(JAZZ shakes head impatiently and crabwalks out of Dream Lab down the steps toward audience.
JAZZ
Where is this place? It smells like death. The end of everything.
(A dead body falls from rafters ands hangs by its elbows obstructing JAZZ’s path – she struggles with it)
JAZZ
Hey! Watch where you’re going! Get out of my way!
(Feels up the body in a panicked way)
JAZZ
Oh, my God, I’m so sorry! Did I bump into you? Are you all right? Are you OK?. What’s wrong?
(She wrestles & dances with swinging corpse, batters it like a punching bag. EnterCHASE who pulls her away. His eyes are open)
CHASE
What is this – a morgue? Come on, we’ve got to get out of here.
JAZZ
(Can’t leave her partner)
Someone died and I’ve gone blind.
CHASE
You’re not blind. Open your eyes. Just don’t look behind you.
(Turns her, kisses her. She resists at first, then leans into him as the kiss deepens. She opens her eyes, feeling his face)
JAZZ
It’s you.
CHASE
What are you doing in a morgue?
JAZZ
This is the basement.
(Turns, sees corpse)
Aaagh!
CHASE
Leave her. She’s past help.
JAZZ
Did she fall?
CHASE
Not with her head bashed in. Come on. We’re urgently required elsewhere.
(Hustles her past the orchestra pit and back up on stage)
JAZZ
Shouldn’t we call somebody?
CHASE
We’ve got to keep moving. Something’s stalking us.
JAZZ
That’s just my boyfriend. He won’t go home. Keeps threatening me.
(Grabbing CHASE frenziedly)
Maybe the dead body is me!
CHASE
It’s some old lady past her sell-by date.
JAZZ
Where are you taking me? Won’t we get into trouble for leaving? Where are we?
(SCENE III – Lights go up on CORSO’s APARTMENT set. Door stands between JAZZ, CHASE and a room of bed, bureau, chairs. Ambiance created by candles, tossed books and clothes)
JAZZ
Where did this come from? Did we like – soul travel?
CHASE
(laughs)
Maybe that bastard Corso really hit on something! The irony – you can’t imagine. Flying! Couldn’t you feel it? While we were kissing.
JAZZ
All I know is you dragged me somewhere I don’t want to be. Where is this? YUCK! Smells like old socks in here.
CHASE
Better than your morgue. This is Corso’s place.
JAZZ
How do you know?
CHASE
I helped him move in.
JAZZ
But why are we here? Is lab over? Maybe we won’t get paid.
CHASE
(Opening drawers and tossing clothes and papers)
There are more important things than money.
JAZZ
Said by someone who obviously has some. Are we dreaming?
CHASE
Together? In my dream you would be more cooperative.
JAZZ
And in my dream you wouldn’t waste time dragging me to Professor Corso’s bachelor hideaway.
CHASE
We’re real. It’s Corso’s razzle-dazzle that isn’t real.
JAZZ
Why? How do you know? I need that money and those credits.
CHASE
The closer you get to it the further it will recede.
JAZZ
You don’t talk like a soulmate. I don’t think you care anything about me.
CHASE
I don’t know you. I’ve got obligations, is all.
JAZZ
You’re wasting precious dream time pawing through Dr. Corso’s private stuff when we should be getting to know each other.
CHASE
In my experience opportunities like this are one time only.
JAZZ
It just doesn’t feel the way I expected.
CHASE
Don’t be so self-referential.
JAZZ
You literally CAN’T be my soulmate. I thought Corso lived on a farm in the country.
CHASE
His wife kicked him out.
JAZZ
She did? Aren’t you going to have to put everything back?
CHASE
He’ll never prove it was us – we’ve got the perfect alibi.
JAZZ
Why is my soulmate a criminal? Lucky me. I really can pick ‘em. So what are you searching for?
CHASE
Evidence. What he’s really up to. Don’t ever believe the magician’s misdirection. He’s the king of mind games. Look at this.
(Flourishes paper)
JAZZ
What’s that?
CHASE
Bankruptcy filings! Divorce filings!
JAZZ
What’s THAT have to do with anything?
CHASE
A desperate Corso is a dangerous Corso.
(Throws her a scrapbook)
See if there’s anything in here.
JAZZ
(Studying the pictures)
“First mass, 1978!” He did say he used to be a priest.
CHASE
True. Imagine Corso absolving people!
JAZZ
He told me the church expelled him.
CHASE
True again. The best lies always contain some truth.
JAZZ
For falling in love, he said.
CHASE
Bzzz! Not! Lie!
JAZZ
No pictures of his wife in here. I wonder what she looks like. All these pictures are of him.
CHASE
The prince of fauxmance cares only about himself. He married her for cash. Look, here’s a picture of you. You must be his type.
JAZZ
That’s Bettie Page. People are always saying I look like her. I ‘ve never worn a leopardskin bra. He certainly was a buck-toothed, buzz-cut wunderkind. Must have had work done.
CHASE
Sold his soul to the devil, is what happened.
JAZZ
If this is astral projection – how come I still have a body?
CHASE
(Looks up briefly)
You don’t like your body? I like your body.
JAZZ
That’s not it…I just figured we’d be essences. I was looking forward to floating around like an essential spirit.
CHASE
But how would we recognize each other? Dante recognized the spirits that he saw in hell and heaven. Makes sense to me. All things considered, I’d rather have a body to experience things with.
JAZZ
I get that. But why do some bodies wind up dead? I keep thinking about that poor old lady –
CHASE
(Still looting)
Here’s a restraining order. He’s not allowed to come within a thousand feet of Evangeline Corso.
JAZZ
Wow. Have you ever met Mrs. Corso?
CHASE
Twice. She was very nice the first time. Obviously older than him, but an interesting talker. But the second time she started screaming about eco-terrorism, about how something was poisoning her, how she was suddenly allergic to everything. He had to pull her off me.
JAZZ
Corso, you suspect?
CHASE
Big time. He’s the only terrorist I know.
JAZZ
You can add Bex to that list.
CHASE
I doubt he equals Corso’s sheer lethality.
JAZZ
Give him time. You really have it in for Corso.
CHASE
He had it in for me.
(The TV has its back to us. When CHASE bumps it, blue light flickers on)
JAZZ
Look at this. Seems like Corso and the Howk are having a Thing.
CHASE
Are you surprised? She really throws down, if you know what I’m saying. I was there at the same time as Soliz and she came on to both of us.
JAZZ
Some people are like that. It’s all performance art.
CHASE
This look like performance art to you?
(JAZZ jumps)
JAZZ
That’s disgusting! Turn it off.
(TV off)
Nobody really wants to be strangled. That must be a performance, for sure. Because don’t we know she’s still alive?
CHASE
Do we?
JAZZ
(She sits down on bed to watch him loot)
Think we’ll remember this when we get back to normal?
CHASE
I’m pretty sure you and I have different definitions of normal. I can’t tell you what will happen. I’m a first timer, too. We have to play it the best we can.
JAZZ
If this is a dream, maybe we’re making it up as we go along.
CHASE
If you’re not a psychology major, you don’t know about the maze-solving worms.
JAZZ
(JAZZ puts chin on hand)
You’re right. Never heard of it. Do tell.
CHASE
They taught these worms to solve complex mazes, you know, by giving them rewards. And then they ground them up and fed them to these other worms.
JAZZ
What a mean thing to do!
CHASE
Except the new worms knew the maze first time.
JAZZ
So that proves…what?
CHASE
Memory is chemical.
(Taps his head)
JAZZ
So Corso’s going to grind us up and feed us…to the alternates?
CHASE
Trust me. He would if he could.
(Pulling out drawers. JAZZ tosses CORSO’s messy sheets)
JAZZ
I can’t believe we’ll get away with this.
(Jumps to her feet)
Yuck! I’m wet. I sat in their wet spot! It’s blood!
(Looks in a panic at her hands, wipes them on her pants, touches her cheeks, increasingly upset.)
Yuck, yuck, yuck! There’s blood on this sheet and now it’s on me!
CHASE
Sssh. You’re not really here.
JAZZ
You just said we were!
(She throws the papers he’s gathering in the air, he grabs her and starts kissing her)
Now you’re getting it on you.
CHASE
I’m getting you on me. I’m starting to think you really are my soulmate.
JAZZ
(Kissing him back)
So please get me out of this disgusting place.
CHASE
I’m sorry I’m so bad at this. It’s just that I can never forget.
Alysse Aallyn 
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