A Chorus Line Page #4

of the blonde in the two-piece?

This one? Bebe Benson.

Can we smoke?

Can the adults please smoke?

No breaks, Sheila.

Then, can I discuss that

with my kidneys?

-Fine.

-Thank you.

Kristine.

Me?

I don't know where to begin.

Tell him

how you got started dancing.

Well, it was when this man

came around my home...

-selling--

-Lessons.

Yeah! Lessons.

Dancing lessons.

And-- well, ever since then,

I watched everything on TV

that had any dancing on it.

Specially--

Oh, God, um--

What do you call 'em? Uh,

-Variety shows.

-Right! Variety shows.

Specials.

I can't remember

what I was talking about.

Variety shows.

No, I wasn't-- it was--

Specials. The specials.

Right.

Um, specials.

Oh, God.

I'm sorry.

It's just I'm really nervous.

You want to take a minute

to pull yourself together?

Uh, Zach...

For her, this is together.

Robbie...

they're in a suitcase

over there, somewhere. Cass--

Sheila, get your ass

up on the stage.

Why is it only my ass that

ever gets invited places?

Please, Al. Your turn.

Costumes are in there.

Hats should be in this one.

Listen, go up to the prop room,

we've been using it for an office.

I think you'd better

stay out of sight for a while.

I know I'm putting you in a spot,

but I need a job.

-I really do need--

-Hey, hey.

I'll talk to Zach, but you've got to

stay put, for Christ sake.

No more interruptions, okay?

Promise?

Say, "I promise."

-I promise.

-Okay.

But I'm straight.

I'm not too bright,

but I'm not too dumb.

And...

I'm not too talented.

But you know me, Zach.

You show me what to do,

and I'm gonna do it

the exact same way,

eight shows a week, forever.

Can I go next?

I don't really have

anything to say, it's just that...

this waiting is killing me!

Okay.

Why don't we, uh,

start with your childhood?

It was terrible,

just like everybody else's.

All of it?

None of it, really.

But who wants to admit

to a happy childhood?

How about sex?

Sex?

Oh, sex!

Now, that was really terrible!

How?

I was twelve years old

and I didn't know much about it.

So I went to the library

I took out this medical book...

with pictures

of the male and female anatomy in it.

I thought it was pretty interesting.

I used to read that book a lot!

Were you interested in medicine?

Or were you just into the pictures?

I knew what I wanted to know...

Hello, twelve.

Hello, thirteen.

Hello, love.

Anyway, after I had my first--

wet dream, I went straight to

the medical book and looked it up.

"Milky discharge... "

Oh, my God! Gonorrhea!

Changes, oh.

Down below.

Up above.

I couldn't ask my Dad about it.

I was in shock!

I mean, God!

I didn't have anybody to talk to.

So, well, I went to the priest.

When I told him I had gonorrhea,

was he in shock!

"Who have you been with, my son?"

"Nobody, uh... Nobody."

"Then how can you have gonorrhea?"

Well, finally,

I told him about the book, and...

he set me straight.

Which is the only time

the church ever helped me out.

Time to doubt,

to break out.

It's a mess.

It's a mess!

Sex happens to be one subject

I can speak about...

with absolutely

no authority whatsoever.

Too young to take over.

It took me five years...

Too old to ignore.

Finally I got a girl

who was actually willing to do it.

There I am, making out in the

backseat with Sally Ketchum.

A little of this, a little of that.

Very little of that.

After about an hour she said,

"Don't you want to do anything else?"

I suddenly thought to myself...

"No, I don't."

Did this come

as a big surprise to you?

I guess.

Yeah.

It was the moment

I realized I was gay.

Hello, twelve.

Hello, thirteen.

Hello, love.

Talk about love. My first time

was with this girl, Paulette.

Forget about it.

We did it in a graveyard.

First time we made love

it was a great deal.

I was too scared to feel,

nervous from trying.

Next time we made love

still we were not a hit.

I thought, if this is it,

everyone's lying.

But then we did it again,

and I forgot to be scared,

I guess.

'Cause when we did it again

I closed my eyes...

Surprise!

Sweet, icicle hot,

smooth as a lemon pie.

Sailing across the sky,

into the ocean.

We liked it a lot,

you can imagine why.

We had begun to fly,

feelings in motion.

And then we did it again.

I'm thinking,

"was it beginner's luck?"

Or is it wonderful once

in each three tries?

Surprise!

Surprise.

First time.

Love.

Again.

So I closed my eyes.

It was a sweet surprise.

Icicle hot,

smooth as a lemon pie.

Surprise, surprise,

surprise, surprise.

I mean it! How would you like

to stay 12 years old all your life?

My last show, I played a 14-year-old.

and I just turned 23.

The Year of the Chicken?

Cought.

Hey, didn't you go to the

High School of Performing Arts?

I thought you looked familiar!

Do you remember Mr. Karp,

the acting teacher?

Oh, yeah.

"In order to be a real actor,

it is not enough to act like a king."

"You also got to act like a throne."

Tell me about it, Morales.

On the first day of acting class,

Mr. Karp puts us on the stage,

with our legs around each other,

one in back of the other, and he says,

"We're going to do improvisations."

"You're on a bobsled."

"It's snowing out."

"And it's cold."

"Okay. Go."

Every day for a week

we'd try to feel the motion,

feel the motion,

down the hill.

Every day for a week

we'd try to hear the wind rush,

hear the wind rush

feel the chill.

So I dug right down

to the bottom of my soul,

to see what I had inside.

Yes, I dug right down

to the bottom of my soul,

and I tried.

I tried.

And everybody's going,

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

"I feel the snow!"

"I feel the cold!"

"I feel the air!"

Mr. Karp comes up to me

and he says,

"Okay, Morales, what did you feel?"

And I said,

"Nothing, I'm feeling nothing."

And he said, "Nothing

could get a girl transferred."

They all felt something,

but I felt nothing,

except the feeling that

this bullshit was absurd.

So I said to myself,

"Don't worry about it."

"It's only the first week.

Maybe it's genetic."

"They don't have bobsleds

in San Juan."

Second week, more advanced,

and we had to be a table,

be a sports car,

ice-cream cone.

Mr. Karp, he would say,

"Very good, except Morales."

"Try, Morales, all alone."

So I dug right down

to the bottom of my soul

to see how an ice-cream felt.

Yes, I dug right down

to the bottom of my soul

and I tried

to melt.

And the kids yelled "Nothing!".

They called me "Nothing",

and Karp allowed it,

which really made me burn.

They were so helpful!

They called me "hopeless",

until I really didn't know

where else to turn.

Mr. Karp comes up to me and says,

"You know what, Morales?

I think you should try the Girls' High."

"You'll never be an actress. Never."

Jesus Christ.

Went to church, praying

"Santa Maria, send me guidance",

"send me guidance", on my knees.

Went to church, praying

"Santa Maria, help me feel it",

"help me feel it, pretty please".

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