Copyright Holly Arsenault, 2013. All rights reserved. This text may not be reproduced or performed without explicit, written consent of the author.
Please direct inquiries to hollypla@gmail.com.
Undo premiered at Annex Theatre in Seattle, Washington, January 2013
ACT ONE
Scene 10 - the last fuck
RACHEL’S dressing room. There is a knock on the door.
RACHEL. Come in. (JOE enters.) Seriously?
JOE. You look so beautiful.
RACHEL. I look sad.
JOE. Well, it’s pretty much time.
RACHEL. Okay. (She starts for the door.)
JOE. Wait.
RACHEL. What?
Pause
RACHEL. Oh my god. Oh my god. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
JOE. Rachel—
RACHEL. Joe, I’m doing this whole thing for you. I don’t give a shit about this. I’m doing this for you.
JOE. I know.
RACHEL. If it were up to me, we could’ve gone to Vegas. Or done it over the internet. They have that now.
JOE. I know.
RACHEL. If you think I’m going to fuck you now, you are absolutely out of your mind.
JOE. It’s just that—
RACHEL. That’s what we did on that day. I know. Jesus! We did a lot of fucking things on that day, Joe, including, y’know, actually loving each other and being actually happy. God damn it. This whole ritual is completely fucked up.
JOE. This is how it’s done, Rachel.
RACHEL. Well it’s fucked.
JOE. Okay.
Pause
JOE. It’s not though.
RACHEL. I know.
JOE. It’s part of the agreement.
RACHEL. I know.
JOE. You can’t ask for the community’s blessing to go in but not to come out.
RACHEL. Joe! I know. God. You think you’re so much more religious than me.
JOE. I am.
RACHEL. I’m religious!
JOE. You don’t believe in God.
RACHEL. Whatever. You know what? I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not fighting with you today.
JOE. Okay.
Pause
JOE. We don’t have to do this.
RACHEL. You just said that we do.
JOE. No, I mean. We don’t have to do this. There’s still time. We could tell people to go home.
RACHEL. No, we couldn’t.
JOE. I don’t believe that this is what you really want.
RACHEL. It is.
JOE. I don’t believe it.
RACHEL. Since I’m me, and you don’t actually know me that well, I’m just going to go ahead and be the judge of what I do and don’t want. (Pause) Is your dad out there?
JOE. Yeah.
RACHEL. He okay?
JOE. I think so. I mean, no, but—
RACHEL. Did Ari bring that Melita?
JOE. Yeah.
RACHEL. What was wrong with her?
JOE. Toothy.
RACHEL. Oh. True. (Pause) Joe. The whole idea that there’s a perfect way to do this. It’s ridiculous. You can’t clean this up.
JOE. The point is to sanctify the dissolution.
RACHEL. I know, I’m just saying. Sanctity is one thing. But it’s going to take time. Don’t expect yourself to feel it right away.
JOE. Did you feel it right away? After? Before, I mean.
RACHEL. (Pause) No.
Long pause. They look at each other. Eventually, she reaches over and kisses his neck. They begin having sex in their wedding clothes. Fade to a spot on THE BOY.
SCENE 11 – the boy with the glass
We spend a moment alone with the boy, watching him work.
End of ACT I