REPLAY

Replay

A Play in Three Acts

 

Scene 1

Bordertown, Illinois-Indiana: Summer, 1992

The scene opens on the front room of a large office. There are no windows–the sense is that it's underground or just below first-floor level. There is a long couch against one wall, a desk and swivel chair just to the right side of a doorway. It has a large, multi-line telephone console as well as several other, free-standing phones, a rectangular digital timer with a row of buttons along the top–it reads: 0:00.00. A small computer screen sits over a keyboard. Over the desk is a bulletin board with various pieces of paper tacked up. The walls are covered with color posters of motorcycles, surf scenes–resembling the room of a teenage boy, but no pin-ups. There is a small refrigerator in another corner, a hot plate next to it. Over the couch (set so it is in view of the audience) is a huge cross-hatched chart. Across the top are various girls' names: Monique, Barbie, Jennifer, Candy, Kitty…down the left-hand margin are code letter combinations: B&D, S&M, H/S, F-D, S-R, and at the bottom, SCREENER. The cross-hatching is marked with an X in various squares…so that Barbie is matched with H/S, Kitty with S-R, and so on. A big clock stands over the charts: it reads 7:50. [NOTE TO DIRECTOR: THIS CLOCK RUNS IN "REAL TIME" THROUGHOUT, BUT IS RESET BETWEEN ACTS.]

A tall well-muscled man is seated at the desk chair, legs up on the desk. He's wearing a tank top over baggies and running shoes. He's in his thirties, with long hair…an aging surfer, a good-time boy, not a bodybuilder. This is BOLO. He's got a bottle of beer in one hand, reading a motorcycle magazine with something less than intense concentration.

A bell sounds. He pushes a button on an intercom.

BOLO: AYW Enterprises. Can I help you?

LYZA: I'm here about the job interview. I called earlier?

BOLO: Oh yeah. Okay, come on through.

(He hits a switch. A buzzer sounds…sound of a heavy lock releasing. A girl walks into the room through the doorway. She's small: long, dark hair, with a slim, curvy build. She's wearing a red leather miniskirt over fishnet stockings and black spike heels, topped off by a black silk blouse. Heavy makeup, like Central Casting for "hooker." [NOTE TO DIRECTOR: THIS MAKEUP GRADUALLY DECREASES AS THE PLAY PROGRESSES, SO THAT SHE IS FRESH-SCRUBBED BY THE END OF ACT I.] She looks like she's in her mid-twenties, but it's hard to tell. She's carrying a small suitcase, about the size of a hatbox.)

LYZA: Hi! You must be Mr. Monroe, the man I spoke with on the phone. You said to come in anytime after eight.

BOLO: No, I'm Bolo. You musta spoken to Johnny earlier on, right? It don't matter: any of us coordinators can do the interview.

LYZA: Bolo?

BOLO: (Laughs) Yeah. Where I come from, it stands for Be On the Lookout. What the cops broadcast over the radio when they're lookin' for somebody. When I was younger, I liked to play pretty hard, you know? (Making fun of himself) Held the South Florida Bar Fighting Championship two years in a row.

LYZA: (Walking over, sitting on the desk, crossing her legs, mildly flirtatious) And now?

BOLO: Now I just want to hang out. Do some waves, ride my bike. Take it as it comes.

LYZA: And you work here?

BOLO: Yeah. It's perfect for me. Eight at night to four in the morning, five times a week. Like the night manager, I guess. This way, I'm off the streets when it gets dark, see? I mean, this ain't no career, okay? I'm just saving my money. I get enough saved up, I'm off. To Australia. Soon as I get there, I'm buying a touring bike–a monster Kawasaki. I heard there's some great waves over there and I figure on seeing most of them, (Pause.)

LYZA: Well, I'm here for the interview.

BOLO: Okay, here's how it works. It's real simple. Guys call, they want to talk to a girl. They want…different stuff…depending on the guy, you understand? It's all a game, like acting. Fantasy stuff. You get to be one of the regular girls…See the chart over there? (Indicating the wall chart) Each girl does a different thing. We get some regulars, they always ask for the same girl, once they find one they like. That's why we keep the chart–so we can know who played what girl every day. Most of the time, they don't much care. I do this little spiel, find out kinda what they want. Sometimes, they don't want to tell me…then it'd be your job to find out, see?

LYZA: The ad said twenty-five dollars an hour…?

BOLO: Yeah, right. That's one way. Or you can work on straight commission. We bill them by the minute–they give me their credit card, I run it on the computer over there (Indicating) and if the card's good, they're off to the races. The longer you keep them on the phone, the more money you make.

LYZA: How much do you charge them?

BOLO: We tell 'em it's a buck ninety-five a minute, but this timer we got, it comes out to more than two and a quarter.

LYZA: A minute?

BOLO: (Laughs) Yeah! You work on commission, you can figure about sixty bucks an hour just for your end.

LYZA: Wow!

BOLO: And we pay in cash, too. End of each shift, you get your money. I keep track of it on this timer here…It's not for the other calls, just for the ones coming in here, understand?

LYZA: Don't all the calls come in here?

BOLO: No way! Some nights, I'm the only one here. Most of the time, we just use this call-forwarding deal–I switch them right into the girls' homes. You work tonight, you'll be the only one.

LYZA: I just talk to them on the phone?

BOLO: Well…yeah. But…look, I don't mean to get in your business or anything, but…I mean, you look like an actress made up for a part or something, okay? I mean, some of these callers, they're not looking for romance, you understand what I'm saying. Hard core is what we sell here. Even over the phone, it can get kind of ugly. Have you ever…?

LYZA: Look, I am an actress.

BOLO: Oh, yeah, we get a lot of actresses working here….

LYZA: Okay, never mind the sarcasm. It's not that you would have seen me in the movies or anything, but I'm an actress. That's what I do. I sing, I dance…light comedy, Shakespeare…everything. I had lessons from the time I was just a baby. My Daddy paid for them…I was an only child and I guess he kind of spoiled me. I used to put on concerts for him, do little plays, dress up like a fairy princess. He's a doctor, over in Winnetka. I came to Chicago to work. And it's hard. I mean, if you were in the business, you'd know that. It's real hard to get a break, get a chance to show people what you can do. The thing is, I'm short of money. Daddy wanted me to stay in a nice place, and I promised him I would. What with the rent and clothes and going to auditions all the time, it adds up. I could just pick up the phone and ask Daddy for money and he'd send it right down to me. In fact, I was just thinking about it when I saw your ad. The phone, see? Kind of like Kismet. So I thought I'd come down here and audition for you instead.

BOLO: You mean like for a play or something? That's why you're dressed like this'

LYZA: Well, it is that, isn't it? Come on, give me a chance. Everything I told you was the truth. This is just a job. An acting job.

BOLO: Yeah, I know, but…

LYZA: Come on. Go sit over on the couch. Drink your beer, pretend you're an audience, okay?