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breakinglight11This piece picks up immediately after Day #4 - Morning at Home. Something Bernie suggested we do in part V was do something with the relationship between Clara and Mary— we always intended for them to have one, but they didn't end up having much interaction in part III, with Clara being focused on what Nathaniel wasn't telling her, and then Clara didn't end up showing up at all in part IV. So that idea's been by the wayside since part II, but we're trying to pick it up a little here. We found a source of conflict to explore to give it dimension, and the first inkling of it shows up in this scene.
We're a little concerned about how long the piece is going to turn out ot be— something we worry about every time, since we're committed to runtimes of ninety minutes. Unfortunately I think this subplot will be the first to be cut, if anything has to be. But I'm really hoping we can keep it. I've always admired ensemble pieces where each character has individual relationships with all the other characters, so I'm trying to develop the ones between my ensemble here as much as I can.
Day #12 - "Something Amiss"
From Mrs. Frost
By Phoebe Roberts
MARY STONE, Mrs. Hawking's housemaid and assistant, mid twenties
NATHANIEL HAWKING, Mrs. Hawking's nephew and assistant, early thirties
CLARA HAWKING, a society lady, his wife, mid thirties
London, England, 1886
~~~
(They kiss. MARY enters.)
MARY: Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Hawking.
NATHANIEL: Good morning.
CLARA: Mary. It’s you.
MARY: Madge showed me in, if you please.
CLARA: Are you on a case this evening, then?
NATHANIEL: Yes, but late tonight. After dinner. And Reggie’s poem.
CLARA: Of course. Well, I’ll be on my way then. Good luck, dear. Mary.
MARY: Good morning, Mrs. Hawking.
(CLARA exits.)
NATHANIEL: That was odd.
MARY: Is… something amiss? She seemed… a little cross with me, somehow.
NATHANIEL: I don’t know why she would be.
MARY: Perhaps it’s nothing. No matter, I’ve got the opals’ bill of goods from Mrs. Breyer. That way we’ll know what to look for when we go in.
NATHANIEL: The cargo’s all on the first floor, but these are small enough they might keep them locked up in the offices.
MARY: I’ll go in up there. You’ll have to take the ground floor, since you’ve already been among the men on the crew.
NATHANIEL: Are you sure? I know you’re not partial to second story work.
MARY: With that lot downstairs? Nathaniel, you could wear your cricket whites and you’d still stand a better chance of blending in than me.
NATHANIEL: (Chuckling) Fair point. So… you’re easy then?
MARY: It still feels strange. Going in without her.
NATHANIEL: It does. But… it’s only for a little while. Just until she’s past this.
MARY: When will that be? Seeing Madam Malaika the other day… that only seemed to make things worse.
NATHANIEL: I know. But it can’t go on forever. And we’ll hold things down until it comes.
We're a little concerned about how long the piece is going to turn out ot be— something we worry about every time, since we're committed to runtimes of ninety minutes. Unfortunately I think this subplot will be the first to be cut, if anything has to be. But I'm really hoping we can keep it. I've always admired ensemble pieces where each character has individual relationships with all the other characters, so I'm trying to develop the ones between my ensemble here as much as I can.
Day #12 - "Something Amiss"
From Mrs. Frost
By Phoebe Roberts
MARY STONE, Mrs. Hawking's housemaid and assistant, mid twenties
NATHANIEL HAWKING, Mrs. Hawking's nephew and assistant, early thirties
CLARA HAWKING, a society lady, his wife, mid thirties
London, England, 1886
~~~
(They kiss. MARY enters.)
MARY: Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Hawking.
NATHANIEL: Good morning.
CLARA: Mary. It’s you.
MARY: Madge showed me in, if you please.
CLARA: Are you on a case this evening, then?
NATHANIEL: Yes, but late tonight. After dinner. And Reggie’s poem.
CLARA: Of course. Well, I’ll be on my way then. Good luck, dear. Mary.
MARY: Good morning, Mrs. Hawking.
(CLARA exits.)
NATHANIEL: That was odd.
MARY: Is… something amiss? She seemed… a little cross with me, somehow.
NATHANIEL: I don’t know why she would be.
MARY: Perhaps it’s nothing. No matter, I’ve got the opals’ bill of goods from Mrs. Breyer. That way we’ll know what to look for when we go in.
NATHANIEL: The cargo’s all on the first floor, but these are small enough they might keep them locked up in the offices.
MARY: I’ll go in up there. You’ll have to take the ground floor, since you’ve already been among the men on the crew.
NATHANIEL: Are you sure? I know you’re not partial to second story work.
MARY: With that lot downstairs? Nathaniel, you could wear your cricket whites and you’d still stand a better chance of blending in than me.
NATHANIEL: (Chuckling) Fair point. So… you’re easy then?
MARY: It still feels strange. Going in without her.
NATHANIEL: It does. But… it’s only for a little while. Just until she’s past this.
MARY: When will that be? Seeing Madam Malaika the other day… that only seemed to make things worse.
NATHANIEL: I know. But it can’t go on forever. And we’ll hold things down until it comes.
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