Behind the Shoji Screen

The setting and the cast

2007-04-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

The place: S. Francisco circa 1990
The characters:
Dave - middle forties, former dancer now working as a financial analyst
Linda - middle thirties dancer/actress
Jeff - middle thirties to middle forties, play director
Jason - middle twenties to thirty, actor

Scene 1: Linda and Dave's apartment

2007-04-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

Linda and Jason are rehearsing a scene from a new play in Linda's living room. This is one of their first readings. The set shows the apartment where Linda and Dave live. The set has a dining table and a shoji screen which separates the living area from a bed. Linda and Jason are standing with scripts in their hands and are still mostly reading from them.

Linda (playing Ann): Mark, you haven't said a word all evening.

Jason (playing Mark): Oh leave me alone!

L (Ann): I don't understand what's going on with you!

J (Mark): Ann, I don't feel like talking about it now.

L (Ann): Why not?

L: (shifts out of the Ann character)wait. Mark... Jason, why am I being so pushy now... an what are you trying to avoid? I mean, I know I am pregnant and you weren't ready for it. Well, I guess I wasn't ready either, but I think that love will conquer all... right?

J: (also shifts out of the Mark character - these characters are not picked up in the play again) Well, I am pretty bummed out... haven't had a gig for two weeks, the rent has to be paid, and it sounds like you are ready to keep the child! How can they afford it?

L: That's not strong enough.

J: What do you mean?

L: I mean that if it were just financial you wouldn't be so stubborn about not talking. There's got to be something deeper gnawing at you... like ... you don't love me anymore. That would give me something I could sink my teeth into.

J: (smirking)you'll get a chance to do that later in the scene... (sensing Linda's discomfort...) I am sorry, Linda, that was rude... the point though is that I am not sure I agree. The script is not clear about this and they end up making passionate love at the end! Which reminds me... have you talked with Jeff about that?

L: Yes, he asked me if I'd feel OK with it, but I wasn't completely clear about it, and I was sort of afraid to press for details. It's a good thing I feel comfortable with you. How do you understand that scene? It sounds like we're supposed to take different sexual poses and freeze while action continues on stage. I guess that's so people won't keep staring at us?

J: Yea... a kind of sexual "wallpaper" that changes once in a while. This play is very dancy and symbolic, and we'll go back and forth from realistic foreground to symbolic background... It should be interesting.

L: Are they serious about us being naked?

J: That's what the stage directions say, and knowing Jeff he'll probably wanna do it that way, but he did mention to me that they may let us walk behind a shoij screen (points at the screen in Linda's apartment)... just like that one... and project our shadows on it.

L: I should really talk to Jeff again about this...

Dave enters wearing a suit, carrying an attache' case and holding the day's mail. Puts the attache down on the floor and the mail on the table, that is already cluttered with paper.

Dave: Hi guys... I hope I am not disturbing.

L & J (almost in unison) Hi Dave.

L: ...no we were just wrapping it up here. (To Jason) I'll see you tomorrow at the theater. 4, right?

Dave takes off his jacket, puts it down on the couch and walks into the kitchen

J: Right (louder to be heard in the kitchen)
...bye Dave.

D: (from off stage) Are you sure you don't wanna stay for some pasta? It's already cooked and ready to be zapped in the microwave.

J: No thanks Dave, Bruce is waiting for me.

Dave reappears holding a kitchen towel. He is wiping his hands with it

D: OK, bye Jason, see you back here?

J: Actually we're gonna start blocking at the theater tomorrow. Anyhow, keep cool you two! Bye.

L: Bye

Last look and smile at Linda - Jason exits - Microwave bell rings - Dave exits and reappears holding a a plate of spaghetti and a glass of wine. He sits at the table and starts sorting through the mail while eating. Linda exits (to kitchen).

D: How's the play going?

L: off stage voice covered by water sound
What? now shouting and annoyed This sink is still leeeeeking...! Is it EVER gonna get fixed?!

D: louder and ignoring the sink problem How's the play going?

Over kitchen noises and closing refrigerator door

L: Oh OK. The dancing part is fine. I still don't feel good about my dialog, but I expected that.

She walks back into the dining room holding a plate and a glass with a green drink. The plate has a small sandwitch and at least ten pills of various colors. She sits at the table and starts swallowing one pill after another while drinking sips of the liquid in between pills. Looks at the stack of envelopes near him.

L: Do I have mail?

He picks up a few envelopes and hands them to her

L: I hate how you always hog the mail (looking quickly through a number of envelopes) ..junk, junk...

Opens one envelope, looks at a card, then hands it over to Dave.

L: Look, Deb and Matt are getting married

D: When?

L: June 20th... shit, just when I was planning to go to the workshop.

D: What workshop?

L: (annoyed) I TOLD you... the one on deep breathing, up in Petaluma.

D: I am SORRY ... I had forgotten about it!

She opens a Publisher's Clearing House envelope and pull out a long strip of magazine stamps. He look at her and shakes his head

She tears off two stamps

D: You know what your chances of winning are..

L: Oh, I know... but somebody's gotta win... besides, I wanted to subscribe to the Yoga Journal anyhow...

D: And what's the other magazine... (phone rings over the last word)

Linda gets up to look for the phone. Disappears momentarily

L: (off stage) where the fuck is the phone... I can't go on living with this mess!... Hi Janine!

Reappears carrying a cordless. Picks up her plate and sits herself comfortably on the sofa. One leg over over the sofa arm.

L: No, we couldn't make it..

Dave gets up and takes his empty plate to the kitchen off stage. Blackout.

Scene 2: Saturday morning

2007-03-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Linda is stretching on the floor while talking on the phone. Electric saw and hammering sounds off stage. Linda looks over in the direction of the sounds and shakes her head.

L: (on the phone) yea, we just started rehearsing a week ago... at the Morgan Performance Center (pause) yea.. OK (pause) .. tomorrow... I should get going .. (long pause)... no I hadn't heard that... she did? Dave enters and stands at the edge of the carpet, looking at Linda
L: (Looking at him, but still speaking on the phone ) GREAT... OK.. so...I really have to go..tomorrow... 11:30ish ... bye (hangs up)
L: (to Dave) What are you doing?

D: (looks at himself) .. I guess I am standing here!..

L: You are tracking in sawdust!

D: (looking down at his shoes) I wiped of my shoes before coming in!

L: (coming closer and pointing to a spot on one of his shoes) and what do you call THIS? (still yelling)And what DO you want anyhow?

D: You have been on the phone a whole hour!

L: So? You were out there working anyhow...

D: I was trying to keep busy while you were on the phone!

L: So typical of our communication! So what project are you on now?

D: I started building a trellis.

L: What do we need a trellis for? We hardly use the backyard and there
isn't much sun here anyhow. What about the sink! (points off stage - to the kitchen
-)

D: I thought we could hang a ... swing from it.

L: A swing?

D: Yea, a swing.. you know ... a swing... the kind you put kiddies in ... and you push them ...and they laugh..

L: And who, prey tell is supposed to provide the .. "kiddies"...? Look, I will TELL you when I am ready for that! (Points at the sawdust and around the apartment) We can't even keep this house together now! What's gonna happen if we have a child!

D: WHEN we have a child we'll just deal with it!

L: HOW are we gonna deal with it? WHO do you think is gonna get stuck with all the work?

D: You are NOT gonna get stuck with all the work. I GUARANTEE you I'll do my part. I'll write it in my fucking blood if you want! God, I wish I could be the one to give birth...

L: .. (more subdued) I know you would...

D: I told you... I'd be perfectly happy if you would plot the baby on my lap and just go... just go back to your single life...

L: I couldn't do that. And how do you think your saying that makes me feel.. like I am a child factory you're gonna rent out! You can find one of those, you know, if you really want!

D: I am sorry. I guess what I am saying is that you could go back to the things you want to do in no time! We could have him in daycare after four months right where I work.

L: YOU could.. but I couldn't. Why have a baby just to put him... her in daycare? Besides... I would never be able to get back in shape!

D: Sure you would!

L: (sarcastic) Right...

D: Like ... no dancer ever had a baby. Look at Nicole... she got right back into performing.

L: I know MY body, and it's never gonna get back in the shape I am now! I worked at it for years and I finally feel at my peak. I didn't start dancing at six like Nicole! I had to work hard at it!!

D: I know, Linda, and I admire you for it. I told you so many times. Some of my best memories are of you dancing. I fell in love with you when I saw you dance. I don't want you to stop dancing! You CAN dance forever! But you have to change your attitude about it. You must find your OWN dance and what it means to YOU, and what it's gonna mean as you get older. You CAN dance forever.. (Linda
interrupts)

L: It's not the same thing...

D: (continuing)... and you can certainly act forever if you find that you can really get into into it, but you can't have a baby forever...It's always one more performance ... never the right time... how many times have we been through this.. you are approaching 40...!

L: 38..

D: And I'll be lucky if I'll ever make it to see grand-children... very lucky...my father was already dead at my age. Look at this 10, 20 years from now... what is it gonna mean that you performed 10 years as a dancer and 20 as an actress instead of 15
and 15? What is it gonna mean that you took two years off to have a child? God I wish I could do it. Take some time off the crazy world of finance. Damn it1 I'm gonna put an ad in the Bay Guardian. I bet there are lots of lesbians out there with whom I could work out some kind arrangement.

L: Why don't you do it with Janine... she's dying to have a baby!

D: Right... and you could live with that arrangement!

L: Better than with some unknown!

D: The basic problem is that it's you I love! Wouldn't you like to see what kind of combination would come out?

L: ... as long as this COMBINATION doesn't get your legs and my torso...!

D: (looking at hear breasts) I know there is nothing wrong with YOUR torso.. (looking at his own
legs)... what's wrong with my legs?

L: .. they are short! ... and ... you know .. a bit ... bowed..

D: I wish that could be the only problem the kid would ever have!

Pause in the conversation. Dave lightly massages her shoulders

L: You know Dave... it makes me so mad when I think of what you told me when we first started going out...

D:
(breaking away)... there she goes again... as good old Ronnie would say.. (this is a reference to a favorite phrase of Ronald Regan during his presidential campaign - may skip this if it
unlikely that the audience would get it)... we have been through this SO many times before! I did NOT say that it wouldn't matter if you DID not have a child...

L: That's EXACTLY what you said! And that your love for me was more important!...

D: What I DID say is that it wouldn't matter if you COULD NOT have a child!

L: That's a bunch of bull, Dave... why would it have impressed me so much
when I already knew that "ability" would not be an issue with me...

D: And why would I have told you that it wouldn't matter when having a
child had already been an issue in previous relationships..!?

L: I don't know! You tell ME!!

D: What happened is that we both heard what we wanted to hear... I heard you say that you'd eventually do it, and you heard me say that it wouldn't matter either way... so
what else is new?.. We always seem to hear what seems most convenient to hear, don't we? The point now is that you are making a CHOICE not to have a child... and what does that say say about how much you care about my needs?

L: I HAVEN'T made that choice! I just..

D: Well... so far!

L: I just have to do it on my own terms.

D: ..Your ... TERMS... are taking too long! I have been telling you all along how much I have always wanted to have a family! Ever since my parents died I have always wanted..

L: (interrupting) Speaking of family..

D: (continuing)..to recreate what I had lost with my father... I can't believe how many fucked up twists and turns my life has taken!

L: Speaking of family, why is it that whenever I bring up the subject of marriage you
say "sure we'll do it" and nothing ever happens?

D: .. Well I have nothing against marriage... I did it once before, didn't I? The
problem is that I am not sure what it means any more! It used to be that when you got married certain things were understood... like people would have children.. and I am not talking about the "traditional" marriage with the woman at home and all that... you know that's not what I want...

L: and WHAT do you want? Do you want me to be pregnant before we get married? So I won't even be able to enjoy my own wedding? I already had one backyard party as a wedding! I want a real one this time... or do you want to wait for a full complement of children before you take the step? That way you'll be completely sure!

D: I DON'T want to wait until you are pregnant, but I don't feel comfortable taking the step until I feel that you have really accepted the possibility of having a child! Is this really so weird? And you make me sound like I want to start a child factory here... You know I wouldn't want more than two... cause it wouldn't be ecological... I
believe in 0 population growth...

L:.. If you believe in 0 population growth how can you even THINK of having children!
Look at what is happening to the planet! It would make more sense to adopt.

D: I just want to do my part, but I don't want to give up my right to have children just because other people are having too many! Adopting makes a lot of sense, but I guess I am just not that altruistic. I make no claim that there is anything noble about my wanting to have children. I just want to see a part of me go on.. that's just basic instinct... I have a right to that!... a bit of immortality.. Iknow it doesn't really make much sense... it all gets diluted anyhow.. I wish I didn't care... but I fucking do!

L: Dave, Dave.. having a child, for ME, for a woman, is not like sending your genes on a nice journey, where you kinda sit back and see what happens... It's going to grow inside me, change my body and change my life. Is it going to change your life? Not really. I MUST feel ready to do this!

D: I UNDERSTAND this! I understood this 5 years ago didn't I? What's happening to society that what used to be a natural, obvious and expected outcome of healthy womanhood is something we have to crawl and beg for? Or is this something about me? Did I miss a few pivotal classes from Seduction 101?

L: It's not about you Dave! And why bring up my abortion? You know very well there was NO WAY we could have had a baby then (5 years ago)!

D: I don't know, Linda, sometimes I wonder... you miss a chance here and a chance there and, before you know it... (looks outside the
window) shit! It's starting to rain and my tools are still outside.. Yep it's raining on my "tool" ... (Linda gives him a quizzical
look) ... you know.. raining on my parade .. (she rolls her eyes upward) ... I know, I know.. I shouldn't even try...

Walks out. Blackout.

Scene 3: Rehearsal on the set

2007-03-06T15:57:00.000-08:00

A week later. Rehersal with Jeff, the director, and Matt. The set is reminiscent of Linda and Dave's apartment. The shoji screen is the same.

Jeff:
Guys, try it again. Ann, you are going to be a mother... you have
always wanted to be a mother... and you are on your way... but you need
Matt's love too but Matt, you can't deal with a family right now. What
does sex mean to you two now? We now go through life having sex for fun
or for love. Only rarely does procreation become an essential element... never for SOME of us (a not so veiled
reference to the fact that he's gay). What happens when
you feel that you want to be open to it and your partner doesn't? As a
woman you still have control... and you obviously used it. So now you
are getting what you wanted, or are you? Mark, are you still getting
what you want? You have to figure these things out in your heads before
you can convince us.

The other couple in the play has an analogous problem: one partner wants just
fun and the other wants love... that doesn't work very well either,
does it? So when you were having sex with Matt before getting pregnant
you felt resentful because it didn't have the same meaning for him and
now you feel guilty because you sort of stole something... or do you?
And you are afraid he'll stop loving you... or that he has already
stopped.

This is all the baggage you are carrying into this scene.

L: And we are supposed to convey all this in this dance scene and the final poses?

J:
That's why the script called for dance experience, especially for your
parts. The play is about what happens to couples when their
expectations from sex differ. And your conflict is the central one.

L:
I am sorry, Jeff, but I am still not clear about what you have in mind
for our movement. I understand where the dialog is leading, but when it
comes to movement I am used to fairly precise choreography. Can we
discuss this?

J: Not now, Linda. Try some more improv with Jason. You can show me tomorrow what you come up with.

Jeff walks out, Linda and Jason look at each other. Blackout.

Scene 4: The scene revealed

2007-03-01T22:07:00.000-08:00

The same night. Linda and Dave at home. Lights up on the dining table. The setup is similar to the opening scene. He is eating soup from a large bowl. She is eating a potato. They have been talking.

L: It's gonna happen behind a shoji screen.

D: What do you mean?

L: Just like ours, over there (style="font-style:italic;">points at the screen). Jason
and I are gonna have our big fight then we'll undress and walk behind
it to do our love scene... actually just still poses, with our images projected on the screen.

D: Naked?

L: I am not sure. We haven't discussed the costumes yet... Don't worry!
People aren't going to be able to see very much behind the screen, just
our silhouettes.

(long pause)

D: I'm not sure that makes me feel better or worse...

L: What are you worried about? You know that Jason is gay!

D: That doesn't make me feel any better either... I don't suppose the stage directions are going to include wearing a condom...

L: Oh come on! What are you thinking!

D: I don't know what I am thinking! I don't know what kind of
SCENE you are talking about. You said you COULD be naked... so you are
there, behind the fucking screen... pun intended... holding one of
those POSES... sorry about being blunt... so what happens if he has an
erection? Do you think because he's gay he couldn't get an erection
holding you close?...

L: To tell you the truth I hadn't thought about it.

D: You hadn't thought about it?!

L: No, I hadn't thought about it!... I didn't think it would be such a big deal.

D: Well, it seems to me like it could be a major deal!

L: What if I were doing a movie... wouldn't that be worse?

D: Not at all! You could be walking towards your bed naked... cut...and
now you are under the sheets wearing long johns! Or you could be saying
"stop... I am not comfortable..." and the cameras would stop, and you
could do whatever you need to do and start again... You couldn't do
that on stage..! If Jeff told you that you are supposed to stay still
you wouldn't move even if THE BIG ONE hit... and I am talking about
earthquakes now...

L: Look, Dave, this is not what the play is about. Remember?

D: That's right. What happened to all those heavy relationship issues?

L: They are still there, and they are a real challenge for me. The fact is that both Jason and I are still confused about the shojii screen scene, and Jeff hasn't given us clear directions yet. We'll pin him down soon, I'm sure.

D: Look, I'll tell you what I am really worried about. I guess I was
hoping it would occur to you. I am probably being totally paranoid, but
I can't get it out of my mind...

L: (impatient) What?

D: have you thought of AIDS?

L: Oh come on... you think I could get AIDS from this? In spite of the
weird ideas I you have been having, we are not talking about
unprotected sex here!

D: Well, you are naked and he gets a bit excited and something oozes out... you know, no major thing, a few drops of pre-come...
on your leg... just where you shaved and cut yourself, or you got a
floor burn... you always come home from dance classes complaining about
floor burns! Can you honestly say that this situation wouldn't concern
you?

L: (long pensive pause) I am not sure whether to be more stunned by the possibility of getting AIDS on stage or by your paranoia. I can see that they could both be contagious. Jeff must have thought about this.

D: I sure wish I knew what's going on in his head. The script and the
stff he told you, and the stuff he DIDN'T tell you, really worry me.
And he loves to shock the audience ... you know that.... he got himself
and actors arrested once in a tour!

L: Yea, I remember. Anyhow you know how hard it is to talk to him when he
gets into the rehearsal frenzy. Only what HE thinks is important... is
important! You really have to catch him at the right time.

D: PLEASE do it soon. I am starting to have nightmares about this.

Thy kiss, she exits, blackout.

Scene 5: Monologues

2007-02-06T22:43:00.000-08:00

Another week has passed. He is at home. She is in a cafe', waiting for Dave. Both are standing up and address the audience.

Dave: I can't figure out if I am being totally paranoid or what... The problem is that I don't trust Jeff. I like his work but I don't trust him with people. He'd walk all over them to accomplish his vision and I can't figure out what his vision is this time... except that he's using Linda... in a major way, and Linda knows it too. She knows it, but this play is so god-damn important to her that she's lie down on a bed of rusty nails if he asked her to. After every rehearsal I ask her if she's talked to him yet... but it wasn't the right time... it's never the right time for Linda... like it wasn't the right time when she got pregnant five years ago, and it's not the right time to start trying for a baby now. So good old Dave worries that it will end up being too late, too late to change the fucking scene and ... too late to have a baby. Shit, it's ALREADY too late for me to have a baby, I mean, "technically" I can and hopefully will as long as I can breathe, I guess men are lucky that way... but I had this vision of playing ball with my son, going backpacking, sailing... dancing at my daughter's wedding! At this point I'll be lucky if I'll be pushed down the isle in a wheelchair. How did I get myself into this? My father died when I was 15. My father... my best friend... God I loved him... but I can still feel his bony hand dig into my shoulder the last time we went for a walk... and he was dying of cancer... and he was my age... he was exactly MY age now! God that hurt so much... and I SWORE I wouldn't do this to my child. I swore I wouldn't! I wanted to give a child the same love I felt from him and see him or her through... to adulthood... kind of finishing unfinished business, (pause) but it's not the right time for Linda... it's never the right time for Linda!

Linda: God it's been so great being in this play! I'd been dancing for 12 years, taking a few acting classes here and thereand wondering if I should try to do that more seriously... and here comes a play about a dancer.. where they actually need a dancer! And everyone has been so supportive! Jason is a real doll, real easy to work with. I just wish I could say the same about Jeff. I have been in dance pieces where some nudity was involved and it was no big deal, but he hadn't really thought through this naked poses business carefully. It was just a vague notion in his head, and after talking with Janet, the costume designer, they had decided that some kind of neglige' and a dance belt for Jason would probably work better. I had been really afraid to bring it up. He can be really hard to talk to... and it turns out that they had already decided a week ago. I just found out from Janet. I can't believe they didn't bother to tell us. Meanwhile Dave worked himself up into a frenzy about this... but I kinda understand it... at first I thought he was just jealous, but he is not the jealous type and the more I thought about the AIDS thing, the more real the possibility seemed. We do get very intimate in the dance ... we certainly share a lot of sweat ... and get bruised ... this business of holding sexual poses ... naked... did make me feel uncomfortable. The trouble is that I found it very hard to bring up the subject of AIDS with Jeff and Jason... Dave will be very relieved when I tell him... Where is he? ... We were supposed to meet here after rehearsal!

Dave:
I am scared. I am scared that Linda is gonna do something really stupid. What does Jeff want to do?... Compete with the Mitchell brothers? (substitute the name of a local porn theater). He wants them to take different sexual poses and hold still for a minute or so... naked.

Talks straight to the audience and tries to elicit their support

You heard it with your own ears... SOME of my body could hold still!... and I still can't shake off the AIDS scenario... am I just being really weird? (Raises his hand to elicit an answer) How many people think I am just being weird? (Pauses to see show of hands) How many don't?

Four different answers depending on the outcome

1. Audience agreees: he is NOT being weird
Thank you ... that makes me feel better.

2. Audience disagrees: he IS being weird
Well, I am sorry... I guess it's just me.

3. About even
Well, at least some of you agree with me.

4. No outcome
I see you'd rather stay out of this ... probably not a bad idea.

I know some of you think that I am just being jealous. I am not, I'm rally not. Ten years ago I would have said "enjoy it Linda"! And I would have had to work hard at hiding my own excitement about the scene! Nobody tell Linda, PLEASE, even NOW part of me gets excited when I think about it! And I am worried sick at the same time. Go figure the misteries of the mind.

Linda:
Between this and the baby thing he's been going off the deep end. I've got to do it when "I" am ready. I don't wanna give up dancing right now! I've worked so hard to get to the point I am at right now! No matter what he says I know it's NOT gonna be the same. And who is gonna do the extra work around the house? And how long is it gonna take me to get back into decent shape. (Looks at different parts of her body and pokes them). And some of it is NOT gonna come back. I KNOW IT. If I wasn't with Dave I wouldn'e even THINK of having a baby right now. And we are not even married! This really burns me up... He is waiting to see if I can have a baby before he marries me! My girlfriends are shocked when I tell them, and so is my mother... but she doesn't understand what my dancing is about either. She never supported me in this. Not even when I was a child!

slowly and getting emotional

All I heard from her is how I would never amount to anything... how spoiled I was, how ungrateful I was, how I wasn't... pretty enough to make it.. (starts sobbing then composes herself) ... will I do the same to my children? It took me 10 years to start talking to her again... and it's still very hard. Would I do the same to my child? Dave keeps telling me that I'm not my mother... but how do I know I wouldn't do the same dumb things...? WHERE IS HE? Storms out of the cafe'

Dave:
I've got to talk to Jeff... at this point I think Linda won't do it... I've just got to talk to Jeff. He is gay too... which should make him more sensitive to these things... or less so? He and Jason face these issues every day, I mean REAL danger. They'd laugh at my silly heterosexual concern. Is this what this about? Is this why he wants Linda to do this? No.. enough paranoia. I know it's all in my head.

The message that follows essentially tell the audience what the play is about...

This is NOT about AIDS, this is about FEAR. It doesn't matter if founded or unfounded... it's about being really scared of losing the things you don't wanna lose, or missing your one chance of getting it, and how even remote possibilities begin to loom gigantic in your mind. It's about being able to trust when trust really means something... (pause) I've GOT to talk to Jeff.

Scene 6: A cafe'

2007-01-25T00:32:00.000-08:00

A Cafe', Dave and Jeff enter

D: thanks for taking the time, I know how crazy it gets towards the end.

J: sure ... I can use a cup of coffee anyhow.

D: (Looking around the cafe')... I wonder where Linda is, she was supposed to meet me here (looks at his watch)... shit...

both get a cup of coffee and sit down

J: so, what's up Dave?

D: I ... I'm having real trouble talking about this... I was hoping Linda'd be here too... anyhow... I have always loved your work..We were both thrilled when you asked Linda to take the part..

Jeff stares uncomfortably at Dave waiting for "the other shoe to drop"

J: .. and I'm really glad I did ...

D: Jeff, I'm really uncomfortable with that sex scene.

J: How so? I thought you guys were cool about that sort of stuff, and Linda doesn't seem to have a problem with it.

D: she respects your work so much she probably wouldn't tell you if she did...

J: I guess that not how YOU feel.

D: Oh come on.. I didn't mean..

J: (interrupting) did she ask you to come talk to me?

D: She'll kill me when she finds out!

J: It seems to me that you guys have your own shit to work out. I don't know what it is... but leave me out of it! If she wants to quit that's fine too... plenty of time to get the understudy up to speed ... now, I'm sorry, but I've got to get back.

gets up and leaves the cafe'. Dave remains seated looking stunned and dejected. Black out.

Scene 7: Behind the Shojii Screen

2007-01-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

Same night. Linda and Dave back in the apartment

L: I've NEVER been so embarrassed in my life! Just what got into you? What do you think you were doing going over to Jeff's... You could have wrecked this whole thing for me!

D: I really felt I had to do this... why did you wait until tonight to tell me the scene had been changed?

L: I just found out today! I tried to find you... where the hell were you? ...In any case..

D: (interrupting) you kept saying you'd talk to him but you went on and on and never..

L: (Interrupting) In ANY case it was none of your business! I choose to speak to Jeff when I ... choose to speak to Jeff!

D: Look, Linda... now I feel like a real jerk about this but I couldn't get the scene out of my mind. I just kept worrying about it. Maybe I really built up the AIDS thing in my head because I couldn't stand the thought of that love scene... but in my head I was really worried. I couldn't sleep at night and I told you... but you didn't take me seriously...

L: I sure didn't think you'd freak out like that..

D: I guess I do freak out once in a while ... like that time in grad school when I got up in front of the whole department and told them they were producing sheep instead of PhDs... and I got myself kicked out...

L: Yea, I remember you telling me about that. Next time you decide to freak out will you PLEASE do it on your own time... I really have enough problems dealing with this play and Jeff and Jason... They must think I am living with a real winner...

Dave sits holding his head in his hands

L: Dave... I knew I would talk to Jeff when the right time came... why didn't you trust me?

D: Trusting is not my forte, is it?

L: Just like you are not trusting me about the baby...

D: ...I know..."when the right time comes"... look, Linda, you are a good dancer. I can already see you're gonna be a good actress, and I KNOW you're gonna be a good mother...

D and L: (in unison, looking at each other) ... when the right time comes...

L: I wish I could be as sure of that as you are. Sometimes I like to imagine what a little you would look like... ((she caresses him)).

D: (returning the caress) maybe SHE would look more like a little YOU.

Dave kisses her

L: I'd prefer a little boy who looked like you ... as long as..

D: .. he doesn't have my legs ...

Lights dim on the scene as they undress and a bright light shaped like a window begins to shine from behind a shoji screen that hides their bed. With backs to the audience they walk onto the bed behind the screen and their embracing silhouettes become visible. The rest of the scene is now dark. Dave breaks the embrace to look for something on the headboard

D: Where is the stupid box...

The silhouette shows Dave pulling out a string of condom packets from the box. Linda takes them from him and throws them over the screen. They embrace again. Black out.