Half-Light Dances

Issue 4 • Winter 2002 • Featured Writer • Drama

Brian Thorstenson

Characters, Setting, Production Notes

CHARACTERS

Winifred
An Anthropologist.

Daryl
A Docent.

Derek
Daryl's dancing partner.

Diamond
A Diva.

TIME

Now.

PLACE

An abandoned ballroom.

NOTES

A line usually follows the one immediately before it, but when one character starts speaking before the other has finished, the point of interruption is marked /.

The "docent" events should have a quality of performance different from the rest of the play, particularly at the beginning before they start succumbing to Winifred's presence. A delineation in lighting might prove to be the most effective.

"Longing, we say, because desire is full of endless distances."
-- Robert Hass

"in small beginnings our varied loves are based."
-- Thom Gunn

For Will and Thierry

***

Winifred Arrives

An abandoned ballroom. In its day it was the height of grandeur, but now the paint is chipped and peeling, the walls drip water, the floor splintered and cracked.

A waltz plays.

Stage lit for dancing -- low with pockets of color.

DIAMOND enters, vocalizing with the music. She walks the stage, then exits.

DEREK and DARYL enter dancing. They pass DIAMOND as she exits. DEREK and DARYL continue dancing across the stage and exit.

A corridor of harsh light, as if a door has been opened, shines from stage right. A long shadow stretches across the stage. The light goes off, as if the door has been shut. Footsteps from heavy, brown, sensible shoes. WINIFRED enters. She is dressed in a brown tweed jacket, brown tweed skirt and a brown hat. Think Margaret Rutherford. She carries a carpet bag in one hand. A handbag rests on the opposite forearm. She listens to the music, surveys the ballroom, sets the carpet bag down, takes a small pad and pencil out of her handbag and makes notes.

WINIFRED
Hmmm...

DIAMOND walks across the stage, vocalizing. WINIFRED makes a note in her pad.

A woman singing.

DIAMOND hears WINIFRED and stops. She turns towards her.

DIAMOND

yelling off stage

Daryl!

WINIFRED and DIAMOND staring at each other.

Daryl!

DARYL and DEREK enter waltzing.

WINIFRED

making another note in her pad

Two men dancing.

DIAMOND
Daryl!

DEREK and DARYL stop abruptly. They step apart, the music stops. The lights change. Full stage lit.

DEREK, DARYL, DIAMOND and WINIFRED stare at each other.

Silence

WINIFRED

making a note in her pad

I have made my first contact with the indigenous population.

DARYL
Who are you?

DEREK
She looks lost.

DARYL
Is she alone?

DIAMOND
I haven't seen anyone else.

DARYL
Are you alone?

DEREK
Definitely lost.

DIAMOND
Then again she could be an omen, a herald, a messenger.

DEREK
Or just lost.

WINIFRED
I'm not lost. I'm an anthropologist.

Silence

An anthropologist.

Silence

An-thro-pol-o-gist.

DIAMOND
Why does she keep repeating herself?

WINIFRED

making a note

Direct communication is proving difficult.

DEREK
Look at those shoes.

WINIFRED
I shall have to rely on the distanced, observative approach.

DEREK
And that handbag.

WINIFRED
Not my ideal, but it seems a necessary succumbing to currently perceived cultural differences.

DIAMOND
What's she talking about?

DEREK
I don't like her.

DARYL
What are you doing here?

WINIFRED
Then again maybe not. A direct question.

DEREK
I told you. She's lost.

WINIFRED
From the leader? The chief?

DIAMOND
She got lost? Here? How?

DEREK
I don't know. But look at her face.

They all look at WINIFRED who is lost in thought.

See? Lost.

WINIFRED
Possibly.

DARYL
Are you lost?

WINIFRED
Then again I may be wrong.

to DARYL

No.

DARYL
How did you get here?

WINIFRED
Through that door.

DIAMOND
Oh.

DEREK
Yeah, that clears things up.

DARYL
How did you find that door?

WINIFRED

loudly, startling DARYL, DEREK and DIAMOND

AH-HA!

DARYL
What?

WINIFRED
Ah-ha! Instinct. Synapses firing, signaling: AH-HA!

DIAMOND
Stop that. For christ's sake. AH-HA! Jesus.

DEREK
Yeah and follow your instinct back out the door.

DIAMOND

threatening WINIFRED

AH-HA! AH-HA! AH-HA!

DEREK
Right back out the door.

DIAMOND

singing a la Joanne Worley

AH-HAAAAAA!

WINIFRED has been backed towards the door and looks like she is about ready to bolt.

DARYL
Wait!

beat

Why are you here?

DEREK
Daryl!

DARYL
Let's at least find out why she's here.

DEREK
What for?

DIAMOND

singing

AH-HAAAAAAA!

DARYL
She could be useful.

DEREK
I doubt that.

DIAMOND

singing

AH-HAAAAAA!

DARYL
Stop that!

to WINIFRED

Tell us why you're here.

DEREK
And how soon you're leaving.

DIAMOND

singing

"back out the door. Just turn around now."

DARYL
Stop it. Both of you.

DIAMOND
But...

DEREK
What are you doing?

DARYL
Give me five minutes alone with her.

DEREK
She needs to go. Now.

DARYL
Five minutes.

DEREK
Five. No more.

DIAMOND

singing softly yet vehemently in WINIFRED'S direction as she exits

"cause you're not welcome anymore."

DEREK and DIAMOND exit.

DARYL
Don't mind her. She's prone to fits of outburst. They suit her somehow.

WINIFRED
I see. Thank you.

beat

You are...?

DARYL
A docent. I'm a docent.

WINIFRED
Really? I've never met a docent. Not officially. One member of a group will naturally assume a docent-like role. But I've never encountered a culturally codified position, especially in such early stages of field work.

DARYL
I like to be prepared.

WINIFRED
Once, on an expedition to the Mergui Archipelago, I was looking for the Black Rock caves, caves only accessible by sea kayak. There I was paddling the islands, exhausted, dehydrated, despondent. Round and round the cliffs of the rock I navigated. To no avail. None. One more time, I said, then back to shore. And that's when it happened. A boat emerged straight out of the rock! The Moken! The last sea-gypsies in the world! Of course they would know the location of the caves. I don't know that I like the idea of having a second pair of eyes, of ears, another hand directing my attention. I've found it skews the results. I like to rely on my own instinct.

DARYL
Why are you here?

WINIFRED
To complete a thorough and detailed survey.

DARYL
Really?

WINIFRED
Another trophy for the shelf, feather in my hat, rung on the ladder. Another book jacket photograph.

DARYL
I see.

testing

Would you like to dance?

WINIFRED
Do you know the fox-trot?

DARYL does the fox-trot, WINIFRED makes notes in her pad. This continues, DARYL doing each dance, WINIFRED making notes.

Cha-cha?

DARYL dances.

Tango? Swing? Hustle?

DARYL dances.

Go-go? Square dance? Pasa dobles?

DARYL dances.

DARYL
Would you like to dance?

WINIFRED
Cunningham? Fosse? Tharp?

DARYL dances.

DARYL
Would you like to dance?

WINIFRED
Two-step?

DARYL
No. Derek knows the two-step.

WINIFRED
Derek. The other man?

DARYL
Yes.

WINIFRED
This place... this place...

DARYL
A good place to dance.

WINIFRED
For you and Derek?

DARYL
He's the perfect height. Since the first moment we met he has always been the perfect height. I looked at him and thought: "He's the perfect height."

WINIFRED

writing

"The perfect height." I thought him a little on the short side. For you that is. Not in general. Only as a dancing partner. For you.

DARYL
I usually lead. That makes the difference.

WINIFRED
Ahh yes. I suppose it would.

DARYL
Would you like to dance?

WINIFRED
Not just yet.

DEREK enters, followed closely by DIAMOND.

DEREK
She's still here.

DIAMOND
Why is she still here?

DARYL
I said five minutes.

DIAMOND
Probably still Ah-haing. Is that it? AH-HA!

DARYL
A minute!

DIAMOND
A minute he says. And that becomes ten, then twenty, then an hour.

DARYL
She might be staying.

DIAMOND
She's going to stay?!

DEREK
No she's not.

DIAMOND
She's going to stay?!

DARYL
Might. She might be staying. Give me a minute to sort it out.

DIAMOND
A minute. A minute. He keeps saying that.

DEREK
Look at those shoes. Really. There's no excuse for those shoes.

DARYL
You should be prepared...

DEREK
Or the handbag.

DARYL
Derek, please. You both should be prepared -- for her to stay.

DEREK
I don't see what she could possibly...

DARYL
I know what I'm doing.

DEREK
You better.

DEREK exits.

DARYL
Just a few minutes. Really.

DIAMOND
It takes some work you know to put This all together. This -- doesn't just happen. It's the culmination of hours and hours of...

DARYL
I know.

DIAMOND
Well! You just better hope I'm ready when you want me to be.

DIAMOND exits.

DARYL
There are some things you should know if you want to stay.

WINIFRED
I've done my research. I'm quite prepared. As always.

DARYL
That might be so, still...

WINIFRED
I would prefer to dismiss with any preliminary instructions and proceed as quickly as possible. I'm due in Madagascar in three days. Then off to Zurich for the start of a lecture tour. Paris, Stockholm, Madrid, Prague.

DARYL
Things you should know before we embark.

WINIFRED
Is this really necessary?

DARYL
Hair must be clean and neatly combed. Makeup should be tastefully applied and moderate. Condoms must be used at all times. Photography may be limited.

WINIFRED
Limited!

DARYL
Or not permitted at all.

WINIFRED
Not permitted!

DARYL
I use my own discretion.

WINIFRED
I'm finding this all quite impossible.

DARYL
I'll show you out then.

WINIFRED
No. Wait.

beat

One roll of photographs.

DARYL
Only if you agree to...

WINIFRED
One roll. No restrictions.

pause

DARYL
One roll. No more.

WINIFRED
Good.

making a note

I have successfully completed my first negotiations with the local population.

DARYL

yelling off

She's staying!

***

A beginning: geography lesson

The lights go to black then a spotlight hits DIAMOND, illuminating only her face. Music. DIAMOND starts to sing a number a la Cher's opening numbers from her television show. She is wrapped in an extravagant wrap that has seen better days. When the slow intro ends, she drops her wrap to reveal a spangled evening gown that has also seen better days.

DIAMOND

A Desire Heard Long Distance

Oooooo...
Oooooo...
I opened up my eyes
the world went flashing by
like a bolt it was clear
my dreams were nowhere near
then I heard this melody
It started leading me
Listen...

It's a desire heard long distance
we'll call it home perhaps
again and again another chance
for a desire heard long distance
lightning dance, another chance
for a desire heard long distance
a desire heard long distance.

Went up and down, went round and round
never staying on the ground
but now I'm starting to believe
that love will come for me
I know it can't be long
so I keep singing out this song.

How different it all looks from the far side of the street
skin singing all day long, walking side by each
your bodies fierce translucence, its tears that break the skin
a longing breath blows past my face and gently lifts my chin

Listen...
It's a desire heard long distance
we'll call it home perhaps
again and again another chance
for a desire heard long distance
lightning dance, another chance
for a desire heard long distance
a desire heard long distance.

The spot fades on DIAMOND as the light crossfades to DARYL.

DARYL
It's one of those days when everything reminds you of a song. When a word triggers a forgotten show tune, a radio pop hit. One of those days when your best friend says goodbye at the bus stop singing clang, clang, clang, went the trolley. It's Indian summer. Past spring. Before the rain. A beginning.

WINIFRED

making a note

The beginning.

DEREK enters reading a guidebook. WINIFRED watches and takes notes.

DEREK
Vaccinations are unnecessary for entry unless you are traveling from a known infected area. If you need a doctor, ask at your hotel. Condoms are available over the counter at drugstores and some grocery stores.

DARYL
Next corner, turn left, right hand side.

DEREK
Excuse me?

DARYL
Grocery store.

DEREK
Oh. Thanks.

DARYL
I can show you.

DEREK
Getting my bearings, that's all.

DARYL
And then?

DEREK
I have a list.

an interruption

WINIFRED
A list! May I see that?

DEREK
Daryl?!

WINIFRED
Lists are always helpful.

DEREK
Is she going to be like this the whole time?

DARYL

to WINIFRED

You can't interrupt.

WINIFRED
Well! I don't know how I'm supposed to find out anything without interrupting.

DEREK
That's it, I'm...

DARYL

to DEREK

Wait...

WINIFRED
Interruptions are part of my work, part of my process, part of...

DARYL
You'll have to work differently this time.

WINIFRED
No interruptions. This really is too...

DARYL
Be quiet and we'll give you the list later.

resuming

to DEREK

Now. You have a list.

DEREK
Yeah, so?

DARYL
Well?

DEREK
Umm... the David.

DARYL
Ah, Michelangelo.

DEREK
No. Donatello.

DARYL
Oh. What else?

DEREK
Whitman's house. Buchenwald. San Francisco city hall.

DARYL
Beginnings and endings.

DEREK
If you like. The convent of Saint Sergius, Cornelius Street, Thebes. Corner bar, the one with...

DARYL
windows.

DEREK
And the other bar, under the freeway.

DARYL
The one with no sign.

DEREK
The black room with...

DARYL
secret doors.

DEREK
You know it?

DARYL
Or one like it. What else?

DEREK
Three crosses square and the Nairobi Hilton. Shanghu Park and the Fountain of Sweet Innocents.

DARYL
Heads up!

DEREK
What?

DARYL
Heads up kind of places.

DEREK
Really.

DARYL
And others. Most. If not all. Be careful.

DEREK
All right. Heads up.

DARYL
Anything else?

DEREK

going back to the list

Um... A village walk down Castro and Christopher. A swim in a Hockney pool. West of Hollywood, South of Houston, a circle called Dupont. A hill named Marais. And others called islands.

DARYL
Is that it?

DEREK
For now.

DARYL
Where are you going to start?

DEREK
I'd like to dance the waltz at 4 AM on a floor of spilt martinis.

DARYL
Would you settle for afternoon tea?

DEREK
Tea?

DARYL
At my house.

DEREK
At your house.

DARYL
It's above town. On the hill. There's a boy in the backyard who leans one long arm against the apple tree. And stares. I can't figure out what he's looking at. Looking for. He's so immobile I think he's asleep. Or not real. I want him to look up.

DEREK
Will he be there? The boy in the backyard?

DARYL doesn't answer

I have to go. Get started... my list and...

DEREK exits

WINIFRED

to DEREK as he goes.

Take the tea.

to herself

I'd love a cup of tea right now.

DEREK gone.

DARYL alone.

Lights shift

WINIFRED
The beginning.

DARYL
A beginning.

WINIFRED
I can extrapolate.

DARYL
Not this time.

WINIFRED
Professional judgement. Moving on.

DARYL

calling off stage

She wants to extrapolate.

DIAMOND and DEREK enter.

DIAMOND
Extrapolate!

DEREK
I told you. She's unnecessary.

DIAMOND

to WINIFRED

Is that what you want?

WINIFRED
I...

DIAMOND
Being beside the point.

DEREK
Superfluous.

DIAMOND
Immaterial.

DEREK
Irrelevant.

WINIFRED
Irrelevant. Hmm. I see.

They all look at WINIFRED. She must decide.

A beginning.

DARYL
Yes.

WINIFRED
One of many possible beginnings.

DARYL
Yes.

WINIFRED
I see.

DARYL
Good.

DIAMOND
We'll be watching you.

DEREK and DIAMOND exit.

DARYL
Ready?

WINIFRED
I don't give up that easily.

DARYL
Good.

Lights shift.

***

A beginning: night

DARYL
It's a night. After the commuters have gone. Past the afternoon breeze, the descent of fog. You pocket your keys, head out to push your face around.

DEREK enters and passes DARYL.

They take two steps, stop, then turn back.

DEREK takes two more steps, then turns back. DARYL isn't looking.

DARYL takes two steps, then turns back. DEREK isn't looking.

Just as DARYL turns away, DEREK looks back at DARYL.

Two steps. They both turn. They both see each other looking.

They walk towards each other.

DARYL
Hey.

DEREK
Hey.

DARYL
What's up?

DEREK
Not much. You?

DARYL
Hanging. You?

DEREK
Hanging. You?

DARYL
You been out?

DEREK
Yeah.

DARYL
Where?

DEREK
Around. Out around. With friends. You?

DARYL
Just got out.

DEREK
Oh.

DARYL
Yeah.

DEREK
You live around here?

DARYL
Yeah. You?

DEREK
Yeah.

DARYL
You close?

DEREK
Close enough. You?

DARYL
Yeah, sure. Enough.

beat

You want some company?

DEREK
Maybe. You?

DARYL
Maybe. You?

DEREK
Maybe.

DARYL
There's a boy, at the end of the block. Standing in a doorway, or leaning against a signpost. Same doorway. Same signpost. He charts a course between the two all night long. I walk by, try to catch him in between. Try to catch his eye. I never can. Do you know him? Have you seen him?

DEREK
No.

DEREK exits.

DARYL alone

***

A beginning: unexpected singing

DARYL
It's a day of list making and errand running. A day of subways, buses, traffic. A day to stand in endless lines.

DARYL and DEREK standing in a line.

DEREK

humming and singing softly to himself

"I saw it written and I saw it say, Pink Moon is on its way. None of you stand so tall, Pink Moon gonna get you all."

DARYL turns and smiles

DARYL
I saw you. Last week. Across the street. Singing.

DEREK
Oh.

DARYL
It stopped me.

DEREK
Uh.

DARYL
I stopped and watched. On the corner. I had letters to mail. Bills actually. Past due bills. And I thought, how odd. Then I dropped my bills in the mailbox.

DEREK
I was buying tulips.

DARYL
And you were singing.

DEREK
I was?

DARYL
Or humming.

DEREK
Really?

DARYL
Billie Holiday, Nick Drake, Madonna. Maybe Annie Get Your Gun. I'm not sure.

DEREK
Humming. Doubtful.

DARYL
I didn't wave.

DEREK
Why would you? You don't know me.

DARYL
At that moment.

DEREK
Or now.

DARYL
Still, you stopped me.

DEREK
Yes, you said.

DARYL
That's when I thought -- how odd.

DEREK
Odd?

DARYL
Where did he come from?

DEREK
I was across the street.

DARYL
And now you're here. Now I'm seeing you again.

beat

In the morning, there's a boy who walks by my house, with a pastry in a white paper bag and a cup of coffee. He dresses all in blue. I think he's on his way to work. He stops opposite my bedroom window, takes a sip of his coffee, and looks up at the overcast sky. A shaft of sun breaks through, hits his watch, and lights up my face.

DEREK
Do I remind you of him? Is that it?

DARYL
Yes. No. Probably.

DEREK
Figure it out.

DEREK exits.

DARYL alone.

Lights shift.

***

Some beginnings: detour, rain, cigarettes

DARYL
It's night and we're traveling. Down the hill, past a man balancing a computer on a hand trolley, detour into the dark at the corner with the 50's diner.

DEREK enters. They cruise each other. DEREK circling DARYL.

DARYL
I've got a taste for something, a hankering --

DEREK
men with five o'clock shadows,
with heavy lids and glasses.

DARYL
Force my knees to bend.

DEREK
You're out looking,
with heavy lids and glasses.

DARYL
Armpits and ass, the slope of a shoulder,
I'm out, looking...

to DEREK

Let me linger at the back of your neck.

DEREK
Armpits and ass, the slope of a shoulder,
a beer bottle propped on a thigh.

DARYL
Linger at the back of your neck

DEREK
In the backrooms of bars
a beer bottle propped on a thigh.

DARYL
shaken, gasping

DEREK
In the backrooms of bars

DARYL
feverish, with hair and sweat,
shaken, gasping

DEREK
eyes aloof and wanting.

DARYL
feverish, with hair and sweat.

DEREK
Men in boots, men in caps,
eyes aloof and wanting.
Men with five o'clock shadows
men in boots, men in caps

DARYL

to DEREK

force my knees to bend.

DEREK stares at DARYL

DEREK
Not tonight.

DEREK exits

DARYL alone.

DARYL

urgent

It's a day...

WINIFRED
Another day!?

DARYL
Yes, another day.

WINIFRED
The same day as the previous days? Or a day distinctly its own?

DARYL
Just a day. Figure it out.

WINIFRED
I only ask for accuracy's sake.

Lights shift

To avert extrapolation.

DARYL
A day of bare/ feet

WINIFRED
Oh! I can't possibly/ proceed...

DARYL
bare feet stung by cold floors. Of a galloping skip to turn the heater knob. A day to admire the sturdiness of a tall man walking in the rain without an umbrella.

Rain.

WINFRED takes a compact umbrella out of her handbag and opens it. DEREK enters. He and DARYL stand next to each other as if under the eaves of a building.

DEREK takes out a cigarette.

DEREK
Got a light?

DARYL
Yes.

DARYL lights DEREK'S cigarette.

DEREK
Thanks.

introducing himself

Chris.

DARYL
Tom.

DEREK exits.

DARYL alone.

Rain continuing.

DEREK enters.

DEREK enters, takes out a cigarette.

DEREK	DARYL
Got a light?	Need a light?

DEREK
Yeah.

DARYL lights DEREK'S cigarette.

DEREK
Ta. Michael.

DARYL
Starchild.

DEREK exits.

DARYL alone.

Rain continuing.

DEREK enters. Same routine.

DEREK
Got a light?

DARYL
Umm... I think that I...

searching for matches

No... maybe in... no.
Sorry.

DEREK
It's fine.

DARYL
At this bar, around the corner, there's a boy who's always reading. Thick black glasses, a pint of beer, pack of Marlboros. Men ask him for a light. He folds the page of his book, strikes a match. The men bend into the boy, into the match, focused on the match. The boy cups his hand around the flame and stares, into these men's eyes. He might be there, the boy. Or the bar might have... at the bar there might be...

beat

Daryl.

DEREK
Uh.

DARYL
I could show you. The bar.

DEREK
Will he be there? The boy?

DARYL
He might be.

DEREK
Yes, well...

DARYL
Just one drink. That's all.

DEREK
One. No more.

DARYL and DEREK exit.

***

Walking one line

WINIFRED

writing

"One suggests a drink. The second agrees. They leave together." Alright then. Moving...

She looks up. She is alone.

Well!

writing

"As suddenly as he announced himself my guide has disappeared."
Hello?! Mr. Docent?
Hello? Oh, dear.
Hello?
Hello?
I don't know why I should expect some moment of courtesy all of a sudden.

She starts to call out again but reconsiders.

No. No time to beat the air. Right then, Winnie. A moment to recap, to check one's course.

referring back to her notebook

Hmm...A strange preoccupation with dancing. Some singing. An aversion to photography. And interruptions. Incoherent babbling about boys in trees, boys in blue, boys in bars. Formidable woman, extremely rude, prone to unprovoked outbursts.

DIAMOND enters unseen by WINIFRED.

An inability to remember one's own name. Very troubling that. Very troubling. Oh, my my my. This isn't adding up. Not at all. I don't see how I shall...

stopping herself

No. Remember the archipelago, Winnie, remember the archipelago. AH-HA! Oh, I feel as if I were walking on the thin edge of a wedge. A very thin...

DIAMOND
Silence!

WINIFRED
Oh, you/ startled...

DIAMOND
Quiet! Mute!

WINIFRED
I was/ only...

DIAMOND
Oh, shut up.

WINIFRED
How dare you speak to me like that.

DIAMOND
A woman does not speak till spoken to.

WINIFRED
Poppycock.

DIAMOND
Well it was worth a try. Jesus. Chat chat chat. I don't like chat. Chatter. Chattering. Bores me. It's tedious. It's tiresome. Just come out with it. Just say what you're thinking. Don't give me this chat chat chat. I'm not a chatterer. I don't chat.

WINIFRED
Well, that's perfectly clear.

DIAMOND
Be direct. That's what I say. Direct. One line. It's the only way.

Lights shift.

DIAMOND
Nothing is as charming as a woman walking on one line, coming down the stairs, one dainty toe appearing on each lower step, directly in the center of her weight. By walking on one line a woman will appear more graceful. Step, after step, after step. If there's soft drapery about her she will seem to float into a room; a festooned ship waiting to be christened by all manner of male admirers. And admirers she will have. This is a fact. This is eternal. Men. She will have men. Admiring. Her. Walking.

A one line walking woman will be the envy of all her friends, for only she can force her admiring men to walk that line with her. And walk they will, like puppies on rhinestoned leashes, lapping at the flowing folds of her draped legs and buttocks. Tongues wagging, hearts thumping, pants straining. Straining to be released for their one line walking woman. Pant pant. Pound pound. Throb, throb, throb. Walk woman, walk.

It behooves the one line walking woman to occasionally pause -- mid-step, turn her head -- slowly, face her admirers and shout: "Heel Puppies!" Her legion of male admirers will fall into each other, crotch into buttocks, buttocks into face, face into shoulders against crotch into buttocks into face against crotch.

She tosses back her head and laughs.

Pant, pant, pound, pound, throb, throb, throb. Walk woman walk.

Lights shift.

WINIFRED
I see.

making a note

Doesn't chat.

DIAMOND
Stop that. Scribbling, scribing. Notes!
Look. At them.

DARYL and DEREK enter and lean into each other as if sitting in a diner booth or talking in a crowded bar.

WINIFRED
And?

DIAMOND
Now make a note. Get that down. Before it's lost, before its shimmer dims.

WINIFRED

making a note

Two men talking.

DIAMOND
No no no. Correct that.

WINIFRED
Two men talking quietly.

DIAMOND
Facts. Nothing but facts. Be precise. Be rigorous.

WINIFRED
Two men talking quietly about... about... about what? What are they talking about?

DIAMOND
I don't know. I can't hear them.

WINIFRED
Then how am I to get it down?

DIAMOND
It doesn't matter what they're talking about.

WINIFRED
Well of course it does.

DIAMOND
Off the mark. Missed the trail head. No commuter lane for you.

WINIFRED
What are you talking about?

DIAMOND
The lean. That lean, into each other. Get that down.

WINIFRED
The lean?

DIAMOND
Walking by a bar, two men sitting in a window seat or glancing across a restaurant, two men in a diner booth leaning into each other, talking. Oh, that lean.

Lights shift.

***

A beginning: leaping and leaning

DARYL
...six. Or seven. I think it was...

DEREK
Before or after you wanted to be an astronaut?

DARYL
During.

It was...yes... Red Cross swimming lessons at the public pool. In the locker room, this -- circumference of men -- dripping. Puddles pooling on the concrete, collecting at their feet. This delicate roughness. All these men -- changing, rubbing towels. The quick seduction of a cross arm t-shirt strip, a pause as the torso exerts its independence before the face reemerges, surprised to be tricked once again into letting the chest boast alone.

Surprised, or casually aware.

I looked at... no... I stared, couldn't help it, stared at this periphery of men. It was... not like now... it was...

DEREK
A destination you didn't know you were looking for.

DARYL
Yes.

DEREK
The familiarity of a new road on the trip back, when the scenery goes by in double time.

DARYL
Yes. What about you?

DEREK
Oh... I don't have.

DARYL
Really?

DEREK
Really.

DARYL
Sure you do. Tell me.

DEREK
It's nothing.

DARYL
I doubt that.

DEREK gestures towards WINIFRED.

Ignore her. Tell me.
Please.

small pause

DEREK
I guess it was neighborhood boys. The bad boys. The ones with BB guns and older brothers in prison. The ones with dirty fingernails. With untucked shirts and full round lips. Boys with names like Randy and Sam and David.

My house, it was so full of -- complacency. Questions never answered. Or asked. I went looking for a point to leap, for a leap to dislodge me. I still go looking for it.

WINIFRED
So do I.

DARYL, DEREK and DIAMOND all turn to WINIFRED

Sorry. I shall become voiceless.

DEREK
No, no. Go on.

DARYL
Derek?!

DEREK
Go on.

DARYL
I think we should continue.

WINIFRED
Yes, yes. Carry on.

DEREK
A minute.

to WINIFRED

You said "So do I."

WINIFRED
Did I?

DEREK
Yes.

WINIFRED
Probably mumbling to myself.

DEREK
Probably?

WINIFRED
No. Definitely.

DEREK
Mumbling to yourself.

WINIFRED
Yes.

to DARYL

Carry on.

DARYL
My place is near by.

DEREK

to WINIFRED

What are you looking for?

DARYL
Would you like...

WINIFRED
I'm looking at you. That's all.

DEREK
Is it?

WINIFRED
Yes. Dispassionate observation.

DEREK
I said I went looking for a point to...

WINIFRED
It was nothing! Nothing at all! Inconsequential mumbling. That's all. It will not happen again. Now can we please move on?

beat

I try not to make it a habit of bringing my personal life into my work.

DIAMOND
Really!? I can't imagine that.

WINIFRED
No, I suppose you can't.

DARYL
My place is...

DEREK

to DARYL

Don't you want to know?

DARYL
My place is near by...

DIAMOND
Wait, wait, wait.

DEREK
You must want...

DARYL
My place, it's...

DIAMOND
Wait! We have to make sure she got it all down. Did you? Get it all down?

WINIFRED
Yes.

DIAMOND
The lean?

WINIFRED
The lean has been noted.

DIAMOND
And the spark? Did you get that?

WINIFRED

consulting her notes.

Umm... the spark...the spark...

DIAMOND

to DARYL and DEREK

See?

to WINIFRED

You didn't get it, did you.

WINIFRED

consults her notes

Here... no. The spark... ah yes, here it is. "There appears an intermittent spark as the two men -- names still in question -- as the two men continue their conversation."

DIAMOND
Intermittent! It wasn't intermittent.

WINIFRED
What I observed was intermittent.

DIAMOND
No milk and cookies for you! Intermittent, really. Can you believe that?

DARYL
It sometimes appears that way to untrained eyes.

WINIFRED
My eyes are anything but untrained.

DARYL
Well, unaccustomed then.

DIAMOND
It was a flame, a steady gleam. It was summer lightning.

DEREK
Always has to be the dramatic one.

DARYL
I would say it was steady.

DEREK
But lightning?

DARYL
I suppose that is a bit...

DEREK
Over the top.

DIAMOND
Over the top! Oh, it's fine for me to be over the top when you two want it, but not when I decide it's appropriate. Not when I'm defending you. On no, that's a whole...

WINIFRED
May I finish please?! I am on a time frame here.

The three of them are quiet.

Thank you. Thank you very much.
This is nice. The three of you listening.

DIAMOND
Just get on with it.

WINIFRED
"... an intermittent dazzle. Amethyst, copper, blue ice. A flickering, so hard to define. Note: make appointment with optometrist when I reach Zurich." Never rule out the deterioration of the body. All right, then. Moving on. Yes?

DARYL
Yes.

Lights shift.

***

A beginning: up for the view

DARYL
My place is near by.
Would you like to come up? For the view?
I can fix us a drink out on the porch.

DEREK
And look at the city? The flickering lights?

DARYL
If you like. The view is impressive.

DEREK
You're very sure of yourself.
Would you like to come up. For the view.

DARYL
Look at me.

DEREK looks at DARYL

You want to come in. I can tell.

DEREK
And look at the city? The flickering lights?

DARYL
I've been watching you. For weeks.
Waiting for the right time. The perfect moment.

DEREK
Would you like to come up. For the view.

DARYL
You can tell me a story. About a first meeting
or a last goodbye
and look at the city, the flickering lights.

DEREK
I've told all my stories too many times.

DARYL
I like a man with an assured voice.
You'd like to come up. For the view.

DEREK
And look at the city? The flickering lights?

pause

DARYL
Well...?

DEREK
I'd like...

A trumpet plays the first bar of "What'll I Do."

Silence.

DARYL
I... I...

DARYL exits.

DIAMOND and DEREK look after DARYL.

DEREK starts to follow DARYL.

DIAMOND
No. I'll go.

DIAMOND exits.

DEREK stares at WINIFRED.

Silence.

WINIFRED
It's Derek, isn't it?

DEREK
Yes.

WINIFRED
There seemed to be some confusion earlier. Or possibly I was confused. Or the situation was confusing.

DEREK
Yes.

WINIFRED
Derek. Good. That much I know. Winifred. I'm Winifred.

DEREK
Winifred.

WINIFRED
Bit old fashioned, my name. Winifred. Wonderfully so though, don't you think?

DEREK
I hadn't thought about it one way or the other.

WINIFRED
Yes, well. Wonderfully old fashioned. From my mother's side of the family. The old fashioned side. Wonderfully old fashioned.

DEREK
That accounts for the shoes. And the handbag.

WINIFRED
I suppose it must.

DEREK
They're really horrible.

WINIFRED
They're not all that bad.

DEREK
They are. Trust me. You should get new ones.

WINIFRED
Such a busy schedule, you know. Never time for shopping.

DEREK
Take a leap, Winifred.

WINIFRED
Notes to edit, books to finish. Lecture tours, meetings, field work.

DEREK
You know what I'm talking about.

WINIFRED
You and I come from very different backgrounds. Very different. I can't see any possible point of connection between the two of us.

DEREK
Oh, but there is Winifred, there is.

DARYL enters. DEREK exits.

DARYL

to DEREK

Where are you going? I thought you were...

to WINIFRED

What did you say?

WINIFRED
Nothing of import.

DARYL
What happened?

WINIFRED
We had a brief conversation. That's all.

DARYL
About what?

WINIFRED
Obtaining the correct name.

DARYL
Derek.

WINIFRED
Yes, I know.

DARYL
So why did you need to ask?

WINIFRED
A point of clarification to dispel a temporary morass of confusion created by your endless beginnings.

DARYL
Be more careful with your note taking.

WINIFRED
Is he a good dancing partner?

DARYL
The best I've ever had.

WINIFRED
And he feels the same? About you?

DARYL
Of course. Why?

WINIFRED
A question, that's all.

DARYL
Any other questions?

WINIFRED
No.

DARYL
Good. We're sticking...

WINIFRED
Wait. This is a day?

DARYL
No.

WINIFRED
Oh, thank god.

DARYL
It's a night.

WINIFRED
Of course. And round and round we go, tramping north from the equator with our native guide till night falls. The muck darkens, the grains of sand pile high in the eternal hour glass, oh...

singing

Sunrise, sunset. Sunrise, sunset...

DARYL
Are you finished?

Lights shift

WINIFRED
Apparently not.

***

A beginning: descent

DARYL
We're sticking to sidestreets tonight, streets perpetually under construction. Maybe there's a light on the corner or maybe there's none.

DEREK enters and passes DARYL. They cruise each other.

DEREK exits.

DARYL takes in a breath.

Your breathing. Check your breathing.

WINIFRED
I don't detect a difference.

DARYL
And your heartbeat? Check that.

WINIFRED checks her pulse.

WINIFRED
A healthy pulse.

DARYL checks his pulse.

DARYL
Keep moving.

WINIFRED
Where are we...?

DARYL
Down a street meant for the dark. With shops seeping motor oil, signs for metal parts and venetian glass, Complete Auto Service in English and Mandarin.

WINIFRED is trying to get a note written.

DEREK crosses the stage, cruising DARYL.

DARYL
Not now. Keep moving.

WINIFRED
It will only take...

DARYL
No.

WINIFRED
But...

DARYL
Keep moving.

DEREK enters and blocks DARYL.

DEREK
Your footsteps stink of obsession.

DARYL
They're... they're...

DEREK
I like that. That stink. Don't you?

DARYL
I don't think that/ they...

DEREK
Oh, yes they do. You can smell it around the block.

to WINIFRED

Can't you?

DARYL
Derek.

WINIFRED
I'm not sure...

DARYL
Why are you asking her?

DEREK
Why not?

DARYL
She doesn't know this walk. She's never been down/ this street.

DEREK
Well Winifred?

DARYL
Derek!

DEREK
Let's just see.
Well?

WINIFRED
What exactly am I supposed to be turning my olfactory facilities towards?

DEREK
That stink. Of obsession.

WINIFRED
I see.

DEREK
Can you smell it?

WINIFRED
Yes.

DEREK
Describe it.

WINIFRED
Umm...momentum, not entirely controllable. A grey smell: concrete, ash and soot, iron.

DEREK
Yes. And steel barbed with crimson. Yes?

WINIFRED
Yes.

DARYL
Don't do that again.

DEREK
Can't help it. I'm lured by crime.

A far away tango starts to play

Aren't you sometimes?

DARYL
I...

DEREK
Aren't you?

DARYL
No.

DEREK
Yes you are.

The tango gets louder

DEREK
Tell me, Daryl.

DARYL
No.

DEREK
About the boy.

DARYL
No.

Tango up full. DIAMOND appears.

DEREK takes DARYL and they dance a tango.

DIAMOND sings.

DIAMOND

Mi Amor del Oscuro (My Love of the Darkness)

Mi amor del oscuro
anda por las calles rotas
Mi amor del la noche
llama de las sabanas
Ven, ven, baja con migo
Ven, ven, baja con migo

Mi amor del oscuro
no temes
Mi amor del la noche
solo aislado
Ven, ven, baja con migo
Ven, ven, baja con migo

Te llevaré
adonde quieras ir
Te llevaré
adonde quieras estar
Ven, ven, baja con migo
Ven, ven, baja con migo

Mi amor de oscuridad
no temes
Mi amor del la noche
llama de las sabanas
Ven, ven, baja con migo
Ven, ven, baja con migo
Ven, ven, baja con migo
Ven, ven, baja con migo

The dance ends.

DEREK and DARYL step apart.

DEREK
Now, tell me.

DARYL
My place, it's close to here...

DEREK
Please.

DARYL
One or two blocks. Maybe three. No more than five or six.

DEREK
I need to...

DARYL
Would you like to... like to...

A trumpet plays the first bar of "What'll I Do."

like to come...

DARYL stops, hesitates, then exits.

DEREK starts to follow DARYL.

DIAMOND
Stay here.

DEREK
No, I want to ..

DIAMOND
Stay! With her. I'm going.

DIAMOND exits after DARYL.

WINIFRED looks after them.

WINIFRED
Where does he keep going?

making a note

Strange departures. Just disappears.

DEREK
Yes.

WINIFRED
Very confusing.

DEREK
Very.

WINIFRED
What?

DEREK
Let me see what you're writing.

WINIFRED
No.

DEREK
Why not?

WINIFRED
I never share my findings in progress.

DEREK
Why?

WINIFRED
Skews the results. Influences the population being observed. Negates the necessity of analysis.

DEREK
I know where he goes.

WINIFRED
I thought you might.

DEREK
At least I think I know. I could tell you.

WINIFRED
Can you show me?

DEREK
Maybe. Can you show me?

WINIFRED
Where he goes? Of course not.

DEREK
No. Why you came here.

WINIFRED
That's of no consequence. To you at least.

DEREK
But it is to you.

WINIFRED
Possibly.

DEREK
Possibly and Maybe. Well, that's a starting point.

DARYL enters.

WINIFRED
Where do you keep going?

DEREK
He won't tell you.

DARYL
It's not important.

DEREK
He won't tell me.

WINIFRED
Strange disappearances? Seems important.

DEREK
Not the whole story.

WINIFRED
How am I to make any of this into a coherent whole if you don't show me everything? Can you tell me that?

DEREK
Have you Daryl? You haven't told me...

DARYL
Derek! It's none of her business.

WINIFRED
You do want me to make some sense of this don't you?

DARYL
Of course.

DEREK
What about me? And Diamond, huh? Does she know? What about us? Is it our business?

DARYL
That's between the three of us.

WINIFRED
I need to be able to explicate my experiences here with some modicum of clarity.

DEREK
So why'd you ask her to stay?

WINIFRED
From now on I want clear, succinct, and cognizant events upon which to base my findings. All of the events in one direct line.

DARYL
She's got nothing to do with it.

DEREK
I'm not stupid.

WINIFRED
Nothing is as charming as a man walking in one line. Charm me.

DARYL
Where did you get that insane notion?

WINIFRED
I extrapolated.

DARYL
We went over the...

WINIFRED
Enough! Enough of your rules, your guidelines. From now on I shall extrapolate if I feel like it. I shall take photographs if I feel like it. I shall...

She opens her purse and takes out a lipstick.

wear as much makeup as I like!

She applies the lipstick.

There!

DEREK
A rather tasteful and moderate color.

WINIFRED
Yes, well. Some transgressions I simply won't make.

DEREK
Well, thank god for that.

WINIFRED
Now I want you to proceed. Be clear. Be succinct. Be direct.

Beat

DARYL
It's a day, like many other. A day that begins...

WINIFRED
No. No more days.

DARYL
Fine. It's a night,/the smell of ..

WINIFRED
No more nights either! One line. I want it in one line.

DARYL
A line bends. Becomes a spiral, turning back onto itself.

WINIFRED
Determined aren't you? To obstruct my work. Move on.

A trumpet plays the opening bar of "What'll I Do."

Damn that trumpet.

DARYL starts to leave.

Oh, no you don't. You stay right here.

The trumpet plays the next bar.

WINIFRED
Stop that trumpet playing.

DEREK
Stay here and tell her.

WINIFRED

about the trumpet

For god's sake.

DEREK
And tell me.

DARYL
No.

to WINIFRED

Your time is up. Derek will show you out.

DEREK
No. I won't.

DARYL
Then you can find your own way out.

WINIFRED
But...

DEREK
She's not done yet. I'm not done.

DARYL
Three days isn't long to get to Madagascar. You should leave now.

DEREK
I'm not done with her.

DARYL
She's leaving.

DEREK
You asked her to stay/ you can't...

DARYL
And I'm telling her/ to leave.

DEREK
just kick her out.

DARYL
Yes, I can.

to WINIFRED

Goodbye.

DARYL starts to exit.

WINIFRED
Wait.

DARYL
I'm done. It's over. No more.

WINIFRED
A minute. Please.

DARYL
Nothing you say will change my mind.

WINIFRED
Noted. But this work, here, now, this work is... I mean I...

DEREK
What?

WINIFRED
I need to finish my work here.

DARYL
Go someplace else. Go to Zurich or Istanbul or Cleveland. I don't care. Find someplace else, someone else, some other work.

WINIFRED
Some other work. Yes, well... I don't have any other work.

DARYL
You've got Madagascar. In three days. Then your lecture tour.

WINIFRED
Hyperbole. All of that... before. Puffery. There is no lecture tour. No expedition to Madagascar. I have no future engagements.

DARYL
Puffery and subterfuge.

WINIFRED
I need to make a splash. If I don't...if I don't... I will be retired. Forced to retire. Permanently. Never to hear the clicking of indigenous tongues. No more maps and mountain mist. Or machete maneuvers. Oh, those magnificent machete maneuvers! Gone. All gone. Lock up my monogrammed paddle, my compass, my notebook. I shall be relegated to a brick cottage by the sea. Forced to tend trellised tea roses, potted geraniums, and tomatoes. Forced to put up preserves. Oh, god, those endless days of canning. Forced to look out across the sea and occasionally, just occasionally, pick up the scent of a foreign shore on the breeze.

DARYL
Heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking. Send us some chutney.

WINIFRED
I had given up hope. I couldn't see any Ah-ha's! heading my way. I had started packing. Why not? My retirement seemed inevitable. The seashore seemed inevitable. Then I found that door and...

DEREK
Ah-ha!?

WINIFRED
Yes. No. I was hoping. All I did was...

DEREK
Take a leap.

WINIFRED
I had to. I had no choice.

DEREK
I know that one.

DARYL
There's no reason for us to care about your imminent retirement.

WINIFRED
I am fully aware of that.

DARYL
So there's no reason I should let you stay.

WINIFRED
No altruistic reason, no.

DEREK
But there's a selfish one.

WINIFRED
Of course.

to DARYL

You want to hear my findings. My conclusion.

DARYL
A turn in the spotlight for the scientific diva? I don't think so.

WINIFRED
Why else did you have me stay?

DEREK
She could be useful. That's what you said.

DARYL
Could be. But I was wrong. She's done nothing but interrupt and extrapolate.

WINIFRED
I can still be useful.

DARYL
To yourself.

WINIFRED
Please, one more chance...

DARYL
Go, please go.

DEREK
What would it hurt?

DARYL
There's nothing more to show her.

DEREK
That's not true.

DARYL
Please, please. Go.

DEREK
Her findings. At least let's hear that.

WINIFRED
But I haven't...

DEREK
Not now.

WINIFRED
I haven't collected...

DEREK

to WINIFRED

I'm trying to help you here, so shut it for a minute.

DARYL
It won't make any difference.

DEREK
You don't know that.

calling off stage

Diamond!

to DARYL

Let's just see.

DIAMOND enters.

DIAMOND
Yes?!

DEREK
Winifred's going to give us her findings.

DIAMOND
Really? Well, won't THAT be scintillating.

to WINIFRED

OK, lay it on us, honey.

DARYL
Derek, I don't want to hear...

DEREK
Sort it out, Winifred. Sort it out.

The lights start to fade

WINIFRED
I don't think I will be able to... I don't do...

A spotlight on WINIFRED. The others have receded into the darkness.

Is this light really necessary?

DIAMOND
Typical. Of sensible shoes. Find your light, Winifred! Find your light! Jesus.

WINIFRED

trying to find her light

Oh! Where are... I can't see...

DIAMOND
Sort it out, Lady! Sort it out!

WINIFRED

shuffling through her notepad

Um... um... singing... and um... dancing... and... ah here: names thrown around randomly... and... and... boys in blue, boys in towels. A day. Another day. And another. And then night. And um... um... I can't do this extemporaneously!

DIAMOND
Figures.

WINIFRED
And without conclusive data!

DEREK joins WINIFRED in the light

DEREK
You've arrived.

WINIFRED
I'm quite aware of that fact.

DEREK
No.

prompting

You've arrived...

WINIFRED
Stop repeating yourself!

DEREK
No no no. You've arrived... How did you arrive?

WINIFRED
I arrived by foot.

DEREK
Good. And then... ?

***

Sorting it out

WINIFRED
I arrived by foot. Through a door. And... and...

DEREK recedes into the darkness.

entered a strangeness... a strangeness typically met under conditions little calculated for. Previous writings were of little use, appearing vastly out of date. Early hostility was abundant. I feared for my very life until a native guide, a docent, interceded. He appeared well-versed in a variety of ritual dances leading me to ascertain that I had encountered a society that combined and recombined disparate elements. A society of synthesis. But what did these dances portend? What did they signify? Could they be likened to the rain dance of the Zuni? Would it introduce a dancing period intended for beauty magic similar to the Trobrianders? Was it the ballroom dancing of the debutante? No. None of these. No significance was found, no intrinsic necessity attached.

The jurisprudence system is minimal and highly arbitrary. One might even say annoyingly arbitrary. It is also easily circumvented. This leads an outside observer to conclude that group formation could be easily toppled from within or without portending an instability in all stratas of society.

I was led through a parade of days barely indistinguishable from each other. And likewise through a litany of nights. Within this repetition, names, usually seen as linguistic containers of personality, were freely assigned and reassigned. Group members seemed to enter a temporary trance state where they forgot who they were. Again this points to a dispensability, this time a dispensability of personality. With that comes an insufficiency of memory required by all cultural structures in creating a group identity and hence group history.

There was an intermittent spark, a gray obsession, a leaning into that acquired enormous significance. However the overriding observation, of the many thorough and detailed observations I made during my stay, and perhaps the most disturbing, was an odd need to begin. And return to a beginning. Was this some ritual of re-birth? Unlikely. Was it creation myth manifested over and over again? Highly doubtful. Was it all just a dirty little game of flimflam? Quite possibly, for I observed no formal marriage rituals, no set kinships systems, no organized religious structures. In short it is hard to imagine this grouping of people existing past tomorrow, hard to imagine they have existed at all, leaving me to ascertain that any further investigations would be fruitless. Entirely fruitless. I have captured a snapshot, the final snapshot, of a society dissolving.

pause

Well! Yes.

DARYL
That's your conclusion?

WINIFRED
Marvelous, isn't it. Now this is mine exclusively? Correct?

DARYL
Oh, yes, it's all yours.

WINIFRED
Good. Oh, I feel quite...

DIAMOND
Wait, wait, wait. What about me? You've completely left me out. That was all about them.

WINIFRED checks her notes.

WINIFRED
Oh, yes... um... let's see... ah... no...ah, no. Um... no. Ah, here. "Doesn't chat."

WINIFRED closes her pad.

DIAMOND
Doesn't chat! That's it?!

WINIFRED
Nothing else was of import.

DIAMOND
Look, lady. I walk into a room, it's important. I open my mouth, it's important.

WINIFRED
Well then, nothing else was relevant.

DIAMOND
I ooze relevance. I define relevance.

WINIFRED
Crucial then, to my work.

DIAMOND
Foul!! Over the line. You've gone too far. You've miscalculated. Oh, yes, I make it look easy. The glamour, the bass beat, the heartache. That's my job. These two? They'd be nowhere without me. Nowhere. They don't think that. They wouldn't admit it. But spend a Friday night outside their bedroom watching them dance alone in the window pane. That's my voice they're dancing to. My words, pounding down the lonely, hovering above their bed. And who do they take with them on those brighter days driving the coast or biking the park? Or those sparkling nights surrounded by friends and drinks and drugs? ME! ME! ME! What happens when it all comes crumbling down and they're curled up on a comforter that smells of the man that just walked out the door. For good. They run to me like dogs. Dogs! And I put out. Every time. Every fucking time. Not expecting anything back. Nothing. I don't have to. If the next day is better. Or worse. They'll be back. Lapping at my heels. It's inevitable.

DEREK
That's enough.

DIAMOND
Don't push me. I'll leave.

DEREK
Yeah, right.

DARYL
She could leave you know.

DEREK
And where would she go? Who else would put up with her? Huh?

DIAMOND
Plenty of other people.

DEREK
Don't fool yourself. You need us just as much as we need you.

DIAMOND
Ah-ha! So you admit it. I am crucial.

to DARYL

Tell her that. Make her write that down.

DARYL
Out of my hands. She'll do what she wants.

DIAMOND

to WINIFRED

Write it down! Write that I'm crucial!

DARYL

to WINIFRED

Won't you? Do what you want?

WINIFRED
Part of my job.

DIAMOND
Please! Please write down that I'm crucial. Please!

WINIFRED
There may have been something I missed about your... your position.

DIAMOND
Then you'll include me?

WINIFRED
I'll take it under consideration.

DIAMOND
Under consideration?! Oh, that's it. Under consideration! I don't need to be auditioning for some woman wearing sensible shoes.

DIAMOND storms off

DARYL
See. She's leaving.

DEREK
She'll be fine. She's prone/ to...

WINIFRED
"...to fits of outburst." Oh, yes, I got that down.

DARYL
You did? Then why...?

WINIFRED
Oh, I do love watching her fireworks. Not very professional of me, that, but she does get on one's nerves, doesn't she. Forgive me for my small moment of vindication.

DEREK
She's got a sense of humor.

WINIFRED
I have been sited, on occasion, for my wit.

DARYL
You do a good job of submerging that quality.

beat

Will you really say all that?

WINIFRED
Oh, yes. This will assure me a spot on the fall lecture tour. Well then, time for me to depart.

DARYL
What else is in your findings that you didn't tell us?

WINIFRED
About you two? Nothing else. It's all there.

DARYL
There must be something else. A sentence misplaced. A gesture ignored. Check your notes.

WINIFRED
All finished.

DARYL
A question then. Anything. Ask me anything.

WINIFRED
I have no other questions.

DARYL
Another day then. Let me show you one more day.

WINIFRED
I have had quite enough of your "days."

DARYL
A night then, /like many other...

WINIFRED
And of your "nights."

DARYL
But it's not right! That can't be right!

WINIFRED
Right? Wrong? What would you know about that? You're just a docent. Whereas I...

DARYL
You're tossing our lives aside just to save yourself from retirement.

WINIFRED
I hardly think that...

DARYL
Right? Wrong?

WINIFRED
This is the result of a thorough and detailed...

DARYL
You owe me.

WINIFRED
Owe you? I don't owe you...

DARYL
You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me. Those two would have eaten you up.

beat

Well?

Silence

WINIFRED
Be quick about it.

DARYL
It's a day?

WINIFRED
Fine.

DARYL
Or a night?

WINIFRED
None of this will change my findings.

DARYL
A beginning.

WINIFRED
Of course. How could there not be.
A beginning. Hardly the way to sway my opinion.

***

A beginning: you decide

DARYL
It's a day of passing open doors. Wafts of coffee slap your face. Or a night passing different doors that reek of stale beer, of plywood and concrete floors.

to WINIFRED

You decide.

to DEREK, rapid fire exchange.

Fireman or Cop?

DEREK
Fireman.

DARYL
Quarterback or shortstop?

DEREK
Shortstop.

DARYL
Art store clerk? Bookstore clerk?

DEREK
New or used books?

DARYL
Used.

DEREK
Both.

DARYL
Decide.

DEREK
Art store.

DARYL
Really?

DEREK

turning the tables

Me or your ex?

Direct hit

Pause

Me or your ex?

DARYL
Would you like to dance?

DEREK
Why won't you tell me?

DARYL
You can show me the two-step.

DEREK
Start at the beginning.

DARYL
I'm sure it can't be that hard.

DEREK
That's all you have to do.

DARYL
I can't.

DEREK
You mean you won't.

DARYL
No. Not this. This isn't what I...

WINIFRED
Oh, for god's sake, this is the point...

DEREK and DARYL look at WINIFRED.

DEREK
Tell him.

WINIFRED
This is the point. To leap.

DARYL
Why?

DEREK
Why not?

DARYL
Will it change your findings?

WINIFRED
Hard to tell. Hard to tell.

Silence

DARYL

calling off stage

Diamond!

DIAMOND enters.

DIAMOND
Do you have to yell so much?! Jesus. What now? I'm in the middle of changing.

DARYL
We're making a -- departure.

DIAMOND
A what?!

DARYL
A departure.

DIAMOND
Oh, for god's sake stop repeating your self. I think her chattering affected you.

seeing WINIFRED

Why is she still here? Why are you still here?

DARYL
I thought you'd want to know. About the departure.

DIAMOND
What does it matter if I know or not. I'm not crucial.

DARYL
I didn't say that.

DIAMOND
No, she did. Missy ugly clothes science woman.
Take whatever kind of departure you want.

DARYL
You may be needed.

DIAMOND
I may be needed. Well, whaddaya know about that. Me. Needed.

to WINIFRED

I may be needed.

to DARYL

So, what kind of departure is this?

DARYL
I'm not sure.

DIAMOND
You're not sure? Well what the Hell am I supposed to do with that. Huh?

DEREK
Wing it.

DIAMOND
Wing it?! I can't just Wing it. I don't just Wing things. Now you two get your shit together and then call me. Wing it. Jesus.

DIAMOND starts to exit

DARYL
It's an ending.

DIAMOND\WINIFRED
What?

WINIFRED
You said it was a beginning.

DARYL
Pay attention. We've taken a departure.

DIAMOND
An ending? Really?

DARYL
Yes.

DEREK
Well?

pause

DARYL
He had hands like a butterfly. And a back like a redwood. We drove down the coast stopping at every doggie diner and foster freeze we could find. Picture this: a man in black, lit by pink neon; an ice cream cone upside down on the car carpet; hot palm air. We went to the ocean, stood on the beach like foreigners. He opened the car door and told me he couldn't be with me. Anymore. I tried to breath some desire into his eyes, into his forearms. But it was only a step and a hop to unrequited slobber and shake. That was the last time we spoke.

pause

Happy?

DEREK
There's more, Daryl.

DARYL
There were days, there were nights.

DEREK
And a beginning?

DARYL
There always is.

Lights shift

It was a day, that became unlike any other day.

***

The beginning

DARYL with a list. He looks up, scanning his surroundings.

DARYL
Grocery store, grocery store.

DEREK
Next corner, turn left, right hand side.

DARYL
Excuse me?

DEREK
Grocery store, next corner, turn left.

DARYL
Oh, right. Thanks. Still getting my bearings.
I've got this list.

DEREK
Want some help?

DARYL
Could you?

DEREK
Let me see.

DARYL gives the list to DEREK.

Lists are always helpful.

DARYL
Yes, they are, aren't they.

DEREK
Umm... wire, bolts, screws... the hardware store across from the grocery store. Do you know it?

DARYL
The one with no sign?

DEREK
Yes... soap, sponge, shampoo at that small store back this way, the corner one with...

DARYL
large windows?

DEREK
Yes or the larger one further past the hardware store.

DARYL
Is that the one under the freeway?

DEREK
Just past. An umbrella. Hard to find right now. You won't need one till it rains, though.

DARYL
Thanks so much.

DEREK
No problem.

DARYL
You're like a one-man welcome wagon.

DEREK
Hardly.

DARYL
What then? Some sorta cop or something? Protect, serve, defend kinda thing?

DEREK
No.

DARYL
A fireman. I bet you're a fireman.

DEREK
An art store clerk. I'm an art store clerk.

DARYL
Really?

DEREK
It's not that surprising.

DARYL
I suppose not. Well thank you.

introducing himself

Allen.

a Break, a Rip

DEREK
Allen. His name was Allen?

DARYL
Yes.

resuming

DEREK

introducing himself

Daryl.

DARYL
Think it'll rain soon?

DEREK
Doubtful.

beat

You know I saw you last week.

DARYL
You should have said hello.

DEREK
I didn't know you then. At that moment.

DARYL

laughing

No, you didn't. How odd.

DEREK
You were across the street.

DARYL
I was?

DEREK
Yes. You were...

DARYL
Buying tulips! Ah yes, I remember.

DEREK
Yes. You stopped me.

DARYL
Really?

DEREK
That's when I thought: how odd.

DARYL
Oh.

DEREK
You reminded me of this boy I once knew. I remember him leaning against this tree, dressed all in blue, reading. Something about you reminds me of him.

DARYL
You live around here?

DEREK
Yeah. You?

DARYL
Yeah. You close?

DEREK
Close enough. Above town. On the hill. Would you like to come up? For the view? It's walking distance.

DARYL
That would be...

A trumpet plays the first bar of "What'll I do."

WINIFRED
Oh, lord. That trumpet does play at the most inopportune moments. Now don't go...

The trumpet plays the next bar, more insistently. DARYL starts to leave.

an Ah-Ha moment for WINIFRED

Ahh... interesting.

DARYL turns to WINIFRED.

DARYL
What?

The trumpet plays the next bar, pleading.

WINIFRED

making a note

Very interesting.

DARYL
What? Tell me.

WINIFRED
The trumpet playing. It seems to be a kind of kayvaluha.

DIAMOND
Now she's chattering nonsense.

DARYL
Shh. Kayvaluha?

WINIFRED
From the natives of the Trobriand Islands in British New Guinea. Malinowski, one of my predecessors, made a seminal study there. Usually it was bones -- jawbones in particular.

DIAMOND
Bones! This has nothing to do with bones.

DEREK
How do you know that?

DARYL
What is it? This kayvaluha.

WINIFRED
A relic, of the departed.

DARYL
A relic?

WINIFRED
Yes, only this, this is...

remembering

"The relic brings the departed back to our mind and makes our inside tender."

to DARYL

Yes?

DARYL
Yes.

WINIFRED
This is not an object, though, is it? Not something you can hold in your hand?

DARYL
No.

WINIFRED
Peculiar.

DARYL
What do I do now?

WINIFRED
I don't know.

DARYL
What about these people, from the islands, what do they do?

WINIFRED
They retreat with the relics, sitting alone, speaking in whispers.

DARYL
I see. The half-light.

WINIFRED
Ahh, of course.

DEREK
The what?

DARYL
The half-light.

to WINIFRED

Correct?

WINIFRED
Yes.

the light starts to fade, very very slowly.

DIAMOND
Daryl, are you sure?

DARYL
Yes.

DIAMOND
I should go get... do something... change into...

DARYL
Yes.

DIAMOND exits.

WINIFRED
It's hard to see in the half-light.

DARYL
I know.
A canopy of oak and eucalyptus cover the sidewalk. A crack snakes up the side of a brick building. A man walking towards you stops you still. Seconds pass with no heartbeat.

The lights have faded to just a pool around DARYL.

DEREK and WINIFRED recede into the darkness.

DARYL
I still dream you're here. Funny isn't it. You. Still here. And you haven't been for so long. How long? I don't even remember. Not anymore. You just keep coming back, every night, waking me up, sounding that goddamn trumpet, smiling with that gold tooth. You laugh and blow out your spit valve. I keep telling you to leave. Leave for good. You just laugh and wink and turn ...

Lights up on DIAMOND in a gorgeous sparkling white gown. She hums the opening bars of "What'll I Do" then starts singing.

DIAMOND
"What'll I do, when you are far away and I am blue, What'll I do. What'll I do when I am wondering who is kissing you, what I'll do."

She continues singing as DARYL speaks.

DARYL
And it makes me so goddamn mad. Because you know. You know it's the one song that you played that would ... that I asked for...that was...

I try to stay mad. I bite down. I clench. I recall small betrayals, I trace the arc of dismissals, I plot the lies. And you keep playing it. Just like you always did. Late at night. By the window. After we made love. Then...

DIAMOND
"What'll I...."

DIAMOND stops abruptly.

DARYL
And you're gone. Again. Fucking gone again.

pause

The lights start to fade back up.

DEREK
And he's the boy in the backyard, the boy in blue, the boy reading?

DARYL
Allen. Yes, he's that boy.

DEREK
Where is he?

DARYL
I saw him once, after our drive down the coast, our standing on the beach. He was in the subway leaning against an escalator, penciling a newspaper crossword. He was so intent, so focused. He didn't look up, didn't see me.

I don't know where he is. Don't know if he's alive or dead.

DEREK
How could you...

DARYL
The epidemic had just started. It was that time when so many people left us so so quickly. So he could be gone. Or not. I don't know.

WINIFRED
I see.

DIAMOND
I doubt that.

WINIFRED
I think that I am capable...

DIAMOND
Capable?! Capable?!

DARYL
Shh...

DIAMOND
But really. Capable?!

WINIFRED
I see. That's all I said.

DIAMOND
First the spark, now this.

DARYL
Shh...

DIAMOND
She couldn't possibly...

DARYL
Shh...

WINIFRED
I'm not without integrity you know.

DARYL
That's not really what this is about.
Is it Derek.

DEREK
Her integrity? Doesn't interest me much one way or the other.

DARYL
I didn't think it would.
Would you like to come up? For the view?

DEREK
And look at the city? The flickering lights?

DARYL
If you like. The view is...

DEREK
No.

DARYL
...impressive.

DEREK
Look at me.

DARYL looks at DEREK.

I can't come up.

DIAMOND
You have to go up. You go up, I come out, I sing. It's my cue, Derek. You're my cue.

DEREK
He told you we were making a departure.

DIAMOND
You never give my cue. I never get to sing my song.

DARYL
But... this is the beginning. Isn't it?

DEREK
I thought it was but...

DARYL
You're the perfect height. That's what I tell people. From the first moment, I knew you were the perfect height.

DEREK
I know.

WINIFRED
It's one of the first things he told me. See, I have it down right here.

WINIFRED shows DEREK her notes.

DEREK
He tells everyone.

WINIFRED
It's not a small thing it seems to me.

DARYL
No it's not.

DEREK
I know that.

Silence

DEREK exits.

DIAMOND
But...

DIAMOND follows DEREK

DARYL and WINIFRED alone on stage

WINIFRED
We seem to have stumbled on an ending.

DARYL
I wasn't looking for an ending.

WINIFRED
What were you looking for?

DARYL
A beginning, I thought. With Derek.
This retreat, with the relics, how long does it last?

WINIFRED
With the islanders it was several months, sometimes several years. It depended on the departed, on their status in the tribe.

DARYL
I see.

WINIFRED
They weren't entirely alone. There were people, helping. Daily tasks and so on.

pause

DARYL
Would you like to dance?

WINIFRED
Umm...

DARYL
My offer still stands.

beat

You said it didn't signify anything.

WINIFRED
True.

DARYL
Good. So?

WINIFRED
Well I...

DARYL
Daily tasks?

WINIFRED
Yes, I suppose so.

DARYL
A waltz perhaps?

WINIFRED
If you like.

DARYL and WINIFRED assume a dancing position.

Music.

They dance an awkward waltz.

WINIFRED
I'm sorry. It's been some time since I...

DARYL
Let's start again.

They start again. It goes a bit better.

WINIFRED
I'm not really the right height am I?

DARYL
You're doing fine.

They dance a moment in silence, then slowly fall into a rhythm.

WINIFRED
Oh, we seem to be...

DARYL
Yes.

WINIFRED
Well! How lovely. How very lovely.

DARYL
Yes it is, isn't it.

They dance

WINIFRED
Make I ask you a question?

DARYL
I thought you didn't have any more questions.

WINIFRED
Did you go up?

DARYL
When?

WINIFRED
That day. With Allen. Did you go up?

DARYL
For the view?

WINIFRED
Yes.

DARYL
Not that day. It was later.

WINIFRED
Waiting. Hard to do that.

DARYL
It cultivates patience. Makes you hungry.

WINIFRED
Story lines get plotted, myths constructed. You run the danger of falling down a fairy tale hole.

DARYL
That all crumbles with the short sharp shock of another person's flesh, their breathing, their heartbeat.

WINIFRED
And that happened with Allen?

DARYL
That point of attachment? Yes. That's when you can start. That's the beginning.

WINIFRED
The beginning?

DARYL
Yes.

WINIFRED
Oh, I do love the definitive.

The music ends. WINIFRED and DARYL step apart.

Yes, well, my, my.
I really should be going soon.

DARYL

calling off stage.

Derek!

DEREK enters carrying WINIFRED'S bag. DIAMOND follows him.

DEREK
Your bag.

WINIFRED
Thank you. Now...

DARYL
Derek will go with you.

WINIFRED
Thank you but I'm sure I can find my own way out.

DARYL
Won't you Derek?

DEREK
Is that what you want?

DARYL
For now.

DEREK
And later?

DARYL
I don't know.

to WINIFRED

He's a good partner. Have him teach you the two-step.

WINIFRED
Partner? He's only seeing me out.

DEREK
I'm going with you.

WINIFRED
With me. Don't be absurd. I've always worked alone. Always.

DARYL
Sometimes happens when you leap, Winifred. You can't always tell where you'll land.

DEREK
I could be useful.

WINIFRED
Humph. We shall see about that.

DEREK

to WINIFRED

Ready?

WINIFRED
Madagascar calls.

WINIFRED and DEREK start to leave.

WINIFRED
Oh, one thing before I go.

DARYL
What?

WINIFRED
I'm afraid there is something I didn't include in my finding. An omission of sorts.

DARYL
What's that?

(pause)

WINIFRED
I danced.

DARYL
You danced.

WINIFRED
Yes. Nice, isn't it. I. Danced.

DARYL
Clear, succinct, cognizant.

WINIFRED
Yes it is.
Well. Goodbye then.

DARYL
Goodbye.

looking at DEREK

Goodbye, Derek.

DEREK
Goodbye, Daryl.

to DIAMOND

Goodbye. It's your new cue.

WINIFRED
Come on, then. I am on a time schedule, remember?

WINIFRED and DEREK exit.

DIAMOND
Did you just... ? Did he just... ? You just... He's not coming back, is he?

DARYL
Nope.

DIAMOND
You just sent him away didn't you?

DARYL
Yeap.

DIAMOND
With her.

DARYL
Uh-huh.

DIAMOND
Boy when you take a departure, you really take... I mean... hello!

DARYL
Maybe he was never really here.

DIAMOND
Who?

DARYL
Derek. Maybe he was just a memory. Or some re-creation of a memory.

DIAMOND
Auntie Em! Auntie Em!
God, and you say I'm the dramatic one.

DARYL
It could be true.

DIAMOND
Oh, please, Daryl. He was here. And now he's not. It's that simple.

DARYL
Still...

DIAMOND
Still nothing.

DARYL
Well, he'll become a memory now.

DIAMOND
You wear me out. You know that. You just wear me out.

pause

Now what?

DARYL
I'll sit alone, speaking in whispers.

DIAMOND
Well, doesn't THAT sound like just too much fun.

DARYL
I don't think that...

DIAMOND
Oh, please.
Come on. Give me my cue.

DARYL
What?

DIAMOND
My cue, Daryl. We are not going to sit around whispering. You may think that you're going to sit around whispering but whispering is not...

Oh, god!

DARYL
What?

DIAMOND
Now I'm repeating myself. Lord.

DARYL
Diamond, I really don't...

DIAMOND
There's no discussion about this. I'm not watching you -- god Daryl -- Sitting? Whispering?

Get a grip, babe. Besides, I'm all dressed and I've got a number that I never got to do. So c'mon, give me my cue.

beat

It'll be good for you. It always is.

pause

Someone else will come through that door. Eventually.

DARYL
I suppose so.

DIAMOND
So till then?

DARYL looks out after DEREK, then turns to DIAMOND.

DARYL
Goodbye.

Music starts. The lights shift. DIAMOND sings.

DIAMOND

Waltzing through the Fog

I could travel long distances
on that look in your eyes
never walking out my front door,
fading into a sigh.

I tremble at the thought of touching you
fingertip to fingertip
learning complete paragraphs
translated from lip to lip.

I'm waltzing through the fog
and if tomorrow's changed your name
I'll take a pause to recollect
a step to rearrange.

I'll catalogue the memories
of people dear to you and me
shade them in in bright, bright blue
flint and coal of many hues

It's a thought enclosed in leaping,
its a leaning into grace
to recall the small beginnings
where my varied loves are based.

I'm waltzing through the fog
and if tomorrow's changed your name
I'll take a pause to recollect
a step to rearrange.

Listen... it's a desire heard long distance
I'll call it home perhaps
as I waltz through the fog.
waltz through the fog.

I'm waltzing through the fog
and if tomorrow's changed your name
I'll take a pause to recollect
a step to rearrange.

Waltzing through the fog
Waltzing through the fog
as I travel long distances,
travel long distances,
travel endless distances.

A trumpet picks up the last notes of the song and plays solo.

DARYL listens.

DIAMOND listens.

The lights fade.

End of Play.

***

Table of Contents: Half-Light Dances

Brian Thorstenson lives in San Francisco. His first play, Heading South, received a Bay Area Critics Circle Nomination and was part of the 1996 Berkeley Art Centers' performance series. His play Summerland was selected for the 2000 Bay Area Playwrights Festival and the 2000 Z Festival of New Performance, and opened in New York City at Wings Theatre Company. The play is included in the anthology Plays and Playwrights 2002. His poetry has been published in Transfer and Six Thousand Five Hundred. Brian has received writing fellowships from the Djerassi Resident Arts Program and Blue Mountain Center. He currently is a lecturer in playwriting at San Francisco State University and Santa Clara University.

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