Alysse Aallyn

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  • Wild With Possibility: teen diary of Alysse Aallyn

    Quebec – Thurs – July 2 – 64


    So much to write don’t know where I should start! Quebec is a beautiful city built by dreamers. From the grassy fortress of the citadel to the boardwalks of the wharf I have fallen in love wit it. I loved London, Florence, Paris and Rome and now I have to add Quebec! You could be fooled into thinking that it was a prosperous French seaport.


    Not just the money and signs are different, the people are different as well. We drove all night to get here and when I awoke from my uncomfortable position on the floor we were parked on the Green Plains of Abraham!


    A troop was sent to buy breakfast while the rest of us walked around. I stood on a bluff overlooking the harbor and then sat meditatively on a bench. How beautiful life is, what a precious thing to have! How can people look forward to eternal life when this is so good? Seems greedy to ask for more!


    After breakfast, put on my blue gingham sundress and off to the Chateau Frontenac to use the john. “You can’t miss it!’ said Stu, putting me in the lead because my garbled French has him fooled.
    He underestimated me. I clung to the belief that since Chateau Frontenac is old, big and made of stone, any old big stone building would do. I led my faithful few to a storehouse, a club and the Quebec Institute of Dramatic Art before we wound up at the Quebec Parliament where we wandered up and down the halls.


    After all that fun, Andrea and I were on our own, working on more creative ways of getting lost. A street artist did my portrait for $2. He made me too pretty but flattery will get you everywhere. I’ll give it to Mom in a last-ditch effort to give her some illusions about me. I ruled the sailors and hoods and old men who came after us Unacceptable! Poor Andrea in mourning for her brothers will take anybody but I won’t let her. She wanted a midshipman, I wanted a French beatnik. We found two charming French beatniks (short-ish- my height) who walked us to our bus. Learned a new French word: “ravigoter” to freshen. Two beatniks gave us two kisses each!
    Singing on the bus: Up in the Air, Junior Birdman, Up on the Air, Upside Down! And Down in the Sea, Junior Frogman! Made camp WAY outside Quebec and we were tortured all night by malevolent mosquitoes. Next morning I was so sleepy I didn’t think I could stand up. Fortunately I can sleep at the laundromat. I sent so many postcards!

    July 4, 64 – Stratford Ontario
Happy Independence Day! The trip just began and tonight’s the last night!  I will pitch it to make it really great!
Arrived in Stratford too late to get the mail. Drat. Cruised around town, listened to some bagpipers, then pitched tent on the edge of town.
Dinner was delicious: tuna fish salad (in honor of the Catholics) and doughnut balls (Bisquick blobs in boiling Crisco) for dessert: delicious!  After that, we were all getting ready for the play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme which I had seen twice and loved in the original French.  In English I should understand so much more.  Wearing my figure-flattering sailor suit  and white wood heeled sandals.

    Unfortunately my hair is dead after all this camping. It isn’t doing anything.
    Stratford is a lovely town and the theatre a splendid combination of old and new. Front balcony seats! The play was very good. At intermission Debbie came over and said two of the ushers were asking about me! I gave my address to the handsome one Dell Rynehardt. They walked us back to the bus Dell holding my hand. I would have let him kiss me but he didn’t try.


    We performed our song, the Trailblazer Anthem and Stu talked about how much the trip meant to him until the tears were hot in my head! I apologized for not doing more for the group and he was very understanding. Afterwards Andrea, Vicky and I slept in the same sleeping bag!!!
    Later –


    Saw the Falls! They were so beautiful but I did think they’d be taller. Too bad we won’t be seeing them by night – must be even more breathtaking than by day.
    Beginning to think tenderly of home, especially the sunlight striking that gray rug in the hallway. SusiAnna (he’s a boy) always hogs the brightest sunlight on the dining room floor. Plants everywhere, green and rich, the wood carved king with his tired kind face. Maybe there will be a letter from Mark!


    Last but not least my room with its green walls and twin pink-covered beds. Furry white flokati rug.
    Ending this on a happy note. Isn’t that the way all good things should end?

    TRAILBLAZER ANTHEM
    Oh we set out from Toledo on a bright and sunny day
    And our parents were there to wave us on our way!
    Gettysburg was our first stop where we made a movie flop
    As we rolled along the bumpy Eastern Roads!
    Bruises and hives, seven campers lost their lives as we rolled along the bumpy Eastern Roads!
    CHORUS: We’re still moving thank God, still moving Hallelujah! And the bus hasn’t conked out on us yet!
    Valley Forge was just a hop where
    We were picked up by the cops
    And the New York Fair made us spend our money there!
    Hanover we found was a Dartmouth kind of town
    As we rolled along the bumpy Eastern Roads!
    Peanut butter, jam, bug repelling spam oh we rolled along the bumpy Eastern roads!
    We flew to old Percé which is on the great Gaspé
    Where we realized French boys just love to fraternize
    “Bonjour, good day, ou est le cabinet?”
    As we rolled along the bumpy Eastern roads!
    Garçons of all kinds, Stu & Shavonne lost their minds
    As we rolled along the bumpy Eastern roads!
    We went out to the Boardwalk to see what we could find
    And each girl there had sailors on her mind
    The last two of our hauls were Stratford and the Falls as we rolled along the bumpy Eastern Roads!
    Rollers and combs, without money from our homes
    As we rolled along the bumpy Eastern roads!
    Oh, our sleeping bags were nests for nasty insect pests
    And the mess on our bus was very picturesque
    Though the trailer broke down once
    We’ll remember this for months
    As we rolled along the bumpy roads toward home!
    Impetigo and fleas, we had Band-Aids on our knees
    As we rolled along the bumpy roads toward home!

    Mon July 6 – 64
    Dear Diary, I‘m sure you’re tired of my lovelife, but I’m not. The Trailblazer bus roared into Brockton at 5:30 PM on a hot Sunday afternoon. Passed familiar figures – Haze & Bookie!!! I cried but he didn’t see me. Forgot about Tom & Dell, it’s all Bookie Bookie Bookie! Forced to go to the Pendragon house because my parents are out of town so I called Bookie from there. Bookie rushed over and kissed me. He doesn’t like taking off his mirrored shades but he will remove them for me. Julie & I agreed to meet Bookie & phil at the college snack bar. I care so deeply for him!

  • Wild With Possibility:

    Alysse Aallyn’s Teen Diary

    Thurs. Jun 18 – 64


    You have to forgive my writing – it’s hard to write on a jiggling bus! I snuck out one more time before I left. Andrea and Chase threw candy at my window – Bookie was easier to rouse because he sleeps on his porch. Andrea’s parents were already gone so she opened their liquor cabinet and Chase got drunk. (He is a problem. He steals things from cars. I think this is why he was kicked out of Eastern. ) Bookie and I didn’t have anything – we just wanted to slow dance. We kissed! He promised he will write! Andrea and Chase were making out like mad but Bookie walked me home.

    4:30 AM!
    Up at quarter to seven – too late to have breakfast – off to Toledo! We are getting to know everyone on the Trailblazers bus. I am working on a Trailblazers song to the tune of “Oh It Was Sad When the Great Ship Went Down”.


    Stu & Shavonne are the leaders. They are nice – especially Stu. He wanted a few kids who could speak French and Andrea volunteered me! Let’s hope I can understand enough to manage.


    I slept all morning; we stopped at 1 to each lunch (tinned food) in a motel parking lot. Maybe I can lose some poundage. Looked at a map and selected a park to stay in, (Gettysburg) in Pennsylvania. We slept in sleeping bags on the ground! It was hard as cement. I slept in my cute pink nightshirt. Walking around the park all day looking at monuments. Every now and then you get a whiff of history. Names like “Valley of Death” and “Bloody Run.” Stu posed us dying over a fence for a picture!


    Left Gettysburg driving too fast, the trailer broke free and we had to go to town to get a part. We need to travel tonight to get to the World’s Fair on Saturday.

    Fri Jun 19 – 64
I’ve decided to work on a third person account of my life. (Everybody wonders why I am writing all the time.) Look at myself from the outside in.  Obviously I have to change all the names – for me, chose the name Melantha Clenn. The title is “Dark Flower” which is what Melantha means.  Whew! That was enough work for one day!  My poor brain is exhausted! 
 Last night we reached Valley Forge very late and decided to sleep there.  There was nowhere to camp but thought it would not be too much to sleep by the side of the road.  We no sooner had out sleeping bags out then up comes a fuzz car!  (Stu referred to him later as Officer Remedial.)  No amount of pleading would work; he ordered us to “follow” him.  I guess he thought he was on Dragnet or something.  We weren’t even told where we were going!  Straight to the Valley Forge Police Station! Shavonne and Stu were led inside and the rest of us just sat there arguing about whether our camp counselors would be arrested for contributing to the delinquency of minors! 
But when they came out they said we would be allowed to sleep on some rocks behind the fire station!
I do miss Bookie but for some reason think mostly of Mark!  I’ll send him a postcard from Gettysburg: North Carolina memorial is a good one.

Sun Jun 21 – 64 – YMCA Camp in Poughkeepsie, New York
Can’t believe we’ve been on this trip four days only! For such a motley crew of sixteen girls and two counselors we are very compatible.  Two of the girls are childish which I actually don’t like. 
Shavonne is a sweet person. She is plain though with a very bad figure. She is certainly not distracting Stu from thinking about his girlfriend who he says we will all meet!  Shavonne is reading The Agony and the Ecstasy, says its very good and will lend it to me when she’s finished. (It’s a big fat book and she seems to read onl8 4 pages at a time! She was impressed that I’ve seen the Sistine Chapel.)

    Michelangelo says: “the promises of this world are phantoms and to have faith in oneself and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course”.


    Stu is broadminded – I think Daddy would approve. But he does have fits of anger and bursts of gloom. He’s a Catholic and says we should all get a chance to attend mass! I found the sermon interesting and the hymns beautiful but the Latin is annoying. Andrea and I left early because we had signed up for horseback riding at eleven thirty and when we returned for lunch Stu was furious! Said we were rude! We offered to be waitresses to get back into his good graces.
    Andrea and I have a room to ourselves in the South Barn. Boys in the North Barn!


    The World’s Fair is no Disneyland but it was interesting. Andrea and I pretended to be French! I got an ID bracelet with a big A on it. (I got another for Avril’s birthday.) I love it and I never take it off. Andrea and I saw Peter and Gordon who were performing – all the girls screamed and we screamed right along with them. I hadn’t heard of them before but I like their Willow song. Also the Eggheads and the Esquires. We were separated from the performers by a pool and a lot of kids jumped in! Andrea and I danced instead while 3 men filmed us with movie cameras! The only performer whose autograph we got was Danny Taylor. He was very nice, says he’s been doing this since he was 13.

    Mon. Jun 22 - 64
Thinking strange powerful thoughts.  I guess it is another mood coming.  How can I think of Bookie and death in the same thought?  Probably because I feel bad about Mark. I didn’t say the things he wanted and I didn’t want him to say the things I thought I wanted!  Bookie is outgoing and clever but less scary somehow.  Do I like being the one who cares more? I don’t think I want to be in this boat alone!  I hate myself for complicating my life! 
Now, meeting so many new people I am having to worry whether people like me.  Andrea called me “ugly” several times yesterday.  She was trying to hit a tender spot but I think she was really feeling the opposite! So there goes that relationship! 
I would rather not be hideous. 
Dark Flower coming along pretty well.

Mystic Seaport, CT – Tues June 23 – 64
Awful night!  Laura stole my diary and read it!  Made me so mad!  And that’s not all. We were sitting around the camp fire singing songs and I saw Laura and Andrea  planning something in the woods.  Said they are sneaking out to meet four boys and did I want to come!  I was all for it!  Laura, Chris, Andrea and that awful Julie who keeps tagging along. 
Unfortunately the minute I saw the boys I wanted to leave! They looked like hoods to me, but I couldn’t talk anyone else into leaving. Andrea started making out with a complete stranger immediately!  I talked to an ugly lug named Ralph, but when I told him about Bookie he kept his hands off. Then who should appear but Stu!  He knew all about it!
I told him nothing happened and he was very sweet.  Said he gives me credit for a  lot of common sense, says I am one of “the most intelligent fourteen year olds he’s ever met!  Others not so much. This AM when I woke up my eyelids were swollen: gnats bit them almost shut!
Really liked Mystic Seaport.  We toured the beautifully restored ships. Here’s a picture of the Charles Morgan. Bought ships-in-a-bottle for all family members and sent postcards to everyone.
Stu staged another of his “movies”.  I was a barmaid! 

Mass & N. H – Fr. Jun 26 – 64
Having a ball! We are in Hanover NH at Dartmouth College. What a pity its not co-ed or I would go there.  We went to Boston and rode the MTA – saw a lot of Harvard!  Met Stu’s girlfriend who is a waitress at an ice cream store! They just stare at each other adoringly.  Luckily she gave us free ice cream because now I have exactly seven cents to my name.  Writing home desperately for money.  I owe Vicky 5¢, Sally 10¢ and Chris 5¢.
Stu goes to Dartmouth and he was eager to show it off.  Not having seen boys for DAYS Andrea and I were principally interested in finding one or two or FOUR THOUSAND. 
It didn’t take long!  The few girls we’ve seen are nothing much so the Trailblazers bus is getting a lot of attention!   At Hopkins Hall we picked up seven eligible males, all of them cute who promised to visit our campsite and say hi.  Stu is not too sure about this.  A particularly cute boy named Tom Morris said, “We can’t help it if we sleepwalk, can we?”
I was Head Cook that night and while stirring the ravioli was not too surprised to see the bushes rustling.  When we sat down to eat they jumped out to say hi!  Stu made them go away.  They kept loitering around making it hard to go to the bathroom.   
When I climbed into my sleeping bag Morris scared me to death jumping out from behind a tree!  We talked for hours, promising to write each other. We have a lot in common (He is 5’11’!) but I don’t see how we can be more than friends. 

Percé on the Gaspé – June 28 – 64
I seem to be in an awfully good mood right now!  Probably because we’re on the move, singing our latest camp song to the tune of 500 Miles, “If you miss the bus we’re on, You will know where we have gone

    You will see the garçons trailing on behind…”


    Who would guess an all-girl trip would be so much fun!


    Poor Alain! He is a French boy from Montreal that I met here. He is cool. MARK, BOOKIE, MORRIS and now ALAIN. I’ve “got” them except I haven’t got any of them! It’s either sheer starvation or crowd control? You can see I really do have problems! The question is: which of them do I want? The $64,000 question!

  • Wild With Possibility: the teen years of Alysse Aallyn

    Wed. Jun 10 – 64


    A great summer is ahead! I’m excited – home life’s been getting pretty tough. Can’t say whether that’s my fault or not. I have many ideas on the subject – you will probably be forced to hear them later. Mom tells me I am too independent; that I am constantly trying to be an island unto myself.

    Camp Stark is a YMCA camp. They call it Camp Tarantula because of the Amenities (more like Eumenides. Greek.) This camp attempts to Instill Christian Character.  I don’t know how much Christian Character I already have – it all seems to be ebbing away.  At the end of the summer I may have even less. But it sounds like a lovely place to go.  Shastain, MI meets my requirement of Not Being In Ohio. We heard about it through the Imries.  My mouth started to water when I heard at Horsemanship Division you work with your own horse!  Do you impart Christian Character to them or do they impart Horse Character to you? I can but wonder; unfortunately I first have to go through Freshman Division. I was on the waiting list – it was only a week ago that I was told I was in if want an all-girl Trailblazer trip back East! !!  My friend Andrea is going, too!  She is fun but thinks boys were made to be taken advantage of.  Her trip to camp is not for a good reason – her two brothers were killed in a motorcycle accident (drunk driver.)  Now it’s just her and her parents and apparently they need to be alone. 

What with buying and packing and marking my days are just filled up!!!

Thurs. Jun 11 – 64
I knew sooner or later I’d have to acquaint you with family problems. Poor diary. My reputation around here is Slovenly Loaf who has never done a day’s work in her life. Most of the time I creep around the walls trying not to be seen but yesterday I swept the porch and washed twenty-eight screens – I call that hard work for a summer day when all my friends are at the pool. But I don’t get any thanks, it’s all “Poor you.” So why try? Today I’m supposed to clean the house!  I hope they don’t come in here to check on me!

Maybe mother can’t understand me but I understand her.  And I forgive her.  I will permit myself only to see the kindness that is there.  Remind me to read this when I become angry and tearful. Daddy’s in the hospital with an infected kidney but it’s not serious. 

John Bookover invited me to the dance tonight!  I don’t know why since he thinks Mary Ann Murphy likes him (she denies it.) It certainly is great to be a girl!  The town dances are at the Fisher Food Pkg Lot!  “Dancing in the Streets” blasts from a truck and all the teenagers come!  I’m finding Mark a lot easier to forget than I thought. John is very skinny but he is willing to dance fast which is rare. All the boys want to dance as slow as possibly.  A dance would look like a wake if it was up to them.

Sun. Jun 14 - 64
Bookie (everyone calls John Bookie)  invited me & Andrea out at night to join him & Chase.  Andrea and I wore jeans and our father’s white shirts.  Andrea told Genevieve which I knew was a mistake (she is very righteous) and we only got as far as the garage. “Tell your friends goodnight” said Mom through her teeth. Alysse the juvenile delinquent!  Oh well! I don’t like foursies anyway. (Double dates.) Date to play tennis instead. Bookie definitely doesn’t care for me as much as I care for him.

Thurs. Jun 18 – 64
You have to forgive my writing – it’s hard to write on a jiggling bus!  I snuck out one more time before I left. Andrea and Chase threw candy at my window – Bookie was easier to rouse because he sleeps on his porch. Andrea’s parents were already gone so she opened their liquor cabinet and Chase got drunk. (He is a problem.  He steals things from cars.  I think this is why he was kicked out of Eastern. ) Bookie and I didn’t have anything – we just wanted to slow dance. We kissed!  He promised he will write! Andrea and Chase were making out like mad but Bookie walked me home. 4:30 AM! 

Up at quarter to seven – too late to have breakfast – off to Toledo!  We are getting to know everyone on the Trailblazers bus. I am working on a Trailblazers song to the tune of “Oh It Was Sad When the Great Ship Went Down”. 

Stu & Shavonne are the leaders. They are nice – especially Stu. He wanted a few kids who could speak French and Andrea volunteered me!  Let’s hope I can understand enough to manage.
I slept all morning; we stopped at 1 to each lunch (tinned food) in a motel parking lot.  Maybe I can lose some poundage.  Looked at a map and selected a park to stay in, (Gettysburg) in Pennsylvania. We slept in sleeping bags on the ground! It was hard as cement. I slept in my cute pink nightshirt. Walking around the park all day looking at monuments.  Every now and then you get a whiff of history. Names like “Valley of Death” and “Bloody Run.” Stu posed us dying over  a fence for a picture!

Left Gettysburg driving too fast, the trailer broke free and we had to go to town to get a part.  We need to travel tonight to get to the World’s Fair on Saturday.

Fri Jun 19 – 64
I’ve decided to work on a third person account of my life. (Everybody wonders why I am writing all the time.) Look at myself from the outside in.  Obviously I have to change all the names – for me, chose the name Melantha Clenn. The title is “Dark Flower” which is what Melantha means.  Whew! That was enough work for one day!  My poor brain is exhausted! 

 Last night we reached Valley Forge very late and decided to sleep there.  There was nowhere to camp but thought it would not be too much to sleep by the side of the road.  We no sooner had out sleeping bags out then up comes a fuzz car!  (Stu referred to him later as Officer Remedial.)  No amount of pleading would work; he ordered us to “follow” him.  I guess he thought he was on Dragnet or something.  We weren’t even told where we were going!  Straight to the Valley Forge Police Station! Shavonne and Stu were led inside and the rest of us just sat there arguing about whether our camp counselors would be arrested for contributing to the delinquency of minors! 
But when they came out they said we would be allowed to sleep on some rocks behind the fire station!
I do miss Bookie but for some reason think mostly of Mark!  I’ll send him a postcard from Gettysburg: North Carolina memorial is a good one.

Sun Jun 21 – 64 – YMCA Camp in Poughkeepsie, New York
Can’t believe we’ve been on this trip four days only! For such a motley crew of sixteen girls and two counselors we are very compatible.  Two of the girls are childish which I actually don’t like. 

Shavonne is a sweet person. She is plain though with a very bad figure. She is certainly not distracting Stu from thinking about his girlfriend who he says we will all meet!  Shavonne is reading The Agony and the Ecstasy, says its very good and will lend it to me when she’s finished. (It’s a big fat book and she seems to read only 4 pages at a time! She was impressed that I’ve seen the Sistine Chapel.)

    Michelangelo says: “the promises of this world are phantoms and to have faith in oneself and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course”.


    Stu is broadminded – I think Daddy would approve. But he does have fits of anger and bursts of gloom. He’s a Catholic and says we should all get a chance to attend mass! I found the sermon interesting and the hymns beautiful but the Latin is annoying. Andrea and I left early because we had signed up for horseback riding at eleven thirty and when we returned for lunch Stu was furious! Said we were rude! We offered to be waitresses to get back into his good graces.
    Andrea and I have a room to ourselves in the South Barn. Boys in the North Barn!


    The World’s Fair is no Disneyland but it was interesting. Andrea and I pretended to be French! I got an ID bracelet with a big A on it. (I got another for Avril’s birthday.) I love it and I never take it off. Andrea and I saw Peter and Gordon who were performing – all the girls screamed and we screamed right along with them. I hadn’t heard of them before but I like their Willow song. Also the Eggheads and the Esquires. We were separated from the performers by a pool and a lot of kids jumped in! Andrea and I danced instead while 3 men filmed us with movie cameras! The only performer whose autograph we got was Danny Taylor. He was very nice, says he’s been doing this since he was 13.

  • Woman Into Wolf: the play

    Scene 11 – the last scene
    (The deep, deep forest. The trees seem extra magical and alive, leaves blinking with a million glittering eyes.)


    PERSEY
    Have the woods always been this magical?
    Or is it only now that my eyes are opened?


    BISH’s voice
    Persey…Persey.


    (He sounds different…unearthly. DIGGER manifests craven fear)


    PERSEY
    Oh, Bish! Where are you?


    (BISH appears, his white clothing glowing – arms held out)


    BISH
    Don’t touch me. I’m still on fire.


    PERSEY
    (Staggers back, DIGGER hiding behind her)
    What is it. Bish? Why can’t I hug you?
    Are you radioactive?


    BISH
    In a way. I am dead.


    PERSEY
    (Crying)
    Oh, Bish, please don’t tease me,
    I’ve been through hell.


    (She charges him, he eludes her easily)


    BISH
    So have we all.


    (PERSEY falls to her knees)


    PERSEY
    Oh, Bish! What’s going on?
    What has happened?


    (Slowly the WOLF SPIRITS, DEADGIRLS, BOYGIRLS come out of the trees, glowing with beauty. They crown BISH with a wolf’s head and bow to him. Solemn dance around the pair; DIGGER, transported, joins in.)


    BISH
    I didn’t understand.
    I offered love, but he needed death.
    That’s not a game I ever played.
    When he told me to kill myself I thought
    He was joking. But then –


    PERSEY
    They revel in sacrifice.
    They always planned
    To pin blame on you.
    It’s a death cult, Bish.
    Their murder is everywhere.

    BISH
    That’s all behind me.
    I’m a Wolf Spirit now.
    (He howls, then raises PERSEY to her feet)


    BISH
    And so are you, I can see.
    (She looks down amazed at her own transformation)


    PERSEY
    But I’m still alive, Bish. And you feel so cold.


    BISH
    It’s your choice, Persey.
    You can come or you can stay.
    If we touch, we can dance!
    (He starts to dance – he is elegant – she is awkward.)


    PERSEY
    Oh, Bish, don’t ever let go!


    BISH
    But I must, Persey.
    I’m past sorrow but you’re still unfinished.
    Stay. Stay and be wolved.


    PERSEY
    I don’t know what to do. All I know is
    I’ll never let the monsters win.

    (BISH dances with the WOLF SPIRITS. ROY’s and JAROD’s voices offstage calling,)


    ROY & JAROD
    PERSEY! PERSEY!
    WHERE ARE YOU?


    (The WOLF SPIRITS & BISH melt into the trees, the trees go dead. Enter ROY carrying a shotgun. DIGGER cowers behind PERSEY)


    ROY
    Sweetmeat! Finally!


    (Shouts behind him)


    I found her!


    (ROY makes a move to embrace her – she eludes him as BISH eluded her.)


    ROY
    Sweetmeat, what’s wrong?
    You should never leave home.
    The world’s not a safe place.


    (PERSEY holds up her arms to block him. He appreciates her difference.)


    What’s wrong with you?
    Don’t say you’ve gone native.


    PERSEY
    Don’t you remember?


    ROY
    Sweetmeat, everyone gets drunk.
    Jarod and I are so close
    We’re practically brothers.
    You know we share everything.
    Closer than any man can be
    To a woman. But
    There’s a part for you to play, a whole
    Future ahead. Don’t you get it?


    PERSEY
    I do get it.
    Your mom told me everything – that
    You’ve always been Bruce.


    ROY
    That bitch!


    PERSEY
    Did you murder Stormee?
    Is that what you “shared”?
    (JAROD appears behind ROY, also carrying a shotgun.)


    JAROD
    We’re hunters, darlin’.
    That’s what we do. Rid the world of its
    Vermin. Bitches know their places.
    Bros before hos.


    ROY
    (Upset over PERSEY’s disclosure)
    Babe’s a liar, that woman!
    You can’t believe her! I oughta –


    (WOLVES appear, howl wildly and advance menacingly. DIGGER joins in. JAROD & ROY jump.)


    PERSEY
    It’s over, Roy. Don’t you see?
    The universe is against you.
    Truth is the one thing
    You’ll never destroy.
    Truth goes underground.
    Where the roots of the forest
    Nourish the faithful and
    Keep growing stronger.


    ROY
    Nobody’s faithful.
    I see females and she-males
    Who can’t keep their mouths shut.


    JAROD
    Open mouths only say yes.


    PERSEY
    You’re lost, boys
    This time you’ve ventured
    Too deep in the woods.
    This is OUR turf now!
    Cookie Louise, Monica and Jean,
    Jo Lee, Mina, “DaToy”, Jane and John Doe
    I summon you!


    ROY
    What’s that? Who’s that
    Ya callin’?


    PERSEY
    Did you think you destroyed them?
    You only transformed them.


    (The TREES awaken. WOLFSPIRITS, DEADGIRLS & BOYGIRLS appear and advance menacingly.)


    DEADGIRLS & BOYGIRLS
    The chrysalis is broken! We will
    Always remember.


    TREE SPIRITS & WOLF SPIRITS
    Who shattered the chrysalis?


    ROY
    (To PERSEY)
    I’ll deal with you later.
    Let’s slaughter this pack!

    JAROD
    Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!


    (A Murder Ballet, in which TREE SPIRITS, DEADGIRLS & BOYGIRLS, WOLF SPIRITS, BISH, PERSEY, JAROD, ROY and DIGGER rush teasingly in and out, nipping, spinning. Ineffectual shots from the frustrated hunters.)


    DEADGIRLS & BOYGIRLS
    When you murdered us, you killed your own selves.


    TREE SPIRITS & WOLF SPIRITS
    We all are one! We remember!


    (ROY & JAROD form a circular firing squad and shoot each other – registering shock & dismay at the bloodied moment of collapse. PERSEY sits vigil over the bodies while the WOLF SPIRITS, TREE SPIRITS, DEADGIRLS & BOYGIRLS take a gentle, longing, loving leave.)


    PERSEY
    So much waste.
    So much lost.
    Goodbye, Roy. Goodbye Bruce.


    BISH
    I wish you’d come with us.
    Where glorious sunset meets
    Unending dawn,
    We run forever.
    When the chrysalis shatters
    The earth remembers and
    New creatures are born.

    PERSEY
    I love life, Bish.
    I’m not ready.
    There’s so much unfinished and
    I’ve got things to do. But
    Grant me one wish.


    BISH
    (Disappearing into the trees)
    I know what you’re asking
    If you saw what I see
    You’d live every second
    Without fear.


    PERSEY
    (His echo fades. She holds out her arms to his dissolving spirit)
    Wolve me! Wolve me!
    I want to live!


    (DIGGER whines, very unwilling to let the WOLVES go.)


    PERSEY
    You can join them, Digger.
    You have been wolved.
    You’ll always be free.


    (DIGGER rushes back to her. She pets him.)


    And I love you too.

    (Flashing police lights. NED appears at the edge of the stage in his police uniform, speaking into a hand-held radio.)


    NED
    Two males, unresponsive
    Shotgun wounds fatal
    Face and chest discharge –
    Maximum injury, all
    Self-inflicted;
    Backup, backup
    GPS coordinates –


    (His voice overwhelmed by static. Lights out.)


    END

  • Woman Into Wolf: the play

    (Scene 10 – The Deep Woods. DIGGER dragging, carrying, lifting PERSEY’s unconscious body into the trees. He stands guard, howling dramatically. The WOLF SPIRITS appear, nose her, cherish her, lift her, clean her with leaves. They dress her in a wolf skin, prop her up, and dance with her. She slowly comes to life, dancing like a Maenad with leaves in her hair. The WOLF SPIRITS pull back and PERSEY’s house opens up stage left where BABE stands waiting to greet DIGGER & PERSEY)


    BABE
    Persey! What happened to you?
    (Looking disapprovingly at the litter of champagne bottles)
    This place is a mess!


    PERSEY
    Jarod happened to me. I’m changed forever.


    (Throws herself into a chair. DIGGER, thorns & thistles in his fur, settles down protectively beside her to clean his fur.)


    BABE
    (Kicking an empty champagne bottle)
    You’re too old for wild parties.
    Time to act like the mother
    Of my future grandkids!


    PERSEY
    I am nobody’s mother and
    I never will be, Babe. It’s over.
    Everything’s broken.
    Broken and lost.

    BABE
    (Shrieking)
    Here’s the thanks I get for
    Giving you everything!
    I’m a sick woman!
    And you’re the one killing me!


    (DIGGER leaps to his feet and bares his teeth. BABE halts her attack
    before physical violence)


    PERSEY
    Roy murdered Bruce, Babe,
    He told me himself!
    Roy loves Jarod more than he’ll ever love me.
    I think he wishes he WAS Jarod
    Who’s probably a wife-killer.
    THAT’S your real family!


    BABE
    (Forcing calm, sits down beside her)
    Oh, I see what went wrong.
    Persey, you must understand;
    Roy talks crazy sometimes
    But he never means it.
    It’s fun scaring girls.
    This is really YOUR fault.
    Admit, you love provoking him
    With dubious friendships.


    PERSEY
    Why does the world need a scapegoat?
    None of this is my friend’s doing!


    BABE
    Persey, set your heart
    At rest. I’ll prove to you
    Roy didn’t kill Bruce!


    PERSEY
    How can you POSSIBLY do that?


    BABE
    Because Roy IS Bruce.


    (The WOLF SPIRITS howl. Portrait lights up. DIGGER sits up at attention.)


    Everyone knows it but you!
    Don’t tell me YOU never figured it out!


    PERSEY
    Now YOU’RE talking crazy, Babe!
    Bruce went to jail! A felon and rapist
    A cowardly bully.


    BABE
    It’s YOUR fault I’m telling you.
    You chose college over Roy,
    You broke my poor boy’s heart.
    He was so angry at women
    At men who pretend
    He became dangerous.
    I lived in fear daily
    All because of you!


    PERSEY
    I just don’t get it, Babe.
    What are you telling me?
    I know Bruce was born.
    You had twins – did you or didn’t you?


    BABE
    I gave birth to twin boys
    While a child myself
    In a foreign country, don’t forget,
    With a shaky young marriage.
    I had no help at all.
    I tried so hard but
    I had no milk for twins.
    Roy was the weakest who
    Needed me most.
    Bruce seemed strong but died anyway –
    Roy’s father was furious! Our marriage
    Dead at that moment.
    There were two separate trust funds, Persey!
    The old ones didn’t need it.
    Wasting money is wrong!


    PERSEY
    Let me get this straight.
    You PRETENDED Bruce was alive?


    BABE
    It was a game at first, understand;
    A rainy-day joke!
    A beleaguered mother’s brave effort
    To turn frowns upside down.
    Without Roy’s father we needed the money!
    When Roy was bad, he was Bruce.
    When he behaved, he was Roy.
    But when he grew up he became
    Bruce all the time –
    Doing terrible things.
    It wasn’t my fault! I
    Couldn’t manage him and his Dad was ghosting us!


    (She spits into a lace-trimmed handkerchief.)


    Weak men run away!
    Don’t you see that, poor Persey?
    At least Roy is still here! We’re
    Lucky to have him!

    (PERSEY covers her face. So BABE argues with the audience.)


    BABE
    After my husband died, I saw so much
    Possibility. Second chances! We could
    Get rid of Bruce for once and for all.
    A beautiful ceremony – burying
    The things Bruce had broken.
    The costliest grave site
    With doves and balloons.
    Roy swore it was over.
    He promised GOD. When he forgets
    We go there to remind him.


    PERSEY
    (Struggling to keep up)
    You’re saying Roy is the one…


    BABE
    (Ignoring interruptions)
    I admit I made errors. These were
    Battlefield choices.
    When you’re a mother, Persey,
    You’ll understand.
    There’s SO MUCH regret. But
    How is Roy’s acting out my fault?
    YOU had abandoned him
    Saying you wanted OTHERS!
    Take responsibility, Persey!
    I’ve owned up to my part.
    Roy gave himself to you.
    He’s a one-woman man.
    You toyed with his heart,
    Chose COLLEGE over love!
    Of course he was angry.
    Of course he went crazy
    Bruce came back with a vengeance!
    You didn’t help MY life,
    I’ll tell you that.
    He offered you everything!


    PERSEY
    Roy attacked and raped people?
    It was Roy who went to jail?


    BABE
    When Roy went to prison it was a miracle
    I was so grateful we had
    A spare name to give him!
    Clever planning and foresight is what
    Breeds second chances.
    Young men founder with blotted
    Escutcheons! Jarod was SUCH
    A good friend; claiming Roy had been
    In his unit. When Roy was released
    Bruce could just vanish. But when Roy’s
    Unpredictable I MUST be
    Trustee. Increasing our holdings
    Made my son hate me more!
    We need to start over, Persey!
    This time you must help.


    PERSEY
    (Slow, incredulous)
    Your son is a killer!
    I’ll have nothing to do with it!


    BABE
    He only kills teases!
    Vermin and tramps!
    I thought I’d explained.
    You weren’t getting pregnant! You
    Forced Roy into testing,
    Questioned his virility! What man
    Accepts THAT? Now, this misery’s
    Behind us, if Brucie stays DEAD.
    Don’t rile Roy up!
    There’s the future to think about.


    PERSEY
    (Launching to her feet)
    Why can’t you face truth?
    Your son is a murderer
    And Jarod is helping him!
    Roy murdered Jarod’s wife
    In some sort of pay off!’


    BABE
    (Slaps PERSEY’s face hard.)
    Keep your voice down in my house!
    Don’t say this around Roy!
    Jarod’s keeping him safe!
    He’s the only man Roy can
    Look up to, or even respect.
    Boys need role models, don’t you see?
    To learn how to play! Jarod’s my hero.


    PERSEY
    Your family is poisoned, Babe.
    Your “truth” is a lie.


    (ROY’s voice offstage)


    ROY
    We got him, Darlin’!
    We captured the guy!


    BABE
    (Grabbing PERSEY’s arm)
    Don’t tell him you know!
    Roy will kill me, Persey
    I’m a sick woman!


    PERSEY
    Babe, please understand.
    Only truth lets us breathe.


    BABE
    (Pointing to the door)
    Get out! Get out of my house!


    (PERSEY and DIGGER exit)

  • Woman Into Wolf: the play

    (Scene 9. Lights up on PERSEY House set where ROY & JAROD wrestle by firelight while the hot tub smokes suggestively and the eyes in the portrait track their movements. NED & PERSEY at the door. WOLF SPIRITS gather around and on top of the house, eyes blinking on & off. NED beckons JAROD aside, puts an arm around him – they exit together)


    (PERSEY throws herself into ROY’s arms – he seems unresponsive)


    ROY
    (Holding PERSEY at arm’s length)
    What did you do?


    PERSEY
    (Still trying to connect with him)
    Oh, Roy, it was awful!
    Poor Stormee is dead!


    ROY
    She was disloyal.
    Didn’t she deserve it?


    PERSEY
    What do you mean?
    Jarod controlled her every move.


    ROY
    Naw. I’m hearing she strayed.
    Seems there’s lots of that
    Going around.


    (ROY pushes her away – DIGGER growls and poises for attack. ROY kicks at him. PERSEY orders him out of the house – DIGGER slinks away – to gather with the WOLF SPIRITS protecting the house. PERSEY thinks ROY just doesn’t understand.)


    PERSEY
    I found her dead, Roy.
    Stormee’s been murdered.


    ROY
    That’s not all you found, is it?
    Better stop lying!


    PERSEY
    (Very offended)
    I’m not lying!


    ROY
    Oh yeah? Weren’t you making kissy face
    With that snooping cop who’s harassing my mother?


    PERSEY
    What are you talking about?
    I’m making “kissy face”
    With nobody but you!


    ROY
    And then there’s that she-male
    You pal around with!
    What’s that about?
    Don’t my wishes mean anything?
    Those creatures spread sickness.


    PERSEY
    Bish is my friend!
    YOU’RE covered with
    “Wrestling burns”, thanks to Jarod!
    What’s THAT about?
    I found Stormee the way you two wanted –
    And now I’ll have nightmares
    Forever and ever.


    (Dispiritedly she undresses and climbs into hot tub)


    ROY
    Welcome to reality, princess.
    I know you’re still hiding something!
    That cop’s got your number!


    (WOLF SPIRITS & DIGGER howl without restraint – ROY snatches a shotgun out of the umbrella stand)


    PERSEY
    Roy, for God’s sake!
    Who’s hiding from whom?
    That cop asked ME to find out
    If Bruce is really dead!


    (Eyes move as portrait lights dramatically)


    ROY
    Bruce? Of course Bruce is dead!
    I killed him myself!
    In a battle to the death
    There’s only one winner.


    PERSEY
    You did not! You couldn’t have!


    ROY
    That’s all the credit you give me!
    No wonder my buddies are thinking
    I’m de-balled, like your mutt!
    Nobody tames ME, Sweetmeat.
    And you know what else I’m gonna do?
    I’m going to shoot me a canine!


    PERSEY
    DON’T YOU DARE!


    (Marches to the door where he almost runs into JAROD who is wheeling a case of champagne on a dolly)


    JAROD
    Whoa, buddy!
    Where are you headed?


    (Wrestles shotgun away, dumps it)
    This party just started!


    ROY
    Aren’t I your alibi?

    JAROD
    Hell no! DNA!
    They got a condom
    Overflowing with man juice!


    ROY
    Where’d they get that, I wonder?


    JAROD
    You ought to know!
    Don’t you trust me, ol’ buddy? Everything’s
    Fixed. They got a culprit!
    We’re partyin’ here.


    ROY
    Hear that, Persey?
    They caught the guy that did Stormee!


    JAROD
    First, capture the love juice, then
    String the guy up.


    (WOLF SPIRITS & DIGGER howl)


    Man, you’ve got a wolf problem.


    ROY
    I know! Let’s go hunting!


    JAROD
    You kidding me?

    ROY
    Party first, fireworks after!


    (He shakes up a bottle of champagne and shoots it at ROY. ROY, dripping, grabs a bottle to shoot at JAROD. Merriment – not shared by PERSEY)


    PERSEY
    I take it we’re celebrating
    Your instant divorce?


    JAROD
    (Kneeling by the hot tub)
    Birthday champagne for you,
    Persey. Primo stuff. Some people die
    Some people get born.
    The party goes on.
    Word on the street is
    You like champagne.


    PERSEY
    You know nothing about
    What I love and hate.


    ROY
    This Champagne’s Persey’s favorite.
    She uses a glass, though.


    (He exits. JAROD leans over, looking suggestively into the water)


    JAROD
    Looking for company?


    PERSEY
    (Flicking water on him)
    No. Go away.


    (JAROD strips down, slides in, clutching his champagne bottle.)


    JAROD
    Can’t dampen the drowned, darlin’.
    I’m ALWAYS all in.


    (He starts climbing in – PERSEY turns her back on him, tries to climb out – he stops her)


    Have a heart, Persey. You’re being mean
    To a heartbroken widower.


    PERSEY
    You better get your hands off me
    Before Roy sees you.


    JAROD
    Sweet cheeks
    This was ALL his idea.


    (ROY appears with champagne glass and kneels on PERSEY’s other side)


    ROY
    Here you go, cupcake’.
    Fertility meds served up in Baccarat
    Just how you like ‘em.

    (He holds her jaw, pours champagne in her mouth. PERSEY tries to get out, they both hold her down.)


    Not so fast, hon.
    It’s past time to make babies.


    (PERSEY begins to thrash wildly)


    JAROD
    Don’t waste energy, Persey.
    Two against one.


    ROY
    Yeah. Hunters in tandem
    Bring down any game.


    (They swarm over her. Lights out.)

  • Woman Into Wolf: the play

    Act 3 Scene 8
    (The forest outside JAROD’s house. PERSEY is dragging DIGGER along by his collar.)


    PERSEY


    DIGGER! I need you!
    What the heck is your problem?


    (DIGGER is doing everything he can to stall and resist. TREES surge, rustle, threaten. WOLVES howl.)


    Are you scared of coyotes?
    I thought they were your friends.


    (DIGGER covers his ears with his paws and cowers.)
    I’m ashamed of you.
    Such a scaredy cat!


    (Bossy mother)


    They’re more afraid of you
    Than you are of them.
    We trespass in THEIR forest.
    Ssssh! Hear them talking?
    Maybe if we listen
    We‘ll understand their secret.


    (Calls softly)


    Cookie, Monica, Jean,
    Mina and Jo Lee … DaToy and
    Mary Louise… Jane and John Doe…

    (The TREES moan and shiver their leaves)

    See? They’re helpers, not haters!
    Believe me, a forest is safer
    Than most strangers are!
    Native Americans say
    The trees are our home.


    (Eyes appear glittering between the trees. DIGGER and PERSEY react fearfully. PERSEY tries to master her fear to be brave for DIGGER)


    Cookie, Monica, Jean, Mina,
    DaToy and Jo Lee, Jane and John
    Are you there?
    (The eyes turn into beautiful women wearing wolf heads; the WOLF SPIRITS.)


    WOLF SPIRITS
    (Sing)
    Welcome to The Forest…the center of life…
    Holds the mystery of death.


    (They dance with DIGGER and PERSEY who are at first frightened and awkward, then ecstatic & surrendering. One Spirit gives PERSEY a gift. Then slowly they pull back into the dancing trees. DIGGER wants to go with them but PERSEY jerks him back)


    PERSEY
    Digger, I need you to stay with me now.
    Did you see them?
    So many – I never expected …

    (DIGGER waves his tail sadly at the departing WOLF SPIRITS. PERSEY studies her gift…a hairclip with a hair extension attached.)

    I’ve seen this before.
    (Falls to her knees)
    This is Stormee’s. Now I’m REALLY scared.


    (At last DIGGER alerts. Sniffs the clip and commences racing around. Finds more bloodied “evidence” to lay at PERSEY’s feet. STORMEE emerges from the trees looking different – scary yet exalted. Her dress is a mass of red streamers. She dances, then collapses gracefully in a heap – PERSEY finds the body – scream – light out.)

  • Woman Into Wolf: the play

    (NED the cop exits; having to push vines aside. DIGGER runs out between his legs to dance with his friends. PERSEY throws herself on sofa, dials phone. Cell phone rings on BISH making his way through audience. Ring tone is Strangers In Paradise.)


    BISH
    Persey! You’re just the person!


    (He leans on an audience chair arm, settling down for a nice chat.)
    What’s up?


    PERSEY
    You’ll never believe what happened!


    BISH
    I can’t wait to hear!
    And I‘ve got news of my own. I…
    Met some special someone.


    PERSEY
    Well, this is incredible!
    We’ll have to celebrate!
    That cop came here…
    The cop I told you about…

    BISH
    Oh, the wordsmith?
    Persey, don’t we want action?


    PERSEY
    He doesn’t think Roy’s brother
    Really is dead!


    BISH
    Persey, how bizarre!


    PERSEY
    Turns out Bruce was a rapist
    Who served four years in jail
    Then he vanished.
    But his fingerprints turned up
    At my woodland crime scene!


    BISH
    Oooo PERSEY I’m shivering!
    It’s so sick what you’re saying!


    PERSEY
    If BRUCE is alive…


    (She hesitates with a shocking realization)


    BISH
    Persey! What?
    Tell me.

    PERSEY
    Roy would kill him.
    Remember that portrait?


    (The Portrait lights up & participates, the little boys writhe like spirits in hell)


    BISH
    That you said he’d destroy?


    PERSEY
    He says he’s keeping it
    To remind him that Bruce
    Can never hurt him again.


    BISH
    Oooo Persey, your husband
    Is so full of surprises.


    PERSEY
    Wait. I’m getting a call.
    It’s Roy. Gotta go.
    Talk about your crush next time?


    BISH
    Hard to compete with a family like yours.
    My life was SO unexciting till I met
    Mr. Right Now!


    PERSEY
    Bish! Hasta Manana!

    (Lights off on BISH who perambulates along his way, Lights up on ROY and JAROD lounging together at the side of the theatre)


    PERSEY
    Hi, hon. What can I do for you?


    ROY
    Puddin’, Jarod and I need you
    To check up on Stormee.
    She was coming for lunch but
    She never showed and her phone
    Has gone dead.


    PERSEY
    Oh, Roy…


    (Writhing – she just LOATHES STORMEE)


    Can’t Jarod go look?


    JAROD
    (Taking the phone)
    Sweetmeat, we’re stuck here.
    Payin’ the bill. Gotta
    Get back to work.
    You’re close by. I’m … concerned.


    (Wheedling)


    Won’t you do this one little thing
    For your favorite guys?

    PERSEY
    (Totally furious at hearing from JAROD)
    Fine. Tell Roy I love him.


    JAROD
    Oh, we know, sugartits.
    Believe me, we know.


    (The men giggle conspiratorially and lean together. Lights off.)

  • Woman Into Wolf: the play

    Scene 7
    (Later. PERSEY’s house. She wears cleaning overall and carries duster & spray can. NED the cop in plain clothes knocks at the door. She’s surprised to see him.)


    NED
    (Very relaxed, strides in carrying folders)
    Some place you’ve got here.
    Looks like your help has help.


    PERSEY
    We’re do-it-yourselfers.
    Um…how can I assist?


    NED
    Ready to work?
    (Shakes the folders at her)


    PERSEY
    I am working.


    NED
    This is real work,
    Not playing house.
    Aren’t you supposed to be
    My confidential Informant?
    Saw your husband depart so figured
    Now’s a good time.
    Keepin’ it downlow.
    How about coffee?


    PERSEY
    (She looks appalled but can’t think how to get out of this. DIGGER lifts an uninterested head and goes back to sleep.)
    Um…sure.


    (She wanders out. NED strides around the room, looking at everything. Scratches DIGGER behind ears, Pokes into things, wanders up to the portrait, which glares at him)


    NED
    Whoa, Nellie!


    (PERSEY returns sans housecoat & duster, bearing a tray of coffee. NED gestures at the portrait)


    NED
    This is quite something.


    PERSEY
    Yes, isn’t it?
    (She pours)


    NED
    That’s a lot of knives.
    Your husband’s a collector?


    PERSEY
    Boys love toys.
    Sugar? Cream?


    NED
    I could use something sweet.
    One of those painted kids is
    Your man, I presume?


    PERSEY
    (Sitting down – she’s had it with that portrait)
    That’s what they say.
    But no one knows which.


    NED
    Oh, I think I can tell.


    PERSEY
    (Very disbelieving)
    They’re identical twins!


    NED
    (Confident)
    Sure. One is a felon and the other
    Married you. Think that wouldn’t show?


    PERSEY
    A felon?


    NED
    (Less certain)
    Nobody told you?


    PERSEY
    Bruce went to jail?


    NED
    The guy was a rapist.
    (He opens file)
    He served four years.


    PERSEY
    My God!


    NED
    That’s my question, in fact.
    There’s a gravesite and obituary…
    But I can’t find a certificate.


    PERSEY
    Let me see.


    (He hands her the file – contents projected on walls. Disturbing newspaper articles, black and white photos)


    I was worlds away in college
    Roy was in the army.
    I never met Bruce.
    Babe– she’s my mother-in-law
    Says Bruce killed himself.


    NED
    Suicide never makes obits.
    Family shame – there’s the rub.
    Good coffee by the way.
    You like it strong, just like I do.
    Most people can’t handle that.
    (Studied calm)
    So you think something’s funny
    About Bruce’s demise?


    PERSEY
    For the first time that seems likely.
    A handsome young man,
    With his own trust fund,
    A bully who adored showing others his power.
    Suddenly he has an actual motive for offing himself.


    NED
    (His turn to be disbelieving)
    Family shame, you are thinking?
    Some sense of remorse?


    PERSEY
    I know his mom pretty well.
    Rape she could cover.
    But prison…


    NED
    Mom’s OK with rape?


    PERSEY
    She’s a tad narcissistic.


    NED
    Ah. Would you say that it’s possible…
    That Bruce is alive?


    (WOLVES howl. DIGGER lifts his head and joins in. NED catches PERSEY’s cup as PERSEY drops it)

    PERSEY
    JESUS!


    (DIGGER goes to window – all excited.)


    It’s those coyotes. I’m afraid
    Digger’s in love with them.


    NED
    Hey, we all envy the wild.
    Sorry I upset you.


    PERSEY
    (Filled with revulsion and distaste)
    Bruce CAN’T be alive.
    . If he is alive, then where is he?
    Roy says that he’s dead and
    He couldn’t fool Roy.
    Roy hated his brother but now
    He’s been set free. He replaced
    Bruce with Jarod who
    Gives him esteem.
    Not even their mother
    Keeps that kind of secret.


    NED
    Work with me here.
    Let’s imagine –
    Just for argument –
    Bruce was paid to vanish and
    The money ran out.
    What would he do?


    PERSEY
    (Cynically)
    The money NEVER runs out.


    NED
    Wow. If you say so!


    PERSEY
    Roy’s mom isn’t clever
    And she’s not really subtle.
    I can read between HER lines.
    She acts like something’s missing
    That Roy took away.
    Bruce’s death explains that.


    NED
    You think your husband
    Murdered his brother?


    PERSEY
    What is it with everyone?
    That’s NOT what I think!


    NED
    But somebody does?


    PERSEY
    One thing’s guaranteed;
    If Bruce is alive,
    Roy knows nothing about it.


    NED
    (Gentle irony)
    So, in your case the wife
    Is the first one to know?
    Your husband can’t lie?
    Kudos to both of you.


    PERSEY
    I know my own husband!
    YOUR marriages didn’t take
    So, what do YOU know?
    Bruce was Roy’s twin!
    It’s a special relationship.


    NED
    Would you say he loved his brother?


    PERSEY
    Hated him. Bruce was the favorite.
    Roy never came into his own
    Till his brother died.
    But if he thought for a moment that
    Bruce could appear…he’d act totally different.
    I just know it.


    NED
    You’re pretty confident
    In your ability to read people.


    PERSEY
    I can read THESE people.


    NED
    Kudos to ME picking
    Confidential Informants.

    PERSEY
    (She fears he is mocking her but he’s very straight faced.)
    So, what is it you want
    Me to do for you exactly?


    NED
    Get me a death certificate.


    PERSEY
    This was supposed to concern Jarod!


    NED
    I say what this concerns.
    That’s how this thing works.
    You’re a better authority
    On this family than on Gunver.


    PERSEY
    (She just hates this job)
    Well, Babe is a packrat and
    Bruce’s room is a shrine.
    Her house is a castle.
    I could look for it there. Or…
    I could ask her.


    NED
    I’d appreciate it.
    She won’t return calls.

    (PERSEY rises as if to show him out but NED sits like a log. He not going anywhere.)


    PERSEY
    (A bit desperately)
    Why Bruce?
    And why now?


    NED
    His fingerprints turned up
    Recall that pink shoe in the woods?


    PERSEY
    Really? You’re kidding!


    NED
    Who knows how long
    A fingerprint lasts? Still –
    There’s no coincidences
    Only new patterns.
    Bruce gets out of jail…
    Disappears – bodies appear. They say
    Rapists who serve time
    Stop leaving witnesses.


    (WOLVES howl. Now DIGGER wants to go out.)


    PERSEY
    (To DIGGER)
    You lie down!

    (DIGGER plays dead)


    (To NED)


    But that’s horrible!


    NED
    Horrible’s my job.
    How long have you had
    This feral dog problem?


    PERSEY
    There isn’t a problem!
    If Digger’s friends choose to go feral
    We can respect that.


    NED
    You promise to help me?


    PERSEY
    (Pacing, trying not to panic)
    You’re looking in the wrong place.


    NED
    What makes you think so?

    PERSEY
    (Determinedly)
    MY suspect’s a cop, that’s why
    You’ll never see it.


    (NED leans forward)

    NED
    Jarod’s got no criminal jacket.
    He isn’t good for this. The question is
    Why your husband has bad taste in friends.
    Gunver physically violent
    That you personally know of?


    PERSEY
    He brags about hurting prisoners.
    The whole street’s afraid of him.
    He and Stormee fight constantly.


    NED
    He’s got no complaints.


    PERSEY
    It’s a rigged system!


    NED
    This is circular reasoning.


    PERSEY
    He’s a parasite!


    NED
    Parasites don’t kill.
    If they know what is good for them.
    You’re emotionally involved.

    PERSEY
    And that cancels evidence?


    NED
    Hey, everyone’s suspect.
    I promised to study it.


    PERSEY
    (Points to the folders he hasn’t opened)
    So, what’s that doing here?
    Those extra files?


    NED
    Oh. You wanted those names.
    Of the missing.


    (WOLVES emerge howling and gather around house.)


    Sounds like…they’re singing.


    PERSEY
    Wouldn’t we all if we could?


    NED
    You mean feel one with nature?


    PERSEY
    Dance with the trees.


    (She whirls. THE WOLF-SPIRITS stand up as humans with wolf heads & masks)


    NED
    In our dreams!

    (Words & photos projected on walls. Names.)


    WOLF SPIRITS
    (Eerie chanting)
    Cookie Louise, Monica Falkin, Jean Jane McComber, Ernie
    “DaToy”, Jo Lee Ann Jeffries, Miss Mina Ha, Jane Does 1 through Jane Doe 4, John Doe 1,2,3.


    PERSEY
    Can I keep these?


    NED
    Do you want them?


    PERSEY
    Names are important.
    I’d like to study them.


    NED
    The murderer didn’t care who they were.


    PERSEY
    I think he killed them because of
    Who they were becoming.


    (The TREES send protective vines over the house; DIGGER howls)


    NED
    That’s an eerie effect!
    Really makes you shiver.


    (PERSEY opens the door and looks out pointedly)


    How about your name – Persey.
    Where did that come from?


    PERSEY
    It’s an old one.
    Persephone. It’s Greek.


    (NED exits; having to push vines aside.)

  • Woman Into Wolf: the play

    (PERSEY & BISH finish their yoga with a good gossip when – unexpectedly – ROY, PERSEY’S husband – who hates BISH – comes home)

    BISH
    But I have no playmate
    As you cruelly point out.
    (Sighs)


    PERSEY
    Sorry.
    (Offstage, ROY’s voice)


    ROY
    Cupcake! I’m home!
    Where the hellz is my baby?


    (PERSEY & BISH galvanize. He picks up scattered clothes and rushes, dripping, to change behind a screen. DIGGER lifts a head to show some interest. PERSEY jumps back in the hot tub. ROY appears.)


    PERSEY
    Just chillaxing.


    ROY
    I’m down with that!
    (Strips and jumps in with her)


    PERSEY
    I thought you were with Babe.


    ROY
    Dumped her at the depot.
    She can Uber home.


    PERSEY
    Roy, you didn’t!
    She just had back surgery!


    ROY
    She wouldn’t stop bitchin’.
    You know how she gets.
    Hey, what’s with the bathing suit?
    (Trying to disrobe her)


    PERSEY
    Sometimes…if I’m alone


    ROY
    I got dibs on this body!


    (Kissing and fondling her. PERSEY frantically signaling over his head to BISH who’s crawling towards the door, DIGGER following him with much interest. ROY suddenly sniffs the air)


    ROY
    Has that she-male been here?


    PERSEY
    Roy! Bish is my friend!


    ROY
    If society had smarts we’d
    Exterminate those guys.
    Mixed-up sexes
    Don’t know WHAT they are.



    (PERSEY tries to muffle him with kisses)


    PERSEY
    Don’t say that.
    You don’t mean it.


    ROY
    I do mean it.
    Queers are just trash people.
    Who wants a world
    Where men forget to be male?


    PERSEY
    Would they stop knifing and shooting?


    (A panicked BISH makes a dash for it, drops a shirt. DIGGER barks, picks up the shirt, returns to the fire to mouth it)


    ROY
    What’s up with that dog?
    He’s chewing up something…
    Better not be mine!


    (A lone WOLF howls)


    PERSEY
    (Climbing on his lap trying to interest him in sex)
    It’s a dishrag I gave him.
    Want to fool around?
    Or would you like a beer?

    ROY
    That dog better
    Stay out of my stuff, I’m warning you.


    (Shouting over PERSEY’s shoulder to DIGGER)


    I’ll put that dog down! Where he belongs!


    (DIGGER attacks the shirt more aggressively – ROY makes a move to leap out of the tub – PERSEY grabs remote to light portrait – it looks right at ROY – WOLVES’ Chorus)


    ROY
    Fuck me!


    (ROY appears gobsmacked. Lights off on PERSEY house, up on shirtless BISH putting shoes on at the side of the stage. JAROD – ROY’S cop friend – approaches, hails him. They began to tango.)


    JAROD
    Hel-lo sugar! What have we here?


    BISH
    Didn’t know you were interested.


    JAROD
    Call me a collector.
    Sampling anything new.
    What’s on offer?


    BISH
    Why settle for anything
    When you can have
    Everything?


    (They waltz off. WOLVES howl. Lights out.)