Penny Takes the Stage

Chapter 8: First Read Through

The curtain rises to a sunny morning along the seashore. Gulls call to each other as the sounds of the surf rolling in are also heard from offstage. Two cottages stand side by side among sand dunes and sea oats, isolated from the rest of the small seaside village, which can be seen in the distance.

The door to one opens, and a man in his mid-twenties steps out, wearing shorts and a tank top, long, beautiful hair blowing in the breeze. He sits on his porch swing and rolls up his pant legs, muscles on his tanned arms rippling as he does so. He whistles aimlessly he prepares for his morning, looking around and apparently liking what he sees. He smiles into the sun and picks up the buckets and a clamming rake that are sitting on the porch as he prepares to leave. Then, the door of the other cottage opens, and a woman about the same age as the man emerges. Her hair is twisted into a tight knot from which a few dull strands escape, and she's wearing long sleeves and pants, loose, drab clothing, completely not in keeping with the bright, sunny atmosphere of the beach. She hugs her clothes to her body and hunches over slightly, as if not wanting to be seen, and quickly grabs her paper and her milk bottles from her porch while looking around to make sure no one is around. She turns around to go back inside when she and the man see each other. He smiles and gives a little wave, which she sees, but doesn't return.

Harry:
Hello, there! I was wondering when you were going to show up.

Jackie:
You knew I was coming?

Harry:
Well, yes, they told me the cottage had been rented for the off season, so I knew I'd have a neighbor from Labor Day until Memorial Day, if that's what you mean. And it is a one room cottage, so I figured it had to be one person or a pair of elves or something.

(He smiles, but she doesn't smile back)

Harry:
Hey, I'm going clamming, obviously. I usually don't get a lot this soon after the tourists leave, but in case I do, you want some? I can just leave them on your porch when I get back--?

Jackie (pulling her sweater more tightly around her):
Oh. No--no thank you, I don't really like fishy things that much. Thank you, though. (She enters the house without waiting for a reply)

Harry:
They're more of a bivalve than a fish, though-- (He notices she's gone, shrugs, and ambles off down the beach, continuing to whistle aimlessly. He picks a piece of sea oat and puts it between his teeth, enjoying the beautiful day.)

🏖☀️🏖☀️🏖☀️🏖☀️🏖☀️🏖☀️🏖

"Nice job, you two, well done," Cynthia, the director, enthused. "There's almost nothing to work on." She looked piercingly at Cam and Penny. "You work on it together a lot or something?"

They nodded.

"We had a lot of time this week," Penny explained without going into specifics. "So we've been putting in some time, yeah."

"Well, I don't see much to talk about right away, so let's just move on to the next scene, okay?" Cynthia said, sucking on the end of her pencil. Cynthia Maxwell had straight brown hair that she wore in a pony tail all the time, every day, no matter what. It never seemed to get any longer, or need cutting or anything. She had no-nonsense blue eyes and a no-nonsense girlfriend, Megan, who never seemed to talk except to back Cynthia up in whatever she said or did.

The rest of the cast felt like they'd been put on notice. If the leads showed up on the first day unprepared or relaxed and joking around, then they, too, felt like they could take a little license with things. These two, however, were obviously off book and ready to roll, so they themselves better bring their A-game as well. Cam and Penny sat back, smiling at each other, looking pleased with themselves.