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8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/gillian-audition-materials 1/11
TO GILLIAN
ON
HER
37TH
BIRTHD Y
Michael
rady
BRO DW Y PL Y PUBLISHING INC
224 E
62nd
St NY NY 10065-8201
212 772-8334 fax: 212 772-8358
BroadwayPlayPubl com
8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
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CH R CTERS SETTING
DAVID, age
37, a college professor temporarily retired
RACHEL, age 16, DAVID S daughter
CI
NDY, age
16,
RACHEL s friend
P AUL,
age 38, DAVID s brother-in-law married to
ESTHER
ESTH R, age 39, DAVID S sister-in-law a psychologis
t
ma
rr
ied
to PAUL
KE
VIN,
age 28 friend of
PAUL
and
ESTHER,
recently
divorced
G ILLIAN, age
35,
DAVID S former wife
who
died
in
a s
ail
ing
accident two years prior
to
the events of the play; ESTHER s
sist
er
Th
e play is in two
acts.
The
time
is the present. The place is
the back deck
and
beach
of
DAVID s
island
home
. The action
traces the final weekend of August.
8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
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13
CT
ONE
cene wo
The
following morning.
K
EVIN
an
d PA
UL
are staring at the
water.
PAUL is in his
late
thirties.
KEVIN
is younger, late
twenties.
KEVIN:
Beautiful. Exactly as you pr
omis
ed.
PAUL:
You see?
KEvw:
Now
stop
holding
out on me.
PAUL: Kevin, would I do that?
KEVIN: Don't
do t
he charm number eith
er.
PAUL:
You're just
nervou
s a
bo
ut
meetin
g
an av
ailable
male.
KEVIN: I am
nervou
s, but that's
not
what's
wrong.
PAUl :
You
were
the s
ame
wayan
your blind
date
with
that
guy
who
wanted
to mass
produce
gerbils as an
alternative food source.
KEVIN: David is
not
a
blind da
te. The two of
yo
u are
sitting
on
something. I
would
like some
de
tails.
PAUL:
Growls
Es
th
er
gave
you th
e
de
tails.
KEVIN:
Esther told me
b
oating accident .
PAUL:
We w e
re on
their boa
t
Cle
ar
skies,
no
s
ma
ll-craft
warnings.
David wa
s
at th
e w
hee
l,
or
w
hatever you
call those things. Gilli
an was halfway
up t
he
mast. She
liked to do things like that,
dro
ve me half
crazy
.
We
hit
something.
Subm
e
rged
d
ebri
s. Gil fell
and hit he
r
head
on the
de
c
k An
accident, Kevin.
KEVIN:
Why are
you makin
g this so difficult? There is
something
els
e
PAUL:
T
hi
s
was
two years ago, and ....
KEVIN And?
PAUL: And
it was also Gillian's
birt
hday.
Which
is also
tomorrow.
8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
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14
TO GILLIAN
ON HER
37TH BIRTHDAY
KEVIN
Oh, Paul.
PAUL
We didn t
even think
it all
out
till
ju
st a few
days
ago. And we
thought you
would
have ba
cked out.
KEvIN:
I
would
have.
PAUL And we thought th
at
would
be a w aste of a
perfectly
decent
weekend.
KEVIN:
Paul
PAUL Just relax.
KEVIN: I hate
it
wh
en you tell
me
to relax.
Did it ever
occur to
you that I don
' t
need the
competition,
th
at
maybe I don t ne
ed to be com
pa
red to
th
at
overg
r
own
golden
retriever he was married to?
PAUL Oh
.
ESTHER
appears
at the door .)
ESTHER:
To PAUL
) You m
ay think I
enjoy
unloadin
g the
car
by
myself. You
wo
u
ld be
w r
on
g.
To
KEVIN) N
ot
you.
She exits.)
PAUL Starting to exit) Why
do
n t you
just concentrate
on all that wate
r? I m t
old
it has a
soothing
effect,
though it's
neve
r done a thing for me.
KEVIN:
Paul...
PAUL Concentra
te. I'm
pre
p
ared
to
put that in
writing.
PAUL
exits.
KEV
IN concentrates on the water. After a bea
CINDY enters, joggin
g.
She stops, stretches, oblivious
to
K V N, then runs toward
th
e deck.)
KEVIN
Rachel. Hello
CINDY Slowing dow n)
No. I'm
not
Ra
ch
el...l'm a friend
of
Rachel's.
KEVIN: Ah. My name is Kevin.
CINDY
Oh?
KEVIN: I'm with Paul and
Es
ther
. Do
you know
8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
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15
CT
ONE
CINDY: Sure. Got it.
C
ro
ss ing
to KEVIN,
shaking hands)
I'm Cindy.
No
one' s here.
KEVIN:
We
noticed.
C
INDY:
Rache
l'
s
at
th
e
supermarket. She's
into
that
stuff.
KEVIN: And
David?
CINDY: He's still
jog
ging. South side by now . We
usually
pace
each other. Y
ou
know Mister. ...
You
know
David?
KEVIN: Yes.
I took
a
lot
of his co
urs
es
in
college,
year
s
and years ago.
CINDY: Oh, so you'
re
the one.
KEVIN He's talked abo
ut
me?
CINDY:
No.
Pau se)
H e doesn
't
teach
an
y
more.
KEVIN:
Well,
mayb
e
he
' ll get back to
it
.
Pa
u
se)
CINDY:
He didn't think you 'd
be
he
re
thi
s
earl
y.
KEVIN:
We'll surprise
him
,
th
en.
CINDY: Starts to run
ojfJ
I don't
t
hin
k
he'
s
all th
at
fond
of surpri
ses.
PAUL enters from the
ho
us
e.)
PAUL CINDY) Hi,
muscles.
CINDY stops, puts one foot
behi
nd her head and turns.)
CINDY: Hello,
Mist
er
Cere
bell
um.
PAUL Exaggerated) C
er
ebe
llu
m,
score one f
or th
e
tyke.
Have you tw
o met?
CINDY: Check. I 'll tell ..David you're here.
KEVIN :
No
need.
CINDY: No problem.
Oh,
don 't worry
... S tarts to exit,
stops) I won't spoil
your
surpris
e.
She exit
s.)
8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
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18
TO GILLIAN ON
I I
ER 37TH BIRTHDAY
RACHEL:
I like to do
th
e errands. You
two shouldn t
have to wor
ry
about anything while you
re
here.
ESTHER:
You he
ar that
? It's her w
ay or the
highway,
right?
RA CHEL:
Ri ght.
ESTHER: It's in the blood . Well, let me look at you.
RACHEL:
Okay. She twir
s
around.)
ESTHER:
Did y
ou m
ss us?
RACHEL: Yeah. You miss me?
ESTHER
PA
UL:
Ye ah .
ESTHER:
How
you
doing, let me
ha
ve it.
RA
CHEL: I
don
t
know. He keeps
running,
all
the tim
e.
PA
UL
: All
that
health
, bad for y
ou
.
ESTHER:
S
hut up.
RACHEL:
I
tr
y to get
him
to take his potassi
um,
but
he
makes me feel like a
nur
se
or
something.
ESTHER:
You
know,
I ask d
ho
w y
ou
ar
e, not
how s
Daddy
...
.
RA
CHEL:
Yeah, right. There
s
th
is
bo
y.
PA
UL: Ah hah,
back a week and already you ve
got
a
boyfriend.
RACHEL:
I don' t
have
a
bo
yfri
end,
Uncle Paul. I am
eyeballing a boyfriend .
ESTHER:
He
likes?
(RACHEL
s
ru
gs.)
ESTHER:
He talks?
RACHEL: He
ta lks.
ESTHER: That
s something. Are you involve
d?
N
othing
is a
probl
em. You
need
help?
8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
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19
CT ONE
RACHEL Laughs No, it s not that. I don t even
know
his
name.
PAUL: Doe
s
n t
mean a t
hing
.
ESTHER:
To
PAUL
Your
mouth.
o
RACHEL
You
talk
to
me,
I
mean it.
Morning,
n
oon,
or
night.
Sex,
biology
,
babies, no babies.
R CI fEL Aunt
Esther
...
ESTHER: The works,
you h
ear
me?
RACHEL I m okay
on biology. It's all
the other
stuff.
PAUL: What othe
r stuff?
RACHEL:
I
just
want
thin
gs to
be
...
no
rmal, y
ou
know
?
Quiet? And Daddy ...
ESTHER: Look kiddo, David, I love him, I do,
but
when
he
starts his lost
-in-the-
st
ars
routine, no on
e caY
put up
with
him.
So you
leav
e him to
me
.
PAUL: Esther
.. .
ESTHER: Shhh.
RACHEL
He
thinks
you
took M
omm
y
s
hat.
ESTHER: What
?
RACHEL Or he
thinks
I
did.
He s
ou
t here e
very nigh t,
sometimes all nigh
t.
...
DAVID en ters, running. He s
to
ps,
begin
s to stretc
h.
C INDY
enters a few st
eps
behind.)
PAUL: David
ESTHER:
Hello,
David.
Hi,
C
indy
.
DA
VID:
Well,
the
same
old cast of char
acters.
ESTHER:
How are you, David?
D
AVID: We re
not
playing the
d
ating gam
today?
Don t tell me
there s
been a sudden outbreak
of goo
d
taste.
8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
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20
TO GILLIAN ON HER 37TH BIRTHDAY
PAUL:
There
is
someone
we d like you to
me
et.. ..
D
AVID: Then
it is to
be Chr
istians
an
d lions. All
right,
let s
get
this over with. Where is she?
o CINDY In the
trunk,
I
hope,
ga
s
ping
f
or
air?
PAUL: David ...
RACHEL: To
ES
THER) You
see?
He s be
en like
thi
s all
we
k.
DAVID: Oh he
has,
has he?
o
ESTHER, thrGUJi
n
his
towel down on the deck Getting
little updates
from the
f
ront?
ESTHER:
Let s
just
slow
down and
take thi
s
back
to
step
one
.
How are you,
Dav id?
DAVID: I am fine, Es
ther,
how are
you?
And I am
well-tuned emotionally, desp
it
e
ob
v
ious st
ories
to
the
c
ontrary.
RACHEL: Dad
dy, I
do not
tell stories.
DAVID:
Stretching,
not looking at RACHEL
Sounds
like
someone s
been telling
st
ories
....
RACHEL:
Daddy,
you lo
ok
at
me
i f you
a
re talking to
me. I
do not
tell stori
es
. We
ar
e a family. You
don t
tell
stories when you re talking to family.
Mo
mmy said
tha t all the tim e.
DA
VID:
Rache
l,
I know y
ou me
an well...
RACHEL: No,
Daddy, this is for you . Because we are all
worried about
you.
I m sorry, but I think
it
s time you
start
talking
w
ith
real
women
again. You
can t.
...
D
AVID:
L
et s ju
st s
top it
r
ight th
ere, young lady.
RA
CHEL:
D
add
y,
can t you
see
what s happening?
DAVID
What s happening is you are
goin
g to your
room where you are goin
g
to
t ink
ve
ry carefully
about what
you
just
sa
id
. And you
are
go
in
g to
8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
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29
CT
ONE
RACHEL: They h a
ve
a band and they throw a cross into
the
harbor
It
s
fun
.
Are
you hungry now or anything
like that? There s a lot around . I know a great ice cre
am
place. We can go right now.
KEVIN: Sounds fine.
RACHEL: nd we ll make plans for tomorrow, okay?
KEVIN: O
ka
y.
P AUL:
t
r
ting to go)
The heavenly
hash
is
on
me.
To
D AVl
D You want?
D AVID: No.
PAUL: Esther?
ESTHER: Fudge ripple
(PAUL, RA
CHEL , and KEVIN exit. Pause)
DAVID:
Wh
ose idea is Kevin? Yours?
ESTHER:
Her
s. And
min
e.
DAVID: J m not sure wh
at
I m supposed to say.
ESTHER:
You re
both adul
ts.
At
least she is.
DA
VID:
L
oo
k,
I
did
n t
mean
to
snap at
Rac
he
l
Thin
gs
ju
t come out after I run.
ESTHE
R: You encouraged Rachel to
spend
the
summer
with us.
Whaf
s the scenario today? Rachel
betraye
d
poor
old David and I m cast as the witch abductor? If
you didn t w ant Rac
hel
to go you should
ha
ve said so
two
month
s ago . And i f
you
don t want
us
here, tell
me
now .
D AVID:
You know I m glad to see you.
Pau
se)
ESTHER: That s
it? Thank you, Mister. W
arm
th. Pau
se
)
What s your daily schedule
no
w? Two hours of
running
an
d ten hours of television?
D AVID:
You can do
better than that.
8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
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30
TO GILLIAN
ON HER
37
TH
BIRTHDAY
ESTHER: I do
n
t have to do
better
than
th
a
t
You
ne
ed to
work. Your inactivity is
destruct
ive and irresponsible.
D
AVID:
Don t play the shrink with me, Esther, I m not
in
the
mood.
ESTHER:
I m not
g
oing
to apologize for my training or
my profession. You could benefit from therapy.
DAVID:
Thank you, Ann Landers, for reprinting y
our
columns
ES
THER:
Just s
hort
term, talking to someone instead of
internalizing.
DAVID:
God,
you
sound
like
the
back of a
mat
chbook.
ESTHER:
You ve
got
Rachel scared, do you know that?
DAVID : Let s not exaggerate a family spat, Esther. This
morning w as
ju
st parents and kid
s
It happens all the
time.
ESTHER: Rachel is worried that you a
re
w ithdrawing
from her, and that scares her.
That s
what
she and
I
talked about all summer.
Pause)
Have you
bl
ac
ked
out
again?
DA
VID:
No. I r
un
less, scout s honor.
An
d I m
eating
green
ve
getables.
ESTHER:
Do you have pills?
DAVID:
Shows bott e) Ingesting potassium has become a
religious experience.
ESTHER:
I
me
an sleeping pills.
DAVID: Play fair, Esther.
ESTHER
: Do you?
DA
VlD
That
was
a mistake
ESTHER: Ta
kin
g half a bottle of
sleepin
g pills on Gil s
birthday was not a mistake. So don t make me ask
agam.
8/20/2019 Gillian Audition Materials
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31
CT ONE
DAV D: No pills.
Pause)
Does he know
about
l::tst year?
ESTHER:
Does who know?
DAVID: Paul.
E
STHER:
I
told you
I
to
ld no
one,
or
did
you
think
I
was
just
playing the shrink?
DA
VID
Husbands and wives talk to each other. I seem
to remember that.
ES
THER:
You r eally do
n
t have much of an op
in
ion of
me, do
you
? I told
Paul
and I told Rachel,
no mo
re and
no less
than
what you and I decided. T
he
y
came
ho
me
from the movies and fou nd you in the hospital with
food poisoning. End of story.
DA
vrD: Thank you.
(
ESTIIER
goes to leave.)
DAVID: Esther I just want her back Nothing else.
ESTHER: Gil is not com ing back. And you don t honor
her
memory by giving
up
on your own life. You re
turning her
into
an icon, into somet
hing th
at has
nothing to do with my sister.
DAVID: You
tru
ly have a vulgar little mind.
ESTHER:
Maybe. Maybe I do
have
a v ul
gar
little m ind .
And
ma
ybe I laugh too loud, just like my sister.
DAVID: E
sth
er
ESTHER: And I
am prou d of it all
and
you get no
apologies from m
e
DAVID
I
didn ' t
me
an .
ESTHER:
Oh yes,
you
meant. I can
de
fend myself, but
how
dare you come down
on
Rachel, how dare you.
You just take some of that mountain of p ity
you
've
built
for yourself and po
in
t it
at
your daughter. When
she was fourteen ye
ar
s old she watched her mother
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