Clark*Carolby Rosary O'Neill Cast of Characters CLARK CABLE: 40ish film star, macho handsome, charismatic. CAROLE LOMBARD: 30ish film star, gorgeous, daring. SettingMagic realism of letters and phone calls (private or speaker phones). Most originate from Clark's study and Carole's bedroom. Should the space permit we see dreamily Clark's study chair and desk with speaker phone on it. In the background, a window and comfortable easy chair with pipe rack and Clark's favorite pipes. Cowboy posters feature Clark, horses, and the ranch. .
The months when contact was made are imagined in the text. These months can be projected on a scrim, on signs, or unread. The actors move seamlessly between quick phone calls and letters. Responses to letters read are interspersed with the letters to create a magical dreamy world. Time
CLARK GABLE and CAROLE LOMBARD enter the stage as if from a dream. They each carry a book of letters from which they will read. They never look at each other as they exist for each other as figments of the imagination but their voices connect like silken threads forever intertwined. At the end of the play, they face each other. (A SILENCE.) ON PHONE CLARK Sorry, my line went dead. So did he ever show? Where are you? QUICK/NOTES/RESPONSES/CALLS FEBRUARY CLARK: I want to take the time to know you so I'm going to write every night, starting now,February 1st (my birthday) CAROLE: You're Aquarius. Aloof … CLARK: I like to feel you reading me. CAROLE: …with a moon in Cancer …irrational. CLARK: Kinda like a Strasberg "private moment". CAROLE: I'm Libra. The scales? I can't get trapped in a situation that's imbalanced. My book says,"If you get involved with a MARRIED MAN you are accepting leftovers." CLARK: So you've left your husband? CAROLE: Permanently. Moved to Bel Air. CLARK: The Nancy Reagan area?...My time with...lets call her BLACK, will be winding down nextweekend. Please if you don't want to hear about her, let me know. Strangely when my ex girlfriends (lets call them colors) GREEN, BLUE, and YELLOW would tell me about the other men--I asked them to keep me informed--it hurt but it also made me stronger. CAROLE: Imagining you as you are in relationship to YOUR WIFE and other RISING STARS clarifies a lot. DON'T WRITE ANYMORE. You are relentless and rapacious! CLARK Relentless I knew. Rapacious. I had to look up- I've moved out of BLACK'S house and rented rooms at the Beverly Wilshire – CAROLE: Migratory bird looking for a place to land? CLARK: Spend Valentine's Day with me there. You and me and the deep soaking tub. Warm water,bubbles, and chocolate fondue. CAROLE: Get plenty of rest. Your self-esteem is so high, you need to lie flat for a while. CLARK: Living alone has destabilized me. I see beautiful women and immediately want to couple with them. Am in constant conflict with my genes. When one has not shopped openly for 14 years, there's a desire to shop. Even if nothing is bought.... A bad guy would never have told you about all the "colors" he dated. |