Dim the Fluorescents Page #2

I have to take this.

- Hello?

- [Audrey] I didn't get it.

- Meet me at the place?

- Twenty minutes.

There were, like, 500 other people

there who are going to get it.

They're gonna give the part to

500 other people and not me.

The producer was nice.

Don't get waggy on me this early.

I thought you said it was fine.

Well my "fine"

is terrible, probably.

- Shut up, please.

- Will do, Chief.

[indistinct chatter]

- Can it have blood?

- Have you asked about that before?

No, actually.

What if we just saw the bereaved

family and felt the absence?

Like an empty chair

at the breakfast table.

- I have my reservations.

- Okay.

The more I think about it,

the more I think we need to divorce

the images from feeling and emotion

and just show, like,

blood and destruction

and not give people the chance to

feel sadness or that sense of loss.

Instead, they're just met

with violence.

We need to explain

the accident.

Do we? Do we?

[Audrey] Okay.

Can you help me with this?

[Lillian] Just a minute,

I gotta finish this.

- This is important.

- [Lillian] This is important.

This is important, too. God.

Please?

[scoffs] Okay.

The nerve of some people.

- I'm doing it now.

- [Lillian] Good for you.

- What would you do with it?

- Pour it over something.

- Maybe you've got a broken...

- Tibia? Fibia?

- What do you break in a workplace, exactly?

- Stapler, probably.

Hearts.

We could just show

a really graphic expression

but maybe also, kind of, abstracted

expression of workplace trauma,

so that they just have to

experience it.

And then after a barrage

of that, we go to a title.

Bam. "Workplace Safety."

- So, we're not in it? It's more of a multimedia...

- Google thresher injury.

You'll thank me.

You'll be able to see.

- It'll be wonderful.

- [Lillian] I'm sure it will.

[gasps, screams]

[Lillian] Susan?

Oh, God, Susan!

Legally, they're obligated

to do this every year.

What we've gotta do is give

them something interesting.

- Why?

- Because we can.

We can and we must

fulfill that sacred trust.

- Wait, can it rhyme? Right.

- Mmm, better not.

Professionals.

F***. F***! No good. No good.

Ugh! What're you doing?

So, we see the aftermath first?

Yes, then, maybe, interviews

with the family or something

about the lifetime of suffering

they'll have to deal with.

Then the accident, then the

fatal mistake that led to it.

- Fatal?

- Why not? It's bigger. It gives us more to play.

Are the walls there white?

[gasps]

I like it.

I think we'd be playing with

cliches in an interesting way.

[indistinct conversation]

[gasps]

- Uh, this is for you.

- Oh!

- Hello.

- Thanks.

I thought your performance

today was really outstanding.

- Oh, wow! Thanks so much.

- Yeah. Really incredible.

We don't get that here.

- Outstanding.

- Hey, it's my pleasure.

- Thanks a lot.

- Thank you.

Uh, are you guys back here

at any point?

Uh, well, our schedule's

changing all the time, really.

But, you know,

I'll give you my card.

Sure.

- Here you go. Take care.

- Great.

[people applauding]

[cheering]

- June, oh, my God, that was amazing.

- Hey!

- Thanks so much! We really did it!

- [Lillian] I can't believe it.

I mean, I totally believe it. I've just, I

have never seen anything like this before.

This kind of scale

is just beyond.

- How many people was that?

- Thirteen, not counting the doubled parts.

Did I tell you

it came from a dream?

- No.

- Really? No, that wasn't in the notes.

- Why wasn't that in the program?

- How long did you rehearse?

About 17 weeks.

- [both] Wow.

- We had a grant.

- Do you ever apply?

- I have all these commissions.

The Kingston Foundation.

- Mmm, of course.

- Nick's great.

He's gonna be at this fundraiser

thing tomorrow night.

- You guys should come.

- It's probably pretty exclusive.

[chuckles]

Extremely. Completely.

I have a pass.

But it's just for me.

But I'm resourceful.

[man] And those figures will be

confirmed early next week.

- Is that somewhat accurate, Phillip?

- It is, indeed.

Terrific. Okay, uh,

on another note,

HR has asked

that we do an info-session

on sexual harassment in the workplace

either this week or next week

just to make sure

we've covered that ground

in some kind

of meaningful way...

Do we need a demonstration?

Because I know somebody.

[indistinct chatter]

[Audrey] Looks like

a good time.

- Lillian, is that you?

- It's me.

See you inside.

[machine trills]

You crushed the bar code.

Did I?

- Hi.

- Hi.

Very nice.

- It looks great in here. [chuckles]

- I know.

You look sublime.

Hey, hold on a second.

- Perfect.

- You, too.

[loud, indistinct chatter]

- I'm going to find the bar.

- Let's get a drink.

The scene

is really quiet, right?

We've just come down

from that crescendo, catharsis.

- You know the part?

- Yeah.

You could hear a pin drop.

And this woman in the audience

just starts sobbing.

- Wow.

- I don't know if it's a good thing, necessarily.

She was really sobbing,

uncontrollably.

Like, we paused

as it was applause,

but she just wouldn't stop.

And what I'm saying is

I don't really get it.

What's the point of all this?

What are we doing this for?

Well, it's beautiful.

It's a connection.

But what for?

What are we saying

to each other?

Is that for us to decide?

It's not.

Should be, shouldn't it?

You made a woman cry, Hannan.

Reasons I'm doing this, and I actually

said this, one, because I love it.

This might not be clear

to you people,

but just because you wanna buy

doesn't mean I'm for sale.

Actually?

You actually said it?

This is a real thing?

And then I met Alice the same day.

I'm not even kidding.

I took it as a sign.

She'd be here, but she's

doing a session at Bard.

It's the acoustics

of architecture,

but it's not practical.

It's strictly theoretical.

- Which isn't to say that it isn't the real thing.

- No.

It's just sometimes

people say that.

What are you doing? Are you working?

I haven't seen you in forever.

- God! Audrey!

- Yeah, I've been, kind of, laying low.

- But what are you doing, though? Audrey.

- [chuckles nervously]

What're you doing?

It seems kind of silly to

say, but I guess it's not.

I got that grant

after last year, which,

you know... [chuckles] And

basically, the premise of the thing

is it allows you to work on

something for months just writing,

which, in itself, is amazing.

It's in a lodge

on a mountain.

And then rehearsal...

It sounds grandiose, I know,

but I met

some amazing folks.

So, I decided from this dream

I had, this mountain dream

that I wanted to do

a large ensemble piece.

[clears throat] I had

this recurring one

about a city block or people

at night in a blackout.

That's what nature does to you

I guess, urban withdrawal.

And then the characters came

from various subsequent dreams.

And from just sitting outside

and waiting for interesting

people to walk by.

I've a pad I keep by bed.

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