 I'm really excited that next year's season includes a world premiere of a play that came out of last year's festival. We will be doing Nate Effler's Good Monsters next year. I need to say a few words of thanks before we get rolling. First of all, we do have a new sponsor for the New Works Festival this year. So a big thank you to National Arts Magazine for sponsoring the festival. We also have a big thank you to the National Arts Commission and the Tennessee Arts Commission. They do great work supporting the cultural life of Nashville, so I always like to say thanks to them. And I'm happy to announce that we just found out we're going to have some new funding for this festival next year. In this speech next year at this time, I'll be thanking the National and Down with the Arts. I'm really, really happy about that. I need to say a really sincere and heartfelt thank you to the National Rep staff. These guys have been working their butts off all year long. The spring has been a really, really busy time. And getting this festival rolling takes everybody working all the time. So please applaud for the National Rep staff. Last but not least, the person without whom we would not be here at all. Someone who puts her money where her heart is. She understands the importance of new work for the theater. And so a big thank you to Martha Ingram. This is why I'm going to ask you to check your cell phones. If you would, please, and make sure that they are silent. We really appreciate your not dealing with them during the reading in any way that results in a lit screen. Since that could be kind of distracting. So thank you for that. I see a lot of familiar faces, but especially for those of you out in the internet. I'm going to tell you a little bit about the program. It's a three-prong program. It has a fellowship, a lab, a season one lab, and this festival. The fellowship is one that we offer to a playwright of National Repute, whose work we admire. And that's the only criteria. And this year we were thrilled and delighted when the fellowship was accepted by Don Margalee. And we really enjoy getting a glimpse into his process when he presents what he's working on in a couple of days. We also, of course, have this festival, which is an important layering in of your response to the work that's been going on in the lab. Which Nate's going to tell us about in just a second. And your being a part of this process is really important. So thank you for being here. It's great for the playwrights to have an opportunity to have their plays read and responded to by an audience. And immediately following the reading, there will actually be a talk back as well. So we hope that you'll stick around for a few moments and have some conversation with us about the play. But to tell you a little bit more about the lab itself, I will introduce you our playwright in residence and the director of the Inger Muir's lab, Mr. Nate Eppler. Thank you so much for being here tonight. I'm Nate Eppler. I'm the director of the New Works Lab. And I'm one of five playwrights that are lucky enough to be part of this development process. Here's what I know. Nashville loves new plays. In addition to my play, they're putting time, energy, and resources behind a new play by my new BFF, Don Margalee's. And the other lab playwrights, Bianca Sands, who's sitting right there. Very clean of dust, right on the back. And the author of tonight's play, Gabriel Sinclair, who could not be with us tonight. She is watching via the internet. She is very, very pregnant. And she decided she did not want to have a baby with you here tonight. These plays were developed starting in our lab all the way back in September. Many other development programs in this country start work on a play once that play has already been written. They bring in actors after the play has been designed. We start at page zero. Our playwrights come in with just an idea or a pile of pages for the play. Like I talk about on the program note, other development programs take your kids to school and we are midwives, right? We look for playwrights that have a burning story that they have to tell, an interesting story, something that they need support to do. They come in with, like I said, just a few pages and we provide them immediately with actors and dramaturgical support. They come in each month and that play develops over time. So this play that you're going to see here tonight is brand new in the truest sense of the word. Back in October, our plays were a little bit not great and they've gotten better as it's gone, right? We've given those playwrights the thing that they need at the moment that they needed it. And the next thing that they need is your response. So I hope that you will all participate tonight after the play and giving us a little bit of feedback about the play because that is what's going to help vault this play to its next level of development. So thank you so much for being here. Without you, these plays would just be words holding hands. So I appreciate you being here tonight and I appreciate your response. Ladies and gentlemen, Showing by Gabriel Sinclair. Showing, a full-length play in one act by Gabriel Sinclair. Time, present, one day and night in mid-March, the last breeze. Place, inside and outside, a large old southern house filled with many rooms that Tracy and Justin grew up in, still furnished, a time capsule. One, lights up on Tracy, pregnant in a maternity coat. She stands outside in the pool. At lights up, we hear a lullaby. She speaks out to the audience. At this party, I am going to wear the nicest dress I ever bought. It's made from this super expensive weighted cotton empire waist singed with a little ribbon here. It's so beautiful. When I saw it, it was like it was waiting for me. It knew me. I recognized it. Gold, gold, everywhere in red, like healthy blood. And I'm going to wear gold eye shadow and a golden headband and gold shoes and gold bracelets. It's what actual pregnant goddesses would wear to their gender reveal parties. If goddesses had gender reveal parties, I look very pregnant in this dress. When I descend down the staircase, everyone will gasp. They'll say, look who it is. And Karen's going to say, you look like a star. And I'm going to twirl. And I'll take off one of my shoes to show that no, it's not actually real gold. It just looks like real gold. I'm not Cinderella, Uncle Julian, but I could be. It's going to be like, I'm going to be like a reveal. And I'll sail around the house, this house, my parents' house, this empty house, the house I grew up in, like a golden ship. And every snack we serve will have meaning. And everyone, everyone will touch my belly and hold their hands to it and bless it. And they'll talk to the baby through their hands and through me. And they'll say all the things they wish for it. Everything that's good and everyone will be shared with this little boy or little girl who weighs less than a pound of flour through their hands and through me. Lights fries on Leanne. She is dressed for running in cold weather. She looks pregnant. And then we'll take out the cake. The cake? The beautiful cake. And we'll all be together and we'll gather around and we'll take a deep breath all together. And we'll cut into it with a great big knife. And this baby in me, when I cut into the cake, it'll feel it. It'll know. Not pain, but like a cradle. And right then it'll transform from an it, from potential to a he or she consciousness. A soul. It'll be like sacred, not a dream, real. And I'll be a mom, a good one, transformed. And I'm not worried. I'm not worried at all because that's when the baby and me will connect. And I'll finally feel it start to move. And there's no need to worry. I'm not. I said I'm not. Even if the cake is a disaster, it's good. It's going to be a disaster? What do you mean? At Ashley's gender reveal party, she had a souffle. And when she cut into it, it deflated into nothingness and made a small weep. And Michelle and Michael somehow lost their cake and had to pass the phone around for the guy at the Publix to tell everyone. Oh, and Emma tried to just release pink balloons and one popped and now Denise is a little bit blind. Oh, and Polly's cake was filled with black icing because the guy at Kroger was a Satanist because they don't screen those people. And he channeled his rage into the cream. And then Kate's cake looked like a placenta, but they got through it because the main thing, you are pregnant and that's what counts. My cake is being delivered here soon. It's white and safe, gender neutral. I'll feel it when it gets here. I'll feel it arrive. I can't wait to feel connected to people. I know you wish your mom was here to do the party, but I'm doing my very best. You're my best friend. And you know what they say, your mom never really left. Don't tell anyone. Well, there's no need to worry because I have a plan. You do? I do. It's an unfixable feeling. It's part of my co-hosting duty to make this amazing and solve your unfixable problem. What is it? What's the plan? It's not a what. It's a who. A who? Who? It's a surprise. A surprise? Yep. I have been planning it for a while. I can't feel my hands. Just a second. But it's freezing. I just want to be outside first. Then we go inside. I've got run mommy run. We can't go inside just yet. Why not? Justin has the key. Your brother locked you out of your own house. He's mad. I'm going to talk to him. We're going to talk. I mean, it's been six months since Tracy. I've got to go. I'll be late if I don't run. Please. You begged me to be here when you went into this house, but your brother- He's renting out the house. Well, that's inevitable, isn't it? He's clearing it out. That's standard. He's doing it tomorrow. Tomorrow? Why? I don't know. But today is the last day. The only day. Last chance. I told him the party has to be here. It has to be today. And he said, okay. You see? Leanne, you promised. Is this because of what he said to you in eighth grade? I don't know what you're talking about. No one thinks you have dead cat eyes, Leanne. Your brother has no effect on me. They quiet at the sound of his feet in the gravel. Leanne turns away. Justin carries a satchel and a clipboard. Wears a fluorescent yellow vest that reads emergency management. His phone rings. He answers. Hi, Justin. How are you? Justin disappears behind the house. Talk to Justin alone. It's fine. But then afterward, I look down and it's like my body is covered in little cuts. Leanne lifts her shirt and adjusts her pregnancy belly, which we see is fake. I'm going to run mommy run. I can't miss a day. But Leanne, you already- You are pregnant. Please don't be negative. Tracy. I'm not. Please don't go. You know what I read. I read that when you are pregnant, every single thought you have, big or small, positive and especially negative, leaks into your baby. Every baby. Even babies that don't happen to exist yet. And just because a baby doesn't exist yet doesn't mean it isn't real or that it can't get hurt. And don't tell Justin. I know. I won't be me alone. You are never alone when you are pregnant. Leanne? So he's leaving after he lets you in? Until the party. But there's going to be so many people here. You won't even see them. Okay. Fine. I have started a plan. It's already in motion. I can't stop now. I am coming back. Leanne? I said I am coming back. She jogs away past Justin, still on the phone. He watches her go. Yep. Looks that way. I'd say by eight. It's a big one. So assault the roads, kit distribution, hospital watch, meeting curfew. Wait. What? Sure. Where at? Jeff, is that necessary that I am the one that... I told you I'm tying up. All right. Got it. We'll do it. Jeff, you can handle it. I have faith in you. He hates that. I hate that guy. But he knows how to stop it. Tracy, what do disasters do? They happen. And what is the only thing we can do? Prepare how we react. Prepare how we react. So you're with child. Yes. Hey, Justin. You don't look like you're with child. Thanks. How are you? Ready to go in. Check it. Save and sound. Get going. Move on. I got to train some part-time kid before the storm, so in and out for Justin. You shouldn't be outside. The city is about to be under ice. Branches are going to fall. Cars will slide. Generators will explode. Or you, a woman with child, could simply fall. Should I write this down? Do you want to hear about the dress I got for the party? I don't know how to respond to that. Is this really nice, weighted? Your face is red. Where's the darn key? It's red because I'm glowing. Because I'm pregnant. With child. Justin gets a text on a different phone. How many phones do you need? Six. I need six phones. One goes to the mayor of this very town. How far along are you? Four and a half months. So any time now? Babies are born at nine months. Not sick ones. Justin? What? Can we just... Tracy, I'm here to let you in the house. And then you're coming to my party today. I work for the city as intern emergency management director before I go back to Florida. And tonight there's an ice storm. Do you know what that means? I wouldn't have to have the party today if you weren't packing everything up. You're sure you're a child? Yes, God! Sometimes you think you're something you aren't. Like that time you thought you were Jewish. Or a dragon. You thought you were a fireman. And I became a fireman. I'd still be a fireman if someone hadn't wandered away when mom needed her at the end. You know that's not what happened. One thing you do and you couldn't do it. One thing, uno. Saw something shiny and wandered away. If we could just... Are you feeling bubbles? What? Bubbles. Bubbles? They're called bubbles. Rachelle felt bubbles with Kenley in her womb. A womb bubbles. Yeah. Yeah, I feel womb bubbles all the time. How is Rachelle? The last time I talked to Rachelle she missed me so much she cried. Oh! Good. Justin puts in the key and stops. Quiet at the door. Brother and sister. It's sort of nice to just be here. See those two pecan trees all alone? The trees? You see that? You know what ice does? Ice makes tree branches fall in houses. That's called gravity. Justin unlocks the door. They enter. A large living room. All the furniture covered in sheets. Doors leading to different rooms. It's eerie. Quiet. Home, sweet home. Justin approaches an unopened door. Don't go in there. Did you put all those smelly candles in your room or was it mom? She wouldn't tell me. Just leave it closed. She opens the door. Stop! He returns with a scented candle. I came home and it's jam-packed with scented candles. Christmas time and grass and chocolate chip cookies and vanilla. Unlit wax. It sounds like mom. She takes the candle from him, returns it to the room, comes back, closes the door. Don't open the door. Why not? You'll let them out. What, bugs? Memories. Memories. Can we just talk about it? You should work on your mom's shit before you become one. Before I become a mom's shit? I'm sure there's a class at the hospital for that. They have classes for everything. Rachelle took a class in giving birth and standing water. You don't have to pack everything up tomorrow. You don't have to have your party here. You could have your party at Cracker Barrel. Lots of people have parties at Cracker Barrel. There's something I have to do here before the end, before tomorrow. And I'm not packing anything up. Movers are packing everything up. Movers are the greatest invention. They take everything and they wrap it up no matter what it is and then they put that stuff in boxes. And those boxes go in bags. And you don't have to touch anything and they ship it off. Where? To the moon or burn it up. Gone. Everything's just getting thrown away? Why is this oven still here? Remember when it blew up the first time? No. I was eleven. You were what, six? It was right after Maggie, remember? No. How did that even happen? If you aren't going to be at the party, do you want to... What? Bless the baby. The oven is the great big broken heart of the house. You can't rent it out until it's fixed. I'll have the kid come by and get the branches down. I'll fix the oven. Are you sure you're with child? Please stop saying... Justin's phone rings. Yeah. Yeah, Jeff. I'm on my way. The guy's going to come here to take care of the tree. Don't traumatize him. I'm coming back. I'll be done by the time your party starts. I just wanted to talk about it. You just want to talk about it? Yes. Tracy's phone rings. It's probably the baker. They didn't have the cake I exactly wanted but I'm flexible. I go with the flow. Versatile, open-minded, like all great moms. It's going to hang on. Hello? Hello? Oh, hi, doctor. How are you? I'm actually waiting on my cake. Sorry? She steps away from Justin. No, sorry. You missed something up. Make something up. I talked with a nurse right after the sonnet. No, y'all counted the spines. Remember, I was there. I saw you count them. Sure. Sure. Okay, sure. Great. A follow-up test. Stage two, sonogram, no problem. Probabilities. Monday. A great. You have a great weekend too. Tracy hangs up. You know turtle tanks? What? I said, have you ever seen a turtle tank? I don't know. I got Kenley a water turtle when she turned six, when he turned six. They're like little dinosaurs. He immediately tried to put it in his mouth. You've got to be careful. Weeks and weeks and weeks can go by and that tank looks awesome. Crystal clear. It's only when you stick your finger in there, reach for a rock, start it up. It gets dark fast. All that sludge you never saw, it rises up. And you see just how foul it always was. Toxic waste. But if you don't touch it, just let it keep on its own. It's fine. I mean, it's not fine. But it's manageable. You get what I'm saying? About not talking about things? His phone rings. He answers as he exits. Yeah, Jeff. He's gone. She's alone. Tracy takes her baby sonogram out of her bag, hugs it and sticks it to the refrigerator. Lights change. Two. Time passes. Leanne enters the house, returning from the run. Hola! I picked up that special thing for your thing tonight and it's in the car and... Tracy instinctively rushes Leanne, throws her arms around her, hugs her hard with a whimper. Hey. Whoa. Watch the bump. I'm really sweaty. Those mommies can really run. I don't want to give anything away. But do you like whimsical and spacey and futury and fun and meaningful and sort of Greek and strange in a way just like you? Yes. Yes, you do. And I will get you started chopping and then I will... Are you okay? Tracy. I'm really glad to see you. Horrible. Tracy releases Leanne. Ah, yeah. I've been crying a lot too. But there's just something about pregnant women crying. It just seems so false, don't you think? Leanne sets the groceries on the kitchen table. Tracy takes out celery, baby carrots, apples, oranges, bananas, pudding mix, a pineapple. Where's the cake? It's on the way. I'll feel it when it comes. Leanne passes Tracy the carrots. Baby carrots! Rinse. They chop. Quiz online? If you were able to meet your baby from the future, what would you want to say? What? I'm just wondering. Enter Justin. He still wears his fluorescent yellow vest that reads emergency services. They have flares at him throughout the scene. I'm back. Guy's going to be out front looking at the tree cutting down the branch. Where's mom's emergency preparedness kit? Alion, how are you? Hi, Justin. How's Drew? Sometimes I turn a corner in the house and I forget he's there and then I see him and then I scream. Good, good. Justin exits. He's still here. He came back. He looks so much like Drew. It just freaks me out. I said so when you married him. Leanne shakes it off. She opens the pudding mix box. Yeah. Pouring the pudding mix into a bowl. Every event should have banana pudding. How does it relate to babies? Because it's being eaten at a gender-revealed party. But there's an expectation. Remember what I said? People have an expectation. No. There is not an expectation. Everything has to have. Banana pudding just tastes better when you know what it means, okay? I've eaten so much banana pudding and without meaning it has always been banana pudding sitting on a table. And tonight, if I were a guest tonight and there's no explanation, I'd wonder, is that food? Is that decoration? Is it a trap? Is it a dream? Am I at the right party? Am I being watched? It's important to me that we do this right, okay? It will be a disaster if the banana pudding does not have meaning. I've gone Monday for a follow-up thing. Why? Genetics, blood, face to, it's standard. The house creaks, only heard by Tracy. The noise grows as she continues. I am an innately trusting person. All great moms, I'm looking forward to it. It's fine. Do you hear that? The creaking grows. Okay. Well, how's this? The pudding is the sea of being. And the bananas are the little souls floating around in the sea of being before they are scooped up for life and the Nila wafers are their rafts. And the ladle is the monster in the sky who decides who gets to be born. How's that? Is that good? The creaking stops, but that's really good. Good. They chop and mush, Justin returns. Is it under something? Is what under something? The house's emergency preparedness kit. It's big and heavy and solid and black. I know what it looks like. It rolls and it's full of food and flares and flashlights and a terrific first-aid kit, including bandages and saps and scissors and more. It's got not one weather radio, but two. It weighs 50 pounds, it's about this size, the size of a curled up Puma. I gave it to her for her birthday. It's effing beautiful. I haven't seen it. Where's yours? I'm foregoing use of it this year. Are you being a joker? No, I'm not being a joker. Where's your weather radio? I lost it. Jesus, do you lose everything? Yes. Justin exits. The door shuts behind him. A phone boots, a text. He takes out his blue phone from his pocket, likes of the magic. The phone does not text often. He's gone. I have windows and eyeballs. Leanne lingers after Justin. Are you okay? You know how your uterus is when it's stretching? Like it's being stabbed? Stabbed. What is it about your brother? Oh, crap. I got to go check on your surprise in the car. What? I left the windows open. Pregnancy brain. The windows? I'm staying here tonight, right? So I got to shower and change. Sure. Are you okay? Of course. It is just dangerous to leave something so fragile. The cold and rain. She bumps into Justin on the way out and is gone. He is mesmerized by a text on his big, cracked blue phone. He's smiling, sighs with relief at the text before carefully putting her way in his pocket and removing his fluorescent yellow vest that reads emergency services. Three. The door closes behind Justin. He drops a large, rolling hard case unceremoniously on the floor, scaring Tracy. Boom! Jesus, Justin! There are vegetables on the porch. That's how you get ants. What is that? I'll give you one million guesses. I don't need that. Yes, you do. You're having a tea party in an ice storm. It's a little incomplete, but it'll do. Now, if you'll move, I am fixing the other. Why? Justin has his toolbox. Sets up at the oven. He is smiling. Don't you need to, like, help the city with the emergency? Your job? Are you smiling? What if I am? It's weird. It seems wrong. You don't smile. Why are you smiling? Because I quit. You what? I quit. Guess what? What? Rachelle. Remember my wife, Rachelle? She texted me. She misses me. I'm going to call her at eight. We're going to talk about me going home. Kenley, make plans, everything. You quit your job? You quit your job? I did. Just now? Well, they don't know yet. I'm just not going to go back. What are you going to fall back on? Rachelle and Kenley and Florida. I don't know what to... I mean, what? Justin takes the batteries out of each of his phones, places them on the kitchen table. Turns out I'm a free spirit. He plugs in the Rachelle phone into the wall. Keep that safe. No matter what, this is literally the only thing that matters to me is this phone. And don't go outside again today. It's just not safe. Just because I get branches down doesn't mean anyone else will on this street. You're making no sense. I was responsible for clearing the street and that's not going to happen, so don't go outside. Justin, shouldn't you... Hey, listen. I was a little hard on you before. I know you're doing your best. I just want to go home, you know? Rachelle and the kid really need me back there. You understand? No. This is a little more than I can handle. I need you to do one thing. Fill up the water to put in the freezer. There are jugs under the sink. At least five, okay? You think you can handle that? You can handle that. Wait, are you leaving? No, you didn't. You weren't listening. Where? My family. They need me. Your family needs you. Yeah, I did my job here. Mom was not alone. I handled her will, her estate, her funeral. But... And once I fix the oven, it'll be done. This situation will be as done as it is going to be. The oven's unfixable. I can fix it. No one ever really tried. It's cursed. It'll explode. It always explodes. You fix everything else in this place. The siding, the pipes, the porch, the paint. It won't matter if the oven's not right. It'll always be a broken house, but I can do it, right? And you can fill up those water bottles, right? When the pipes freeze, you want your party friends to have water, right? So you'll fill the water bottles. Don't you want me to be happy? I'll fill the water bottles. It'll be good to fix the oven. I'm talking to Rochelle tonight and making plans to head back. And it'll all be good. We'll take something. How's that? Okay. I just don't want to feel alone anymore, you know? And I want to fix this unfixable thing. There's knocking at the door. Tracy opens it. Evan, he wears a baseball cap. He holds a chainsaw. It's almost as big as he is. Oh, there he is. The tree man himself. You know what you're here for? Uh, the tree. Yeah, you're taking down the overhanging branches. What's your name? Evan. Evan, right. You big enough to reach? Uh, I brought a ladder. Brought a ladder? Good. I'm gonna get the toolbox. Teresa, don't traumatize him. Justin exits. Tracy and Evan watch each other. Awkward. Um, hey, it's you. It's me. Do you remember me? You remember me? Yeah, how are you? I'm good. How are you? Good. Teresa. Tracy. Kevin. Evan. Evan. We, uh... Yeah, I remember. We, um, connected. Yeah, Halloween. Halloween. Hmm. You work for the city? I'm a jack of all trades. You work for my brother? That's your brother? Yeah. Well, I mostly work at the trophy shop. Uh, I make trophies and plaques. And then sometimes when there is an emergency, I part time. I'm kind of a drifter. Uh, I'm like a carol act figure. At the party, we talked about... We talked about everything. Hey. He picks up a white cake box off the porch. Is this... Oh, my God. She takes the cake box gently. Oh, my God. Thank you. It was just sitting out here. I didn't even know. It's just been sitting out there all by itself. Oh, God. I didn't even know. I didn't even happen. Sorry to be weird. It's just really important to me. I have been looking forward to meeting it. And here it is. You saved it. Meeting the cake? Yeah. I hope it was okay out in the cold. It looks okay. It looks good. Do you think so? Be honest. It's iconic. So... Tracy holds the cake close to her. You said you work at the trophy shop? Yeah. It's a place for winners. You make trophies. Plaques. A lot of plaques. All kinds. People love plaques. I go with the flow. I move where the wind takes me. Life is ephemeral. Transience. So, you know, my place is... Well, you saw it. I didn't think I'd see you again. I'm sorry I had to go. You disappeared. It was like a dream. I'm sorry. You look really different. You too. You're good different. Not that you looked, but just different without the green. Yeah, and you're not as expansive. That muscle suit? And that was a muscle suit. It was really realistic. You have really big eyes. I mean, house. You have a really big house. I bet you get lost here all the time. I need a map to find the bathroom. What's in here? He touches the door to the candle room. She stops him. Oh, I'm sorry. It smells like church. My mom, she was kind of a hoarder. It was my bedroom, but now it's the candle room. My mom likes candles, too. I'm just having a party. Who are you, mom? No. So, hey, I just went to that Halloween party because I didn't... It had been a long bad day. My friend, Leanne, said it'd be fun. I just didn't want to be alone for a couple of hours. Usually at those things, I go straight to the snack table and pretend I'm hanging out with the snacks. Like, hello there, Mr. Dip. Well, how have you been, Miss Keesh? And then you were there, and it wasn't quite so alone. It's funny. It was weird when you came in, like I... Never mind. Anyway, nothing. This is a gender reveal party for a baby. What's a gender reveal party? Well, when you're half pregnant, they take an ultrasound and see the baby in your belly. You could see a baby? Yeah, it's got see-through skin. Oh, my God. Creepy. Babies give me the wibblies. Yeah. So, they see the baby, and they can see the gender, well, the sex, and so you take that info and an envelope to a baker, and that baker gives you a cake with either blue or pink icing inside. Then you endow the cake with friendship and love and cut into it in front of your family and friends, and then everyone knows and everybody's together. People do that? I'm doing it. Why? Oh! Yeah. Because you're... Oh! Oh! A whipchild. Well, hey, congratulations. Thanks. That's great. That's a big deal. You should get an award. Is your husband here? I'm not married. Oh, really? Oh, hey, cool. That's great. So, how far along are you? Um, let me think. It happened... It happened on October 31st, so what does that make it? Weird. That's funny. That's when we... Connected. Oh, wow. So, that's... Conception. Okay. Parties. Do you know what I mean by, I don't really go to a lot of parties? Right. No. I was going to tell you, but I didn't have your number or know your name. I knew that. I know you deserve to know. Now I know. Evan. Tricey. I... So... Really was. Your... Yeah. And I'm... Hold it if you want. Just be careful, because it's fragile. Be sure and hold the base. I told you, I guess, because... Not just because you deserved to know, but because you were the last person I really connected with before I stopped connecting with people, with anyone. See, my mom, ever since she... I feel disconnected, like I'm missing some connective tissue. I haven't even seen these people who are coming to this thing tonight since... See, I didn't go to the... Funeral... And see, now it's like how the universe is expanding and there are stars and they're moving so far away from each other they forget there was a time that they weren't alone, but because... See, there's other stuff in space, dust particles, trash, not that you're space trash. I just want to connect. Are you all right? Did you just die? You know what? I totally get it. It's okay. Really, we can pretend. Let's pretend. We didn't have this conversation. I'm a father. Well, well, in the future. I am a father. There's a child in you who is mine. Yeah, I mean, right now it's a fetus. That's why I have a cake to make it transition. Is it a boy? Is it a girl? That's what the cake is here to tell us. I'm responsible for the well-being of a life. You don't own it or anything. I mean, I'm growing it. You invested your seed. It finally happened. Today is the day. It's finally time. Time for what? It's go time. Go time? I need to go. I have to... Yes, yes. I understand. Of course. Totally. It's a lot. Don't worry. Definitely. Do you want to pee first? No, no, no. I need to... I will. I'm sorry. I have to leave now. What time is it? 12.15? It's go time. All right. Well, great to read. Good night. Well, bye. All right then. He almost hugs her and hugs his chainsaw instead. Tracy. Tracy. Bye, Tracy. He lays his hand on top of the cake box in her hands. This is a really wonderful cake. He leaves, closing the door behind him, leaving Tracy confused. Leanne opens the door and sneaks past Tracy with a woman. In the kitchen, a gas stove top ticks fast. Four, lights up on the kitchen as Justin slams his hat on the stove, silencing the ticking. Leanne hides Cheryl, a young actress carrying a large bag in the bathroom. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you. Are you kidding me? You are a huge get. So no one uses this bathroom. You can fall in here. Drop in. Drop in. Sorry. I meant drop in. That's all right. It's Acralingo. So I'm good to drop in here. Absolutely. I'm sorry. It's so small. Oh, no. I love it. It's great. It's like a womb where I can gestate into character. Oh, man. I am super excited to do this. I did a similar interactive piece at the Grand Opening Gala for the zoo. I was a Chico and Picari. They've since gone extinct. That's awesome. Well, it's really kind of you. Of course. And your level of talent, I mean. But it's huge. You're a huge get. Cheryl straps on her silver pants. Her silver pants. Suspenders. How's this? Fabulous. I'm glad I still have this costume from the production of Silver Space Girl. You were really good in that. Thanks. I was a super fun show to work on. Cheryl tucks her hair under a silver swim cap. So I will bring you out with a signal. The signal is, it's time to cut the cake. It's time to cut the cake. It's time to cut the cake. And I'm time traveler. Yes, exactly. I created a character bio and some assorted lines of dialogue. They're oblique. But open in this way I think will apply to any situation as my character. I hope that's all right. That's fantastic. Check this out. One day in the future there's just silence. One day in the future they hand out all the answers. How's that? Revelations but a militant. I must be very focused and accomplished to have successfully conquered time travel. Love it. I spread silver makeup over her face. Or I've been in a space prison and they use space prisoners for tests. That's possible too. Sure. From both babies? Maybe both. The important thing is that you're here. And my character's name again is. Genderless baby from the future. Genderless baby from the future. You look so good. Genderless baby from the future. I can see that. It's not really a stretch, right? Because we live in the future now. Don't we? That's what they say. That's why nothing new ever happens. Plus I have a mother. And not long ago I was a baby. And what is gender really? That one's tricky. I'll work on losing my gender first. Oh Cheryl, you are such a professional. I just can't stand it. I just want to transform. And I'm visiting Tracy. Yeah, do you remember what she looks like? You said she's pregnant and has kind of wild eyes and veers between transcendentally positive and uncomfortably introverted and worried. Yeah. So the key is to just let her say whatever she needs to say to put her mind at ease to just be there. Being there can be harder than it sounds. Well it's for fun. It's a happening. Cheryl takes out a helmet. It's silver, a bit warm. This is my helmet. It is lovely. I know it's just a helmet, but if it's all right by you, I'm not going to put it on until the show begins. If you really concentrate, if I really concentrate, I can transform. So please don't make me take it off, take the helmet off once I put it on. Whatever you want. It's just starring. Does that make sense to my instrument? Absolutely makes sense. And I should tell you so you aren't surprised. That's incredible. At some point I will literally be Tracy's genderless baby from the future. I'm not sure I'm the greatest actress who ever lived, but I do know that. And that is what separates professionals from amateurs. So I've actually got to get the decoration done. It's like an explosion. I mean my whole body tightens and then release. So transformative. So connected. I hear an egg timer and then it's gone. And the worst part, the worst part when it leaves, there's this terrible emptiness after. That's why we go to school for the craft. For after, for the emptiness. You're good to fall in here. And you're pregnant too? Leanne stops. She closes the door. Me? I am. Am I even showing? I didn't even think I looked pregnant. Oh you're glowing. Oh really? Thank you. I have my gender reveal party. Tracy's going to throw it for me. And when I hold my baby, I'm going to sing to it. And rock it. I think that's what I'm looking forward to the most. Cheryl has sat with her helmet and closed her eyes. She really exits the bathroom. Cheryl quietly focuses on her helmet. Leanne passes Justin who is working on the oven. They give each other a look. She sidesteps around him. Tracy has been watching out the window after Evan. She now heads toward the kitchen with her cake. Runs into Leanne. Oh there she is. Okay I'm just going to grab the decorations and you are going to love what I got. But is that what I think it is? It arrived? It's here. Tracy! It's just Canvas. You can put anything on this little cake. And it will become it. It's pure potential. How do you feel? I feel a little sick. Like I'm in love with someone I don't even know. That is beautiful. When you have my gender reveal party for my baby, I want a cake just like this, okay? Of course. Leanne? Oh, oh yes. Decorations. So don't go in the bathroom by the kitchen, okay? It's broken. You are so lucky. I hope you know how lucky you are. Lights change. Leanne decorates and hums. Lights change. When they're up again the room has been transformed. Bye. Tracy a little while later in a nook in the living room, a bit hidden slash private behind a bookshelf. The living room has been transformed. It is cute, gender neutral, silver, a bit spacey. Leanne finishes hanging a banner that reads boy or girl. Checks her handiwork and exits humming. The cake now sits before her. Tracy checks. No one is watching. She glows. She rubs her hands together and for a moment craves. She practices cutting into the cake. It's cutting into it again. Oh no. You guys, the cake. Something's wrong, but we're handling it. It's not right. The cake. It's folded in on itself. Again and again, it's collapsing. It won't stop. It's becoming so small. It's sparking. The cake is dancing. Gruesome. It's running away. It's coming back and it's not blue or pink. It's every color. It's every gender. It has teeth and a tongue. It's working over everything. Look out. Something different about him. He enters. Sorry. I came back. He hugs her and doesn't. He hugs his backpack instead. Are you visiting with our cake? No. Well, yes. Just practicing. I'm just going to put it up. No, wait. Did you find out if it's a boy cake or a girl cake? Not yet. I'm glad you came back. You are? Yeah. There's a physical attraction between them. This close. Did you get... I think I grew two inches in the past hour. You look taller. Hey, do you remember the party? You spilled your beer on me. Twice. And I nearly fell out of my chair. And Melanie has very sturdy chairs. I don't usually do that. A lingering moment. The bag between them. What did you bring me? Evan reaches deep into the bag and claps. Okay. I would like to present this plaque to you, Tracy. Tracy... Fairman. Tracy Fairman. He passes it to her. As a token of our great appreciation and for all your hard work and pregnancy. Before. Never. You're a virgin. I mean, no, that's wrong. I didn't have time to get much special inscribes, but it's full of meaning on its own. A plaque. Well, it's technically a little league plaque. See, that little girl with the ponytail swinging the bat, well, that's the baby. Because it's okay if the baby's a girl. It's okay if it's a boy, too. But if it's a boy, then the little girl on the plaque is you. Because you're, well, going to bat. I mean, well, it's you anyway. It can be more than one thing. She holds the plaque, folks. I really like it. The baby will, too. You do? You really like this plaque? I really do. I'm going to hang it up. Because it's also... It's also... He kneels down and holds up the plaque. It's also an engagement ring. Outside, three fire trucks drive down the street, alarms flaring, horns honking repeatedly. It is loud. It is consecutive. Excuse me? It's also an engagement ring? What? The fire trucks have passed. Quiet. No, we don't know each other very well. I don't know your last name. It's Williams. We don't... I know, but you're pregnant. I'm here. We waited long enough. Will you marry me? Another fire truck barrels down the street. Is that wrong? Do you feel that? What? No. See, my dad, when my mom got pregnant, they got married. Who are you talking to? And he said it was the honorable thing to do. I feel like you aren't talking to me. I mean, this isn't my decision. I'm not qualified. If it were up to me, I'd say, I mean, they weren't happy, but... You were so close. Just like one minute ago. We were close. See, I don't know what's happening to me, but something is happening to me. I'm changing. I'm growing. I'm stretching fast. It hurts almost. Adulthood. But then you told me. And then I walked to the car and drove to the trophy shop. And by the time that they'd laser the lines in the girl's ponytail, something is happening to me. And you're here with me, and... I'm not just a pregnant person, Evan. No. I'm gonna finish cutting down those branches. I'm gonna cut down all the branches, okay? You don't need to. I'm not your boss. I never asked you to. But I'm a father now. I'm a dad. It's like you're 500 feet away. I'm trying to do the right thing so I can stay. I have to get ready for the party. Just... Think about what I said. And forget it, too, but think about it. Tracy watches him exit. She goes to the kitchen where Justin is half inside the oven. Justin? Don't bother me right now. Tracy lingers, then leaves. Here's something falling in the bathroom. She knocks on the door. Cheryl reacts. She pushes her hair in her face to cover her silver makeup. Sticks her face out the door. Yes? Oh, hi. Hi. Sorry. Hello. Are you here for the party? Are we related? Sorry, I have such a big family. Oh, no, sorry. I'm just afraid of Leigh Ann. I helped her bring in the sandwiches. That was nice of you. Yeah. I'm pregnant. Oh, do you need the bathroom? You look pregnant. I do. I'm feeling a lot of bubbles. Wombubbles. I bet. Right now, it's those bubbles that float to the surface, but sometimes it's bubbles like from a bubble wand floating away in the air, those really big ones that catch the light with the little rainbows inside. Oh, wow. Yeah. Sometimes it's actually really uncomfortable, but it's reassuring. That's intense. It is really intense. It's intense being so alive all the time. I'm going to go upstairs and get ready. Oh, it was nice to meet you. You too. That bathroom doesn't work, by the way, just in case you needed to know. Oh, all right. Thank you. Tracy returns up the stairs. They watch each other as she does. Cheryl closes the door all the way. She tucks her hair back under her silver swim cap. Justin, in the kitchen. I think I got it. I think that's it. Go, Justin. Go, Justin. And now, all we need is a match. He checks his old kit. No matches. Hey, Tracy, where are the matches? Never mind. They're probably in the bathroom. He stands up and heads to the bathroom and opens the door. Cheryl bowed in her silver swim cap and silver face. Oh, hey, buddy. He closes the door. Sorry, bro. Are you okay in there? I just got to get in real quick. Justin opens back up the door. Yeah, just need the matches. He scoots past her to the drawers. So you're one of Tracy's artistic friends. I just need to get a match. Justin searches the drawers in the old bathroom for matches. I'm just fixing the oven. It's a GE XL 44. You know those? It's a bitch. But hey, once I fix the oven, I get to go home. That's what my wife said. I haven't been home in months, so we just got to find the matches and it'll all be gravy. I kind of scared him a little bit. Overreacted a couple times. You know, I'm a man. Can't help that. I keep it contained most of the time and 99.99% of the time this shit stays contained. You know how it is. It doesn't take much for your wife to want you to leave. Oh, hey, here they are, matches. Hey, uh, don't go outside. All right, it's dangerous. The ice storm's about to start. Justin disappears from the bathroom. The ice storm begins. Seven. The ice storm is loud. Hail, rain on the roof, on the cars outside. Leanne, now dressed for the party in a cute skirt and cardigan combo paired with her baby belly, dies. She speaks in a little more secret. Urgent. She paces. Hi. Can you say it, Leanne? Hey, this is Leanne. Tracy's friend. So you and I have talked about the plan for Tracy's party. Right. You have your quote to read. Do you still have it? Great. And we'll be making the tunnel for her to run under on the way to her cake. We'll meet her baby from the future. We'll embrace her and whisper kindness. And so you're on your way because Tracy is so excited to see y'all. And she's making her an entrance any second now. Well, I know it is a bit slippery out there. They are overselling it on the news. It just looks like no one else is going to be able to make it. Here I come. Leanne hangs up her phone. Crap. Tracy at the top of the stairs takes a deep breath, cleansing. She nods to herself and turns on the stereo. It plays the perfect descending from the stairs song. The ice turn continues as it plays. She descends in her beautiful red and golden dress, gold shoes, eye shadow, headband, bracelet. Tracy reaches the bottom of the stairs. Only Leanne is there. Tracy is feeding. Oh, look who it is. Who on earth are they about to jump out? Is it a surprise? Tracy. What? The storm winds blow louder. What about it? It's a big one. So? So some people aren't coming. Who? Everyone. Well, Aunt Levan's coming. Kara and RSVP'd. She RSVP'd. They would be here if they could. So it was a joke to RSVP. They want to be here. No, they don't. They said so. It's not a big deal. Where are they coming? It's dangerous to drive. They wouldn't come. No, that is not. They are old people. They wouldn't come if it was the best weather ever. You know that that is not true. It's because I'm not married? No. It's because of what happened with mom? There is an ice storm. They don't like me. Tracy. Come on. Tations. A blessing ceremony for baby fairies. Far away. There is ice. The phone in dials. That is not what I said. Tracy. Why? It's so stupid. All this is so dumb. Oh, my God. Tracy, you're shaking. The phone picks up. Aunt Levan, you aren't coming to my party. Why, when you come to my party, it's just raining. Tracy, it's frozen. Don't you get that this is important? This matters. Why doesn't this matter to you? Do you not care about this baby at all? She hangs up. They were going to put their hands on my belly. To say a blessing through their hands, through me, we were going to connect. Well, we can have a party without them. We can pretend. Here, I can say a blessing. Just let me. Leanne reaches out to touch Tracy's belly. Tracy flinches, steps back. We can't pretend everything, Leanne. But it's the shape of it. It's not who's here. I know that this is hard to do without your mom. But this is a real thing that's happening to me. That's something to me too, Tracy. Look, hey, it's not a disaster if we are both here. I'm here, and we're two pregnant women having a party. Here, here, here. There's the cake. Here it is. I still have my plan, and you are going to love it. So let me just. Oh, my God. Can you just stop? What? Nothing, what? Nothing, what? I'm just actually pregnant? I'm aware. I'm actually having a physical experience. Do you know what could happen during delivery? I'm alone, and I mean, are you just making fun of me too? What? Pretending this? You? It's like a travesty? Or if it's not, if it's not a joke. What's a joke? Then something's just not quite right with you. It's kind of sad. All those girls at those parties, they're just laughing. Those run mommy run mommies were running away from you. Tracy steps toward her. Because I guess your life's just a big lie, isn't it? Right, right? I mean, Christ, you're strapping a fake baby belly to your stomach and walking around, running around. What is that? What do you think that is? You know I'm in process. You thought if you executed this correctly, you would get pregnant? Do you know how babies are made? Why? Are you just doing this? Keep you from seeing how hollow and empty your lip is? Leanne picks up the cake. Can you feel it kicking? Do you feel bubbles? What's that like, feeling bubbles in a plastic womb? It's time to cut the cake. Leanne exits. As if her words trigger it, time seems to slow. In the bathroom, light flows over Sharon. She moves across the bathroom toward the helmet. The ice storm picks up, louder. In the kitchen, Justin has reassembled the oven, pulls away the oven from the ball, turns on the gas, pushes back the oven as Evan enters. The opening door lets in a great, terrible dust of blood. He closes it behind him. The end of a large branch, half inside, half out. He's covered in rain and leaves and ice. Hey, see? Please, Evan. I just brought you this because... Please, get out of my house, please. See, it's not because I said the wrong thing. I'm changing faster than I realize. See, it's not just a branch, but also... I can't... ...the Tracy. I'm a father. I don't need a father, Evan. I don't need anyone. Please get out of my house. But no, I said the wrong thing. It's not just... It's practical. What I'm really trying to say is that I... Outside a branch falls loud over his words. In the kitchen, Justin takes out of the book of... Justin takes out the book of matches. In the bathroom, Cheryl reaches the helmet, touches it. She watches him in silence. We're family now, aren't we? Stillness. Tracy looks away. Evan reacts. In the bathroom, Cheryl lifts the helmet over her head. Justin takes out a match, ritualistically, slowly. He lights it. You're shaking. Please, I can't breathe. Just let me. I need to lie down. I can't do this right now. Get out. The door places the helmet on her head. Evan fades into shadow, fade into Tracy's panic attack. Justin, in the kitchen, lights the pilot. Inside the oven, an explosion of light and fire. It blows him back, burning his hand. Darkness. Eight. A panic attack in the dark. Sounds of fire trucks, the static, creaking, the ticking, the wind and the ice. They build until quiet. In the quiet, an emergency preparedness kit opens. A lantern is lit. It feels primal. It glows. Lights up on two people, close on the floor. Tracy's and a bean in a silver helmet. Cheryl transforms. In the kitchen, the oven glows. They are alone. Mother? Mother? I'm here. Who are you? I traveled very far to talk to you. Who are you? I'm yours. You're alive? Can I hold your hand? This is a happening. It's happening. It's not going to last. Why is your face covered? Let me see. Tracy reaches for the helmet. The time traveler stops her. Why can't I see? Are you hurt? One day in the future, it'll just be you and me. You're hurt. You poor thing. Tracy embraces Cheryl. Who reacts? What's broken in you? What's broken in you that I won't be able to fix? How did you get here? Did it happen when you were coming here? Did it happen because of me? This is a happening. This is happening. Is it because of my thoughts? The thoughts that leak? I've been trying. I can't stop thinking about it. My parents told me babies came from ovens. When I was six, my mom's belly grew so weird and big. She said it was all the flour. It makes your belly rise. She said she was making the dough. She was going to put the dough in the oven and cook it. Then my little sister was going to come out like how I did. Like how my big brother did. I thought my mom meant flowers when she said flower. I thought babies were made of flowers that you take care of and water and then put them in the oven. I imagine my mom's belly full of flowers that were growing, sprouting up. I imagine they were blue and pink and white little tulips and daisies too. Happy flowers from our backyard. My dad said we left the oven on too long. He said she burned. Sorry, I have trouble breathing sometimes. I'm hormonal. I got some flowers from our backyard. Dandelions and little purples. I wrapped them in a blanket and I sang to them and I kissed them on their little flower faces. I strapped them to my belly with my belt, hid them under my shirt. I felt their little petals on my skin and through my shirt I went to school like that a whole day. And then when I got home I put them on a pan and then I put them in the oven. I turned it on and I said a prayer. Her name was Maggie. She wipes a tear from her face. I don't believe that anymore. What happened to the oven? It burned. Did you burn too? I can't stay. Why? Why not? How did you get here? The time traveler stands, points through the window in the moonlight. Leanne passes by. Leanne? Leanne did this for me? For me? Tracy hugs her child. She exits out the back toward Leanne. Cheryl removes her helmet, gasps for air and crumbles against the other. Lights change. Nine. An outdoor space heater glows. Through the window the lights are flickering. The ice storm has passed. Leanne sits outside on the desk at the patio table. She wears her fake pregnancy belly. Sits with a bottle of wine and slips from her glass. She's been drinking for a while, watching the stars, watching the cake. Tracy exits the house, intent on thanking Leanne. She's smiling, grateful. Stands all the ways away. How you feeling, Trey? Leanne. Leanne slips her wine. I think I figured out your house. You know how my king-size bed is? The gigantic one Drew wanted? It's huge. Spacious. Luxurious. It is so big that Drew and I can be in bed together and not even know the other ones there. It's so big and so luxurious that I basically feel like totally alone in it, even when he's in bed with me and sometimes I even forget I have a husband that bed so big. That is what this house is like. I think it might be dangerous out here. I think you're right. It really is a beautiful cake. You know, I'm jealous of you, Tracy. Things just come so easy for you. You just sort of decide you want something, and it happens. Leanne takes off her pregnancy belly, sets it on the table. You know, I've read online something about these parties just being a passing fad. That they're a reflection of our generation of narcissists. Not to mention, fuel to churn the unspoken social dogma machine that preaches that only while pregnant are women their true selves. Burning chattel, wandering wombs. At our most complete, when you are entirely ruled by hormones in the mysterious state of an unborn fetus rolling around inside you, absorbing your nutrients and stealing your beauty. At least I think that's what it's in. Leanne removes from the box on the table the serving man. She points towards the cake. Now that is a cute cake, isn't it? It's clean, crisp, simple. Should I get the, oh, I am the host. Leanne drinks from her glass. What is it about babies that you just want to eat them? Why is that? They're soft and smooth and doughy like cake. Clean, chewy. Little faceless baby made of eggs and flour and milk. Don't you just want to rip it apart? It's so adorable. Bite into its flesh. Don't you just want to tear it to pieces and devour it for your very own to feel a baby inside you even if it's dissolving? I love it so. Moving, that's what Tracy says. You know what I think it needs? It needs an operation. I think it needs Aunt LaVonne. I think it needs Aunt Leanne. It needs a face. I'll just carve in a face. What do you think? Just a couple of little eyes so it can see me smiling down. I just want to know, is it a boy or is it a girl? Please don't Leanne. She violently and repeatedly stabs the cake. Fake, fake, fake, everything, everything. Please, I'm sorry. Ashley, Michelle, Pauly, Lydia, Tracy, Drew. She pushes her baby belly off the table. It lands on the floor with a thud. Especially Leanne. Don't. Leanne sits with the mess. With her serving knife she spreads out the frosting. The cake knocks it to the side. Tracy? She licks the knife, sets it down. Did you feel that? I hope you did. Are you going to cry? Leanne disappears into the night. Leanne, it's not safe. Lights change. Ten. Justin wraps his hand in a crude bandage, wincing in pain. In a separate space from Justin, Cheryl sits in the dark bathroom, holding her helmet at the weeping. Evan returns inside. He walks by with a torch. Here's her. Gently knocks on the door. Hello? Cheryl stops crying and pulls herself together. Evan opens the door. Sorry, I just heard you. You're crying. Are you alright? I'm good, thank you. Alright. Evan closes the door. He starts to walk away. The weeping returns. He opens the door. Do I know you? Think so. Can I get you something? No, I'm just coming down. You're sick? No, I'm an actress. I just did my show. Evan makes the decision. He's go time. He heads into the bathroom, pours her a water and a wax paper cup and sits. She sips. Hey, that's great. How'd it go? It was brief, but intense. I went farther than I usually go, so coming down from it hurts a little more than usual. Sorry, it's boring. Processed. It's not boring? It's just when you're full of that light, that transcendence and there's nothing like it. It's like infinity. It's like a second and it's forever and it's gone and it hurts. It hurts a lot. It's not even a real thing that I was pretending to be in. It hurts to lose it. I feel really alone. It's like getting to know someone really, really well, really fast and then they just leave. It's like falling in love and having your heart broken in the same long breath. Do you know what I mean? Like being abandoned just when you see you've got something to lose. Then there's always that chance that I'll never feel it again. That it'll never happen. I don't really control it even if I pretend I do. Are you okay? I just thought I was going to be something. I thought I really already was. I really did. I really thought that. I thought I was on my way somewhere. Direction. I like being other people. He puts his arm around her and hugs her fatherly. She instinctively starts to cry. Sorry. Hey, what's your name? Cheryl. Cheryl? I'm proud of you. Proud of me? Yeah. I really am. And I really mean that. I don't even know you. I'm sitting in a bathroom with you in someone else's house that I really shouldn't be in. But I just want you to know that there is someone who is proud of you. And that someone is me. There's something of you in everything you pretend to be. Even when you're lying, you're telling the truth. No. No way. Sip. You feel better? Yeah. You make a good dad. Yeah. Well, just sip. And sip. Wait. Let me know if you need me. And don't forget a sport. You've got integrity. In acting, we say the best thing you can be is yourself. In acting, we say, you are enough. Me? In acting, we say, if there's something you need to say, it's only going to come through clear if it's said by you. Pure, flawed, terrible, ridiculous, unfinished, messy, and articulate you. Not by who you're pretending to be. I'm enough. Sounds so easy, right? I figured it out. Let me graduate anyway. He squeezes her arm. Comforting. Lights change as he exits. Eleven. Justin. His hand crudely bandaged, turns on the generator, the lights come back on. He heads inside. The timer ticks. Justin runs his eyes with his hands now covered in soot. Fuck, what time is it? He rushes to his phone, sees it's unplugged. Shit! He plugs it in, waits for it to charge enough to turn on, turns it on. He dies. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Finally, it answers. Hey, I'm sorry. The power went out. The phone was dead. Rochelle, in silhouette emerges. In Florida. On the other line. What is it, Justin? Rochelle! Yes? Guess what? What? I'm done. I'm coming home. I finished up here. It's over. Back to life. Complete. I'll be back Monday night. I'm just leaving. They can do it without me. Rochelle? We were going to talk at eight. I know, and my phone... You have twelve phones. Six. And you know this phone is... Rochelle, it's barely after eight o'clock. Justin, Thor, it was just to... I was just going to say... I just want to say out loud... Hey, it's fine. Really, it's fine. We can talk when I get home. I love you. I don't think you should come home. Why? What's wrong? I'm just not ready to see you. I'm not prepared. Ken Lee is not prepared. That's silly. I don't want you to come home. We don't want you to come home. Come on. Don't do that. I haven't seen you all in months. I need to see you guys. It hurts. Please? Rochelle? I'm sorry. I can't talk. It's too late. She hangs up. Her silhouette fades. Rochelle? Rochelle? He hangs up. He grips the table. He frees. He wipes his eyes with his hand, leaves a trail of soot. He stands, goes to the fridge, and throws open the freezer door. It's empty. He slams it shut. Of course. Teresa! Teresa, where the fuck are you? The back door opens. Tracy carries her destroyed cake across the kitchen to the trash can. It's a little boy. Teresa. Don't call me that. Tracy. Hey, Tracy. What? Where's the water? I don't know. In the sink? The water in the jugs. The water that goes in the freezer. Oh. What about it? When were you going to do it? Soon. After the water turns off? No. Because it's off? The pipes froze. They're frozen. There's no water. I'm sorry. She moves to exit the kitchen. He stops her. Where were you? Outside. What were you doing outside? Nothing. You know what happens when pregnant women fall? I didn't fall. Jesus Christ, what is wrong with you? Nothing. Nothing? Do you even want your baby to live? She reacts, starts to exit, takes her arm towards me. Hey, look at this real quick. He opens the freezer. Stop. Do you remember me asking you? Do you think that was a dream? Please, Justin. Yes. Hold six plastic water jugs under a faucet and wait. Put a lid on them. Put them in a freezer. How fucking lazy you have to be. Let go. You know what we call you? There's a term for what you are, Tracy. I'll get your water. Christ. It's too late. What's wrong with you? What are you going to do when your baby gets sick, huh? What are you going to do when he stops breathing, cries for the first time? What are you going to do when he needs his diaper changed? Let me go, please. What are you going to do when he needs food, warmth? No. What are you going to do when he's crying and crying and crying? And no matter what, no matter what, nothing works. Nothing. And you're alone. And those cries, they're like silence, panic, nightmares. When a baby screams like that, cries out like that, it's not human. It hurts. What are you going to do, little Tracy? You know what? I know what you're going to do. Nothing. Right? Nothing. I'm right, aren't I? You're going to do nothing. You're going to wander away because that's what you do. You wander away. You give up. You don't think. You don't prepare. You don't think things through. Who do you? Tracy turns on the faucet. The water runs. The pipes didn't freeze. That's not the point. The power's on. Because I got it back on. Nothing actually happened. Why did you unplug my phone? You said the pipes froze. You said the electricity turned on. Why did you unplug my phone? I didn't unplug your phone. You knew that was Rachelle's phone. You knew that mattered to me and I missed that call. And I don't get to go home now because of you. I didn't make your wife afraid of you. It's because you're jealous. You want my phones? Take them. He throws his phones on the ground. Here. You're such an asshole. Are you crying about your cake? My marriage is ending, okay? I had a chance to fix it. To wrap things up and go home. And you. You. That's my family. Those people are my family. What is your problem now? Nothing. You're just like mom. At least I'm not just like dad. What did you say? I just wanted to... What? You wanted to what? I just wanted to have a nice party for family to be together. Well, here we are. Just know how to bring people together. Mom would be so proud. I was here with her. I lived with her. It's always the asshole at the end who's the martyr, the hero. I saw the spark fade. I saw her disconnect with your beautiful wife who dismisses you so fucking much. She misses you so fucking much. The last time she talked to you, she cried. Tracy turns off the faucet. You always show up after things are over, brother. After the end. The end happened before you got here. You needed you when I needed you. Fuck this. She exits. Justin, exhausted, closes his eyes. He slams his burn hand on the table, winces in pain, lights change. Twelve. Tracy, heading for the door, runs into Evan. There you are. What? Hey, look at me. What? You're going out of that? Yes. He blocks the door. Well, stop. I need you to look at me. Please look at me. I need to tell you. Not because you're pregnant or because I'm changing you, but just because. Please listen. Even what I say comes out as stupid. Being at that party was like being totally alone. She reaches around him to open the door. And you were like a balloon. That I floated into a sweet, sweet little balloon with a long ribbon. It was like meeting you. It was like as if a balloon came up to me in the street out of nowhere. Like it found me. And talking to you was like reaching out and taking the balloon. The ribbon of a balloon. And then for a second, transforming from the room, just a guy in the street alone and walking toward nothing with a wind that punches you in the face. Walking against the wind, but not walking toward anything. It was like going from that to a man who's standing still and holding a balloon. See, I really like you. And not because you're pregnant. I liked you before. It was like I recognized you. Like I'd been waiting for you. It was like you were running late. What is it? What happened to our cake? I'm on the screen at the doctor. He's kicking and wiggling and twirling. He opens his mouth and it looks like he's singing, but I don't feel him. I don't feel anything. Most of his D is ever going to be to me and I can't feel him. There's something broken about me. They'll place him in my arms and there'll be nothing. You could fix everything else, but if you don't fix that. He? He takes her hand. It's a him. It's a little boy. A little boy. Yeah. He holds the cake with her. Connection. Hey. Did I ever tell you that my mom loved chocolate chip cookies? She did. She loved them. But she couldn't eat them because of her colon. So I had gotten this gift certificate for one time for candles. And I got vanilla candles and chocolate candles, butter candles. And I was thinking that if I burned them all at the same time, it might make a chocolate chip cookie candle. So I tried to burn them together and make a chocolate chip cookie out of wax. And then they made me leave the hospital because of the smoke and the fire. Did your mother like it? She loved it. What's that room called? The one that was your bedroom? The candle room. The candle room. Let's make your cake and let it burn. And I'll be here, okay? Lights changed. 13. Justin wins his at his burned hand. A bang at the door. Justin goes to it in pain. It's Leanne. She holds the side of her face. Holy shit. What happened to you? What happened to you? I fell. I'm an idiot. It hurts. I need your stupid emergency preparedness kit. Me too. Lights flicker and out. In the darkness a few moments later, Justin lights a lantern at the kitchen table. Leanne opens his kit. I didn't know this had snacks. It has soup that coats itself. They dig out what they need. Bandages, news, foreign, et cetera. Hold steady. Hold steady yourself. Where's your baby? I lost him. They attend each other's wounds. That woman shouldn't be on ice. I'm not pregnant. I was pretending. Why? I was trying to get pregnant by pretending to be pregnant. I know easier ways. I bet you do. You want me to talk to Drew? No. What were you doing? Fixing the oven so that I could go home. I know an easier way. Then I got angry and now it's worse. And I don't get to go home. Drew's a dick, no offense. Easy. I always thought so. We had a rat tail in 1998. I always thought you could do better. They prepare each other's bandages. I just want to create something. Something from me, something real. You want to write a poem? I want there to be someone who looks back at their life like a map, like a map of the universe. And I want to show up. I just want to show up. Not big, just bright. Like a pinpoint of light. I'm sorry about what I said. About what? About your eyes. I don't remember. I'm not sure I've ever really looked at them before. Your eyes change when you smile. That's a science fact. I really don't like Drew's face. He's got the kind of face you want to punch. He does? What? Sorry, no offense. Do you think your face is the kind of face you want to punch? Why? Don't you know you look just like him? I do. So you admit you have a face people want to punch? You married someone who looks like me? That wasn't the plan. My wife doesn't miss me. Actually, she's afraid of me. They finish up each other's bandaging. There. How's that? Better. How about you? Better. I don't see the way you're going. But I do know an easier way. He leans in close to kiss her. What are you doing? I'm going to kiss you. What? You aren't going to kiss me. It's not going to solve anything. It's how it starts. There's steps. This is the first step. And then what? It's not hard to do. You think I don't have a baby because of Drew? Why else? Justin. Yeah? What? That has not helped us worse. It doesn't work. I've propped. He kisses her a moment. Did that solve anything? No. Thank you. As lights change, Leanne stands and leaves, leaving Justin alone with his emergency preparedness kit and his six broken phones. 14. There are hundreds of candles. They light shelves, cover desks, line the windowsill. It feels like a shrine. This is the candle room. It was my room. She was always kind of a hoarder, but in the small scale contained a million buttons, a thousand skeins of yarn, magnets, mugs, paper bags, stacked up Titan drawers. You can hide a lot of crazy by being tidy. What? I found vanilla. When she first noticed something was wrong, she started buying candles every day. She'd go to the stores like she always did, do the rounds, see what's on sale. She clipped coupons, wait in line. She finally told me she was putting her memories in the candles. I think she'd read somewhere about smell being the strongest source of memories. Your sugar. Or vessel or container. Each candle, I don't know, she said she knew they were going to disappear, so she was going to save as many as she could. She liked them just enough, just long enough to breathe in the scent, hold onto the candle, and conjure a memory, a thought, a person. They all ended up in the candle room, which was my bedroom. Milk. One day she stopped buying candles. There's one in here that's me. She said it was a memory of my face. I brought it to her the day she couldn't remember me anymore. I lit it, and I set it beside her. And I waited, and nothing happened. Lots of butter. She wanted me to burn them after she died and release them, release her. That's silly, isn't it? Why would I do that? Why would I do something to make her go away all over again? Eggs. He takes out from his pocket a dandelion. And flowers. They set the candles and the flowers on the table. What's left? Tracy strikes a long match. She joins them at the table and lights the candle. Vanilla, sugar, milk, eggs, butter, flour. The candles burn. Let's close our eyes. I don't want to. We'll just burn minutes here. You can hold my hand. They close their eyes. Do you smell cake, Tracy? I smell something sweet warm right here on a silver platter. The frosting is creamy white, uneven, jagged, imperfect. Little waves flowing, gentle. Reach out, scoop, and taste. Do you taste it? I do. Goodbye, Mom. You're free now. You don't need to stay in this house anymore. Let the rising smoke and the scent of the mixing send you home. He moves. He's over Tracy's bell. They wait. She waits. He, little guy, wake up, little kid. Move. They wait a little while longer. Gently let go. Tracy. Come on. Come on, move. Evan grabs her hands. Hey, hey. What? Be still. We're just nothing but alone. Hey, it's okay. Let's just be still. Monday at the doctor, they'll see there's something wrong with him, but what they'll really see is something wrong with me. You don't understand. You don't know me yet. They sit together and fight. He touches her hair, comforting. After a moment, he places his hand on her belly. Hey, hey. I'm here. That's something, isn't it? That I'm here? What did the doctor say it'll feel like? When he moves. Like a butterfly? A butterfly. A butterfly flapping its wing. So, we'll wait. And I'll be here. And you'll feel it. A moment between them. Evan holds Tracy's belly and they wait. Lights change. Evan now lays asleep on Tracy's shoulder, his hand on her belly. Justin enters. And he falls asleep. The candles that made the cake still burn. There you are. Hi. Is that the tree guy? Yeah. He sits a little ways away, curls up, knees up, like a little boy too big for his age. He picks up the candle and frees in. Hey, Tracy. Yeah. You remember the frog? In the kitchen door? Yeah. In the kitchen in the doorway, crazy. How did it even happen? One big slam. Many. That frog was a stupid little flattened frog. That frog was like a shadow seeping out of the wood, trapped. What was he thinking? Crawling up the doorway. Remember he had his arms up? Don't shoot. I thought he looked like he was waving. Poor guy. For two years. No one else noticed. Half of high school was invisible to them. Until dad broke the door. Until dad broke the door. Why did he smash the glass? He was locked out. Why was he locked out? His mom wouldn't let him in. He forgot. He broke the door. He smashed the glass and passed out. When he woke up his hands were bleeding. The glass was broken. The wood was cracked. I saw him wake up. I made him some eggs. You did? I put them on the floor. You wouldn't stop looking at that frog. Like it showed himself to him finally. Hello. I'm a nightmare. I've been waiting for you. Like you recognized it. Like you knew it. The frog knew him. You made him eggs? You just saw the frogs. You looked scared. Who? The frog with a putty knife, remember? They just threw it away. Pinned over the blood, fixed the glass, sold the door. I wonder if he died right away? Or if he lingered. I bet that frog was just trying to get out of the house. He got stuck. It's easy to get stuck in this house. Stillness. Quiet. Outside a bird sings. On the deck Leanne returns. Her baby belly on the cold wet ground. After a moment she picks it up. I felt so alone in the room with her. At the end. Yeah. More alone than being by myself. Yeah. In another room, a guest room. Leanne enters, takes off her cardigan. She begins to hum a lullaby. The moon lullaby. Swaddles her baby belly. Right before she left she opened up her hand. So I put it into mine and I held it. It was cold. Leanne rocks her swaddled baby belly. Comes. It was cold but it was good. I'd rather hold her hand cold. Than anything warm. Yeah. I don't think she recognized me. I was just a guy. A guy with a hand to hold. You don't have to have memories to be afraid. At least she needed me. For a second. Justin's phone begins to ring. A moment. He makes a decision. Justin answers it. Yeah, Jeff. He looks back to Tracy. A moment between them. Yeah. I'm on my way. He leaves. What's up? What's wrong? Nothing. A moment. Evan closes his eyes and falls back asleep on her shoulder. His hand on her belly. Leanne hums holds her baby belly close as lights fade. End of play. I think this play is about filling the blank. What's just off the top of your head? This is not the time to get all smart and analytical on me. I'm just into the ones at the top of your head. What do you think? Who's gray? Speak up. Rebecca Durham scared the shit out of me in just a minute. And that's coming from Rachel aging. Rachel takes a lot to scare Rachel. I'm coming after you. Good, good, good. Well, parenting. Thank you. Connection. Connection. Disconnection. Mistconnection. Mistconnection. Mistconnection. I love that the moment she verbalized being disconnected was when he was proposing and it was a very moment. You should feel connected. She had that widely counter. Yeah. The ice storm and the icy can. Yeah. Interesting. Thank you. I think there's this underlying current of longing in every character and it's sort of a very human experience of really what do we want and how do we achieve that. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And it's never discussed. Everything else was kind of danced around me, but that one main thing. You feel that's going through every character in an unspoken way. Interesting. What else? Confusion. Most of them are thinking, here's what I think I should be doing but that's not what I'm feeling right now but I should be doing that but I don't use confusion. Cool, thank you. It's also watching the internet so that these comments aren't going into the boy for no good whatsoever. She actually will get a chance to hear what you're thinking. I don't like longing but trying to find purpose in something. Like being a father, being a mother, through the connections. So like sort of common theme through all the characters trying to find some kind of purpose? Exactly. Preparedness. Preparedness? Are you fully prepared? Are you prepared? Fear. Are you prepared? Are you prepared? That they should be sitting next to each other having a conversation and not have a conversation. Like two people who are having completely separate full conversations at each other and not with each other. I'm referring to like a specific time of two particular characters or that it happens that it happens so often that there was a point between the two main females where she's like, but I'm here and the other person is like, but these people aren't here and she's like, but I'm here and it's just like they weren't like one person's listening of like this constant need for somebody else and not necessarily seeing what's directly in front of you and so this desire constant need for something or believing you need something. Yeah, that's connected to the comment about being disoriented and having to find something. Yes, Shane? Shannon obviously wants you to blow and she said it was so funny she's a mom of four so she missed bits and pieces of it. Yeah. She ended up getting too bad during the show so she missed it. Perfect. A real party until Gabrielle and I started having this conversation last summer about the ideas she had for a play. Am I alone? Show of hands that you've heard of a gender reveal party. If you have never heard of a gender reveal party show of hands, yeah. One thing about that is it's so current that girls, I think probably guys too, I don't know but in their 20s it's kind of a common thing right now. Apparently some of them are bad. They put it on YouTube all the time. Oh really? Like you tape it and then see what's your responsible being, hope it's good enough and gone. Send it out to everybody and tell them boy or girl, Facebook or anything. Yeah. It is new. Yeah. Long before. One of the things I thought that was interesting in our initial conversation is she was thinking about this idea for the play was that idea that the thing that we couldn't get over really discussing in between the two of us is that I did it somebody who works at the Bakery at Kroger was the gender of your child before you or any member of your family. I thought I was wrong on some things. It's just like they didn't screen Kroger or Chloe. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Andrew says he loved the first scene between Tracy and Evan who is so tender and loving and how we reveal that's a great part of this movie. Yeah. I love the transformation over where it was just Cheryl and Tracy and Cheryl's you know, this full get up and it's this really interesting moment where she doesn't turn into something else and there's that heart-wrenching conversation I really enjoy that. But does she turn into something else herself or is it Tracy projecting that on her? Either way I think it's fantastic. Do you have anything about this? Both. I think it's both and I think that's probably why Cheryl feels so emotionally devastated afterwards because this is probably one of the deepest connections she's had while being someone else and it really kind of got to her in a deeper way than probably she's had before. I'm probably being really sentimental right now but I honestly just loved and sweet but I know a lot of you play rice but I don't love that. But she liked the candles and all the different candles. Very emotional, right? The image of candles they went to the candle room they were memories and she lit all the different kinds to make the cake and I don't know I just thought the whole imagery of lighting the different candles to make the cake doesn't have anything permanent to do with anything other than I just like but it's interesting and my guess is we all felt something about like that ring radiated in some way and she didn't want to go in the ring and remember and then she did go in there with him and then they lit the different kinds of candles and they carried him You know though I like that you're talking about how like people like artists don't like some mentality sometimes and I think there's something to that but I think what I put it is we fight the sentimentality so that when we hit the sentimentality it means more to you so that that moment meant something to you was beautiful, I think that's awesome It's not the last person I thought of that because I feel like to bounce off of what she said what I love about that is because you saw for me that her cake we build up this cake and then it gets destroyed by someone else and then we watch her recreate a new cake out of bad things out of her mom's window out of brokenness out of bad things and they like make a new cake and she gets to experience that same moment in a different way which I love I like the use of the house the transitions I felt were really smooth going from one room to the next and the descriptions of going from one room to the next the use of space and the references to the space and being alone in the space or how the house absorbs you I thought it was really cool it's like it was another character for me I would love to see a design concept for that house I'm really curious about how how someone called scenic designers would create such a house that those particular things could go so seamlessly Yeah, so your brain people with that idea I think it's interesting when you talk about the parents and we always hear well, have you got a candle and you got a flashlight in this case we've got 10,000 That's not going to be that's not going to be Yeah, and I wonder we just often comment myself personally I feel like the connection to that sort of ritual is a part of that compound too it feels like this weird ritual that I'm not sure what it means but it feels like we have to have that for some reason like ritual is a part of how we explain things and help us know how to feel and candles seem to be a part of almost every ritual you can think of Go back to the candle I think it said something earlier about her being an order and then all of her mother smelled I actually felt like the candle worked her mother and there was unresolved differences between both kids cause they didn't ever let go of their mother they were always talking about her like we should have done this we just never ended for her it's never like a funeral like my mother's that's pretty clear I'm lighting these candles there you go and I didn't go to the funeral remember yes sir you want to follow on that and amplify my comment about the icy hand please I think bringing out the love of her mother to an icy hand gives us an image of the ice storm being the mother interesting it's over something about a character maybe that actually really resonates with you something that really rang your bell a moment, something that you suspect when you're driving home in the car you're gonna be thinking about it the actress character I just got done with the theater doing theater stuff and it was just so funny hearing all of the things in acting school we talk about this and we're like you know they actually do talk about it and stuff it just made me laugh a little bit I'm glad you waited anyway thank you for that what else I was just thinking the idea of wanting something so badly and creating it for yourself and believing that if I create this thing whether it be ritual or whatever that this thing will come into being and that this woman believes this so much that she has bought and placed on and joined groups and then all of these different things although he says there are easier ways well and as we say no she actually knows she can't that's not possible and so she's still trying to manifest this idea when we that the monologue of Tracy is where she's talking about losing sister and the flowers that I have zero personal connection to that whatsoever but that was an incredibly beautiful and moving part of the show I love that thought the idea of putting the flowers on her stomach and carrying them around all day that was beautiful that was very well written thank you anybody else because she is it was nice to nice to see that being addressed today or maybe it is elsewhere and I just haven't seen it but it would be really like this would be about the time I would bring the play right up which I have with her but she's very busy being pregnant so if you have a question for me do you want to be an actress on stage before we wrap it up this evening if there's anything about this process being in the rehearsal hall with this play in any way that you're curious about would be happy to answer any questions you might have about that yeah it feels very much like a southern play it's interesting that she's writing such a strong southern play do you feel or do you want to carry on traditions and see what it ends up with if you're not that way I was just like it must be Mississippi I think it's she said it on Carolina yeah it's not about the actors we're saying are those are the manuscripts that got tossed out so they're scripts from our playwrights that's hard that's the one we just read to you yeah the middle one belongs to that gentleman right there there's dinner with friends I think that's Nate Nate's got a lot of words on him the monologues that's the Nate's one with all the monologues yeah thank you so much for being here this has been incredibly useful I'm sure for Gay Greya and we've enjoyed having you here and being a part of this and there's more to come this week so come back let's end this evening if we will bye I have another round of applause for you