Date Night, Act 2
[Note for audio readers.]Note for audio readers. This is a conversation between two individuals; in order to be more inclusive to varied gender couples, I have not included narrative to differentiate the speakers. Instead, I've used visual formatting which places one speaker to the right of the page, and the other to the left. For listeners, please keep in mind that the speaker changes at each paragraph break.
"I can NOT believe I sat through that."
"It was better than huddling in the rain with miserable dogs."
"I told you, that freak storm came outta nowhere! So what was up with that stage?"
"They’re a low-budget, experimental troupe."
"Yeah, I got that from the lighting scheme - they had two settings: night and just before dawn."
"The settings were represented."
"Yeah, all at once. Couldn’t they afford grips?"
"It’s part of the minimalist gestalt. You bring in all the scenery, all the props - the actors never leave the stage."
"Oh, so that explains the hats. But I didn’t get the settings at all."
"Surely you recognized the setting for his soliloquy? The dawn light over the rose? You needed more?"
"Oh, I don’t know. Maybe some actual lines? And don’t call me Sherly."
"In a play so familiar, everyone could recite the lines for themselves."
"Ah, so THAT’s what all the murmuring was in the audience."
"Yeah, right about when you pulled out your cell phone and started texting."
"I wasn’t texting. I was ..."
"Already planning next week’s date, right?"
"No, I was ..."
"Too bad, because all the whining means you’re setting a higher bar for yourself next week."
"Junior League!"
"That was last month."
"Just tell me this, what was the deal with the dagger? Wasn’t it too short for a duel?"
"No, the crossed canes represented the duel; remember they spotlit those for the one plot-required outdoor day scene?"
"Oh, I thought that was lightning."
"The dagger ended the play - when it reflected the lamplight in red, she fainted as she grabbed it."
"Next week, I swear, the Planet of the Apes made-from-TV movie marathon in Eddy’s Basement!"
"You wouldn’t!"
[Description of Image]An image from the Prague tourism site, of Juliet discovering Romeo dead, in the ballet by Sergei Prokofiev.
This has been an entry for The Real LJ Idol writing competition: the Final Season, Topic 15 : Chekhov’s Gun.
"I can NOT believe I sat through that."
"It was better than huddling in the rain with miserable dogs."
"I told you, that freak storm came outta nowhere! So what was up with that stage?"
"They’re a low-budget, experimental troupe."
"Yeah, I got that from the lighting scheme - they had two settings: night and just before dawn."
"The settings were represented."
"Yeah, all at once. Couldn’t they afford grips?"
"It’s part of the minimalist gestalt. You bring in all the scenery, all the props - the actors never leave the stage."
"Oh, so that explains the hats. But I didn’t get the settings at all."
"Surely you recognized the setting for his soliloquy? The dawn light over the rose? You needed more?"
"Oh, I don’t know. Maybe some actual lines? And don’t call me Sherly."
"In a play so familiar, everyone could recite the lines for themselves."
"Ah, so THAT’s what all the murmuring was in the audience."
"Yeah, right about when you pulled out your cell phone and started texting."
"I wasn’t texting. I was ..."
"Already planning next week’s date, right?"
"No, I was ..."
"Too bad, because all the whining means you’re setting a higher bar for yourself next week."
"Junior League!"
"That was last month."
"Just tell me this, what was the deal with the dagger? Wasn’t it too short for a duel?"
"No, the crossed canes represented the duel; remember they spotlit those for the one plot-required outdoor day scene?"
"Oh, I thought that was lightning."
"The dagger ended the play - when it reflected the lamplight in red, she fainted as she grabbed it."
"Next week, I swear, the Planet of the Apes made-from-TV movie marathon in Eddy’s Basement!"
"You wouldn’t!"
[Description of Image]An image from the Prague tourism site, of Juliet discovering Romeo dead, in the ballet by Sergei Prokofiev.
This has been an entry for The Real LJ Idol writing competition: the Final Season, Topic 15 : Chekhov’s Gun.