICK
I never feel lost when I’m with you, Max.
MAX BERRINGER
No?
JANE RESTRICK
It’s like I’m always at home, wherever we are.
MAX BERRINGER
I guess I feel the same way.
JANE RESTRICK
Do you think we’ll always feel so good about each other?
MAX BERRINGER
I don’t see why not.
JANE RESTRICK
I see people like Bobbi and Lilly and Brad and Vern, and I feel so lucky.
MAX BERRINGER
I never figured love would be anything like this.
JANE RESTRICK
What do you mean?
MAX BERRINGER
I thought it would be exciting, like a crush or something.
JANE RESTRICK
It’s not exciting?
MAX BERRINGER
It’s more than that. It’s like finding you has helped me find myself. It’s like I finally know myself, because of you.
JANE RESTRICK
Me too. I just feel happy all the time. I mean that, Max. All the time.
MAX BERRINGER
I hope I can measure up, Jane. I mean, meet your expectations.
JANE RESTRICK
You exceed my expectations by so much, Max. You don’t even have to try.
MAX BERRINGER
But I’m going to try anyway. I’m going to do what it takes to be the kind of guy you deserve.
JANE RESTRICK
Just promise me one thing.
MAX BERRINGER
Sure. Anything.
JANE RESTRICK
If it changes for you, if you stop feeling the way you do about me, promise me you’ll stay with me, at least until I can understand why it has to end.
MAX BERRINGER
I’m not going anywhere, Jane, ever. I’ll always be right here beside you.
JANE RESTRICK
I don’t want you to feel all chained down.
MAX BERRINGER
I don’t. I feel free. That’s the weird thing about it. I want to stay with you and do everything I can for you because it sets me free.
JANE RESTRICK
I guess that’s what love’s all about.
MAX BERRINGER
I guess so.
(They embrace and exit hand in hand.)
End of Act Two, Scene 4.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 1:
(The FULL CAST enters.)
FULL CAST
(speaking in unison)
A Tragic Romance: Act Three.
GROUP THREE
(speaking in unison)
Suffering.
(DAX HELSTROM and LISA ROSE go downstage.)
ALL THE BOYS
Hey Dax, you still with that what’s her name?
DAX HELSTROM
You mean Lisa? Yeah, I guess I am.
ALL THE GIRLS
When are you going to tell him where to go, Lisa?
LISA ROSE
Has it really gotten to that point? Seems like just yesterday, it was chocolates and roses.
(Everyone exits except DAX HELSTROM, and CRASH ROCKWELL, VIC CHARLES, and GRANT PORTAL, who go downstage.)
CRASH ROCKWELL
Dax! What are you doing here at the gym?
DAX HELSTROM
Working out. What else?
CRASH ROCKWELL
You haven’t been here for months.
DAX HELSTROM
(testily)
Then it’s time I got back in shape, isn’t it.
CRASH ROCKWELL
Take it easy; I wasn’t being critical.
DAX HELSTROM
Can’t a guy go to the gym without being interrogated?
VIC CHARLES
Hey, don’t get mad at Crash. He was just stating facts.
GRANT PORTAL
Why so touchy, Dax? Something wrong at work?
DAX HELSTROM
I just want to get back in shape. Anything wrong with that?
VIC CHARLES
Woman trouble. I can smell it a mile away.
GRANT PORTAL
I thought you and Lisa had a good thing going.
DAX HELSTROM
Who said anything about Lisa?
CRASH ROCKWELL
Are you and Lisa fighting, Dax?
DAX HELSTROM
You guys are worse than a bunch of gossiping old hens. What do you want from me?
GRANT PORTAL
Well, maybe we’d like to be your friends again.
VIC CHARLES
Which is a pretty generous offer considering the way you dumped us when you met Lisa.
DAX HELSTROM
I didn’t “dump” you. I just had other things to do.
CRASH ROCKWELL
Like turn into a hermit.
DAX HELSTROM
I’m not a hermit. I’ve got a girlfriend, and that means responsibilities.
GRANT PORTAL
Like doing nothing for yourself and everything for her?
DAX HELSTROM
It wasn’t like that.
VIC CHARLES
“Wasn’t”? Does that mean it’s over, Dax?
DAX HELSTROM
No, it’s not “over”. I’m fine. We’re fine. Me and Lisa, I mean.
CRASH ROCKWELL
You don’t look very happy.
DAX HELSTROM
Why should I look happy? You don’t look happy.
CRASH ROCKWELL
I’m single. I don’t have to be happy.
GRANT PORTAL
You’re hooked up with someone. You’re supposed to be happy.
DAX HELSTROM
I don’t see why having a girlfriend automatically means I have to be happy.
VIC CHARLES
Why do it, then?
DAX HELSTROM
I don’t know. For the company, I guess.
CRASH ROCKWELL
We’re company.
DAX HELSTROM
But I don’t want to go to bed with you.
VIC CHARLES
So it was for the sex.
DAX HELSTROM
No, no, it was not for the sex. Well, it was for that, too.
GRANT PORTAL
I thought your deal with Lisa was the big kind of love.
DAX HELSTROM
That’s what I thought.
CRASH ROCKWELL
So you’re calling it quits with her?
DAX HELSTROM
Will you stop with that? I’m not calling it quits. Relationships need work. You don’t quit just because you’re not happy.
VIC CHARLES
So you’re not happy.
DAX HELSTROM
No.
GRANT PORTAL
With Lisa.
DAX HELSTROM
Yes.
CRASH ROCKWELL
That’s too bad, Dax.
DAX HELSTROM
I thought you’d be glad to hear it, so you could get me back in your little gang.
CRASH ROCKWELL
I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I thought that way. I’m sorry to hear it’s not going so well.
GRANT PORTAL
Me too. I really thought you had a shot at some kind of happiness with Lisa.
VIC CHARLES
I got to be honest. I never thought it would work from the start.
DAX HELSTROM
It still might work, if I try hard enough.
CRASH ROCKWELL
I guess it’s worth it, but I’ve never had what you and Lisa had, so what do I know?
DAX HELSTROM
We were really in love. The real deal.
GRANT PORTAL
How could that come to an end?
DAX HELSTROM
Maybe it hasn’t. Maybe it’s just gotten interrupted somehow. I mean, I got lots of stuff going on right now, and so does she.
VIC CHARLES
Reminds me of me and Jill.
CRASH ROCKWELL
Here we go.
VIC CHARLES
It was perfect, for a long time.
GRANT PORTAL
Double trouble.
VIC CHARLES
Then it all turned into something ugly. I still don’t understand how.
DAX HELSTROM
I thought of you, Vic, when the trouble started. I didn’t want to go through what you went through.
CRASH ROCKWELL
You came over to the gym, Vic, drunk and angry.
GRANT PORTAL
You said you were going to jump off a bridge or some crazy thing.
VIC CHARLES
You lose something like that, and you don’t want to go on.
DAX HELSTROM
I know all about what happened to you, Vic. I was there, too. Why do you think I’m trying so hard with Lisa?
CRASH ROCKWELL
Maybe everything will be okay. I mean, sometimes you get in a slump, like a basketball team, and then you pull out and everything’s okay.
DAX HELSTROM
I hope so. I’m sorry I’ve lost touch with you guys, but it was like I got swallowed up by this whole romantic love thing.
VIC CHARLES
It’s like nothing else matters. Nothing. You get so you don’t care about anything except this one other person.
GRANT PORTAL
The only time I ever felt that way was when I wanted that pimped-up low rider so bad I could taste it.
VIC CHARLES
It’s not like a car, Grant, for god’s sake. We’re talking about a human being, not a tricked-out Chrysler.
GRANT PORTAL
But I really loved that car.
CRASH ROCKWELL
And then one day a few months after you bought it, it was just another old beater with “wash me” written in the dirt on the trunk.
GRANT PORTAL
Yeah. Weird how that happens.
CRASH ROCKWELL
And sad, when it’s a person.
DAX HELSTROM
I met Lisa at this gym.
VIC CHARLES
That’s right…on co-ed night.
DAX HELSTROM
She got mad at me because I offered to help her figure out the treadmill.
GRANT PORTAL
She was kind of butch, but in a beautiful way, I mean.
VIC CHARLES
You got a lot to learn, Grant, about how to express yourself in a way that doesn’t offend people.
GRANT PORTAL
What’d I say?
DAX HELSTROM
We had a lot of fun for a while, there.
CRASH ROCKWELL
It’ll come back, Dax. No sense acting like it’s over ‘til it’s over.
VIC CHARLES
That’s right. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. You’ll work it out.
DAX HELSTROM
I hope so. I heard she’s coming here tonight, like she used to.
GRANT PORTAL
So that’s why you’re here.
DAX HELSTROM
If she does turn up, maybe I can rekindle the old flame.
CRASH ROCKWELL
That’s romantic. They like romantic gimmicks like that.
DAX HELSTROM
It’s not a “gimmick”, Crash. I really feel like this is the place where I’ve got to make it come back to life.
VIC CHARLES
High stakes, Dax.
DAX HELSTROM
Yup.
GRANT PORTAL
Want to work out while you’re waiting for her to get here, if she ever gets here?
DAX HELSTROM
Sure. It’ll take my mind off it.
CRASH ROCKWELL
They got some great new machines since you were here last, Dax.
DAX HELSTROM
Everything changes.
VIC CHARLES
Yeah, everything changes.
(They exit.)
End of Act Three, Scene 1.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 2:
(HEATHER GREEN, CONNIE HILL, and DAWN CAROL enter.)
HEATHER GREEN
So Lisa’s coming down here to the gym tonight, by herself?
CONNIE HILL
That’s what she said.
DAWN CAROL
Something must be wrong.
HEATHER GREEN
Why?
DAWN CAROL
She wouldn’t come here without Dax Helstrom unless something was wrong.
CONNIE HILL
You’re right. Those two did everything together. And I mean everything.
HEATHER GREEN
I suppose. But they’ve been together for a long time. Maybe the novelty’s worn off.
DAWN CAROL
I know Lisa Rose better than you do. I remember what she was like before Dax Helstrom came into her life.
HEATHER GREEN
What was she like?
DAWN CAROL
Lonely. And sad. Meeting Dax changed everything for her. But that’s a shaky kind of happiness.
CONNIE HILL
Why?
DAWN CAROL
Because it can end, and when it does, it’s worse than before.
HEATHER GREEN
Even sadder and more lonely.
DAWN CAROL
That’s right. So if she’s coming down here by herself, odds are she’s a very unhappy young woman.
(LISA ROSE enters.)
LISA ROSE
Hey, you guys! It’s been a while!
HEATHER GREEN
Hi, Lisa. Nice to see you. How’s it going?
LISA ROSE
Oh, it’s going. You all look so well.
CONNIE HILL
You think?
LISA ROSE
Oh yes. These workouts really pay off. I should have kept it up.
DAWN CAROL
You look good, too, Lisa.
LISA ROSE
Kind of you, Dawn, but I know it ain’t so.
DAWN CAROL
Hey, everyone has bad days.
LISA ROSE
I have had six bad weeks and counting.
HEATHER GREEN
What’s up?
LISA ROSE
Oh, just the usual things. Too much work, not enough time…you know.
CONNIE HILL
How’s Dax?
LISA ROSE
Fine, I guess.
DAWN CAROL
You guess?
LISA ROSE
We don’t see much of each other.
HEATHER GREEN
That’s the trouble with modern life. Everyone’s too busy.
CONNIE HILL
I don’t see much of Glen, but then he’s in law school and everything.
DAWN CAROL
Are you sure you’re okay, Lisa? You need a glass of water?
LISA ROSE
I’m fine. It’s just being here, in the gym…it sort of makes me dizzy.
DAWN CAROL
This is where you met Dax, isn’t it?
LISA ROSE
Yeah. Seems like ages ago…another lifetime.
HEATHER GREEN
They’ve got some new machines, Lisa, better than those old ones.
CONNIE HILL
You’ll like working out on them.
LISA ROSE
I hope so. I need to work out.
DAWN CAROL
To keep your mind from working overtime?
LISA ROSE
Yeah. I can’t stop thinking.
DAWN CAROL
About you and Dax?
LISA ROSE
Yeah. About me and Dax.
DAWN CAROL
Things not going too well?
LISA ROSE
Not well at all.
HEATHER GREEN
Has he gotten out of line with you, Lisa, in some way?
LISA ROSE
No, no, nothing like that.
CONNIE HILL
You guys seemed so happy.
LISA ROSE
We were. I thought we were. It all seems kind of vague now, like a dream you can’t remember.
DAWN CAROL
Is it over, Lisa?
LISA ROSE
No, definitely not over. Not over. We’re working on it, I guess.
HEATHER GREEN
They say you have to work at it…a relationship, I mean, the intimate kind.
LISA ROSE
Oh you do. You definitely do. You have to work. Yes. It’s a lot of work.
DAWN CAROL
Are you seeing a councilor? Are you getting some kind of help?
LISA ROSE
I don’t want that. I just want to be in love again. What am I saying? I sound like a fool.
HEATHER GREEN
Nothing wrong with wanting to be in love. Who doesn’t?
CONNIE HILL
It’s not the same between me and Glen either. We don’t get all mushy in public any more.
LISA ROSE
That’s not what I mean. It’s like I’ve lost something I need to be happy, and I don’t know what it is, so I can’t go and find it.
DAWN CAROL
Maybe it’ll find you. Maybe it’ll come back.
LISA ROSE
I hope so. I really, really hope so. Because I don’t know what I’m going to do if it doesn’t.
HEATHER GREEN
It’s amazing what men can do to us.
CONNIE HILL
They can break our hearts without even trying.
DAWN CAROL
It’s not just men. Women do it too. The world’s full of broken hearts.
HEATHER GREEN
What about your heart, Dawn?
DAWN CAROL
Oh, when my heart breaks, I try to sew it back together with the thread of wisdom I get from figuring out what went wrong.
LISA ROSE
I’m not like that. I fall apart over the littlest things. Today, I cried because my shoe lace broke.
DAWN CAROL
I bet when that lace broke, it was like your heart broke too.
LISA ROSE
Yes. That’s how it was.
DAWN CAROL
It’s happened to me. Only it wasn’t a shoe lace; it was a plate.
HEATHER GREEN
A plate?
DAWN CAROL
I dropped a plate, and it shattered into little pieces, and I just started balling like a baby. In public, too, at an “all you can eat” buffet.
CONNIE HILL
Is it really that bad between you and Dax, Lisa?
LISA ROSE
I’m too confused right now to know, Connie.
HEATHER GREEN
You trusted him, Lisa. That’s a big deal….giving a man all that trust, I mean.
LISA ROSE
I still trust him. I think.
CONNIE HILL
You think?
LISA ROSE
It’s not about trust. It’s about seeing each other. I mean, really seeing each other for who we really are, instead of taking it all for granted.
DAWN CAROL
Does he try to see you, Lisa?
LISA ROSE
In his way, I guess he does. But it doesn’t work. And when I try to see him, it’s like he’s not looking back.
HEATHER GREEN
Guys aren’t very good at that sort of thing.
CONNIE HILL
Glen doesn’t notice me very much, but then he’s at law school and he’s so stressed.
End of Act Three, Scene 2.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 3:
(DAX enters with CRASH, VIX, and GRANT.)
CRASH ROCKWELL
Hey, ladies! Geeze, is that you, Lisa?
LISA ROSE
It’s me, Crash.
GRANT PORTAL
We were just working out with Dax.
VIC CHARLES
Yeah. He came down here, like old times.
LISA ROSE
Hi, Dax.
DAX HELSTROM
Hi, Lisa.
DAWN CAROL
It’s nice to see you and Lisa here together again.
DAX HELSTROM
Yeah. It feels nice.
LISA ROSE
Are we together, Dax?
DAX HELSTROM
I guess. That’s why I came down.
CRASH ROCKWELL
Well, I got some stuff to do. At home, I mean.
DAX HELSTROM
I thought maybe we could all go for sushi or something, you know, like we used to?
CRASH ROCKWELL
I don’t know, Dax, I don’t think so.
GRANT PORTAL
It’s getting kind of late.
VIC CHARLES
Not much is open this time of night.
HEATHER GREEN
Why don’t you and Lisa go to that little late night place you used to love? It’s still open.
LISA ROSE
Dax doesn’t like it there any more.
DAX HELSTROM
I got a stomachache from a shrimp platter.
CONNIE HILL
That’s too bad. Glen’s got a sensitive stomach, too.
DAX HELSTROM
How is Glen?
CONNIE HILL
Working hard at law school. It’s worth it, though.
DAWN CAROL
Are you going to be okay, Lisa?
LISA ROSE
Yeah, I think so. I’m going to be okay.
DAWN CAROL
Look, Dax, I guess I’m being kind of direct, but I’m a direct kind of gal.
DAX HELSTROM
Say what you need to say, Dawn.
DAWN CAROL
You’ve got a wonderful girl here.
DAX HELSTROM
I know that, Dawn.
DAWN CAROL
She’s got a broken heart, Dax. Look at her. You got to do your part to try to fix it.
DAX HELSTROM
I know.
DAWN CAROL
Do you? Do you really? You better figure it out Dax, or you’re going to lose her.
DAX HELSTROM
I know.
GRANT PORTAL
I guess I gotta say this feels kind of raw, kind of like the burn you get when you’re working out.
VIC CHARLES
Funny how the truth can be that way.
CRASH ROCKWELL
We better go.
HEATHER GREEN
We’ll see you again, Lisa, soon, I hope.
CONNIE HILL
Yeah, Lisa, don’t be a stranger. You either, Dax.
DAWN CAROL
Don’t be a stranger.
(with added emphasis)
Don’t be a stranger.
(All exit except DAX and LISA.)
End of Act Three, Scene 3.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 4:
LISA ROSE
Why’d you come down here, Dax?
DAX HELSTROM
To meet you.
LISA ROSE
That was nice of you.
DAX HELSTROM
I wanted to remember how it used to be.
LISA ROSE
Me too.
DAX HELSTROM
They’ve got new machines in there.
LISA ROSE
That’s what Heather said.
DAX HELSTROM
I’m going to have sore muscles in the morning.
LISA ROSE
No pain, no gain.
DAX HELSTROM
Crash and the guys are still the same.
LISA ROSE
Same with Dawn and the gals.
DAX HELSTROM
Remember how we met here?
LISA ROSE
Yeah. You tried to help me, and I got mad.
DAX HELSTROM
It was kind of funny.
LISA ROSE
Yeah.
(a long silence)
Dax.
DAX HELSTROM
Yes, Lisa?
LISA ROSE
Do you still love me, Dax?
DAX HELSTROM
Of course I do.
LISA ROSE
No, Dax, you’re not seeing me. Look at me. At me! Do you still love me?
DAX HELSTROM
For god’s sake, Lisa.
LISA ROSE
Why is it so hard for you to look at me?
DAX HELSTROM
It hurts. It hurts to look at you.
LISA ROSE
Why does it hurt? Why does it hurt, Dax?
DAX HELSTROM
I don’t know.
LISA ROSE
It hurts because you don’t feel anything.
DAX HELSTROM
Lisa…
LISA ROSE
It’s okay, Dax…it’s okay if you don’t feel anything. Just tell me, so I’m sure.
DAX HELSTROM
Please, Lisa, that’s not why I came here.
LISA ROSE
What are we going to do, Dax?
DAX HELSTROM
Keep trying. I want to keep trying.
LISA ROSE
Why don’t you ask me if I feel anything?
DAX HELSTROM
I don’t want to know the answer.
LISA ROSE
Ask me, Dax. Ask me if I love you.
DAX HELSTROM
Lisa…
LISA ROSE
Please Dax, please ask me if I love you.
DAX HELSTROM
I can’t ask you that.
LISA ROSE
Then I can’t tell you.
DAX HELSTROM
We’ve got to keep trying.
LISA ROSE
Do we?
DAX HELSTROM
We’ll come down here twice a week and work out.
LISA ROSE
All right.
DAX HELSTROM
And we’ll start seeing our friends again. Together, I mean.
LISA ROSE
If that’s what you want.
DAX HELSTROM
But I don’t think we should try to talk about love anymore.
LISA ROSE
Oh.
DAX HELSTROM
At least not directly.
LISA ROSE
I won’t. We won’t.
DAX HELSTROM
I’m trying to understand, Lisa.
LISA ROSE
Are you?
DAX HELSTROM
Things change.
LISA ROSE
Oh.
DAX HELSTROM
Relationships mature.
LISA ROSE
Of course.
DAX HELSTROM
Lovers can become friends…
LISA ROSE
(loudly, interrupting)
Stop it Dax! Stop it….
(she backs away from him, then says quietly…)
Stop.
(She turns and exits. He watches where she exited, takes a step that way, thinks better of it, and turns the other way and exits.)
End of Act Three, Scene 4.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Four, Scene 1:
(The FULL CASTenters.)
FULL CAST
(speaking in unison)
A Tragic Romance: Act Four.
GROUP 4
(speaking in unison)
Goodbye.
(GLEN REKANI and FAITH LONG go downstage.)
ALL THE BOYS
You got some place to stay, Glen?
GLEN REKANI
I’ll find an apartment, something simple.
ALL THE GIRLS
What are you going to do now, Faith?
FAITH LONG
Try to get through the day somehow.
(The CAST exits, along with GLEN REKANI and FAITH LONG. KITTY RANKIN and HOPE REISNER go downstage.)
HOPE REISNER
You never invite me out for coffee. What’s the occasion?
KITTY RANKIN
It’s the anniversary.
HOPE REISNER
Of what?
KITTY RANKIN
Of Harold’s departure from my life.
HOPE REISNER
God. Has it been a year already?
KITTY RANKIN
Oh yeah. Three hundred and sixty five days and nineteen hours.
HOPE REISNER
Poor Harold.
KITTY RANKIN
What?
HOPE REISNER
I can’t help it, Kitty. I just feel sorry for the guy.
KITTY RANKIN
You’re on his side?
HOPE REISNER
No, no. I’m your friend, Kitty. I back you all the way. It’s just that Harold is…
KITTY RANKIN
Is what?
HOPE REISNER
Is stuck with Linda Puckto.
KITTY RANKIN
He’s not “stuck” with her. He picked her. Over me.
HOPE REISNER
I’ll never understand that.
KITTY RANKIN
It’s easy to understand. Linda Puckto’s dad is filthy rich, and Harold’s a no-good little gold digger.
HOPE REISNER
But Linda Puckto? I mean, really, Kitty, she’s got to be gay.
KITTY RANKIN
Don’t be ridiculous.
HOPE REISNER
She just picked Harold to fool her bigoted father into thinking she’s hetero so he won’t cut her out of his will.
KITTY RANKIN
That’s absurd. Where do you get these crazy ideas?
HOPE REISNER
All right, she’s not gay. I was just trying to cheer you up.
KITTY RANKIN
I don’t think the gay community would approve of your technique.
HOPE REISNER
So how are you doing, anyway?
KITTY RANKIN
I’ve thought of at least fifty ways to kill Harold.
HOPE REISNER
Which one is your favourite?
KITTY RANKIN
Let’s just say it involves his genitals and a set of Black & Decker power tools.
HOPE REISNER
Ouch.
KITTY RANKIN
I’m bitter, Hope.
HOPE REISNER
No kidding.
KITTY RANKIN
Very bitter.
HOPE REISNER
It’s been a year, Kitty. They say time heals.
KITTY RANKIN
They do, do they?
HOPE REISNER
Yup.
KITTY RANKIN
Well, they’re wrong, whoever “they” are.
HOPE REISNER
Why don’t you start dating again?
KITTY RANKIN
Who’d want to date me?
HOPE REISNER
Some guy who likes brooding, angry women who fantasize about killing their former boyfriends with power tools?
KITTY RANKIN
God, Hope, am I that awful?
HOPE REISNER
You need to do some serious healing.
KITTY RANKIN
I give off a horrible aura of nastiness, don’t I.
HOPE REISNER
You’re not exactly cuddly and lovable.
KITTY RANKIN
I’d be more lovable if Harold was dead.
HOPE REISNER
Not gonna happen, Kitty.
KITTY RANKIN
Maybe I should get a sex change.
HOPE REISNER
I don’t see how that would help. Harold would still be Harold.
KITTY RANKIN
Then maybe I should become a Christian Scientist.
HOPE REISNER
You don’t even know what that is.
KITTY RANKIN
I just wish I was anybody but me.
HOPE REISNER
They say it takes two years to get over someone. The worst of it, I mean.
KITTY RANKIN
A year from now’s the future. I need help right now.
HOPE REISNER
Uh oh. Put on a happy face. Here comes Faith Long.
KITTY RANKIN
She’s probably looking for me. Misery loves company.
HOPE REISNER
I don’t know why she’s still with Glen Rekani.
KITTY RANKIN
He’s even worse than Harold.
End of Act Four, Scene 1.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Four, Scene 2:
(FAITH LONG enters.)
HOPE REISNER
Faith! Join us for coffee?
FAITH LONG
Hope? Is that you?
HOPE REISNER
Did you forget your glasses again?
FAITH LONG
I’m getting to be such a scatterbrain.
KITTY RANKIN
Hi, Faith.
FAITH LONG
Kitty?
KITTY RANKIN
Yup, good old Kitty Rankin.
FAITH LONG
I was driving along down fifth when I noticed everything was blurry.
HOPE REISNER
You were actually driving without your glasses?
FAITH LONG
I don’t know what’s the matter with me. I could have killed someone.
KITTY RANKIN
Too bad Harold didn’t step in front of your Toyota.
FAITH LONG
Harold? Oh, right, Harold. I’m sorry, Kitty. I’d almost forgotten.
KITTY RANKIN
Lucky you.
HOPE REISNER
How are you, Faith?
FAITH LONG
Oh, you know, getting along somehow.
KITTY RANKIN
You still at the bank?
FAITH LONG
No. They’re cutting back all the time. New technology stealing our jobs.
HOPE REISNER
So you’re unemployed?
FAITH LONG
Yeah. Got to live off my savings. So much for my dream of going back to school.
KITTY RANKIN
Won’t Glen help you out?
FAITH LONG
Glen?
HOPE REISNER
Glen…your boyfriend Glen?
FAITH LONG
Oh, that Glen!
KITTY RANKIN
There’s another one?
FAITH LONG
No, no. There’s just good old Glen. I guess I didn’t connect the name with the face.
HOPE REISNER
Because you call him by some nickname?
FAITH LONG
Nickname? Oh, no. Glen doesn’t like nicknames. He says they objectify people. He doesn’t want to be an object, I guess.
KITTY RANKIN
Who does?
HOPE REISNER
How is Glen?
FAITH LONG
The same. Yup. Just the same. He’s a predictable sort of guy. Very predictable.
KITTY RANKIN
Predictable. Is that good?
FAITH LONG
Um, good? Is it good? Gee, I don’t know. I guess it’s not bad.
HOPE REISNER
It’s Kitty’s first year anniversary. You know, since Harold left.
FAITH LONG
One year already? Are you doing okay, Kitty?
KITTY RANKIN
No.
HOPE REISNER
Nothing like the blunt truth.
FAITH LONG
I mean, being single’s got to have some advantages, right?
KITTY RANKIN
Well, I don’t have to put the seat down anymore.
FAITH LONG
The seat?
KITTY RANKIN
On the toilet.
FAITH LONG
Oh yeah. That’s got to be a blessing.
HOPE REISNER
It’s the little things that count.
FAITH LONG
I guess I should tell you two.
KITTY RANKIN
Tell us what?
FAITH LONG
Glen and I aren’t doing too well.
HOPE REISNER
That’s too bad, Faith.
FAITH LONG
We even tried counseling.
KITTY RANKIN
Really? What’s it like to get counseled as a couple?
FAITH LONG
Horrible.
HOPE REISNER
Horrible?
FAITH LONG
At least, with Glen it was horrible. He kept twisting everything.
KITTY RANKIN
You mean twisting the story?
FAITH LONG
Yes, twisting things around so I looked like the bad one.
HOPE REISNER
The counselor let him get away with that?
FAITH LONG
She agreed with him.
KITTY RANKIN
They ganged up on you?
FAITH LONG
Smart people always bully me.
HOPE REISNER
You’re not dumb, Faith.
FAITH LONG
Glen thinks I’m dumb.
KITTY RANKIN
Did he say that?
FAITH LONG
No, but I can tell.
HOPE REISNER
You guys used to be so close.
FAITH LONG
I guess it was just physical.
KITTY RANKIN
No, Faith. It was more than that.
FAITH LONG
It was?
KITTY RANKIN
Sure. Remember how you and Glen used to talk about movies?
HOPE REISNER
You both loved movies.
FAITH LONG
Yeah, but Glen said I didn’t get the themes. He said all I understood was the basic plot.
KITTY RANKIN
Who cares about the themes? You either like the story or you don’t.
FAITH LONG
Glen cares. He says the themes are the most important part.
HOPE REISNER
I think the characters are more important than the themes.
FAITH LONG
Can we stop talking about this. It reminds me of Glen.
KITTY RANKIN
Sorry.
FAITH LONG
He’s always trying to turn everything into a debate.
HOPE REISNER
It’s hard to believe he’s the same guy who took you on moonlight cruises and gave you a dozen roses every Monday morning.
FAITH LONG
Yeah. I guess he was just trying to get me into bed.
KITTY RANKIN
They’re all the same.
HOPE REISNER
What are you going to do, Faith?
FAITH LONG
About what?
HOPE REISNER
About Glen?
FAITH LONG
I don’t know.
KITTY RANKIN
Leave the scum. Whoops, I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to call him a “scum”, but you’ve got to remember I’m on your side, Faith.
FAITH LONG
We were in love.
HOPE REISNER
Faith…
FAITH LONG
I’d never felt that way before.
HOPE REISNER
You don’t have to…
FAITH LONG
I felt valuable….valued…
KITTY RANKIN
Don’t, Faith…
FAITH LONG
It was like I was really somebody, for the first time, you know….somebody…not just a dumb chick with nothing to say.
HOPE REISNER
You’re not dumb.
FAITH LONG
I’m sorry…I shouldn’t cry….I’ve got to go to the ladies’ room.
(She exits.)
KITTY RANKIN
Should we let her be by herself?
HOPE REISNER
Absolutely not.
(They both exit.)
End of Act Four, Scene 2.
Rising and Falling – a Tragic Romance by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Four, Scene 3:
(MILO POPOV and ERNIE BLANC enter.)
ERNIE BLANC
I like a nice decaf grande before I hit the sack.
MILO POPOV
Mine’s got a great deal of caffeine in it. I’m naturally speedy, so caffeine actually has the reverse effect.
ERNIE BLANC
How does that work?
MILO POPOV
I’m already mentally agile, so the caffeine makes me go even faster, into a sort of warp speed. I achieve a remarkable clarity and calmness, like a Zen master the moment before his death.
ERNIE BLANC
That’s impressive.
MILO POPOV
I don’t share that with many people, Milo.
ERNIE BLANC
I’m honoured. I wonder where Glen is?
MILO POPOV
Late as usual. The classic “absent minded professor”.
ERNIE BLANC
He’s smart, all right.
MILO POPOV
And arrogant. One day he’s going to get a come-uppance that will wipe that smug look off his face once and for all.
ERNIE BLANC
I didn’t know you felt that way about Glen, Milo.
MILO POPOV
The man humiliated me at a conference on metaphysics.
ERNIE BLANC
Glen Rekani?
MILO POPOV
Glen Rekani, with his well-honed razor wit and his vicious use of dialectical argument.
ERNIE BLANC
He’s smart, that’s for sure. What’s he got for you tonight?
MILO POPOV
As you know, I’m a lover of antiquarian books. Good old Glen happens to have a copy of “The Anatomy of Melancholy” by Robert Burton…a treasure I have long sought.
ERNIE BLANC
Sounds like a good one.
MILO POPOV
I won’t pay a penny more than two hundred dollars.
ERNIE BLANC
That seems like a lot for an old book.
MILO POPOV
It’s chump-change for a book of that stature, Ernie. Chump change.
ERNIE BLANC
You think Glen will go for it?
MILO POPOV
He needs the money, my lad, he needs the money.
ERNIE BLANC
I heard that Glen’s not getting along with that girlfriend of his…what’s her name?
MILO POPOV
Faith, I believe. Faith Long. A comely lass, but not the brightest bulb in the ballroom chandelier.
ERNIE BLANC
For a while there, I thought Glen was going to give up the academic life for her.
MILO POPOV
Not a chance. A leopard can’t change his spots, Ernie. Glen’s an intellectual. Always was. Always will be.
ERNIE BLANC
Yeah, but he was ga-ga for Faith. He’d even go mall-crawling with her.
MILO POPOV
Disgusting. I tell you, Ernie, when a man is infatuated with a woman, he will humiliate himself in the most shameless ways.
ERNIE BLANC
Where you ever in love, Milo?
MILO POPOV
I experienced that emotion on one occasion.
ERNIE BLANC
And?
MILO POPOV
I’d rather not discuss it.
ERNIE BLANC
Why not?
MILO POPOV
Because I made a complete ass of myself, Ernie, a complete ass.
ERNIE BLANC
If it happens to me, I’m going to take full advantage of it.
MILO POPOV
Advantage?
ERNIE BLANC
Yeah…the whole physical thing…you know, the sex. I mean, if you’re in love, that’s got to be the best thing about it.
MILO POPOV
You’re a brutal realist, Ernie. I like your frankness.
ERNIE BLANC
I’m a plain-speaking kind of guy.
MILO POPOV
Perhaps that’s why you’re a taxi driver.
End of Act Four, Scene 3.
Rising and Falling – a Romance in Four Acts by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Four, Scene 4:
(GLEN REKANI enters with a copy of “The Anatomy of Melancholy”.)
MILO POPOV
Glen! You’re a tad late.
GLEN REKANI
Only by a few moments, Milo.
ERNIE BLANC
It’s okay, Glen. No need for that sour mug.
GLEN REKANI
Sour mug?
MILO POPOV
Your face, Glen. You look distraught.
GLEN REKANI
I haven’t been getting enough sleep.
ERNIE BLANC
They got you working too hard down at the university?
GLEN REKANI
Quite the opposite.
MILO POPOV
A shame they demanded your resignation.
GLEN REKANI
They didn’t “demand” anything, Milo. I left voluntarily.
ERNIE BLANC
You mean you got canned?
GLEN REKANI
Voluntarily, Ernie. That means it was my choice.
ERNIE BLANC
No need to shout, Glen.
GLEN REKANI
I’m not shouting.
MILO POPOV
Yes you are, Glen. That’s no way to behave in a trendy downtown bistro.
ERNIE BLANC
Did you bring that book for Milo?
GLEN REKANI
Book?
ERNIE BLANC
Milo said you had a book he wanted.
GLEN REKANI
Oh, the book. Here it is. “The Anatomy of Melancholy” by Robert Burton.
MILO POPOV
Two hundred dollars, Glen, as we agreed?
GLEN REKANI
It’s worth three.
MILO POPOV
Don’t renege, Glen. Be a gentleman for once.
ERNIE BLANC
Yeah, a deal’s a deal.
GLEN REKANI
Very well. Two hundred.
MILO POPOV
Cash all right?
GLEN REKANI
As long as it’s not counterfeit, like your ideas.
MILO POPOV
Here you are, then. Now you can buy a few roses for your lady friend.
ERNIE BLANC
I heard you give her roses every Monday.
GLEN REKANI
I have other uses for the money.
MILO POPOV
Do I detect a note of bitterness?
GLEN REKANI
Let’s just say that roses would be a waste of precious resources.
ERNIE BLANC
Women love flowers and chocolates.
GLEN REKANI
I’m tired of all that irrational female nonsense.
MILO POPOV
Oh come on, Glen, don’t tell me you’ve given up on romance.
GLEN REKANI
Romance is nothing but a dreadful chemical cocktail of hormones and pheremones that make a man into a monkey.
ERNIE BLANC
A dreadful chemical what?
MILO POPOV
Poor Glen. You were soaring like Icarus in your cold, clean intellectual heaven, then Faith Long melted your wings and you smashed face first into the cruel asphalt of dreary reality.
ERNIE BLANC
Hey, it could be worse. At least you didn’t marry her.
GLEN REKANI
I’ll never marry.
MILO POPOV
You know, for a brief time after you met her, you seemed genuinely happy.
GLEN REKANI
It was purely physical.
ERNIE BLANC
I guess you got a kick out of being a stud instead of a student, eh, Glen?
GLEN REKANI
There was more to it than that, Ernest.
MILO POPOV
Glen’s talking about subtle sensual pleasure, Ernie.
ERNIE BLANC
Naw, he’s talking about raunchy sex.
MILO POPOV
Don’t be ridiculous. You can see for yourself he’s not the sort of man who’s capable of virile displays of sexual gymnastics.
GLEN REKANI
You can try to bait me all you want, Milo, but nothing you say or do has any resonance for me.
ERNIE BLANC
I guess you got a broken heart, eh, Glen?
GLEN REKANI
It was just physical.
ERNIE BLANC
So it’s a broken heart.
GLEN REKANI
Just physical.
MILO POPOV
You keep repeating that like a mantra. Does it ease the pain?
GLEN REKANI
I’d welcome pain.
MILO POPOV
Feeling numb, Glen?
GLEN REKANI
Numb?
MILO POPOV
Can’t find a way to excite your feelings?
GLEN REKANI
Shut up, Milo.
MILO POPOV
Now we’re getting somewhere.
ERNIE BLANC
You’re pissing him off, Milo.
MILO POPOV
So he’s still capable of emotional excitement.
GLEN REKANI
I said shut up.
ERNIE BLANC
You better back off, Milo. He’s gonna blow.
MILO POPOV
God, it does me good to see you losing control.
GLEN REKANI
I told you to shut up, you nasty little rat-faced dink!
(He lunges at Milo…they roll about, punching and wrestling in a flurry of mutual hatred.)
ERNIE BLANC
(trying to pull them apart)
Come on, fellas, brainy guys don’t fight! Come on, break it up!
End of Act Four, Scene 4.
Rising and Falling – a Romance in Four Acts by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Four, Scene 5:
(FAITH, KITTY, and HOPE enter.)
FAITH LONG
Glen! Glen! What are you doing!
(FAITH helps ERNIE pull GLEN off MILO. KITYY and HOPE keep their distance.)
FAITH LONG
(as she tries to restrain GLEN from attacking MILO again)
Stop it, Glen, stop it! What’s going on? Why are you fighting this man?
GLEN REKANI
(giving up the struggle)
Faith! I didn’t expect to see you here of all people.
FAITH LONG
Why are you fighting?
GLEN REKANI
This is Milo Popov, Faith. Don’t you remember him?
FAITH LONG
Milo? Oh, the Milo who buys books from you.
MILO POPOV
That relationship is now terminated.
ERNIE BLANC
Milo got under Glen’s skin, Faith.
FAITH LONG
Ernie? Ernie Blanc?
ERNIE BLANC
How’s it going?
GLEN REKANI
I was teaching Milo the consequences of bad manners.
MILO POPOV
He’s a neurotic jumble of confused emotions, Ms. Long, and I’d say you’re to blame.
FAITH LONG
Me?
ERNIE BLANC
Just look at his sour mug, poor guy.
GLEN REKANI
I’d like to thrash you within an inch of your life, Popov.
MILO POPOV
Touch me again, and I’ll have you up on an assault charge, Rekani, my boy.
FAITH LONG
(to MILO and ERNIE)
I think you two had best leave.
ERNIE BLANC
Yeah, we should go, Milo. You’ve had your fun.
MILO POPOV
Remember, Rekani…you think you’re the king of reason, but you threw the first punch.
(He exits.)
ERNIE BLANC
Sorry about this, Glen, but I got to go with Milo, or he won’t pay me the cab fare he owes me.
(He exits.)
KITTY RANKIN
Are you all right, Faith?
HOPE REISNER
Is there anything we can do?
FAITH LONG
No. Nothing. Thanks for holding me while I wept.
KITTY RANKIN
I guess you got it all out of your system.
HOPE REISNER
Just phone me if you need anything, Faith…anything.
FAITH LONG
Thanks. I’ll be all right.
KITTY RANKIN
Good night then.
HOPE REISNER
Good night, Glen.
GLEN REKANI
Hmmm? Oh, good night.
(Kitty and Hope exit.)
GLEN REKANI
Well, I’ve got some reading to do, so if you’ll excuse me…
FAITH LONG
Pardon?
GLEN REKANI
I’ve got reading to do…
FAITH LONG
Glen, I just pulled you off a man. You were hitting him in a blind rage. And now you want to walk off as if nothing happened?
GLEN REKANI
Yes.
FAITH LONG
It’s me, Glen…Faith, not some nosy stranger.
GLEN REKANI
Hasn’t it penetrated that brain of yours that I might feel a little humiliated? A bit embarrassed and ashamed?
FAITH LONG
Glen…
GLEN REKANI
I just want to leave.
FAITH LONG
Glen, I know you’re embarrassed. But I’m your girlfriend, Glen…I take no pleasure in seeing you humiliated…I just want to help you feel better.
GLEN REKANI
That sounds pretty absurd coming from a woman who had a one-night stand with a friend of mine.
FAITH LONG
Glen…
GLEN REKANI
Embarrassed and humiliated. I’m getting used to the feeling, Faith.
FAITH LONG
Then you shouldn’t have taken me for granted.
GLEN REKANI
I’m not interested in your analysis.
FAITH LONG
You shouldn’t have patronized me, treated me like I was dumb.
GLEN REKANI
You imagined that.
FAITH LONG
I know what I felt, Glen. You’re no good at disguising contempt.
GLEN REKANI
I’ve told you over and over it’s not contempt. It’s just an honest understanding of your basic nature. And mine.
FAITH LONG
I loved you!
GLEN REKANI
So you say, and you enjoyed that feeling of emotional superiority.
FAITH LONG
Emotional superiority?
GLEN REKANI
You don’t think I’m capable of deep feelings. You think I hide in the realm of reason.
FAITH LONG
I wouldn’t have been able to love you if I didn’t feel you could love me back.
GLEN REKANI
Then why did you lose patience with me? Why’d you go to another man?
FAITH LONG
I gave myself to you, Glen. That’s the most trusting thing I’ve ever done in my life. You betrayed that trust.
GLEN REKANI
Betrayed? You can accuse me of betrayal after what you did?
FAITH LONG
Yes. You hurt me. You showed me that I could be someone who meant something to someone else, then you took that away from me.
GLEN REKANI
How?
FAITH LONG
You started taking me for granted. You stopped caring about the gift I’d given you…the gift of myself.
GLEN REKANI
I never stopped caring, but you weren’t able to see the ways in which I cared.
FAITH LONG
Don’t tell me I’m stupid! I can see as well as you. You’re afraid to see. You’re afraid to feel! You want the happiness that comes from feeling love, but you reject the pain that love always brings.
GLEN REKANI
I’ve had nothing but pain for a long time.
FAITH LONG
Yes, a kind of pain, but not the pain of love. Your pain comes from refusing to love.
GLEN REKANI
I’m not interested in your pseudo-psychology, Faith. It’s simplistic and judgmental.
FAITH LONG
You’ve found a hundred ways to call me stupid, Glen, but it all amounts to the same thing.
GLEN REKANI
Then why am I the one who always ends up feeling stupid?
FAITH LONG
I don’t know. All I know is you’re all wrapped up in yourself and there’s no room for me any more.
GLEN REKANI
This is coming to an end.
FAITH LONG
Yes.
GLEN REKANI
Tonight.
FAITH LONG
Tonight.
GLEN REKANI
I must say goodbye to you, Faith.
FAITH LONG
Yes. You must. Because I won’t let you be with me any more. I won’t let you hurt me ever again, Glen.
GLEN REKANI
It didn’t use to hurt.
FAITH LONG
No.
GLEN REKANI
Something happened to me when I met you.
FAITH LONG
For a little while.
GLEN REKANI
I saw a possibility…a possibility…
FAITH LONG
Goodbye, Glen.
GLEN REKANI
I saw something like happiness.
FAITH LONG
Goodbye.
GLEN REKANI
Happiness.
FAITH LONG
Goodbye.
(The FULL CAST assembles and recites “The Kiss”, by Sarah Teasdale)
ALL THE WOMEN
I hoped that he would love me,
And he has kissed my mouth,
But I am like a stricken bird
That cannot reach the south.
ALL THE MEN
For though I know she loves me,
To-night my heart is sad;
Her kiss was not so wonderful
As all the dreams I had.
FULL CAST
A kiss is not so wonderful
As all the dreams we have.
END OF THE PLAY.