At Capacity--Scene 3: Disappearing acts

Scene 3

(Lights up to find Claire in a bar. She has a glass of wine in her hand, and she’s laughing. Sitting opposite her is a handsome younger man, MARK, in his late-20s. His shirt is open at the neck, but it’s clear that he was dressed up when he came in, as if he works in some kind of corporate environment. His tie is on the bar, and his jacket has fallen on the floor. He’s drinking a beer. There are sad Christmas decorations around the bar, indicating that it’s a bit of a dive, and there are Christmas classics playing. A female bartender, CASSIE, is bustling in and out of the scene.)

CLAIRE (with her glass raised)
“Not soon enough” I said to him.  “Not soon enough!”  (she drinks; it’s her third) I said, “Patrick, not soon enough before you move out of this house. I’ve had it with you and your—

CASSIE
Hey Claire, can you keep it down?

CLAIRE
I wasn’t talking to you, Cassie. I’m talking to my new friend Mark. My very handsome new friend Mark (she leans in with a giggle and her glass almost spilling)

MARK
Whoa! Easy there. I have to keep these pants intact for later in the week. Red wine down the front won’t—

CLAIRE (touching his leg)
Oh, don’t be silly, I would never spill anything on you. Trust me!

MARK (moving her hand and taking the glass out of her other hand)
I trust you, but let’s just set this on the bar here, OK?

CLAIRE
OK!

(Claire is having trouble balancing on her bar stool, but she’s otherwise keeping it together.)

CLAIRE
So I told him, I said “Patrick—“ His name— My husband’s name is Patrick.

CASSIE
He got that. The whole bar got that about 5 minutes ago—

CLAIRE
Can you shut up and get me another glass of wine?

CASSIE
Not if you’re going to talk to me like that.

CLAIRE (making kissie lips)
Oh, Cassie Cassie Cassie. My sweetie Cassie, just one more?  Just one more little glass of wine for your old teacher?

MARK
Teacher? You’re a teacher?

CASSIE
Was. 

CLAIRE
I was a teacher. A very good teacher I was. History. High school history. But that was a long time ago.

CASSIE
Not that long. I’ve only been out five years.

CLAIRE
You make it sound like it was prison.

CASSIE
Uh?

CLAIRE
You were such a good student back then. How did you end up in here?

CASSIE
Same way you did. By walking through the front door.

CLAIRE
She always was clever that way.  Cassie Cassie Cassie. Quick with her tongue.

CASSIE
Yeah, well, I’d rather be quick that way than others. (to Mark) You know what I mean. (she makes a glass tipping motion and nods over to Claire who is back to fawning all over Mark)

CLAIRE (ignoring Cassie, to Mark)
So where are YOU from?

MARK
Uh, not from around here. I’m just in for a conference.

CASSIE
You part of that tech group that’s at the Hilton across the street?

MARK
Yeah, actually. How’d you know?

CASSIE
I had a hunch. A bunch guys that look like you were in here last night. Real rowdy.

CLAIRE
Are you rowdy, Mark? I’d love to see you rowdy. What do you wear to be rowdy?

CASSIE
Oh, brother…

CLAIRE
Don’t you have to get that bottle of wine from somewhere? 

(Cassie just looks at her.)

CLAIRE
You finished the bottle on my last glass, and it’s time for refill.

(Cassie looks at Mark who shrugs his shoulders.)

MARK
She’s a paying customer, right? 

CASSIE
Yeah, but—

MARK
And the customer’s always right, yeah?

CLAIRE
Ooooh, I knew I liked you!  (to Cassie) You heard the man.  The customer is always right. Next bottle?

CASSIE
You driving her home?

MARK
Uh…?

CLAIRE
I will be fine to drive in an hour. You know that! I’m always fine.

CASSIE
That’s kind of a lie, and you know it.

CLAIRE
Oh hush, that one time doesn't count.  The police chief helped me right out of that little pickle.

CASSIE (to Mark)
That’s because she swallowed his pickle in the back of the squad car and—

CLAIRE (slamming her hand on the bar)
That is enough, Cassie! Stop spreading lies. (collecting herself) Now get me my wine or we might have to talk about how you passed Mr. Smith’s class that year.  Funny how so many senior girls go to Disney World with Ds and come back with As after that trip. And Mr. Smith always chaperones. 

CASSIE
Whatever. I earned my grade, Claire.

CLAIRE
Just like I paid my ticket. 

(The two women glower at each other until Cassie walks off to get the bottle.)

CLAIRE
Now.  She’s gone.  And I can focus on you.

MARK
Yeah. You can.  Sounds like you’re pretty talented.

CLAIRE
Lots of talents, Mark, I have lots of talents. Good teacher. Good listener. Good at lots of things.

MARK
I see that. You get rid of annoying bartenders—

CLAIRE (tapping his nose with her finger)
Only the ones that have too much to say.

MARK
Can you make other things disappear?  (Mark lets his hand drop down to his crotch and just stay there.)

(Claire looks down and then looks back up to Mark. He smiles, takes a sip of his beer without looking away, sets it down and rubs his chest with his other hand.)

MARK
I’m away a lot. My girlfriend lives on the West Coast. There’s only so much I can take care of on my own.

(Claire looks at him then looks at her phone on the bar counter.)

CLAIRE
You’re right across the street?

MARK (pointing out the door)
Right across there.

CLAIRE
And you’re all alone? No roommates?

MARK
Big king bed. Me and the sheets. Nothing else.

CLAIRE
Nothing else?

MARK
Nothing.  Just me and the sheets.

(Claire reaches down to feel his leg again. This time he lets her.)

CLAIRE
I’d like to see that. You in that big bed with the sheets and nothing else.

MARK
That could definitely be arranged. As long as I get to see how you make things disappear.

CLAIRE
Oh don’t you worry. I’ve got a couple of ways to make things disappear.  (she leans in) Ways I think you’ll like.  Ways I learned from another young man like yourself.  (in his ear) I like them young.

MARK
Well, that’s perfect then, cause I like ‘em broken in.  Don’t have to be so careful. (He’s very close to her. The last line makes her shudder.)

(Cassie comes back in with wine bottle.)

CLAIRE
Cassie, just the check.

CASSIE
I thought you wanted another glass?

CLAIRE
Changed my mind. My friend Mark here has a product he thinks I might be interested in.

MARK (draining his beer)
Right.

CLAIRE (hands Cassie her card)
Put his drinks on my tab and run the bill.

(Cassie takes the card and moves away to run the bill.)

CLAIRE
You do know what you’re getting yourself into, don’t you?

MARK
Let's see. Former teacher. Likes to play with young guys. . . . It’s not my first rodeo.

CLAIRE
I can see that, Cowboy. But I bet this’ll be new for you.

MARK
I may look young, but don’t confuse that with inexperience.

CLAIRE
That’s what they always say.  I promise. You’re in for a treat.

MARK
So are you, Claire.  So are you.

(Cassie throws the check down on the bar. Claire picks up the pen, signs, grabs her card and puts it away. She gets up to go.)

CLAIRE
Ready?

MARK (getting off his stool, picking up his coat and tie)
Actually, uh, let me go first.  Make sure my buddies from work aren't in the lobby. (Claire looks at him questioningly.) You know, I uh should be discreet.  (She doesn’t change her expression.)  Uh, my room number is 523. Here’s my extra key. (He hands her a swipe card. Her expression changes.)

CLAIRE
523. I’ll be there.

MARK
Give me 5 minutes to get up there. And get ready. You know, just me and the sheets.

CLAIRE
Uh huh. (She moves in close.) Well, I want you to leave something on. ‘Tis the season, right? I like to unwrap things. Don’t disappoint me.

MARK
I have just the thing.

CLAIRE
Uh huh?

MARK
I was on the swim team in college. Still like to work out when I travel. Sleek, black, tight—

CLAIRE (knows exactly what he’s talking about)
Put it on. 

MARK
You got it.

CLAIRE
And tie the drawstring.

(Mark gives her the thumbs up and leaves quickly. Claire looks back at Cassie who rolls her eyes. Then Claire takes out her cell phone and dials.)

CLAIRE
Patrick?...It’s Claire. . . . I know I’m late. But it’s only 8:30pm . . . I know dinner was at 7:00.  Listen, Julia is really having a hard time, so I took her to dinner, and we’re having a glass of wine. . . . Well, she just can’t accept that they’re gone.  She’s just so broken up about it. Doesn’t understand why they even wanted to go there in the first place.  She’s just a mess.  And she and Steve are fighting so I have my hands full at the house. . . . I think we’ll be another hour here.  She says she has things she needs to tell me. . . . If I knew I would tell you. That’s why I think I should stay here and talk with her. . . . I wanted to get her out of the house, so we’re at that bar near the hotel. . . . Yeah, well, we used to come here as kids, and she wanted some old times. . . . No. NO! I mean no, it’s not necessary for you to come down. I think it’s actually better that you stay there. She’s really starting to open up, and I think it’s going to be important when we have to tell her about the other stuff. . . . Right. It was hard enough for Steve, but (she looks down at the keycard in her hand).  Right. . . . Right. . . . Yes. I know. I will tell her. Just not tonight. . . .  OK. Good . . . . Yes. . . . OK.  Julia’s back from the restroom, so I’m going to go.  I’ll see you later.  Yes, I will . . . . (she says to no one) Patrick says hello. . . .She says she can’t wait to see you.  Yes. OK. Yes. I will drive safely. Yes. OK.  Love you too. See you soon (hangs up).  Jesus Christ!

(Claire puts the phone in her purse and leaves the bar. Cassie shakes her head and the lights fade with Mariah Carey singing “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful” plays. End of scene.)

Artists I admire: my students

It's that moment in the semester when I'm faced with all the data from the work of my students at NYU, and it's time to somehow assign each of them a grade. The process of wading through their essays, my own notes on student presentations and performances, and peer assessments of other students' work can feel incredibly daunting, especially when faced with the holiday season and the deadlines that swirl around because of that.

However, for every challenge inherent in having to assign a student a grade for their work, there's a triumph as well. I have the pleasure of teaching in a discipline that invites a student to take a risk and then hopefully rewards those risks even when the results aren't what the student had hoped for. That doesn't mean that everyone gets an "A" because they tried; that practice drives me crazy and truly illustrates what's wrong with our current education system. But the lessons learned from taking risks far outweigh the sadness one might feel when they don't get the grade they were expecting, and I try to think about that when I assign the final grades for the semester.

My students typically accept the challenge of risk taking and make the most of it. They jump in with generous spirits and try things, we talk about what works and doesn't work in those attempts, and then we collectively move forward and try again. It's what artists do, and it's really what should be assessed and then rewarded in the life of the artist. Not whether every piece of work we create is better than the one before it. What does a body of work created over time show us about an artist? I wish I could assess that rather than a snapshot of a moment in time.

For their willingness to take risks throughout this semester and for keeping me on my toes at every step of the way, my students are the artists I admire for this week.

When saying "yes" gets me more than I bargained for (in a great way!)

I'm very excited to announce that a project I've been working on will premiere in Dublin, Ireland, January 14-17, 2016, as part of the First Fortnight Festival. The work is a solo performance written and performed by my colleague and friend, Jenny Macdonald, a Canadian by birth who's lived and worked in Ireland for the last several years as an artist and arts facilitator.

Jenny's piece, called Enthroned, tells the story of a young woman's quest to discover her path in life, and it uses the language and imagery of folk and fairy tales to construct a metaphor for this very personal journey. Jenny asked me to work with her as a director and dramaturg on the development of the piece, and it's been a powerful learning experience for me. Mostly because I've had the privilege of watching an artist who I respect dig deeply into a personal story without becoming indulgent or precious about her work.

Before we started working on this performance project, Jenny and I knew each other for about six years through our work together on an NYU study away program. We had never collaborated in this capacity, but Jenny had an instinct to ask and I had an instinct to accept. We spent two weeks together in a rehearsal room in New York City in July, working through the first half of the play. Then we reconvened in Dublin in November for five days of workshopping the second half. Now, we're Skypeing, Whatsapping, and texting our way to her premiere on January 14.

Jenny and I will be joined in Dublin in January by Troy Hourie, a Toronto-based scenographer and installation artist who is helping us to create a visual performance world that includes artifacts from Jenny's journey. All of this comes together on the campus of St. Patrick's Hospital, Ireland's largest independent, not-for-profit, health service. Jenny will perform in a former chapel, now gym facility, that we'll transform into a performance space. It's site-specific literally and site-specific therapeutically, as the First Fortnight Festival features work that explores the intersection of art and mental health.

A few months before Jenny approached me about working with her on this project, I'd made a decision to stop directing and focus on my own writing. But something about the project intrigued me, I think primarily because I sensed that Jenny would approach the solo performance differently, and she has done just that. I've learned a lot from Jenny and from our work together, and I'm thrilled to collaborate with the team of artists she's assembled on both sides of the Atlantic. Good lesson for me. It's fine to hone in on what I want to accomplish, but not at the expense of blindly turning away from opportunities that provide space to grow. That's not always easy to know in advance, but listening to my gut seems to help.

Follow the First Fortnight Festival on Twitter @firstfortnight and stay turned for updates from Dublin in 2016!

At Capacity--Scene 2: Not soon enough

Scene 2

(Lights up to find CLAIRE, a woman in her early 40s, glasses low on her nose on a chain around her neck, hair pulled back in a ponytail, dressed in weekend clothing. She is at a large dining room table with a 1970s chandelier hanging over it and surrounded by boxes. One large box is marked “Trash” and another smaller box is marked “Keep.” Claire is picking things out of yet another box, looking at each thing, and making decisions. It’s rather random, but she does this for five objects. All the objects are Christmas decorations. Objects that she thinks are worth keeping, she places gingerly into the “Keep” box, objects that she deems unworthy are tossed recklessly into the “Trash” box. There’s something comical about how Claire makes this happen.

The sixth object she pulls from the box is wrapped in tissue paper. Claire begins to unwrap it, and as the first layer comes off, Claire becomes more inquisitive about what it actually is. She carefully walks to a chair that’s downstage of the table, sits, and places the object in her lap. She continues to unwrap it very carefully, and when it fully reveals itself to her, she lets out a gasp and gingerly picks it up.  She holds it up to the light, and we can see that it’s a Christmas tree topper that’s shaped like a snowflake rather than a star. It glints in the light, like it’s made of crystal or something very precious.  She sighs as she looks at it, and simultaneously, a door opens and closes offstage. Claire doesn’t hear it.)

CLAIRE (looking up at the object glinting in the light)
Thank you.

JULIA (offstage)
Claire ? 

CLAIRE (continues looking at the object, letting it catch the light, not loud enough for Julia to hear)
In here…

JULIA
Where are you? . . . (Julia can be heard rummaging through the house, cabinets slamming, etc.) Why don’t you have any lights on? (As Julia is moving through the house, she is turning on lights as she makes her way to Claire.)

CLAIRE (to herself, not loud enough for Julia to hear, still with the snowflake)
Trying to save power…

(Julia enters to see Claire with the snowflake. She has a glass of wine in her hand, and she’s wearing a sweater and her scarf.)

JULIA
Where did you find that?

CLAIRE
In this box. It was halfway down. I can’t believe it’s not smashed.

JULIA
What is it?

CLAIRE
It’s the snowflake tree topper.

JULIA
Whose was that again?

CLAIRE
Mom’s Aunt Virginia’s. Mom had it on our tree for years, but then suddenly it went missing.  Remember?

JULIA
“Went missing” or Dad hid it?

CLAIRE
That’s awful, Julia. Why would you say that?

JULIA
Well, it's there in your hands now, isn’t it?

CLAIRE
Still. He’s barely been gone six months and you’re—

JULIA
It was a joke, Claire.

(Claire chooses to ignore this comment.)

CLAIRE
I was just home from college. You all waited to decorate the tree until after I finished exams—

JULIA
It was late, like the 22nd or something like that.

CLAIRE
I had a final the day before, then I drove the five hours. It was like my junior year. Oh Baby Jesus, was that the Christmas I was dating Bobby?

JULIA
Oh God, that one who showed up to the house on the 26th with presents for all of us?

CLAIRE
We’d only been dating for like a month and—

JULIA
Piece of work.

CLAIRE
He got you some boots or / something, right?

JULIA
Mom wouldn’t let me wear them because she said they looked like hooker boots.

CLAIRE
Bobby did not buy you hooker boots.

JULIA
I’m just saying what Mom said.

CLAIRE
Mom did not like Bobby.

JULIA
I think he got that.

CLAIRE
He wasn’t around much longer after Christmas.

JULIA
He got the message.

(There’s a pause here. Claire to go back to the snowflake.)

JULIA
I can’t believe you found this. Where was the box?

CLAIRE
Right with all the other decorations in the crawl space. Jack stopped on his way home from school and he helped me pull them out.

JULIA
How’s Jack?

CLAIRE
He’s fine. Likes middle school now. Kind of rough at the beginning, but he’s getting used to it.

JULIA
I can’t believe he’s 11 already.

CLAIRE
Mom always said time flies. (she takes a moment here to look at the snowflake again) I always just said “yes it does” to humor her, you know, but she was right.

JULIA
So the snowflake incident.

CLAIRE
Yeah, the snowflake topper was a big—

JULIA
Drama.

CLAIRE
And Mom got upset--

JULIA
Had a breakdown

CLAIRE
--when we couldn’t find the snowflake topper. Mom did not have a breakdown. Why do you always exaggerate about her?

JULIA
Didn’t she make Dad go up into the attic and search for it that night?

CLAIRE
She did.

JULIA
And then again the next day?

CLAIRE
Yep. And then I finally drove to the Kmart at 6:30 on Christmas eve to buy some kind of topper because Mom was still pissed off that there was nothing on the top of the tree. Dad could care less, but Mom was going on and on about how awful the tree looked with nothing on top.

JULIA
And that’s when you got that God awful angel, right?

CLAIRE
She was not God awful, and besides it was all they had left at 9:30 on Christmas eve.  I had to beg the stock boy to look for one in the back because the one on the display tree was busted.

JULIA
She had those lights in her hands and under her angel skirt.

CLAIRE
And really bad hair.

JULIA
Bad.

CLAIRE
And Steve wouldn’t shut up about it being a Chinese angel or something.

JULIA
Cause the eyes were like little lines rather than opened.

CLAIRE
I tried to tell him that it was because she was praying, but you egged him on.

JULIA
When Dad put her up on the tree, Steve kept singing “O Come All Ye Faithful” in a Chinese accent until Mom told him to shut up. Then he did it in church when it was the opening hymn and he and Mom got laughing really hard and Dad wouldn’t speak to them for the rest of the night.

CLAIRE
That was that Christmas?

JULIA
Yeah. Don’t you remember? It was like a domino effect. You stayed up at school later/ than usual—

CLAIRE
I had / finals! 

JULIA
And Mom got all upset about it, cause she thought it was because of Bobby and then it was just one thing after the other. Some Christmas.

CLAIRE
You make it sound like it was my fault.

JULIA
Well?

CLAIRE
Julia, that was over 20 years ago! Are you telling me you’re still upset about it?

JULIA
I’m not upset about it.

CLAIRE
No, I think you are.

JULIA
I’m not upset about it.  OK?

CLAIRE
I can tell by the look on your face.

JULIA
What look on my face?

CLAIRE
That smug look you get when you’re sure you’re right about something and you’re not gonna budge on it.  Lips tight. Head tilted slightly to the right. And eyebrows raised.

JULIA
I don’t know what you’re talking about.

CLAIRE
See? You’re doing it right now.

JULIA (turning away)
I am not! I don’t do that!

CLAIRE
You’ve been doing it since you two came home from the hospital, so—

JULIA
Babies can’t make faces like that. 

CLAIRE
Well, you could.

JULIA
How do you even remember that?

CLAIRE
I remember lots about that time.  I was 8 years old, so I remember it. A lot of it.

JULIA
But you can’t remember how my face was.

CLAIRE
You’d be surprised what I remember.

(Claire says this last line in such a way that Julia goes silent. Something is not quite right between the two of them in this moment, but it’s not clear what it is. After a long pause, Claire sets down the snowflake carefully and moves back to her sorting process.)

CLAIRE
Did you find Steve?

JULIA
He’s where you said he would be.

CLAIRE
Uh huh.

JULIA
He can't be warm enough. It’s freezing out and starting to snow.

CLAIRE
I’m sure he’ll come back when he’s ready.

JULIA
He’s out there looking at a photo album.

CLAIRE
Which one?

JULIA
I don’t know which one.  He said it’s got our kindergarten birthday party in it.

CLAIRE
The Smurf one?

JULIA
Jesus, how do you remember this stuff? I can’t even remember it, and it was my party.

CLAIRE
Uh, well, maybe I’m not trying to forget.

JULIA
Oh cut the crap, Claire. You just like being the historian.

CLAIRE
You weren’t doing such a bad job when it came to the hooker boots before.

JULIA
That’s different.

CLAIRE
Uh huh.

(Claire reaches into the box and pulls out a large female caroler doll, something that would sit in a bay window.)

CLAIRE
Oh my God, look at this? 

JULIA
Uh, shit…

CLAIRE
Do you remember this?

JULIA
Of course I remember it. I was scared shitless of it for years.

CLAIRE
Mom and Dad had these carolers for as long as I could remember. We put them up every year in that front window, and Dad put all the lights around. People could see them set up from the street. And then you and Steve turned two and that was history.

JULIA
Those dolls give me the creeps.  Are all three in that box?

CLAIRE (looking in)
The other two are right here.

JULIA
Well, just leave them there. In fact, why don’t you put Jezebel back in their with the other two and take that box out of here.

CLAIRE
I’ll put them back in the box, but I’m not getting rid of them tonight.  We can deal with it tomorrow. I need to get home.  Patrick texted earlier to say that dinner would be ready at 7, and it’s 6:45 now.

(Julia is silent. Claire grabs a jacket from the back of another chair and puts it on.)

JULIA
What about Steve?

CLAIRE
What about him? 

JULIA
He’s not back yet.

CLAIRE
He’s a big boy.  He’ll find his way back.

JULIA
He says this place has bad energy

CLAIRE
Maybe for him it does. But he’ll come back. The extra sheets and towels are in the hall closet. I didn’t have time to make up the bed, but you can figure it out.

(Claire comes over to Julia and gives her a hug and a kiss.)

CLAIRE
I’m glad you’re here.

JULIA
Yeah.

CLAIRE
Steve and I didn’t want to do this without you.

JULIA
I got that.

CLAIRE
So I’ll see you in the morning?

JULIA
I’ll be here.

CLAIRE
It’ll all be over soon.

(Claire give Julia’s shoulder a squeeze and then exits the way Julia came in. The door is heard opening and shutting. Julia is left sitting on the chair.)

JULIA
Not soon enough.

(Julia looks around the room, picks up the snowflake topper and looks at it. She holds it up to the light and the glinting happens again. She seems comforted by it. The sound of a car starting and pulling away, indicating that Claire is driving away. Then Julia has some kind of memory, and the comfort passes. She sets down the snowflake, gets up, picks up her wine glass, and leaves the room, shutting the chandelier light off as she exits. As that light dims, the box where the carolers are begins to glow, and from the box the sound of Julia’s voice echoes again saying “Not soon enough.” Lights down. End of scene.)

Learning lessons by looking North

These actions by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Open-hearted.

Fearless.

Brave.

Humane.

Leadership.