Return to ProPlay mainpage
THE HEARING TRUMPET
By Henry Murray
Based on a novel by Leonora Carrington

Character and production notes

  (A shallow bare stage with a rocking chair and a large screen on which is projected the interior of Marian's room. Marian enters shuffling along. She carries an elegantly curved Hearing Trumpet, without which she is quite deaf. Her clothes are hand tailored, a beautiful blouse, a sitting jacket. There are a few white hairs on her chin. She is perhaps a little bent, but retains dignity.)
MARIAN:I have lived in America for fifty years now, though I don't know why, when I spend my time contemplating reindeer and snow, cherry trees and the song of the thrush. My lifelong dream is of going to Lapland to be drawn in a sleigh by dogs...great woolly dogs. For the past fifteen years I have lived with my son, Galahad. He is married to a woman who hides chocolates so she won't have to share and they have one child who is twenty-five but still lives at home. Robert is an unpleasant character whom even as a child was unkind to cats.
  (She raises the Trumpet to her ear and the family appears in silhouette behind the screen.)
ROBERT:I can't freaking stand it. I'll never invite the guys over here again.
GALAHAD:Calm down. Now, we all agree she'll be much better off in a home.
MURIEL:Your mother is a pain in the you-know-what and you're selfish to keep her here just to satisfy your own guilt.
GALAHAD:Government institutions are not fit for human beings.
ROBERT:I wouldn't call Grandmother a human being.
GALAHAD:Really, Robert.
ROBERT:Well, we're hanging out having a whiskey...
GALAHAD:Not my good scotch...
ROBERT:...and in walks the Bride of the Living Dead, gumming and slobbering at us in broad daylight until I have to throw her out.
MURIEL:Galahad, old people don't have feelings like us. This place is run by the Well of Light Brotherhood.
GALAHAD:Yes but, who are...
ROBERT:It's financed by a major US cereal corporation.
GALAHAD:It does seem the sort of place...
ROBERT:I could turn that room into a workshop for my motorcycle.
GALAHAD:She'll have to be told.
MURIEL:Told? She doesn't know where she is now, you think she'll notice the change?
ROBERT:Ma's right.
MURIEL:The old bat is senile, Galahad. Wake up!
ROBERT:At that age people are better off dead.
  (She snatches away the trumpet. The family disappears and Carmella's house appears on the screen.)
MARIAN:None of this would have come to my attention if not for this wonderful Hearing Trumpet. (She raises the trumpet to her ear and we hear the sounds of the world: birds, bees, music, voices, the howl of a wolf, cars, airplanes, etc. She lowers the trumpet and the sounds are silent.) I find these mother-o-pearl honey bee motifs quite beautiful. A gift from Carmella. She reads books from an elegant lorgnette and hardly ever mumbles to herself.
  (Carmella appears, bald and agitated. She is elegantly but oddly dressed.)
CARMELLA:There are times when I am clairvoyant. When I saw that trumpet in the flea market I said to myself, "Just the thing for Marian!"
MARIAN:What do you think about the Well of Light Brotherhood?
CARMELLA:Obviously something extremely sinister. Not a company for grinding old ladies into breakfast cereal I suppose...
MARIAN:What will become of Marmeen and Tchatcha? Will they allow me to take the cats?
CARMELLA:In an institution?
MARIAN:I'm a bit unaccustomed to coherent thought, but I believe I need a plan.
CARMELLA:You might escape to Lapland.
MARIAN:(Longingly.) Lapland. (Then.) I'd never get there. I have no money.
CARMELLA:We could knit you a tent so you wouldn't have to buy one.
MARIAN:They'll probably make me suck vitamins.
CARMELLA:(Lighting a cigar.) In case they lock you in a tenth story room, you could take lots of ropes and escape. I could be waiting below with a machine gun and a hired car.
MARIAN:A machine gun?
CARMELLA:If they turned a pack of police dogs on us I'd be obliged to shoot. You don't have to actually hit anything; the noise impresses people.
MARIAN:What if you hit me by mistake?
CARMELLA:I could always tell you from an angry police dog.
MARIAN:You said animals were not allowed in institutions. Forty police dogs are surely animals?
CARMELLA:Not properly speaking, no. Police dogs have had the animal mentality trained out of them, just as policemen are not really human beings.
MARIAN:With all those dogs, I don't see what difference a cat or two would make.
CARMELLA:Think of the cats living in constant anguish amongst forty ferocious police hounds.
  (Carmella exits, as does her house. Marian returns to "her room" and sits in her chair.)
MARIAN:Our houses are bodies, really. These walls and objects connect me as if they were my blood and bones. I need no mirror to remind me of what the years have cost, nevertheless, I grip this haggard frame as if it were the limpid body of Venus herself. This is true of my small room, my cats and even the cactus in the yard. To be separated from the things one loves is a kind of death.
  (Galahad appears suddenly in her room with the gift of a bottle of scotch. She hides the trumpet.)
GALAHAD:Mother, I have something AGREEABLE to tell you.
MARIAN:Agreeable?
GALAHAD:You are going on a NICE HOLIDAY, Mother.
MARIAN:My dear Galahad, you are sending me away because the entire family thinks I'm a repulsive old bag. And from your own point of view, you're right.
GALAHAD:There's a trained staff to see you are never lonely.
MARIAN:I never suffer from loneliness, son. I suffer greatly from the idea that my loneliness might be taken from me by a lot of mercilessly well-meaning people.
GALAHAD:BE REASONABLE, Mother.
MARIAN:You were such an affectionate child. Remember the time I wore that blue satin dress? Your father was taking me out to dinner and there were tears in your eyes and you told me how beautiful I looked... and...(remembering) then you threw up on my shoes.
GALAHAD:Really mother, it will be for your own good.
MARIAN:Please don't pretend you are persuading me when you are forcing me against my will.
GALAHAD:I'm sorry. It's been decided. (Galahad exits. A beautiful old trunk slides on stage)
MARIAN:I decided to pack as if I were going to Lapland. There's a screwdriver, birdseed, ropes for lowering myself from a window, parts of an alarm clock, colored beads and so on. I know I'm not going to bribe the Eskimos, but you never know what people might want. I was not educated in a convent school for nothing. (She closes the trunk.) In honor of my departure, I composed a simple verse. (Accompanied by bells, she recites:)
Not a thing upon the floor.
Although I looked from door to door.
Abandoned by my kith and kin,
I'll leave them not a safety pin.
  (As if she has spoken an incantation, the screen suddenly splits, bursts into flame, shrinks, or otherwise flies into the wings and the set of The Institution is revealed. Marian is awestruck. What we see are the outbuildings; tiny cottages in the shapes of a Cuckoo Clock with a large lead bird, a Lighthouse, an Igloo, a Birthday Cake, a Railway Carriage, a Circus Tent, a Red Mushroom and a Igloo. There is also a pond nestled among shrubbery and a tall dark octagonal castle tower toward the back. Veronica Adams, about as bent over as an old woman can get, and Maude Somers, 80 go "running" across the scene trailing streamers of brightly painted toilet paper. Cristabel Burns, a tall, elegant Black woman in Afro-garb, stands with a covered tray staring at Marian, then turns and enters the Castle Tower. Vera and Natacha come out of the Mushroom and the Boot, whisper to each other and both enter the Mushroom. Georgina Sikes exits the Circus tent as an Arabian princess and strolls near Marian giving her a smile and a big wink. Anna Wertz, an energetic woman in her eighties, emerges from the scene and approaches Marion. She wears flannel pajama trousers, a gentleman's dinner jacket and a gray turtleneck sweater. On top of massive amounts of gray hair she sports a yachting cap which bears the words "H.M.S. Thumbelina. She speaks a rapid-fire non-stop gibberish. When she gets close enough to see Marian's face she suddenly screams, "It's her! She!" and almost feints, recovers herself and in a loud whisper says, "You look just like her!", then reverts to gibberish. Together they drag Marian's trunk to the lighthouse which is to be Marian's "cottage" When they step inside Anna's voice picks up a slight reverb as if it were miked and when she turns on the lamp, the walls of the lighthouse go translucent so we can see inside. The furniture is painted on the walls except for Marian's rocking chair and a reading lamp, which are real. Marian unpacks her hearing trumpet and listens:)
ANNA WERTZ:(Speaking very fast.) Not that it would make a great deal of difference because The Tower is sealed by a wall on the thirty-third step except for a small window with bars and a slot to slide the tray through. But sometimes one feels the whole place is like a gigantic clock with all these pieces meshing and moving and time is meaningless of course but there's a cog missing and as a result we never know what time it is. Esoterically speaking I mean. But it's almost tea time now and Dr. Gambit expects us to be assembled before the bell rings. Dr. Gambit is a highly unreasonable person concerning time so we had better hurry. Personally I'd rather measure time by the seasons and when I think of the autumn leaves and the snow...
MARIAN:(Longingly) Snow...
ANNA WERTZ:The spring and the summer, the birds and the bees, pay close attention to the bees, I know that you must take your time, especially at first, yet people attach so much importance to clocks. Now I believe in inspiration, a timely inspired conversation between two people with some mysterious affinity can bring more joy into life than even the most expensive kind of clock.
MARIAN:(Anna doesn't stop.) I couldn't agree with...
ANNA WERTZ:Unfortunately there are very few inspired people and one has to fall back on one's own store of vital fire, this is most exhausting especially as I have to work day and night even if my bones ache and I am fainting with fatigue...
MARIAN:(Can't get a word in.) Oh dear, I was afraid...
ANNA WERTZ:And nobody understands my mortal fight to keep on my feet and not lose my inspired joy of life but let me ask you something, does this sound familiar to you? Something old in the world breaks free with a shake, the watcher who slept will now be awake.
  (Marian now begins to lower and raise the trumpet just to hear Anna go from words to gibberish and back.)
ANNA WERTZ:Fallen because of those who worship a trinity of men.... bubbles of creativity....Sephira, Sephira....sterile and dry and in need of replenishment... (Marian lowers the trumpet.)
MARIAN:Do you suppose some sort of terrible toil has deranged this poor woman? Perhaps they made her shovel coal for a huge furnace, probably a private crematorium, old people do keep dying off. And these eccentric huts! Nursery rhyme bungalows to trick old ladies families into thinking...
  (A bell rings and Anna grabs Marian by the arm and leads her at a rapid clip out of the lighthouse and downstage to the dining hall. The dining hall is a paneled room with French windows looking out over the garden. There is a long table set for tea for the seven old ladies plus Marian and with Dr. Gambit at the head under the portrait of The Leering Abbess, an austere looking woman dressed in black who looks just like Marian. In the background of the painting is an octagonal Castle Tower. Mrs. Gambit stands by Dr. Gambit's chair with her arms folded wearing a pained grin. Dr. Gambit is bald, spectacled and nervous, otherwise, he looks just like Galahad. When all are seated, Marian timidly raises her trumpet.)
ANNA WERTZ:If I am not being too bold I would like to take this opportunity to introduce...
DR. GAMBIT:(In a nasal yet commanding middle European accent.) Silence, Anna Wertz! Today for benefit of new member to our little society I shall outline basic principals of Lightsome Hall. We seek comprehend Original Teaching of Master. Work it is, and work it shall remain.
  (The ladies sip their tea in unison, except Marian who becomes fascinated with the Leering Abbess, whose portrait glows brighter during Dr. Gambit's speech.)
DR. GAMBIT:Two little words ever supply Key to understanding Inner Christianity. SELF-REMEMBERING!
  (The ladies sip. Marian gets her cup raised but the painting of The Abbess winks at her and the portrait begins to snow, tiny flakes falling down that no one but Marian notices.)
DR. GAMBIT:But. Self-Remembering must not make us Dreary Fanatics, MRS. LEATHERBY: We can be excellent and merry companions at the same time.
VERONICA:Should we try to Self-Remember while playing Snakes and Ladders?
DR. GAMBIT:At all hours and all occupations. We Remember Selves to create Objective Observation of Personality.
MAUDE:(A small woman with heavy pink makeup and sparse fluffy hair.) Doctor, I do make efforts but I keep forgetting to Remember Myself, it is most humiliating.
DR. GAMBIT:The fact you observe this fault in own character is itself improvement.
MAUDE:Well, I will go on trying although I do have a dreadfully weak nature. (She looks quite pleased with herself.)
DR. GAMBIT:Excellent, Maude. (Maude grins widely while making bobbing motions while nearly covering her head with her hands in a gesture of self-effacement. Not to be outdone, Natacha Gonzalez screams and stands, holding her arms straight up in the air.)
NATACHA:Spies! This is a house of spies!
  (Tremors rack her body, then she collapses in an apparent faint back in her chair. Vera van Tocht rushes to aid her, wetting a napkin with tea and patting her forehead. Neither of the Gambits pays any attention.)
MARIAN:That was rather dramatic.
GEORGINA:She hears voices. Next comes the stigmata and then she starts fattening up for Easter. (Natacha "comes to" enough to scowl at Georgina.)
DR. GAMBIT:Observe self, Georgina. You march through life in combat boots, but think you in ballet slippers. Tea is finish. Now clear table please.
  (Everyone exits suddenly carrying away the table settings. Marian reaches for a piece of nut bread but it is whisked away by Mrs. Gambit. Bewildered, she rises slowly as the room is cleared of furniture. Georgina Sikes re-enters talking gibberish. She is tall, her hair is cut in a pageboy and she wears exaggerated and inaccurate eye makeup. She is dressed in a black Kimono and red silk trousers. Marian gets the trumpet in place.)
GEORGINA:Suffering cobras. The beastly Gambit female wants me to peel potatoes and I can't possibly scrounge in the kitch' when I've just done my nails. (Georgina holds up her hands and we see that she has painted the entire tops of her fingers bright red.) Fatima Red. Like it?
MARIAN:I thought Mrs. Gambit was a kindly person. She smiles so much.
GEORGINA:We call her Rachel Rictus. (Imitates her smile.) She absolutely loathes me because of the Doctor. He stares at me during meals and he is always stopping by my bungalow at night for cozy talks.
MARIAN:But he's forty years younger than... Well, what type of medicine is the Doctor's specialty?
GEORGINA:Gambit is a kind of Sanctified Psychologist. The result is Holy Reason and phony as Hell. Thank God I'm an atheist. But the women around here are no better. They're all ga-ga over some holy cup was stolen ages ago by the Knights of Somebody-or-Other during the Crusades. All anyone thinks about around here is how to get the cup back, but nobody even knows where it is. All these women. The place creeps with ovaries until one wants to scream.
MARIAN:It's a bit like living in a beehive, don't you think? (A small sprinkle of snow falls from the portrait, catching her attention.)
GEORGINA:But instead of a queen, we have a drone.
MARIAN:I wish I could get a closer look at that portrait.
GEORGINA:(Pulling a dining chair into place.) Allez-Oop, as they say.
MARIAN:Me? But you're taller.
GEORGINA:You're the one who wants to look. (She offers her hand and Marian climbs on the chair but still can't reach the painting.)
MARIAN:It's no good. I'm too short. (Suddenly the painting lowers to within her reach.) Well. She's really quite a handsome woman. What's this? (From behind the frame, she extracts an envelope.)
GEORGINA:Quickly! Someone's coming!
  (Marian hands Georgina the envelope and gets down as the painting returns to its normal height. Mrs. Gambit appears carrying a bucket of potatoes. Mrs. Gambit clears her throat and Georgina whirls and hiding the letter behind her back, wiggles it at Marian. Marian takes the letter and hides it a pocket.)
MRS. GAMBIT:Two members of our little community are missing from evening tasks. The Habit of Laziness might just kill your slim chances of saving what with Perseverance might someday become your souls. (She begins to exit but calls back over her shoulder.) There will be Movements at eleven a.m. tomorrow in the workshop. Anyone who is late will forfeit her lunch in the usual way.
MARIAN:What are the Movements? (Georgina grimaces and Mrs. Gambit turns.)
MRS. GAMBIT:You have only just arrived... let's just say that one of their outer meanings is the harmonious evolution of the Whole Organism to different Special Rhythms.
MARIAN:You mean gymnastics?
  (Georgina snickers. Mrs. Gambit glares at Georgina and holds forth the bucket of potatoes. Georgina takes it and the sudden weight nearly topples her and sends her scooting offstage. Mrs. Gambit gives Marian her Rachel Rictus smile and exits. The dining hall goes dark and during the following scene, the moon rises and traverses the sky. Marian examines the letter then opens it and reads. As she does, we also hear the Voice of the Abbess. The voices are the same actress, but the inflections are different, i.e., while Marian might find the salutation "Mon Gros Pigeon" confusing, the Abbess speaks it with seductive familiarity. By the time she finishes, she is in her chair in the lighthouse and nods off.)
MARIAN:To Fernand, the Bishop of Fontainbleau-en-Avon.
MARIAN AND THE VOICE OF THE ABBESS:So, My Rampant Wild Pig, you must travel at once to Nineveh to barter for the precious liquid. There can be no doubt that the tomb belonged to Mary Magdalene. The elixir found on the left side of her mummy is the secret without which we cannot complete our work.
MARIAN:I wonder what this precious elixir is all about.
MARIAN AND THE VOICE OF THE ABBESS:The text written on the wrappings of her mummy reveals that Magdalene had been a high initiate of the Mysteries of the Goddess but was executed for selling certain secrets to Jesus of Nazareth. This of course explains how he worked the miracles.
MARIAN:Execution seems a harsh punishment for teaching someone to cure leprosy and raise the dead.
VOICE OF THE ABBESS:Make haste. You must obtain the magical fluid and bring it to me. Until then, My Fat Wild boar. The Abbess Ha! Dona Rosalinda.
MARIAN:How strange. How curious. Mary Magdalene selling secrets? And what kind of magic power does the elixir have ... (She yawns.)
  (Lights up on Dr. Gambit's office. Natacha enters in a nightgown, her hair wild. She is so angry she cannot speak.)
DR. GAMBIT:Serenity Natacha. Remember Special Mission.
NATACHA:I will resign the institution if she stays another minute.
DR. GAMBIT:Relax, Natacha. Serenity is tribute you must pay for you wonderful gifts.
NATACHA:Georgina Sikes is a sex maniac who ought not to be allowed to mix with the other members of the community.
DR. GAMBIT:Peaceful Natacha. What is you speak?
NATACHA:Georgina has been spreading gossip that you are trying to seduce her and even tried to enter her bungalow at night.
DR. GAMBIT:(Dropping his accent.) What! She's crazy!
NATACHA:Tell me it isn't true!
DR. GAMBIT:This might ruin the whole institution.
NATACHA:Oh Gamby!
DR. GAMBIT:But...
NATACHA:Poor Gamby. So many women in his life. (She puts her arms around him and nuzzles him.)
DR. GAMBIT:But...
NATACHA:Imagine how simple life would be with you and me at the helm. (She kisses him and there is a sudden flash of light.)
DR. GAMBIT:What was that?
NATACHA:Heat lightning. A bright light in all this darkness to show the way. Kiss me! (She gets him in a lip lock and wrestles him to the ground. The scene goes dark.)
  (The Railway Carriage illuminates and we see Cristabel lighting a candle on a small altar. The central figure on the altar is a golden creature with horns, many breasts, a large phallus and six wings.)
CRISTABEL:Marian!
MARIAN:(The Lighthouse illuminates. Marian is half asleep.) Yes? Is someone calling me?
CRISTABEL:The Holy Grail must be returned to the Goddess. And the Winged One, the Feathered Hermaphrodite, Sephira must be freed!
MARIAN:Did someone call my name?
CRISTABEL:You must answer the riddle. (Cristabel intones a dissonant melody.)
Something old in the world breaks free with a shake,
When you get new caps my prison will break,
The watchers who slept will now be awake.
Who is my mother and what is my name?
MARIAN:(The moon sets. Cristabel extinguishes her candle. Marian looks around, a little confused.) The watchers who slept will now be awake? How poetic. But what does it mean? (Dawn. Yawning and advancing toward the audience.) The next day, I was careful to arrive at the workshop punctually at eleven.
  (Lights up on the workshop. The ladies are assembled. Mrs. Gambit enters with the harmonium. Marian approaches her.)
MARIAN:Excuse me Mrs. Gambit. Do you know a riddle that begins, "Something old in the world breaks free with a shake..."? (The ladies suddenly cough, sneeze and hack. Anna Wertz let out a loud whoop. Cristabel steps forward in alarm. Mrs. Gambit stares at them.)
MRS. GAMBIT:Riddles, Mrs. Leatherby? Are you bereft of common sense? Why, when the basic questions of your own life are left unexamined, are you trying to solve riddles?
MARIAN:Well you see, I had this dream. Maybe it was a dream... (She glances at Cristabel who shakes her head and raises a finger to her lips.)
MRS. GAMBIT:If you want to stimulate your mental capacities why don't you contemplate the age-old questions of philosophy? The meaning of life?
MARIAN:But if philosophers are unable to...
MRS. GAMBIT:Or at least something practical. Riddles are silly. Only a fool wastes time looking for meaningless answers. Now take your place with the other ladies.
MARIAN:Thank you. Most definitely I will. Very insightful.
MRS. GAMBIT:This morning we have a newcomer who as yet has no experience with the Movements. For her benefit I will give an example of Primary Zero.
  (Mrs. Gambit rubs her stomach in a circular clockwise motion while with the other hand she pats the top of her head and stepping from one foot to the other. After demonstrating, she plays the harmonium.)
MRS. GAMBIT:Now ladies, begin. (She plays.)
  (The women, in unison, perform the first movement. Their hands switch every five circles. Marian gets confused.)
MRS. GAMBIT:Marian Leatherby, the Movements are not the hokey-pokey. Please watch Maude Somers carefully, she is familiar with most of the exercises.
  (The women go at it again, faster, this time adding a forward and back step with a dip and throwing their hands in the air when they reach the end of a sequence. Marian becomes even more confused. Mrs. Gambit stops the music.)
MRS. GAMBIT:Marian Leatherby, kindly stand by me and watch the others, you will participate next time. (She does so.) Ladies, we will run through numbers four and five.
  (The women whirl like Dervishes, hop up and down, fling their elbows and knees out, wobble their heads around and make other improbable motions and combinations. Marian watches in disbelief; becomes amused, starts to laugh, tries to disguise it as a cough, recovers her dignity, and then utterly loses control. She tries to hide her laughter by covering her mouth with her hand and pretending to weep but it's useless. Mrs. Gambit stops the music.)
MRS. GAMBIT:Mrs. Leatherby, if you are unable to control your emotions, kindly leave the room.
  (Marian wanders into the garden and sits on a bench near the pond. As the harmonium starts up again, the lights slowly fade on the workshop. Marian is joined by Vera van Tocht. Vera is a heavyset woman with a fierce expression on her face.)
VERA VAN TOCHT:(extending her hand) Vera van Tocht.
MARIAN:Oh, hello. (She looks back at the workshop scene and gets tickled again.)
VERA VAN TOCHT:(humorless) You find the work funny?
MARIAN:No, I...sorry.
VERA VAN TOCHT:Dr. Gambit's methods are invaluable, I would never say anything against him, never... even though he is just a man. But for true comfort one can only trust one's peers...you may confide your life's tragedy to me.
MARIAN:Well, I...
VERA VAN TOCHT:What cross are you crucified on? There is nothing I haven't heard.
MARIAN:Well, there's my daughter-in-law and my grandson Robert.
VERA VAN TOCHT:Which of us has not felt buried alive in the tomb of her family? Tomb and womb are only one letter apart.
MARIAN:Before the TV came I used to amuse the entire family with humorous anecdotes. Would you like to hear the tale of the Yorkshire Parrot?
VERA VAN TOCHT:I am talking about the dark corners of the human heart, Mrs. Leatherby. Dig Deep.
MARIAN:(A pause) I never realized how lonely I was among my own family.
VERA VAN TOCHT:You must give up your loneliness. (Getting worked up.)Life is not a country/western song, dang it. Wake up! Get out of your own way! Don't let the "you" you were, control the "you" you will be. Release those old behaviors that tie you to the past. (Vera grabs at her bosom.) They're useless, yet you cling to them as if they were the milk-scented nipple of your mother's breast. Ma, Ma! Ma, Ma! Stop me! (Marian gives her face a little slap.) Oh! Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, yes.
MARIAN:Sorry about the slap...
VERA VAN TOCHT:Oh baby, you really got me going.
MARIAN:Listen, do you know anything about the dining hall portrait? I discovered a letter...
VERA VAN TOCHT:A letter?
MARIAN:Well, it was sort of a note really, just a little...
VERA VAN TOCHT:Show it to me.
MARIAN:M-M-More of a blank piece of paper, really. I tossed it out.
VERA VAN TOCHT:You tossed it?
MARIAN:Yes, I...
VERA VAN TOCHT:You tossed it. Sometimes something that seems insignificant...but you've only just arrived. You must tune in to that which is subtle. Listen carefully. Wednesday evenings Natacha gives séances in my bungalow. She gives us Messages, sent to each of us from the Great Unseen.
MARIAN:Is this an invitation?
VERA VAN TOCHT:Natacha can help you. But tell no one! We need to keep the Circle secret to concentrate the astral energy. (Vera lumbers off.) Idiot.
  (Anna Wertz pops up from a hiding place behind a bush, startling Marian. She hands Marian a note and rushes off: Marian opens the note and reads:)
MARIAN:Marian Leatherby, kindly report to my office at six p.m. on Thursday, G. Gambit, Psych. Humm. (She rises and strolls forward.)
  (Lights up on Dr. Gambit's office. A mahogany desk, an analyst's couch, endless rows of books. Marian pokes her head in, the horn raised.)
MARIAN:Knock, knock.
DR. GAMBIT:Who is there?
MARIAN:Marian Leatherby.
DR. GAMBIT:Marian Leatherby, who? Come in, come in. Just kidding. I hope you making self comfortable. You having questions about life at Lightsome Hall?
MARIAN:Well, if I might be so direct. (With some trepidation.) Who is the woman in the dining hall portrait.
DR. GAMBIT:All old ladies curious about Abbess from Spain. Was rumored to be Saint. At one time has many followers believe she give birth to Angel.
MARIAN:An Angel? How sweet.
DR. GAMBIT:But I say, she have great ambition for spiritual. Is terrible disease, spiritual ambition. Portrait is here to remind you. You not follow her footsteps.
MARIAN:Oh. And the Tower in the portrait, is that the same one by the bee....
DR. GAMBIT:Terrible things happen if enter Tower! (Marian begins nodding in a nervous reaction.) No one enter Tower! Ever!
MARIAN:I don't even like towers. They're tall.
DR. GAMBIT:Forget Tower. Listen me, everyone has faults. Reports in your case show following impurities: Greed, make Insincerity, Egoism and Laziness. (Marian is nodding vigorously.)
MARIAN:I...I...I...
DR. GAMBIT:PERSONALITY IS VAMPIRE! You like cauliflower? Maybe little bit cheese sauce?
MARIAN:Yes, I...I...
DR. GAMBIT:You like chocolate? You like blue skies and bird singing?
MARIAN:Actually I...
DR. GAMBIT:You think cauliflower and chocolate survive eternity? These are desperate clingings of personality.
MARIAN:I...I... (She grabs her head with her hands to stop the nodding which has become involuntary.)
DR. GAMBIT:The fact You Have Been Chosen to join community should give courage to face vices.
MARIAN:But, but Dr. Gambit, I 'm here because my family wanted rid of me without having a murder on their conscience.
DR. GAMBIT:People believe they born with immortal soul but this is big mistake. Soul must be Developed and for this you work very hard.
MARIAN:Well... I will try, not that I understand. I will try to observe my personality and develop an immortal soul.
DR. GAMBIT:Good. You have special quality so I give you special teaching. Listen me. All people carry animal spirit. Cannot see unless you know how look. In your case, you carry spirit of anchovy.
MARIAN:An anchovy? You mean I'm small but tasty? I'm to be served with croutons on a salad?
DR. GAMBIT:You swim in school. Only do what other anchovies do. Never think for self.
MARIAN:Ah... That doesn't sound very special.
DR. GAMBIT:Now you know from where you start. Observe self. We chat again soon.
MARIAN:Thank you.
DR. GAMBIT:Not lose hope, special little anchovy.
  (Marian exits: As she leaves, Dr. Gambit opens the double doors of a small shrine. Inside, with colored lights and whirling pinwheels, is a small version of The Tower. The scene goes dark.)
MARIAN:So I must observe myself. I'm a ninety-two year old woman. Ninety two revolutions of the earth around the sun. Even that I take on faith. I can't prove it. And what does it mean to be a woman when my body no longer functions as one? My moon cycle dried up years ago. My life has been accomplished in responding to the demands of the moment. The needs of others. But husbands die and children grow.
GALAHAD'S VOICE:Mother?
MARIAN:Visitors are received on Sunday afternoons. More affectionate relatives arrive with sumptuous picnic lunches to be eaten in the garden. The rest of us sit nearby and watch in order to criticize them later on. (Sounds of birds and bees. Galahad and Muriel enter.)
MURIEL:Marian! Mother! (Shaking the box.) Jujubees!
GALAHAD:(Presenting an envelope.) A letter from your friend Carmella.
MARIAN:Thank you. (She opens it, but....) I'll read it later.
MURIEL:Marian, guess what! Robert is engaged. She's a nice English girl whose family is very well off.
MARIAN:Greed.
MURIEL:(Ignoring her.) Colonel Blake was here with his daughter Flavia, and the kids fell in love at the annual tennis tournament.
MARIAN:Lust.
MURIEL:(Unnerved.) We think it's a terrific match, don't we Galahad?
GALAHAD:Yes, terrific...I miss you mother.
MARIAN:I'm sorry Galahad. The time when I could have helped is long since past.
MURIEL:Now don't go getting sentimental, you'll make me cry.
MARIAN:Insincerity.
MURIEL:(Nervous laughter to cover.) So my baby Robert is grown man now and taking a wife. They're to be married in June. Isn't that exciting.
MARIAN:On the contrary, the thought of Robert married and procreating seems a cruel blow to the cause of human evolution.
MURIEL:You smelly old sack of unwanted... (She snatches back the jujubees.) Galahad! Are you going to let her talk to me this way. After all I've done for her. And you just stand there like a bump on a pickle while...
  (Marian takes the trumpet from her ear and rests it on the ground. Muriel, speaking gibberish now, leads Galahad off stage like a guilty puppy.)
MARIAN:Goodbye son. (A vivid sunset appears in the sky behind the Institution. Marian watches them go, then pulls the envelope from her pocket and opens it and begins reading. Carmella appears onstage in a bright yellow wig.)
CARMELLA:Dear Marian. I had an awful nightmare about you in a dreary cement building. Modern style architecture is always so depressing. I dreamt you escaped in a straitjacket and hopped for miles.
MARIAN:It would be convenient if we could communicate by a series of underground passages.
  (She unfolds a huge diagram of an underground passage filled with large termites.)
MARIAN:I've made plans based on termite engineering, although I am not sure if termites can be trained, but if fleas can, why not? (She folds the diagram.)
MARIAN:Don't termites only eat wood?
CARMELLA:Also, I need a schematic of the entire layout. Draw it as if you were hovering in a helicopter, not as in an ordinary watercolor.
MARIAN:I suppose I could pace things off...
CARMELLA:Wouldn't it be wonderful if I won a helicopter in the crossword puzzle competition? Too bad they never give such practical prizes.
 Do not give up in spite of the horror of your situation. I am mobilizing all my mental capacities to obtain your unconditional freedom. Ever most affectionately, Carmella.
  (She exits.)
MARIAN:I'll do it, Carmella. One, two, three, four. (She comes face to face with a man dressed in a white bee keeper's outfit and carrying a bee smoker. He removes his pith helmet and netting. It is Dr. Gambit.) Just jotting down a few observations about myself. I'm an old woman. I've got that figured out. (He nods at Marian, then as he exits.) I'm watching every move I make. I'm watching... The watchers who slept will now be awake. As if all of us were asleep in some way. (She stares at the tower and compares it to her map.) Now that's interesting. The Tower seems to be directly on axis with The Bee Pond. Oh, hello.
  (Natacha Gonzalez appears, her head wrapped in a mauve scarf as if she had a toothache.)
NATACHA:I'm exhausted. Impossible to get any sleep for three days.
MARIAN:Perhaps Mrs. Gambit would give you some "Silent Nite" if you asked. It's very effective.
NATACHA:Silent Nite! You don't understand. I'm dizzy with sleep, but I'm afraid to close my eyes because of the rats.
MARIAN:How dreadful! Are there rats in your bungalow?
NATACHA:As big as spaniels. If I fell asleep they'd gnaw off my nose.
MARIAN:How horrible! Mrs. Gambit ought to keep cats.
NATACHA:Mrs. Gambit wouldn't touch a cat to save her life. They give her pimples. There's only one remedy. I'll ask her to buy some "Last Supper" rat poison.
MARIAN:If they die under the floorboards you will be stunk out of your ...(Georgina Sikes rises out of the bushes.)
GEORGINA:Not that I want to interrupt, but in ten years at this Institution, I haven't seen so much as a mouse turd.
NATACHA:(To Marian) I advise you not to talk to Georgina Sikes. She's an immoral and malignant woman.
GEORGINA:Strumpet.
NATACHA:Vipress! Poisonous reptile! (She exits.)
GEORGINA:Objectively speaking, Natacha Gonzales is as phony as Formica. (Lighting a cigarette in her long holder.) She invents rats as big as spaniels just like she invents cozy chats with saints as tall as telephone poles.
MARIAN:I hope you're right about there being no rats here.
GEORGINA:Natacha isn't even her real name. We were "ladies of the night" together in New Orleans sixty years ago. She went by the name of Candy Ball, though she won't admit it now. (Strolling off.) Her real name is Ima Pudendum.
MARIAN:Where are you going?
GEORGINA:To read a novel so you can finish your crossword puzzle. (She exits.)
MARIAN:It's a map. Which is a code, really. Like a puzzle that I'm trying to figure out. (Carmella enters in a camouflage jumpsuit and beret with a machine gun. With great stealth she approaches Marian.)
CARMELLA:Pssst.
MARIAN:Carmella!
CARMELLA:Why are these bungalows made into such surpassingly horrid shapes?
MARIAN:Dr. Gambit chooses each one according to the vibrations from one's lower nature. Mrs. Gambit says I deserve to live in a boiled cauliflower but they didn't have one.
CARMELLA:What a diabolical idea! (Pleased with the notion.) They must be sadistic. (Marian hands her the map.) Well done, my friend. I'm off. Remember, trust no one. People under seventy and over seven are very unreliable if they are not cats. (She exits.)
MARIAN:Sunday evenings, junket and buns are taken with coffee in the lounge.
VERONICA:Anyone for a game of Chutes and Ladders?
  (Lights up on Veronica Adams and Maude Somers at a small table in the lounge. Marian is drawn toward the scene.)
MAUDE:(Moving her piece) Ten. What luck! Now I climb this ladder halfway to heaven.
VERONICA:Careful you don't slide down that chute.
MAUDE:Well, if one hits the heights, one must also know the depths. Live dangerously, I say. A bit like love don't you think?
VERONICA:Don't philosophize, Maudy, it makes your nose red. Besides, I'm an old lady. Slow and steady wins the race. (She rolls the dice.) Three. (She moves.)
MAUDE:Are you speaking of love?
VERONICA:Are you?
MAUDE:Would it please you?
VERONICA:Depends on what kind of love you mean.
MAUDE:(Rolls.) Merde! The chute.
VERONICA:Are you speaking of "the love that dare not speak its name"?
MAUDE:Speak the unspeakable? (Laughing) No, you silly gay thing, though like any love it speaks most eloquently in private.
VERONICA:Then perhaps you mean "the love that invokes its own executioner"?
MAUDE:(another peal of laughter) No, my dear. I'm not some rash teenager whose emotions are identical to a hormonal surge. No, I'm not of the love 'em and leave 'em school. This love abides the years and requires nothing of the beloved but the terms of her own happiness.
VERONICA:In that case, you may speak of love. (Rolls) Ah. Looks like I won.
MAUDE:So you have. Congratulations. Now lean forward and I will whisper the name of my love.
 (Veronica does and Maude kisses her sweetly on the lips. Marian clears her throat.
MARIAN:Sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop... Your secret is safe with me.
VERONICA:(She and Maude look at each other and giggle.) Things are not always as they seem, Mrs. Leatherby. (Mrs. Gambit enters holding an ice pack to her head, rings a small bell, winces and exits.) Time to retire.
  (The moon rises and begins a slow arc across the sky. Maude and Veronica, arm in arm, stroll with Marian. Night sounds.)
MAUDE:Moonlight always makes me think of Switzerland. I used to go to Murren for the winter sports.
MARIAN:There is nothing I love so much as snow lit by moonlight. My greatest desire is to go to Lapland and sail along in a sledge drawn by white woolly dogs. (Softly, the sound of sleigh bells.)
VERONICA:Sometimes I dream of a Birch forest. I'm strolling and whistling, or rather humming. I can't whistle since I lost my teeth. Suddenly, I find myself nose to nose with a woman who looks very much like you, Mrs Leatherby.
MARIAN:Me?
VERONICA:"Who are you," she asks. She winks at me and I recognize her as the nun in the painting.
MARIAN:You think I look like the Abbess of the portrait?
MAUDE:Quite a lot actually.
MARIAN:Who was she?
VERONICA:I think Cristabel Burns might have some answers.
MAUDE:Well, we ought to hurry off to bed. You might find Cristabel at the Bee Pond.
VERONICA:You do look like the nun. Nighty-night. (They hurry away.)
  (Marian raises the hearing trumpet and the night sounds of crickets and an owl become audible.)
 Owl: Who? Who?
MARIAN:Who, me? I'm an old woman grateful for the sounds of the world.
  (Lights up on the Bee Pond, a distant, comforting sound of buzzing. Cristabel is chanting and dancing in a way reminiscent of The Movements.)
CRISTABEL:Something old in the world breaks free with a shake.
When you get new caps my prison will break.
The watchers who slept will now be awake.
Who is my mother? What is my name?
CRISTABEL:(Breaking her trance.) Ah, Mrs. Leatherby. The cup lies empty under the rule of Seth. It must be returned to the Goddess. The Feathered One must be freed.
MARIAN:That's funny. I know you were speaking English, but I didn't understand a thing you said.
CRISTABEL:Why are you so interested in a mere oil painting?
MARIAN:The portrait of the Nun...well, I'm told I look like her. I think about her so often I feel she has become an old friend.
CRISTABEL:You feel she is sympathetic?
MARIAN:Yes, I've even invented a name for her.
CRISTABEL:Naming her is an evocation. You must be careful how you call her.
MARIAN:I call her Dona Rosalinda Alvarez Cruz della Cueva.
CRISTABEL:That was indeed her name when the portrait was painted.
MARIAN:This is extraordinary. Who was she?
CRISTABEL:Dona Rosalinda was Abbess of the convent Santa Barbara. The earliest evidence of her presence in Spain is a letter dated 1710, written to Fernand, the Bishop of Fontainbleau-en-Avon. The letter concerns the opening of the tomb of Mary Magdalen.
MARIAN:Yes, the letter. I have it. (Marian searches her pockets.)
CRISTABEL:(Producing a globe containing a red rose on a cross. She shakes it and snow flies.) Rosa Linda ...at dawn the beautiful red rose unfolds and a great lady's secret is revealed. Cruz...the cross is the joining of paths as well as the parting, and sacrifice. Della Cueva...soon enough you will understand the cave. (Venus sparkles above the horizon.) I must leave you now. (She hands the snow globe to Marian.) I have duties to perform before Venus sets. (Cristabel goes to the Tower and opens the door.)
MARIAN:(Holding the letter aloft, she pursues Cristabel, until she sees where Cristabel is going.) But the letter... But the riddle... But Dr. Gambit says no one must enter the Tower.
CRISTABEL:So he would have you believe.
MARIAN:He says terrible things will happen.
CRISTABEL:Yes, but terrible for whom? (She goes in.)
MARIAN:But I'm sure he's only trying to protect... (She looks around as if expecting something to happen.) Well now, that wasn't the end of the world. (The lights change, the "kitchen and its door to the garden" come into view.) On Tuesday I happened by the kitchen hoping to pick up a snack...or was it Wednesday? Thursday or Friday is not out of the question.
  (Marian enters the kitchen where Natacha and Vera van Tocht are busy making fudge Mrs. Gambit sits with a large yellow tom cat on her lap which she strokes and calls fond names. Marian approaches with her mouth open. At first she is surprised but then she just wants to touch the cat. When she raises her trumpet we hear a purring sound over the scene.)
MRS. GAMBIT:Yes, Mrs. Leatherby?
MARIAN:I...wonder if I might help shell the peas.
MRS. GAMBIT:I'm pleased to see you are struggling against idleness.
MARIAN:That's a fine tomcat. A lot of people dislike cats although I prefer them to almost any pet.
MRS. GAMBIT:I love cats.
MARIAN:But Natacha said...(Natacha drops a pan on the floor with a loud clatter.) you hate cats.
NATACHA:I said no such thing, you must have been dreaming.
MARIAN:Then what about the rat...
  (Natacha shrieks and throws her arms in the air. Mrs. Van Tocht grabs her and they sway back and forth while Natacha moans.)
NATACHA:Lies! This is a house of lies!
VERA VAN TOCHT:She's got a hold of a vision!
MRS. GAMBIT:Shut up, both of you. (They drop the act and go back to making fudge.) Tom sleeps on the foot of my bed as if he would like to cure my migraines.
MARIAN:He's quite handsome... It's been so long since I stroked a cat.
MRS. GAMBIT:We have cooking classes once a week. People can practice self-control by making sweet meats for everyone else without tasting any of their own cooking.
MARIAN:I used to make some very tasty dishes, French Cooking you know, although...
MRS. GAMBIT:Pretension in the kitchen is no better than pretension in the drawing room. (She rises.) Ladies, your shenanigans have given me a headache. (She gives them an agonized grin and exits with the tom under her arm.)
MARIAN:She has a cat. That smells good.
VERA VAN TOCHT:Thank you.
MARIAN:Chocolate fudge?
NATACHA:Correctamente.
MARIAN:Looks almost done.
VERA VAN TOCHT:Just about.
MARIAN:Well, I suppose I can wait.
NATACHA:Ta, ta.
  (Marian exits to the garden and when she has gone a few steps, cuts around and sneaks up to the window. Natacha and Vera van Tocht quickly cut the fudge into squares, scoop out the centers of half a dozen squares and fill them with the contents of a packet Natacha had concealed upon her person and Mrs. van Tocht re-heats the fudge and they seal the openings with hot fudge Natacha places the special pieces in a baggy.)
VERA VAN TOCHT:You know what to do?
NATACHA:Yes. A sweet end to a bitter feud.
VERA VAN TOCHT:But it also brings us one step closer to our goal. Every woman in this institution must be on our side or our little coup won't work.
NATACHA:On our side or out of the way. But what about Cristabel?
VERA VAN TOCHT:Crazybell? Miss Woe-to-those-who-worship-a-trinity-of-men? There's no love lost between her and the Gambits. Trust me.
NATACHA:What about the new one? I think she suspects something.
VERA VAN TOCHT:She's an imbecile. The tricky part has always been Mrs. Gambit, but thanks to your feminine wiles, the good doctor, that horse's ass, will soon have a new jockey on his back. Now giddyup! Go!
NATACHA:(She kisses Vera's hand.) I'll be back as quick as I can. (She hurries out the door.)
  (Marian ducks as Natacha exits. When she has passed, Maude pops up from the bushes and follows Natacha. Marian pops up and follows Maude. Natacha ducks into her igloo hut and Maude halts. Marian ducks into the bushes. Maude creeps to the igloo entrance and peeps in for a moment, then suddenly straightens and scurries off: Natacha comes out of her igloo just as Georgina Sikes happens to be passing. Marian's trumpet appears at the top of the bushes. While Natacha and Georgina are talking, Maude sneaks into Natacha's igloo and a moment later reappears and scurries off, licking her fingers. The positions of Marian's trumpet indicates that she sees Maude. )
NATACHA:Well, Georgina, Bon Chance, as they say. Kismet. Happy to see you.
GEORGINA:What are you up to?
NATACHA:I've been playing truant and hidden some fudge in my bungalow. I want to invite you to a little feast so we can reconcile our differences.
GEORGINA:As long as we don't have to kiss. What you have might be catching.
NATACHA:(Laughing merrily.) Bull's eye, Georgina! I do take my gifts too seriously. (Double meaning.) You, Georgina, may be next to see the saints.
GEORGINA:Not likely. But if I do get a message from beyond and it's for you, what rock will you be hiding under?
NATACHA:Why you... (Tries to laugh it off.) Let's be friends. Weren't you once a beautiful young woman known in the French Quarter as Silver Bell?
GEORGINA:Belle Silver. So you admit to being Candice Ball?
NATACHA:Shhh. Let the dead stay dead. Tonight I'll creep into your gay little tent and bring something nice to eat. Ta, ta, Silver.
  (Natacha and Georgina exit in the opposite directions. Marian rises and shakes her head. Anna Wertz enters and approaches rapidly. Vera and Natacha prepare for the séance.)
ANNA WERTZ:This is your first séance, isn't it? The air is practically buzzing with electricity. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Anything might happen and often does if you catch my meaning. DANGER! Sorry. I took a nice hot bath to try to calm down and anyway, cleanliness is next to whatever is beside it. Don't dawdle. Natacha gets in a snit if we're late. (She rushes to take her place at the séance. Marian follows. Maude and Veronica enter. The ladies greet each other.)
VERA:Good. It looks like our little group is assembled, so let's get started. Welcome Marian Leatherby. Are you ready Natacha?
NATACHA:Something strange in the ethers tonight. But I will try.
VERA:Then if you will all please focus your attention on the candle. Fire represents the passing of energy from one realm to another. A Memento Mori. Each of us bears a small flame which...
NATACHA:(Interrupting with a gurgling squawk. Her head wobbles.) I feel a presence drawing near. Coming close now. Closer.
CRISTABEL:(Approaching from the darkness.) May I join you? (Natacha gives a startled cry. Anna Wertz laughs nervously.)
VERA:What are you doing here?
CRISTABEL:I thought the message tonight might be for me.
VERA:Did you, indeed? For years you've snubbed us, ignored our invitations...why tonight?
CRISTABEL:Please don't mistake my preoccupation for condescension.
VERA:Well, I think you better turn your preoccupied fanny around and march your...
NATACHA:Vera... Perhaps it might be amusing if Mrs. Burns were allowed to see for herself what a true vocation looks like. Mrs. Burns, you may stay.
VERA:Very well, then. Once again, a candle represents...
NATACHA:I am empty, waiting to be filled. (She begins to make an odd assortment of sounds and movements.) Yes, I am here.
VERA:Someone calls? Can you see them?
NATACHA:Only a white haze, no, a shower of white roses. (White roses pelt the stage.) Yes, come closer, here am I, your pure vessel. (She gives a thin wail, then speaks in an altered, deep voice.) I am here.
VERA:She's landed him.
NATACHA:My name is Peter, which is rock. I come from before and beyond.
VERA:Welcome Peter. Have you brought us a message?
NATACHA:Yes. For one who is known, among other names, as Georgina Sikes.
VERA:And what is the message you bring?
NATACHA:Tell Georgina that if she continues spreading salacious gossip about herself and Dr. Gambit, her rapidly diminishing chances of salvation will be petrified forever.
GEORGINA:(Stepping into the light.) Why don't you tell me yourself?
NATACHA:(In her own voice.) Georgina!
GEORGINA:Natacha.
NATACHA:(Uncertain.) Vera.
VERA:(A warning.) Georgina.
GEORGINA:Marian. You're the first person to make friends with me in a long time, so I came uninvited to this little party to tell you...well, just be skeptical. Natacha, you asked for a reconciliation...here I am.
NATACHA:But. I don't know... Well...
VERA:Natacha, count the people in the room.
ANNA WERTZ:Eight
NATACHA:There's never been eight of us before.
GEORGINA:(Oozing bile.) Do I count as one of you?
VERA:We must seize this opportunity. Cristabel!
CRISTABEL:The Moorish Star!
  (As Cristabel raises her arms there appears on the floor a large green circle and inside it two blue squares making an eight-pointed star)
VERA:Positions, ladies.
  (Each lady stands on a point of the star. Cristabel guides Marian. Georgina hesitates.)
GEORGINA:But who will we invoke?
CRISTABEL:The Abbess of the Portrait.
ANNA:For Mrs. Leatherby
VERA:Too dangerous... Some of us might not be ready...
  (Georgina steps onto her point and a humming sound is heard. Maude steps away and the sound stops.)
MAUDE:I'm feeling a bit tired. Maybe I'll just retire.
VERONICA:Are you...?
NATACHA:We can't do it without you.
MAUDE:I'm fine, just a bit...(She places her hand over her stomach. She steps back in the circle and the humming resumes. As each lady speaks her next line she makes an abstract gesture.)
CRISTABEL:I remember.
VERA VAN TOCHT:I plan.
ANNA WERTZ:I invite the unexpected.
VERONICA:I receive.
MAUDE:I feel...
NATACHA:I implement.
MAUDE:I feel...
NATACHA & VERA:Shhh!
GEORGINA:I doubt.
MARIAN:I...observe. (The humming rises in pitch. The women begin to keen and sway. In unison, the women stamp their feet and make an arm movement. The Abbess appears floating in a meditative position. She raises a vial giving off an unearthly blue glow. She places it to her lips.)
ANNA:The elixir!
  (The Abbess turns bright blue and spins wailing like a skyrocket off stage. Several women scream.)
VERA:Hold your positions, ladies.
  (The women stamp their feet and make arm movements. The Abbess reappears floating horizontally with a huge belly, which continues to expand as the women keen and speak in tongues. The Abbess' belly suddenly explodes, causing the ladies to scream and scatter. The Abbess vanishes and a small golden creature with six wings hovers in the air for a moment, then flies from the stage. The Moorish star is gone.)
ANNA WERTZ:Did you see that cupid?
  (The following lines down to "We were in mud up to our necks!" should be telescoped together.)
CRISTABEL:That was not cupid, Anna. Cupid never grew up.
MARIAN:Just when I was getting attached to the intrepid Abbess.
ANNA:Why do you have to make me wrong? I know that was the birth of Sephira, you think you're the only one who knows things?
MARIAN:Who's Sephira?
VERONICA:I'm completely pooped.
NATACHA:How did I do that?
MAUDE:I feel...
GEORGINA:What do you mean, you did that?
CRISTABEL:There's more. We didn't get to the part about the grail...
NATACHA:Well, you don't think you're capable of channeling all that?
GEORGINA:You have to be the center of attention, don't you?
VERA VAN TOCHT:Ladies, the séance is over. Time to retire.
VERONICA:Who died and left you boss?
MAUDE:WE WERE IN MUD UP TO OUR NECKS!
VERONICA:What dear?
MAUDE:The Captain and I had bullets whizzing through our caps as we peeped over the trenches. (She careens around the stage.) The situation was desperate. We were mortally tired, yet duty kept us staggering at our posts.
VERONICA:She's over excited.
ANNA:Don't stop her, she's got hold of a vision.
MAUDE:(Staggering around clutching her belly.) "The only hope is direct attack, Mon Capitaine, we are under fire on both flanks."
GEORGINA:Maude are you alright?
NATACHA:She's possessed.
MAUDE:"It would be cold blooded murder for the troops," he replied. His face was caked with mud. I pointed at the sea behind us, "but where shall we retreat?"
VERONICA:Maudy, you're talking out of your head.
MAUDE:"Should we rather not die fighting than be squashed into the mud by tanks?" "As usual I must bow to your advice. En avant!" (Maude collapses and the ladies catch her and lower her to the floor.) And that's how the battle of Ypres turned out in our favor. (Maude grips her belly, has a convulsion and dies.)
VERONICA:Maude? Maudy?
VERA VAN TOCHT:She's dead. (Anna Wertz runs off crying.)
NATACHA:Dead?
MARIAN:Are you sure?
CRISTABEL:She's dead. Life and death are much the same if you take the long perspective.
VERONICA:Oh, Maudy.
  ( The scene goes dark. For a moment the Lighthouse beacon sweeps across the theatre. An owl hoots and flies across the stage. Then a figure moves in the Octogonal Tower window. We can barely make it out, are those wings? There is a mournful cry from the Tower. Then all is dark and silent.)

End of Act One

To receive a complete reading copy, and for other contact information, please see "The Hearing Trumpet" information page.

Return to ProPlay mainpage