ISLAND IN THE HILLS
By: Andi Smith
To clarify: The following is a scene extending from my original monologue, with the jealous younger sister *Paige
*Susan is the mother, *Annabelle is the favored older sister...
Susan: I told Bradley to swing by and grab me tonight on his way to the office party
Annabelle: Oh, that sexy younger man you’ve been telling me about, the mix between Prince William and…?
Susan: Right, so I won’t be needing the car Annabelle… if you want to go out with your friends or something.
Annabelle: Sure! Ya…um that’s perfect, I’ll call my girls…thanks mommy
(Annabelle runs out of the kitchen and into her room)
Susan: Besides, I told him the Lexus was in the shop…
(She yells to Annabelle in the other room)
Paige: Who’s Bradley?
Susan: Bradley’s the newest addition to our office, I thought it might be nice to have some one on one time with him before the party tonight. I figure he might catch on to our unofficial first date when I have him come in for a glass of wine before we go-What do you think; blue mini skirt, cream tank, black jacket? Red mini skirt, cream tank, black jacket?
Paige: Neither. (Paige looks down at her book)
(Susan rolls her eyes subtly & yells to Annabelle in the other room)
Susan: Belle darling! My credit card’s here for you on the kitchen table…
(Annabelle yells from the other room)
Annabelle: Oh, and a pack of Newports mom?
(Susan pulls a fresh pack out of her oversized louie vuitton and throws it on the table next to the credit card… )
Susan: Alright honey- Done, and done!
Susan: You know Paige, it’s just the way the world turns these days…You’re either a filthy rich man like you’re father, trading in for a younger model, or you’re a sexy, lazy man shopping for a classic woman like myself…
Paige (monotone): Also known as a divorced mother with alimony
Susan: …and I’m in mint condition. You know, like a classic car-
Just another toy they’ve always wanted… It’s really one of the perks to being a bachelor these days…
Paige: (monotone & in question) Just when you think you might be doomed to loneliness, you find yourself in the market for cougars with condos….?
Susan: Paige (She finally looks at her, with a pause) I am a self-sustainable, gorgeous woman…why the attitude?
Notes from Roy:
ReplyDeleteGood encounter between Mother and unfavored daughter in this scene. We get a lot of info about the family in a very dramatic and economical way. We get a sense of the wounds that Susan has endured, but also how her trials have pulled her into herself and away from any real contact with her children. Paige's thoughfulness and intelligence are obvious, as is her determination to hang onto a sense of ethics in a family that's clearly lost its moorings.
Lots of questions/opportunities arise from these opening pieces. What is Paige's life like? Does she have friends? Does she have somewhere to turn in her isolation? Some resource where she can work out the conflicting emotions that her family is causing in her? Does she want to stop her mother? Get her mother's attention? Get her mother's care? How does she feel about her father? What is her perspective on what's happened to him? And to the family?