A scene divided into three parts

[song_of_thea]

1. Christine

Tip of the teeth, tip of the tongue

Tip of the teeth, tip of the tongue

Vowels pure, always forward

Consonants tripping,

Tipping and slipping and

Struggling to phonate in rhythm

“Stay in time!” she calls out across the room.

I cannot see, but I hear her barking additional orders at

Her to approach quickly,

Heather is sluggish

Spitting out words in a long and sticky line

They don’t make it out on time.

“Cut!” She says, and I hold my breath

I know what is coming, but

I KNOW

I did my lines correctly.

Our director paces between us,

“You need to keep the time,” she says

To Heather,

Who merely drops her head.

“You need to engage more!

Give Heather something to work with,

Okay?”

She pats my arm like my mother would

Back when she was this close

To giving up on me

I don’t get it.

My diction is flawless,

My coaches worked tirelessly,

My assistant practiced lines

And we had it rock solid.

But Heather,

My scene partner

And I have

A disconnect

The rhythm of

The hemiola of words

Stop abruptly with Heather

Who won’t keep my time ever

I gather myself,

Ready to repeat the scene

“And begin!”

2.  Heather

I watch Christine with impeccable rhythm

Her words seem flawless

But quite disconnected

Is she even trying

For the director?

Who stands offstage

Shaking her head

We lock eyes

I flush, and am caught off guard

Oh God, the hocket has begun

I try to enter at the furious pace

That she has set

But I

F

L

O

U

N

D

E

R

“Cut!” She says, and

I flush with embarrassment

Once again,

I have dropped the ball

“Keep the time!” she says to me

I bow my head,

Furious at my fear

And distracted

By her overwhelming  presence.

“Give Heather something to work with.

Okay?”

I hear her tell Christine,

Before she pats her arm

I feel jealous watching that  gentle touch

While I receive only scorn

I want to flee the stage,

Maybe they can cast someone else in this scene

My rhythm is still off,

But already, we’re starting.

“And begin!”

3.  Director

We open in less than a week,

And the two cast members in this scene

Are arrhythmic at best

The actresses don’t acknowledge

Their relationship with the scene,

Of discovering love

With each other

Moving like broken marionettes

To the beats of some non existent drummer

I stand offstage,

Hoping that somehow, they’ll connect

And make this terrible scene

A fantastic and emotive one.

Christine,

The first actress,

Stares into the darkness

Like Lady MacBeth,

Unaware that anyone else is in the room.

It fills me with fear that she will

Act like she is the star

Not part of the ensemble

Then there is Heather,

Christine’s scene partner,

Who looks like she is elsewhere

She gazes at me, not her scene partner

And together,

They fall out of rhythm for different reasons.

“Cut!”  I finally say,

Realizing there is no recovery

After three takes on this scene

Unless I intercede

“Please come offstage,” I say

Both actresses oblige,

One with a bored expression,

The other with a look of distress

“This is not working,” I say,

“So please sit,

And face each other.”

As they seat themselves

Upon the wooden stage floor,

The first actress sighs

With melodramatic tones

While the second

Picks at gaffing tape stuck to the floor

“It is not my job to be on stage with you,

You are not reciting your lines to me

You should be speaking to each other

So that when you arrive at the apex,

You must fall in together in steady rhythm.

So I really want the two of you to grasp

This not so intricate concept.  

You need to work together.

I am not a conductor, I am behind the scenes.

You

Should look at each other

Before

During

And after you say your lines.

Then listen for the response,

Keep the pattern flowing

Your job depends on it.

I will not cancel the show,

But as of now, you need to know

That you need each other

To stay afloat.”

I pause

Hoping for understanding.

The first actress seems surprised,

The second actress now looks determined

Let’s see if they get it this time.

“Facing each other, do this scene again.

Remain seated, and lock eyes.

Now.

Begin again.”

Comments

[kehlen.livejournal.com]

Oh,yes. I was at a performance once that fell apart like you describe, because they did not catch the rhythm although they tried. It felt like a terrible comedy of Richard III that time, especially when the previous evening they almost made me cry.

Oops, sorry this came out like it did, you caught me in the orbit of your poem :).

[kehlen.livejournal.com]

Awesome three-way perspective of the same scene.

[bellatrix_lestrange]

I love what you did with this prompt and how you conveyed this scene from different angles and painted such a vibrant picture! <3

[static_abyss]

Great use of the prompt, and I especially liked the multiple perspective because it really showed how one thing can be different to everybody.

[halfshellvenus]

I really like the shifting perspectives here, where you start out thinking that Heather really needs to try harder, and then that the director wasn't kidding with "Give Heather something to work with," because Christine is screwing up in a different way.

If this is supposed to be a love scene, they really need to meet in the middle, and no, the director cannot do that for them!

[rayaso]

I loved the different perspectives here. It worked very well. This was clearly a production headed for disaster!

[dmousey]

This was awesome! Thank you for sharing it with us. 🐁🐞🐭😊✌🎀

[alycewilson]

I loved this.

[itsjust_c]

I really enjoyed reading this. I loved the three-way perspective of the same scene. I liked how all three characters had different problems.I think it worked well.