IN THE RED

ACT I

IN THE RED

A play in one act by Mary Biwersi

[Meant for a Proscenium Arch stage]

CHARACTERS

SCOTT RUDOLPH

ANNIE

PENELOPE

WOMAN 1

MAN

WOMAN 2

BRUCE SPRINGFIELD

NARRATOR

POLICE OFFICER

SCENE 1

1 week earlier

[We see a grisly-looking man, SCOTT RUDOLPH, late 40's, typing furiously on a laptop computer, facing the audience, CR. He is wearing a straw hat, large glasses, stained jeans, and a white t-shirt. He is barefoot. He appears to be stressed and overworked, beads of sweat dripping down his face. His appearance is unkempt and filthy, as is his apartment, which we can see because at this point in time, the wall to his apartment that would usually be up to keep the audiences' eyes from seeing in—the one with the door to his apartment—is not up. So we can see that there are dirty dishes in the sink, clothes strewn everywhere, food containers and other garbage left out, flies buzzing around. He lives in part of an apartment complex in the city, with his building being on the far right, (far left of the stage from our angle), second story of the complex. Next to him, CS, is another building, then CL, another. Below his apartment on the first floor there is an apartment, DR, and then next to that, DC, another, and finally, DL, another. The walls to the front of these complexes are all put up for the first scene, so all we can see is the front part where the doors are. We can't see inside. This last one is where the building manager, known to everyone only as ANNIE lives.]

[We see a woman, mid 30's, frizzy stark-red hair, purple tie-dyed dress, Birkenstock sandals. This is ANNIE. She walks across the bottom level of the complex, and then up the stairs, towards where SCOTT RUDOLPH'S apartment building is.]

ANNIE: (clonking up the complex steps, long skirt swishing around her ankles as she makes her way towards SCOTT RUDOLPH'S building.)

(Makes a quick, sharp rap on the side of the building, since there is no front wall or door; we see SCOTT, who is facing the audience at his desk chair, jump with a start at the sound of the knock, and then continue his typing.) I know you're in there, Scott. I can hear the click of the keyboard. I've got a 30 day eviction notice for you to sign.

SCOTT: (stops typing abruptly, closes his laptop lid, jumps from his chair and runs outside to meet Annie) Annie, we've talked about this...remember? You know I'm working on getting the money to pay you back—

ANNIE: No! I've had enough of your crap, Scott. I'm tired of sitting around waiting for you to type up a bestseller, meanwhile you've been living here, 3 months now, and rent free!

SCOTT: Annie—

ANNIE: Save it Scott. You have 30 days. I need that money. I felt for you when you first came here, after your divorce from Penelope and having lost your job at the lumber factory. But since then, I just haven't seen any incentive from you. You're not even looking for work; twice a week I've been clipping out ads from the Help Wanted section of the newspaper for you to look at, and what do I find today? The whole lot of them, rolled up in a fat ball in the trash bin downstairs. Why do I get the feeling you never even looked at them? Could it be because you've got your mind set on finishing up a novel that, as you put it, "Will help me heal over the loss of this breakup"? A novel, that while it may help you to cope, still doesn't pay the rent, and still I have to listen to the neighbors complain about why they can't get off living here for free, and my daughter whining about there not being any food in the house, because I'm losing business Scott. People aren't going to want to live here if they think I play favorites, letting you get away with free housing. And let me tell you something else, Scott. In all honesty, I don't blame them. They ask me what I'm waiting for, not kicking you out. And I say that I feel sorry for you. To some degree they understand—but still they ask me—is he working on finding a job? And that's where I have to say, he's counting on this novel of his to automatically become a bestseller so he can pay me—