Alysse Aallyn

Category: #SoulTravel

  • Becoming a Goddess – the Goddess Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    The Lovers – Alliances

      Check your friend list. Do you dream of love, sex, connection? Hand-holding, hugging, family celebrations? We were all born to search for Alliances. An alliance is symbiotic, good for both sides of the equation. To reach out, you must each decide your motive (“I Could Use a Friend”).  Approach with the CERTAINTY that you are WORTHY of friendship. This last one is tricky because we are all looking for validation.  This is the source of many “imposter” dreams where we find ourselves naked in front of the entire class, unprepared on Test Day!

      Goddesses Need Respect – A Goddess is a Soul Apart. You have a mission, and the Other must be worthy of you. You must be able to respect them, too. You can see that dominance/submission becomes a zero-sum game with each trying to knuckle the other under. No relationship can last under that stress and it degenerates into a destructive spiral.

      Goddesses Have Mystery – You are aware of vast reaches of your Self that are unknown and In Development. Most of your promises are tenuous. You are stepping forward with hope into uncharted and potentially dangerous wilderness. This means the pair must accept each other in good faith, as followers of the Light. You will rapidly see you cannot forge relationships until you have a working concept of what the Light is and what its potentialities are. Too many aspirants want the Lover to define them when our obligation is to define ourselves. Accept that with a mystery this vast, it can’t be “solved”. It can only be momentarily elucidated as we receive glimpses of our path and purpose.

      Good Relationships are Complementary – You don’t have to provide everything, and they don’t either. Each of you has lapses and blindness the other can improve. 

      You Are a Giver and Worthy of Help – We can’t get through this alone, and we don’t want to. Luckily, we are surrounded by other humans, struggling, just like us.  If we pledge to help each other, we can dispatch terror and celebrate joy! Comforting! But how can we tell the difference between Builders and Exploiters? We don’t want to end up as someone else’s meal.

      Goddess Danger  – When someone is trying to mangle your self-esteem, recognize this. Even if it comes in the guise of “friendship” this person is an enemy. This is not what friends are for. When someone is trying to “capture” you, i.e. limit and control your possibilities and behavior, that person is a hostage-taker looking for slaves. NOT a friend.

      Goddess Challenge – How to recognize friends? Friends are honest: “I just don’t like that dress but maybe it’s me.” Friends are forgiving, ‘I’m sorry, I was having a bad day. I know you’re sorry, too.”  Friends are fun, “Let’s cheer ourselves up.” Friends are helpful: “Let’s figure a way out of this.” Are you honest, forgiving, fun-loving and helpful? You’re ready to be a friend. Friendship is a good place to start. Be the friend you want to have – warm, funny, loyal, truthful.

      Love Enriches – It Does Not Deplete – – Friends are a mirror in which we see ourselves. We can experiment with possibilities, we can expand our reach.  Our intelligence is doubled, as well as our efforts.  Our sorrows are halved and our ideas are increased exponentially.  Reach out! You never know until you try. And there’s always the possibility of Love and deepening sexual connection.

      Love Transforms as a Goddess Transforms – Things you thought you could not do seem possible now because someone believes in you. Believe in yourself because they do, and honor them by believing in them, in return.

      Locked Back to Back the Goddess Pair Sees Everything – Gaze turns outward at the world, not inward on each other. Are you chewing or strengthening? Learn the steps of your tango. Add new steps of your own.

      As You Change, the Couple Changes – Compare Training Journals. Are you evolving? Can you evolve together? Is it safe to speak the truth? Does one partner try to dominate? Does one partner use infantile behaviors to get “their way”? There is no “one way.” As joint goddess, the couple has goals also. Compare. Allow differences. The truth will be revealed.

      Models & Mentors – “You are my sun, my moon and all my stars”

      – e.e. cummings

      “All that we love deeply becomes a part of us” – Helen Keller

      “Love makes your soul crawl out of its hiding place” – Zora Neale Hurston

      “Love is not proud or boastful, keeps no record of past mistakes – love rejoices in the truth” –

      II Corinthians

      “Laugh as much as you breathe, love as long as you live” – Rumi

      #Haiku: The Lovers

      Falling upwards

      Into you

      My other wing, my second

      Clapping hand

    1. The Goddess Oracle – claiming your Immortality by Alysse Aallyn

      1. Ego – You

      What kind of goddess are you? is the central question. Your body and spirit have a “grain” much like wood does – we call it “temperament. Going against this spoils your future. Your ego has work to do, figuring out who you are and what kind of strategy you excel at.  What tools fit naturally to your hand? We think, we remember, we discuss, we write and we dream. Jung tells us that in your dream, you are everyone. 

      You Are A Seeker  – You are self-defining and self-validating. You are on a quest. You wish to explore your possible incarnations.

      Goddess Danger – The worst hazard of self-reflection is not navel-gazing (micro study can be very revealing) but solipsism. Aloneness may in fact be Hell. We can never lose touch with those around us because it is others we are fighting for, not for Self alone. Many warlords, sensing your promise, will try to recruit or outright capture you. Avoid warlords who fail to treat you with respect.  In our increasingly autocratic world we are very familiar with Aging Babies who want the rest of us to nursemaid their fussy, immaturity because Growing Up is Ouchy. For God’s sake, for your own sake, for the benefit of the Universe and in hope of Eternity, don’t cater to or worse yet, BECOME one of THOSE. There is no shame in telling others you are “finding yourself.”

      Goddess Challenge – Set a Spirituality Schedule to reflect your needs and interests. Appoint time to be absolutely alone, for meditation and reflection. If you cannot find a room to yourself, a closet will do. You can sit in the meditation position or assume any position that allows you to be comfortable enough to become physically forgetful.  Concentrate first on building a life that allows both inner and outer growth. Surround yourself with people who respect this decision.

      Goddess Opportunity – This is a journey. Accept it. Begin a journal with 1. “I” and write down your meditation thoughts and desires. This can be a poem, a fantasy, a checklist – whatever pattern occurs to you as supportive of your desires. Make a list of goals. Accept that it will evolve, transform.  Push shame away. This is about YOU. Of course as you mature, your goals will evolve, and your journal will reflect that. When you have completed your Time Alone – ten minutes to an hour – whatever works for you – pat yourself on the back. What an achievement! You are started on a path of making changing Nightmares into Dreams and making dreams come true.

      Planning & Mapping:  Goddesses lead a designed life. A diary (also called a Training Journal) offers the ideal format in which to plan. Attempt to quantify the difficulties that you feel and assess possible reactions. Just because a situation is tough does not mean it shouldn’t be explored – on the contrary:

      – A goddess repels takeover  – You are your own goddess – not somebody else’s hired emblem.

      • A goddess feels instinctively what she needs to defend – your soul will reveal it to you – through relationships, through instinct, through time and through dreams.
      • A goddess knows when to let down her guard – there are times to connect, to share, to Love.
      • A goddess learns from mistakes and hones her art. There is no Failure: only Learning. All education is precious.
      • Goddesses look for opportunities – Resistance training sharpens our game. We are each other’s cuttle bones, as well as cuddle bones.
      • Goddesses aren’t afraid of difficulty – the more time it takes the more fun it is. Your life is a long story, full of exciting challenges. Goddesses love gathering around the campfire to share adventures.

      The First Resistance – Often savage, it comes from yourself. Slowly we realize we have hijackers inside our brains wrestling for control. You can recognize these by their negative content. They clearly wish to subdue us into clones which is NOT HEALTHY.

      Becoming a Goddess – It is this resistance that first marks our goddess status. Congratulate yourself. You are on the road.

      Training Journal – Carefully assess your desires versus the demands on you. List expected results if you gave in to either. Develop a concept of health. Is “freedom” staying up all night, consuming whatever substance makes you “feel better”? Clearly not. Assess the negative voice; “You’re weak”, for example. Being “in flight” from the negative voice is actually giving it mastery, so you must stand up to it. Learn to answer back – “I’m in training. I did better today than yesterday.” Keep track of your achievements. Even really small ones: “I meditated for 10 minutes” are significant.

      Accept mystery: Life isn’t “win or lose.” It can’t be quantified because we are magical souls with magic coursing through us. Sometimes it’s impossible to figure out and must simply be absorbed, not rationalized. Learn to enjoy art and accept the relief it offers. Reflect back as much magic & mystery as you can muster. Your tastes will develop according to your growth – that’s a good thing. Treat yourself like a loving sensei who wants the best for you.

      Models & Mentors: Always survey possible models. Who do you admire?

      Is it

      Bruce Lee? “The difference between a goddess and an average man is laser focus.”

      Is it Carl Jung? “I am not what happened to me I am what I choose to become.” Read.  Study. Educate yourself. Develop your own models.

      “Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego falls with it” – Colin Powell

      “Don’t let your ego get in the way of your success”- Tony Horton

      “The ego seeks to divide and separate. The spirit seeks to unify and heal.” – Pema Chodron

      #Haiku: Id vs Ego

      Argumentative

      Executioner

      Prowls brain

      Seeking

      Loopholes

    2. Rough Sleep – a play by Alysse Aallyn

       SCENE XV – STAGE APRON 

      CHASE

      This can’t be real, Jazz. It isn’t real. It’s some planet we’re not on.

      JAZZ

      But it makes perfect sense. It answers all the questions. You know in your heart that was his plan all along.

      CHASE

      It can’t be real because my Mom is dead. Years ago. She killed herself the first Christmas I didn’t come home.

      JAZZ

      (Keeps trying to go back)

      But I saw her. I We were there. How can it not be true?

      (He tries to hug her – she resists)

      Don’t touch me! I don’t feel like touching ever again.

      (CHASE sits on the edge of the stage)

      CHASE

      Corso loves games – he’s always up for the latest thing. He can even claim he told us! We fell for it like puppies jumping for a biscuit.

      JAZZ

      So that part’s real? Our sex archetypes all over the cloud?

      CHASE

      Sexsomnia is real. He was way ahead of me.

      (beat)

      I should have guessed. It’s always the worst thing he can think of. Welcome to my nightmare.  

      JAZZ

      I don’t want details.

      CHASE

      But we need to see – Everyone needs to see – just how the magician operates.

      JAZZ

      You’re right – magic is the important thing. There was magic all along, in spite of Corso.

      CHASE

      All he cares about it is cash and control. He honed the perfect weapon to take life hostage. 

      JAZZ

      How ironic that the moment we stop believing, magic appears! 

      CHASE

      Only toddlers believe. And toddlers are ill-equipped for these frolics. Where’s the magic in that?

      JAZZ

      Seeing your Mom was magic.

      CHASE

      Dark magic, you’ll agree. What were they thinking? Russian-Irish could never work!

      JAZZ

      My combination’s Portuguese-Swedish. Your Mom said she forgave you. 

      CHASE

      She didn’t!

      JAZZ

      She did. I heard her. What was it like to see her again?

      CHASE

      Amazing and frustrating – the way it always was. 

      JAZZ

      Admit we got the most wonderful bath!  For a few minutes we saw how happy we could be.

      CHASE

      A ritual cleanse. Did seem like it was working.

      JAZZ

      I felt such peace, like nothing could hurt us ever. 

      CHASE

      Then my Dad showed up.

      JAZZ

      So now I know him, too. I experienced them through you.

      CHASE

      In the house that never got finished. I pushed my Dad into bankruptcy. I destroyed my family.

      JAZZ

      You did not.

      CHASE

      If you’re going to be my soulmate you’ve seen the house of horrors where you have to live. Nobody could blame you for walking out.

      JAZZ

      Where would I walk to?  Seriously.  I thought the more worlds we saw the more paths – the more choices we would have, but the maze leads only two places – sickness and murder or – each other.

      CHASE

      But what if we resist?

      JAZZ

      Are we back to murder? A life for a life?

      CHASE

      Surely you see the appeal?

      JAZZ

      I think when you want to kill Corso it’s really your dad you want to kill. 

      CHASE

      Wow! Free therapy! Bzzzt! No. My Dad I can get away from.

      JAZZ

      Apparently not.

      CHASE

      Once and done.

      JAZZ

      Finding crime scenes should not be inspiring us to create more of them.

      CHASE

      Why not, if everyone’s doing it?

      JAZZ

       Jails are full of defective reasoners.

      CHASE

      So I’m a defective reasoner, am I?

      (JAZZ sits beside him)

      JAZZ

      Seems like. I’m stuck with you and you’re stuck with me.

      CHASE

      But I don’t get it – if death doesn’t free you, what does?

      JAZZ

      Why couldn’t you tell me about her?

      CHASE

      I can’t even go there.

      (long pause)

      JAZZ

      If you can’t go there I can’t see where there is to get to. 

      CHASE

      Sexsomnia is like sleepwalking.  They –

      JAZZ

      Would you stop it with trying to rationalize the irrational? It makes me feel so alone.

      CHASE

      (Holding her – she lets him)

      We can’t have that.

      (They start to kiss)

      Maybe it hasn’t happened yet.

      JAZZ

      What part?

      CHASE

      The video Corso’s trying to create. If he hasn’t finished it, he hasn’t released it.

      JAZZ

      But what we did. It’s out there, alive, wandering the cloud. 

      CHASE

      Maybe not. 

      JAZZ

      I like this Chase better.  So let’s get rid of it and warn the others.

      CHASE

      Are you sure they’ll care?

      JAZZ

      Someone will.

      CHASE

      They may prefer secrecy, or destruction. But people don’t believe without evidence.

                                 JAZZ

      Our suffering is the evidence.

                        (She pushes him away)

      You wanted this to happen.  You twisted my life into evidence for your crime scene. You used the rest of us as bait.

      CHASE

      I swear I had no idea he’d go this far. But if it’s real we’ve got to face up to it. Destroying the evidence doesn’t cancel our suffering.

      JAZZ

      Without the video, we don’t remember. If we pass it along, Corso wins – whoever we pass it to.

      CHASE

      It isn’t “gone” just because we can’t remember. Haven’t what we’ve been through shown us that? It becomes a negative hallucination.

      JAZZ

      I feel sure I don’t want to know what that is.

      CHASE

      It means is not seeing the obvious. 

      JAZZ

      Forgetting is almost as good as innocence.

      CHASE

      That’s what Corso counted on.

      JAZZ

      Help me.

      CHASE

      I’m trying.

      (the distance between them is growing. They reach out their arms to each other but it’s too late. CHASE fades into darkness)

      JAZZ

      I want to forget! Help me forget!

      CORSO’s voice

      I stand at the ready to assist my adorable Jazz.

    3. Rough Sleep – a play by Alysse Aallyn

      – KITCHEN set, bar with overhead wineglass and pot rack, burners steaming ( ZOYAorchestrates the food)

      ZOYA

      Stevie, could you open the wine and let it breathe?

      (Clutches her own throat)

      No one wants a strangled wine.

      CHASE

      Jazz drinks any kind of wine.

      ZOYA

      Jazz? What kind of name is that?

      JAZZ

      It’s a nickname. My name is Jasmyn Suzino.

      ZOYA

      (Thawing. She is cautious and protective, not mean)

      If you’re important to my son I’m so glad you’re here.

      CHASE

      She’s very important to me. 

      ZOYA

      I hope you like Welsh rarebit and Coquille Saint Jacques.

      JAZZ

      Sounds delicious. I hear you do your own cooking?

      (CHASE takes bottle and opener from his mother.)

      ZOYA

      Love is the main ingredient, I always say. Red or white?

      (She pulls down wineglasses from the overhead rack. There are several bottles of wine.CHASE opens them one after the other. JAZZ looks a little scared as if she might have to drink all this)

      JAZZ

      Oh, whatever.  May I have ice, please?

      CHASE

      (Being a Farrell)

      No.

      ZOYA

      Oh, for heavens sake let her have whatever she wants!  Lemon, sugar! Anything! This is a party!

      (Slaps out an ice bucket)

      CHASE

      Taste it without ice first.  It’s Christmas wine from Lebanon.

      JAZZ

      Wow.  Delicious.  You’re right….forget the ice.

      (JAZZ sits at the bar – ZOYA blots the corner of JAZZ’s mouth with a napkin, lays napkins down.  What with spoons and potlids, she gives an impression of sacred priestess juggling sacred tools)

      CHASE

      Mom made all this lace herself.

      JAZZ

      Awesome. Exquisite.  I didn’t know humans made lace.

      CHASE

      Mom was beaten into submission by nuns. You propitiate the gods by giving them lace. 

      ZOYA

      (Raps him sharply with a spoon)

      Stevie, you heretic! What will our guest think?

      CHASE

      “Make our damn lace or be consumed by the Holocaust!”

      ZOYA

      Stevie! Oh, what’s the use? You’ll never change. I forgive you.

      JAZZ

      Uh, the flowers on that cake look almost real.

      ZOYA

      I love making sugar flowers.  Those are lilies and camellias.  I wore them at my wedding.

      CHASE

      Mom studied pastry making at the Cordon Bleu in Paris. 

      ZOYA

      It was just a summer course. Canapés or crudités?

      CHASE

      Crudity always.

      JAZZ

      (To CHASE)

      Paris!  Were you there?

      CHASE

      Naw.  I was just a bullet in my father’s bandolier in those days.

      ZOYA

      Oh, Stevie!  You’re such a silly! How I love you! No, he’s never been to Paris.  We’ve not been back. That was our honeymoon, so long, long ago.

       (Seems like she might cry) 

      It’s so hard to keep the rarebit from separating. 

      (sniffs – offers a plate)

      Duck pâté?

      JAZZ

      Er, sure.

      (ZOYA and CHASE toss off their wine, he refills their glasses.  JAZZ holds hers against her chest. ZOYA reaches down a platter)

      ZOYA

      I love to cook! Following a recipe to make things right. I wish people ate more, but they’re always on such weird diets. Cyanne’s a vegan who won’t eat gluten.  Everything’s changed. I used to pick my own watercress but now I’m afraid of the fisher cats. 

      CHASE

      Fishers eat squirrels, mom, not people.

      ZOYA

      Somebody needs to eat those squirrels. They’re too assertive. But it’s the fisher cats who scream – like someone being murdered.

      CHASE

      They’re nocturnal, Mom.  And watercress is out of season.

      ZOYA

      (Fighting back tears)

      So how does your family celebrate grand occasions, Jasmyn? I’m sure it’s something more splendid than a homely family party.

      JAZZ 

      (nervous)

      We make a lot of toasts.

      (She lifts her glass. ZOYA and CHASE both drain their glasses and immediately refill as if that’s what etiquette requires)

      ZOYA

      Stevie, you say the blessing.

      CHASE

      You’re going to have to stop calling me that, Mom.  My name is Chase.

      ZOYA

      But that’s a stupid name.  It doesn’t mean anything.  Steven was your grandfather’s name.

      CHASE

      But he’s gone. You want me to be gone?

      ZOYA

      I’m praying you never leave again.

      (Lifts her glass)

      Zemlya pukhom!

      CHASE

      It’s your birthday, Mom.  We toast to you.

      (He raises his glass)

      ZOYA

      (Abashed, almost frightened.)

      No more bad luck.  I’m not fit to catch God’s eye. Dolgaya zhizn!

      JAZZ

      What’s that mean?

      CHASE

      Long life.

      JAZZ 

      Long life!

      (They drink. A moment of happiness. Enter CUTTER FARRELL dressed as if for wild weather.  CUTTER slowly removes outer gear but continues to play with belt – appraising the group as if wondering who to use it on. He is a cold, cold-eyed man, a paler, blockier version of CHASE. Accepts drink from placatory ZOYA)

      CUTTER

      Filthy night. What have we here?

      ZOYA

      Stevie brought a friend to my birthday party! Isn’t that exciting?

      CUTTER

      (Takes drink, cranes his neck insultingly)

      Little Stevie brought a date?  Where is he? I don’t see him.

      (JAZZ steps up bravely and offers her hand)

      JAZZ

      Hi, I’m Jasmyn Suzino.

      (CUTTER takes her hand and presses it to his chest, looking her up and down at his leisure)

      CUTTER

      Where did this dark-eyed beauty spring from? Be still my loins.  I’m Cutter Farrell, young lady. Pleased to make your acquaintance.

      JAZZ

      (Awkwardly)

      I go to school with Chase. Er – Steven.

      CUTTER

      Bet you met him yesterday.

      (JAZZ reacts as though this might be true. CHASE steps forward, detaches JAZZ’s arm)

      CHASE

      Pick on someone in your own weight class, Dad.

      CUTTER

      And that would be you? I’ve heard braggadocio but I’m getting tired waiting.

      ZOYA

      (Panicky)

      Please don’t fight. It’s my birthday.

      CUTTER

      I don’t like surprises.  That’s all.

      (Pops some savory in his mouth and drains half his drink)

      So. Suzino.  What kind of a name is that?

      JAZZ

      It’s Portuguese.

      CUTTER

      Is there a Dad in your picture?

      JAZZ

      (After a beat)

      Not really.

      CUTTER

      That’s the Portuguese in him. We Irish, now, keep families together. We hang on till every lost dog is drawn and quartered.

      (ZOYA snaps tensely at CHASE who is eating)

      ZOYA

      (Spanks his arm with her lace napkin)

      Don’t double dip, darling!  It’s disgusting!

      (Blots her forehead)

      I’m sorry.

      CUTTER

      (Poking freely among the crudités tray)

      When’s dinner?

      (ZOYA clatters pot lids hopelessly)

      ZOYA

      Half an hour.  Forty-five minutes.

      CUTTER

      Just enough time for a private pow-wow.  Bring your drinks, kids. You’ll need them.

      CHASE

      No thank you.

      CUTTER

      I’ve got a business proposition for you. Come along now:  fair’s fair.  You’ve got to give me a chance to get my money back. All the cash I spent on you…

      CHASE

      I’m not putting my money into any of your schemes.

      (CUTTER takes JAZZ’s arm)

      CUTTER

      Fine.  Then your little girlfriend and I will have a sit down. You stay out here with Mummy the way you always preferred, Jasmyn and I will have a heart to heart and find out what’s what.

      ZOYA

      (Desperate)

      Cutter, please! 

      CUTTER

      You cook, dumpling, I’ll entertain our guests.

      ZOYA

      By arguing?

      CUTTER

      I only stand up for what’s mine.

      (To CHASE who’s sliding unwillingly off his barstool)

      You’re going to want to see this.  Believe me. It’s the next biggest thing, and I’m offering you a buy-in on the ground floor.

      CUTTER’S DEN- SCENE XIV.  Macho and dark; leather furniture, deer head, creels and powder horns, gun rack

      CUTTER

      So, what are you studying in this college of yours?

      JAZZ

      We’re participating in a research experiment.

      CUTTER

      I’ll bet you are. Anything to do with the Internet?

      JAZZ

      The Internet?

      CUTTER

      (Shaking his head as he looks at CHASE)

      Where do you get these girls?  You haven’t heard of the Internet, young missy? The World Wide Web?

      JAZZ

      (Blushing but controlling herself at a warning look from CHASE)

      It has nothing to do with that.

      CUTTER

      (Studying her speculatively)

      Well, I can’t answer for how they behave in Portugal, but it’s possible you were pimped out without your knowledge. 

      (Picks up a video controller. CHASE and JAZZ stares stupefied at a screen that flickers dancing shapes over their faces)

      CUTTER

      Look what your boyfriend got you into! It’s a game, see? You can make them do any combination, anything you want.

      (Struggles with his controller)

      How do you make this thing go frame by frame?

      JAZZ

      Oh, my God. It’s US!

      CHASE

      Turn that thing off!

      (CHASE lunges for his Dad, they tussle, CUTTER playing “keep away” with remote)

      CUTTER

      Wait, wait –the good part is coming up! 

      (CHASE succeeds in dashing controller to floor, screen light goes off)

      Here’s a fine thing for a father to have to see! You could at least ensure they disguise the faces – but you all make yourselves so recognizable with those tattoos. Nice birthday gift for mommy, wouldn’t you say?

      (CHASE lunging – they are full-on wrestling)

      CUTTER

      This idea’s worth millions – unless you sign away your rights – AGAIN. But that’s what you do, isn’t it? Anything rather than take dad’s advice! Why don’t you hit me, since you’ve been longing to. Go ahead – hit your father!

      (CHASE manages to turn off screen, throw remote, pushes CUTTER away)

      CHASE

      Come on, Jazz, let’s get out of here.

      CUTTER

      I suppose you’ll claim that was art. 

      (Heavy fake Irish accent)

      Will you be taking it around to the festivals now?  Put it up for the booby prize?

      CHASE

      You’re dead to me.

      (Dragging JAZZ away)

      CUTTER

      I’m dead to you, you spineless party pooper? I’m dead to you?

      (ZOYA appears holding a wine opener pushed to her neck)

                                 ZOYA

      I’m dead to everyone and nobody noticed! Nobody even noticed!

      (JAZZ tries to go to her, CHASE pulls her away downstage – lights off on FARRELL RESIDENCE)

    4. Rough Sleep – a play by Alysse Aallyn

       SCENE XII – BATHTUB/DRESSING ROOM with towel & clothes rack. HUGE bathtub

      CHASE

      Here we are.

      JAZZ

      God, this is luxe.  Now I’m scared of drowning.

      CHASE

      (Touches her)

      I have a lifesaving badge. 

      JAZZ

      Coming in with me?

      CHASE

      Soulmates should never be apart too long. In relationships timing is everything and we don’t want to miss a beat.

      JAZZ

      Right. We might end up in different universes.  Who’s to say we’d ever get back?

      (She turns on taps, sounds of water flowing – bubbles)

      CHASE

      You’re getting bubbles all over the floor.

      JAZZ

      Who cares? Your mother already hates me.

      CHASE

      (Reaches in to turn off the jets)

      She absolutely does not.  My mother’s not a hater.  Look at this.  There seems to be a drain in the floor.

      JAZZ

      Seems to be? Didn’t you live here?

      CHASE

      Nope. This house is new to me.

      JAZZ

      What a thoughtful vortex we’ve fallen into.

      (They undress.  CHASE has chain tats twisting up his arms)

      JAZZ

      I see you made your status permanent. What with the chains.

      (Touches them)

      CHASE

      I’ve got commitment. How about you? Any tattoos?

      JAZZ

      A tiny one you’ll never find.

      (Slides into bath)

      CHASE

      Sure you want me in there? What if I’m contagious?

      JAZZ

      Here’s hoping we both are.

      (He climbs in)

      CHASE

      You like it hot. Just like my mom.  She thinks you’re not clean unless you remove the top layer of skin.

      (JAZZ dumps bubbles on his head – they play – she squeals – he upends her looking for the tattoo))

      CHASE

      Here it is! I found it!  What’s that – a hummingbird?  A butterfly?

      JAZZ

      (Spitting bubbles)

      It’s a dragonfly.

      (They play.  Ah, love)

      Weren’t we doing something important before we got worm-holed away?

                        (Seductively)

      CHASE

      Nothing as important as this. 

      (Kissing)

      JAZZ

      Now I recognize you without your skin.

      CHASE

      You’ve heard the theory angels are hermaphrodites? 

      JAZZ

      I missed that one.

      CHASE

      You can be my other wing.

      (ZOYA strikes a gong in the front hallway)

      CHASE

      Uh oh. There goes the dinner bell.

      JAZZ

      There’s a dinner bell?

      CHASE

      Mom needs an audience for her extravaganzas.

      JAZZ

      She cooks her own birthday dinner?

      CHASE

      From scratch. She’s a one-woman homemaking army. What does your Mom do for her birthday?

      JAZZ

      We go to one of those sneeze guard buffets where children throw meatballs. Intro to Plague Theory.

      (They wrestle, squealing)

      CHASE

      This is the best bath I ever had. I’m looking forward to getting dirty just so we can get clean again. 

      JAZZ

      I know! It’s so much more fun with two of us!

      CHASE

      No baths with the Bexter?

      JAZZ

      Are you kidding? I had to use reverse psychology just to get him to shave. Please – no more Old Boyfriend talk. Let’s agree when we get out of this bath we will be completely new.

       (Embrace)

      CHASE

      Agreed.

      (Magical moments. ZOYA strikes gong again)

      CHASE

      Uh oh.  Thirty second warning.

      (He climbs out, helps her into towel)

       Time for Lady’s Choice.

      (Rack of clothes in spot)

      JAZZ

      I can be anyone I want? There’s plenty to choose from.

      (Handles clothes)

      Your mother wasn’t kidding. Most of these still have tags. Is your sister even real?

      CHASE

      Sure she is.  She got all the niceness, I got all the meanness .

      JAZZ

      How can she nice and miss Mom’s birthday?

      CHASE

      You’ll see why. How about this one?

      (Prom dress)

      JAZZ

      No I like this one better.

       (Girl Scout uniform)

      CHASE

      Or Pocahontas.

      (Fringed Indian outfit)

      JAZZ

      Or a cheerleader! Maybe there’s a football uniform for you. I have my fantasies, too.

      CHASE

      Better keep it simple. We might have to make a break for it.

      (They don cleaner versions of their old clothes)

    5. Rough Sleep – a play by Alysse Aallyn

       SCENE XI – FARRELL RESIDENCE.  (ZOYA, festively dressed excitable little woman with dyed hair teeters forward on high heels)

      ZOYA

      Stevie!

      (She clutches CHASE, kissing him everywhere)

      Oh Stevie, Stevie, I was so afraid you wouldn’t come.

      CHASE

      Miss your birthday?  How could I possibly?  And I brought a friend.

      (JAZZ waves nervously)

      JAZZ

      (Awkwardly extending plant)

      Happy Birthday.

      (Painfully obvious this is way too big a plant for this tiny person)

      ZOYA

      (Making no move to take it)

      Oh, my. That looks so…interesting. Well come in, come in.

      ( JAZZ unloads plant on hall table, looking around, awed. ZOYA regards plant apprehensively.)

      ZOYA

      I suppose I’m ancient, dry and prickly just like this plant. Does it come with directions?

      JAZZ

      It’s a Christmas cactus. It’s going to have three blooms.  See?

      ZOYA

      (Without enthusiasm)

      Lovely.

      (Clings to CHASE)

      It’s so wonderful to see you!

      (She squeezes him)

      Look how tall you’ve gotten.

      CHASE

      (hugs her)

      Good to see you, Mom. You’re looking well.

      JAZZ

      Sorry I’m not dressed for a party.

      CHASE

      Jazz had kind of a disaster. Somebody jumped out of her dorm room window.

      (JAZZ and CHASE exchange looks)

      ZOYA

      How terrible! Were they badly hurt?

      CHASE

      (With relish)

      Killed, Mom. Dead.

      (His mother backs away, looking at the pair of them)

      ZOYA

      Do they give you an automatic A and send you home?

      CHASE

      Urban legend, Mom. You’ve got to stop believing myths.

      (His mother strikes him lightly on the arm)

      ZOYA

      I never know when you’re teasing.

      CHASE

      If Jazz could borrow something of Cyanne’s…?

      ZOYA

      (Recollecting she’s the hostess)

      Of course, of course.  Cyanne has way too many clothes. She’s always shopping. You look about the same size.  She’d say yes but she’s away at college.  She’s pledging my sorority. Quick drink before you freshen up?

      (An expression almost of panic)

      Because I’ve got to get back – back to the kitchen.

      (Backs away as if dragged – exit)

      CHASE

      My Mom always bakes her own birthday cake.

      JAZZ

      Why didn’t you tell me your mother hates plants?

      (Gestures)

      All these plants are fake.

      CHASE

      Mom says growth’s a lot of work. 

      JAZZ

      (Mimes looking at family photos on the walls)

      That you as a baby?

      CHASE

      The very same. Aren’t I adorable? You can’t tell which is me and which is Cyanne.

      JAZZ

      You all look so happy.

      CHASE

      Appearances can be deceiving.

      JAZZ

      So your real name’s Stevie.

      CHASE

      Steven.  Now that you know it, forget it. Just another thing that’s gone.

      JAZZ

      You could have told me. 

      CHASE

      Who knew we’d end up here? I’ve never been good at telling people things. The vortex assumed control.

    6. Rough Sleep – a play by Alysse Aallyn

      JAZZ
      Time to forgive yourself.


      CHASE
      Oh, that’ll be easy. Walk in the park.


      JAZZ
      I’m still here.


      CHASE
      You’re scared to leave because Bex is out there.


      JAZZ
      That’s not it. I’m here because I want to be. I can handle Bex. His pride is hurt but he’s basically lazy. I don’t matter that much to him. He spent all our time together trying to convince me I was worthless and making him look bad.


      CHASE
      Sounds like my dad. Except I really was all he had. His only son.


      JAZZ
      You’re not responsible for him. Bex wanted me to believe that I was stuck with him, but he wasn’t stuck with me, that I owed him a debt that kept mysteriously increasing.


      CHASE
      Ouch. I need a shower. Want to come?


      JAZZ
      Oh, no you don’t! We’re not finished yet! Why come after Corso? Why pick this college?


      CHASE
      You really want me to roll in it, don’t you? Can’t you just be a good soulmate and fill in the blanks?


      JAZZ
      Total honesty. Full disclosure. Tell each other everything, don’t you agree?


      CHASE
      Maybe.


      JAZZ
      So when Bex bothers me you want me keeping it secret?


      CHASE
      Hell no! Point taken.
      (forcing himself to reminisce)
      I just couldn’t get it out of my mind that nothing bad happened to Corso. No jail time! No publicity. No fines even. They made him promise not to work with children, but he’d graduated to teenagers by that time anyway. I gradually realized the money was to control me, so I wouldn’t tell the police. Blood money. What a bad deal that was. He wasn’t controlled! Rewarded, if anything. I might as well have been protecting him. When I looked him up – there he is running “perceptual studies” at a prestigious college! That sound like “punishment” to you?


      JAZZ
      That would be punishment for me, but I get what you mean.


      CHASE
      So I decided to kill him. It’s the only way. I mean, Corso’s a monster, right? And he’s only getting worse. I grew up, I bulked up, I legally changed my name, I disguised myself every way I could think of. I mean, he hadn’t seen me since I was a squeaky-voiced platinum haired tot of thirteen.


      JAZZ
      But let me guess. He recognized you right away.


      CHASE
      He just assumed I couldn’t live without him. I was there to bring him souls!


      JAZZ
      You confronted him?


      CHASE
      He says the university knows all about his “spot of bother.” There’s no official record. To hear him tell it, we were co-victims!


      JAZZ
      Co-victims!


      CHASE
      Yeah. Of religion. Of repression. Of the fifties, of his parents – you name it. But he’s fine now. Happily married, to a nice older lady who just happens to be rich! He’s “freed” himself, see, from his horrible past and he just wants to liberate everybody else.


      JAZZ
      What a bastard.


      CHASE
      So either I get the goods on him or I kill him. There aren’t other options. If that makes me a monster, then, that’s what I’ll be.


      JAZZ
      Hard luck on me, having a monster for a soulmate. What did I do to deserve this?


      CHASE
      Clearly you attract monsters.


      JAZZ
      You sell us both short. If you wanted to be a monster, you would be one already. You’ve been here four years!


      CHASE
      I got distracted. College is interesting – wrestling, debate club, research, biofeedback… Suddenly I found myself in a much bigger world. But whatever avenue I went down… he was always there ahead of me. Like, he’s the creator of everything and I’m just his mutant, the cuckoo on his clock. I want a world without Corso, a universe to call my own, but… he’s polluted everything.


      JAZZ
      So he still holds you hostage.


      CHASE
      He’s inside me. He’s like, taken over the inside of me. Robbed me of my self. I always seem to know exactly what he’ll do, or say, so in some sick way it’s me doing it. There’s no “me” any more, as long as he’s alive. My only hope is to off him.


      JAZZ
      That’s stinking thinking. If you kill him, he still wins. You’d be linked to him forever. I refuse to lose a perfectly good soulmate. You’re nothing like Corso. He’s soulless and that’s why he collects souls. You’re real. Without a self, how could you have a soulmate? Knowing him just makes him easier to trap. If we’ve learned anything, it is that he’s up to no good. He’s a predator- parasite. We’ve got to keep that straight. Trust?


      CHASE
      If only I could believe in souls. I don’t feel indestructible. I’m staying alive by the force of my resistance.


      JAZZ
      You woke me.


      CHASE
      That’s what we have in common. You resisted Bex.


      JAZZ
      I’ll say! He worked so hard to keep me down. We recognized each other. We’re the same.
      (passionately kiss)


      CHASE
      It’s only our worlds that keep changing.


      JAZZ
      It’s love.


      CHASE
      And we keep falling into it. “Falling” seems more than a metaphor.


      JAZZ
      If we’re in the middle of something extraordinary, we’ve got to stop looking with ordinary eyes.


      CHASE
      But everything’s corpses. Corso threatens life itself.


      JAZZ
      Murderers do tend to round up the refugees.


      CHASE
      He’s poisoning us. The question is whether it’s terminal. I wish I knew what was in that stuff he gave us.


      JAZZ
      Who cares what he gave us? He wants you to think he’s some scientific mastermind wielding a secret weapon. We’re the ones with the secret weapon.


      CHASE
      Some amnesiac, like scopolamine or propanolol. Without memory, he assumes we lose identity. But stress-based experiences are processed like dreams – we keep having flashbacks.


      JAZZ
      And flash-forwards. But we all formed new memories – some of them pretty crazy I admit – but others right on target. Look at Soliz falling through my window, Zane at the toxic dump, Koo with her body-bags. Something happened to us and he doesn’t want us to find out what. Bex wants me thinking he’s all powerful and everywhere so I’ll feel weak and helpless and give up, and Corso’s exactly the same. You must have gotten close –that’s why he fired you.


      CHASE
      He didn’t reckon with us happening.


      JAZZ
      We have a superpower!


      CHASE
      I’m scared the universe is setting us up, just to knock us back down.


      JAZZ
      But the universe loves creators, and lovers are the ultimate creators.


      CHASE
      Creation takes so long and destruction lasts forever.


      JAZZ
      Doesn’t the green growth keep coming up?


      CHASE
      Death is inevitable. It’s life that’s the surprise. In wrestling your attacker takes himself down. We need to find Corso’s weak spot –


      JAZZ
      He’s not immortal, is he?


      CHASE
      God, I hope not.


      JAZZ
      I mean, if he keeps swelling up with everybody else’s souls he’s going to explode. The universe will take care of Corso.

    7. Rough Sleep – a play by Alysse Aallyn

      (At Hadleigh Hall, a body lies under a tarp)

      SOLIZ

      They’re not letting anyone in. Do you know who lives in Room 824?

      JAZZ

      Actually, I live there.

      SOLIZ

      Oh, you do, do you? Well, some guy fell out your window.

      JAZZ

      Just like your dream!

      SOLIZ

      (threateningly)

      I don’t know what you’re talking about.

      CHASE

      Some guy? Who?

      SOLIZ

      Unidentified.  You can’t see him, he’s under a tent.

      CHASE

      Can’t Jazz collect her stuff?

      SOLIZ

      Come back later. It’s chaos over there.

      (SOLIZ frees them from tape; JAZZ and CHASE lurch off downstage)

      JAZZ

      This is Soliz’s dream. I remember if she doesn’t.

                                 CHASE

      Except this was a guy.

      JAZZ

      Let’s hope it was Bex.

      CHASE

      So now you’re pro-violence?

      JAZZ

      Who’s saying I pushed him? It would be so unlike me.

      CHASE

      So, no going home for you.

      JAZZ

      Hadleigh was never my home.

      CHASE

      Well, you can camp out at my place while we figure out what to do with this new corpse.

      JAZZ

      Makes me harder for Bex to find. On the other hand when he does, he’ll just get madder.

      CHASE

      We’ve got enough problems without worrying about satisfying his unsatisfiable psyche. We’ve got three dead bodies!

      JAZZ

      And God knows how many crime scenes. Explain exactly why soulmating requires detective work?

      CHASE

      Maybe nature is one big crime scene. Red of tooth and claw.

      JAZZ

      You and your classical education.

                                 CHASE

      Voilã! Here we are at my place.  

      SCENE VIII – Lights go up on CHASE’S APT – disheveled male bedroom/kitchenette

      JAZZ

      This is definitely a crime scene.

      (Throws herself into a low-slung chair)

      CHASE

      (Sitting close)

      You expected harp music? Hey, you admitted your life was a crime scene too. 

      JAZZ

      I guess I thought the point of soulmates is all the hard work would be magically be done.

      CHASE

      So no going over the past trying to understand and explain the mess? Wouldn’t that be nice!

      JAZZ

      Why can’t we just escape the mess?  The mess would no longer matter. We could rise above the mess.

      CHASE

      Your fantasy forgets about the demons. If we’ve unleashed demons –

      JAZZ

      Who’s to say we unleashed them?  I’m not responsible for Bex.

      CHASE

      Yet he’s out there, rampaging. At least I know I’m responsible for Corso.

      JAZZ

      But Corso’s using your involvement to keep his rampage going. Oh. Touché. I see what you mean.

      CHASE

      We’re dissociating. Living each other’s nightmares.

      JAZZ

      At least we’re braving hell together.

      (they touch hands) 

      CHASE

      If it’s purgatory, graduation’s a possibility.

      JAZZ

      We’re on a multiple universe scavenger hunt! 

      CHASE

      A time and space jigsaw puzzle!

      JAZZ

      We need to get to the crime scene before the crime happens.

      CHASE

      How would we know it was a crime scene?

      JAZZ

      Tell me what you know. What Corso did to you.

      CHASE

      God! You know I don’t want to talk about it.

                                 JAZZ

      What specifically are you afraid will happen if you talk about it?

      CHASE

      That this whole thing would shatter right in front of me. I would wreck – whatever this is happening between us.

      JAZZ

      Maybe we’re meant to reveal, not repair, each other’s real selves.

      CHASE

      Let’s talk about your fears and malfeasance. That’s more fun for me.

      JAZZ

      Somebody increased power by sucking out ours. We’re going to reclaim it. Tell your soulmate what Dr. Corso did to you. 

      CHASE

      If you know, aren’t you ruined too? How can I stay with someone who knows this disgusting thing about me?

      JAZZ

      I guess we’ll just have to see.  We need to free ourselves to be with each other. 

      CHASE

      But there’s the difference, right there – you left Bex,  I pursued Corso. I came after him. 

      JAZZ

      You are so competitive. If you need to be “worst”, prove it.

      CHASE

      He was a teacher at my choir school. Latin, of all things. We spent an eternity on the Aeneid. God, I hate talking about this. I haven’t talked about it since I was fifteen, with the lawyers and judges.

      JAZZ

      He molested you?

      CHASE

      Between my ninth and thirteenth years. He had a way of making us compete to be “the favorite”. If you could just get on that easy street, life became golden. Finally I saw what a prisoner I was. Mustered up the courage to get the hell out of there.

      JAZZ

      Jesus.

      CHASE

      Great pillow talk, huh?  And that’s not the worst of it.

      JAZZ

      How could it get worse?

      CHASE

      I brought him other boys.  Whatever he wanted.

      JAZZ

      You were a kid.  None of this could possibly be your fault.

      CHASE

      Yet here I am. Still a slave.

      JAZZ

      But you found your soulmate.

      (They hug)

      How did it end?

      CHASE

      It hasn’t ended. I mean, the sex thing ended when Corso met my sister – my twin sister – and decided he was ready to branch out. He was like, deliver her or else.  That woke me up. I went home and refused to go back to school.  I finally told my parents.

      JAZZ

      And?

      CHASE

      They pretty much behaved the worst they possibly could.  First, they didn’t believe me. My dad has always been a total bastard making fun of me for singing in a high voice and wearing a lace collar and Mom was sort of a “the church can do no wrong” nut. You know, like, who are you going to believe, a priest or your own lying eyes?  They just couldn’t take it in.  But then a kid at school hanged himself and things started to snowball. Corso got kicked out. People started suing. My dad smelled a payday. The other families accepted settlements not to squeal. Everybody settled except my father. He was holding out for the Big Money that was going to make all his dreams come true.

      JAZZ

      Then what?

      CHASE

      What always happens with my Dad.  He was having such a good  time holding the whip, he waited too long. The minute I turned sixteen, I got legally emancipated. I could prove that Dad was hitting me – I had the sense to record him – so the judge refused to give Dad the cash. Dad declared bankruptcy and I finished high school on my own. Living at the Y.

      (Restless pacing)

      So on top of everything else, I’m singlehandedly responsible for the destruction of my family.

      JAZZ

      Scapegoating. People need someone to blame, it’s another form of hostage-taking. This isn’t your fault.  Time to forgive yourself.

      CHASE

      Oh, that’ll be easy. Walk in the park.

      JAZZ

      I’m still here.

    8. Rough Sleep – a play by Alysse Aallyn

      (CORSO doesn’t like CHASE and JAZZ’s new alliance. They walk toward steps while lights go down on DREAM LAB. CORSO exits huffily)

      Scene V – Cafe

      JAZZ

      You owe me a sandwich for backing up your lie, you lying liar.

      CHASE

      Liar? I was just being a gentleman. Don’t kiss and tell.

      JAZZ

      Somehow I doubt your motives.

      CHASE

      Never give monsters bones to make their soup.  

      (He shepherds JAZZ up the steps to SCENE V –  CAFÉ set: table and chairs are set up beneath Tiffany lamp upstage another table with two hunched unidentifiable figures in close conversation at distant table)

      Any truth you give Corso, he’ll use it against you.

      (Calls offstage)

      Two specials!  Meat on the side! And plenty of Joe.

      JAZZ

      What’s the special?

      CHASE

      Whatever it is, it’s the only thing they didn’t make yesterday. That’s why we call it “Chem Lab”. I take it you’ve never been here before? Vegan?  Gluten-intolerant? I’ll eat anything you don’t.

      JAZZ

      I’m on meal plan. I’m currently omnivorous but I aspire to someday be selective. How about your aspirations?

      CHASE

      Aspirations are good.  I’m pro-aspiration. At the moment, I aspire to anonymity.

      JAZZ

       You failed anonymity in dream lab. 

      CHASE

      I had a job to do. I did it.

      JAZZ

      Getting yourself kicked out?

      CHASE

      That was inevitable. I made it through one round, and I found out what kinds of dreams everybody’s having. Now we put it together, like a psychotic jigsaw puzzle.

      JAZZ

      Are you ever going to tell me why are you so pissed at Corso?

      CHASE

       Because he took something from me and he won’t give it back.

      JAZZ

      Maybe. What’d he take?

      CHASE

      My future. 

      JAZZ

      Can he prevent you from graduating?

      CHASE

      If he makes me a killer. Corso needs to be put down like a rabid dog. It’s a dirty job but someone’s got to do it.

      JAZZ

      Please don’t even joke like that. Nobody can take away your future without your cooperation. Go be a lawyer. You’d make such a great lawyer. You argue with everybody.

      CHASE

      So help me get evidence against him and I’ll let the cops take him off my hands.

      JAZZ

      You’re obsessed.

      CHASE

      I call it goal-oriented. Russian-Irish is a volatile mixture.

      JAZZ

      It’s tunnel vision. There we were, standing right at the edge of the soulmate multiverse and where do you want to go? Corso’s apartment! What is it with men and threesomes?

      CHASE

      You went to a morgue. So what do you know about the multiverse?

      JAZZ

      You should have done the reading! Retrocausation. Many Worlds theory.  If the universe is infinite then every possible outcome must happen somewhere.

      CHASE

      So I kill Corso in some other world?

      JAZZ

      Haven’t you heard that if you look too long at a monster you become the monster?

      CHASE

      Too late. 

      JAZZ

      Are you telling me that my soulmate is a monster?

      CHASE

      I’m starting to see why we belong together. You should segue out of pre-fashion into pre-law.

      JAZZ

      I’m allergic to violence. Violence is flirtation with losing control. It gives you nowhere to go. 

      CHASE

      You referring to that big bruiser who’s stalking you?

      JAZZ

      Maybe.  He represents my official knowledge of crazy. But now it’s over and I don’t have to talk about it.

      CHASE

      “Those who make a peaceful revolution impossible make violence inevitable.” 

      JAZZ

      Oh, please. Your evidence hunt makes sense at least. Let’s do that instead. You get to find out about Corso and I get to find out about you. Where would you go first?

      CHASE

      Well, I want to go to his office but I’m afraid he’s in there. That nympho-slut Nurse Howk is probably his weak link.

      JAZZ

      Don’t slut-shame. She’s probably one of his victims.

      CHASE

      Naah. She’s a fully consenting sub-monster. Didn’t she try to ooze all over you?

      JAZZ

      She’s just living up to the archetype. It’s one of the signs of a victim.

      CHASE

      Meaning what?

      JAZZ

      Don’t you know what an archetype is?

      CHASE

      I’m a psychology major, I hope I know what an archetype is. I’m asking if you know what it is, and since I’m not getting any answers, I’m going to go see what’s keeping our food.

      (Stands up, exits.  Big, ugly, longhaired BEX looms up from darkness and pounds his hands on JAZZ’s table)

      BEX

      Is that the guy? That’s the weasel you’re dumping me for?

      JAZZ

      Bex! I told you to get gone.

      BEX

      I’m just trying to talk to you since you won’t talk to me.

      JAZZ

      (Tries to stand up but he’s pushing the table into her)

      Bex it’s over!  How many ways can I say it? Don’t you have a job to get back to?

      BEX

      And that player doesn’t?  So now I’m not good enough for you?  Is that it?

      JAZZ

       I don’t get what you’re making a big deal about – you’re the one that said we’d never be exclusive! Go find someone else to torture!

      BEX

      (Leaning in threateningly)

      You’re not the boss of me. 

      (CHASE returns with tray) 

      CHASE

      This dude harassing you?

      JAZZ

      Just go, Bex. Go home.

      BEX

      Who’s gonna make me?

      (Two figures stand up at the distant table and advance – it’s ZANE and KOO)

      ZANE

      Having trouble here?

      (BEX knows when he’s outnumbered and retreats)

      BEX

      (Shouting over his shoulder)

      Better get ready! This means war!

      (ZANE and CHASE high-five, ZANE returns to his table – KOO puts a hand on JAZZ’s shoulder)

      KOO

      We’ve all been there.

      (Exit KOO and ZANE)

      CHASE 

      (Comforting JAZZ whose head is in her hands)

      Nice guy.  I think I understand what you saw in him.

      JAZZ

      (Writhing with mortification, sits down, head on table)

      I’m so sorry. What can I say? He’s a jerk, but pickings were slim. 

      CHASE

      (Serving sandwiches and coffee)

      Hey, everyone’s entitled to at least one monster. The good news is, today’s special is meatloaf.

      (JAZZ inspects inside her sandwich)

      JAZZ

      I think I lost my appetite.

      CHASE

      More for me.

      JAZZ

      The coffee’s good. Say, Zane and Koo! Huh?

      CHASE 

      I know, right? Think something’s – going on there? Traumatic bonding?

      JAZZ

      They didn’t say anything.

      CHASE 

      We didn’t say anything.

      JAZZ

      It’s hard to say anything when you don’t know what’s going on,

      CHASE

      More fodder for my theory that reality is totally submerged – it’s never what you think you see.

    9. Rough Sleep – a play by Alysse Aallyn

      (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.