Theater NightFriday, Jan. 13th, 2012
7 p.m., Auditorium
“Dusk Rings A Bell” Synopsis
SCENE 1:
A woman, Molly talks to the audience. She explains that she doesn’t have problems communicating. In fact, she is the Vice President of Publicity at CNN (America’s largest news channel). She explains that when she was a child she used to stutter, until one day she decided to stop. So whilst on holiday in Rehobooth at a beach house with her parents at the age of 14, she wrote a note to herself and decided she would read the note when she was 39. The note told her to be happy and to stop stuttering. And she did. Writing the note meant that she stopped stuttering.
SCENE 2:
A man, Ray talks to the audience. He says he has an image that he will die when he is in his 90s, being stabbed to death by teenagers who think he is gay. He says he has a good memory, particularly with images. He can remember watching a hawk eat a rat when he was a child (an image of horror) and he can remember when he was 16, kissing a girl whose lips tasted like syrup.
SCENE 3:
Molly is going back to the beach house she visited when she was a child, where she hid the note. She remembers the area. She remembers that in her youth she was quite sexually promiscuous She tells the audience that she is now divorced, but with no children. She is attracted to her boss, Jeff, but not romantically involved with him. She finds the house, and using a hammer, breaks a bathroom window. She enters the house and finds her note. She reads it. The note asks “Are you happy?” and someone has written “Dear Molly, no.” on the back of the note. Molly is confused by who wrote on her note and decides to leave. As she is leaving, Ray confronts her. He is the caretaker for the house. He accuses her of breaking the window. She denies it, and then admits that she did. She says she was looking for a hat. He demands money for the window. She gives him money. Molly, afraid, lies to Ray, saying she has friends who know where she is and are waiting for her nearby at McDonalds. As she is about to leave, she recognizes his face, and asks if he has always lived in this area. He says he has, and the two people learn that they kissed each other 24 years ago on a lifeguard chair on the beach and they met at a pizza stand near the beach. The two talk about their life. Molly tells Ray she is now divorced and working for CNN. Ray tells Molly he is a caretaker, also divorced with a son who lives in Florida. Molly goes to leave again and Ray asks her for a coffee.
SCENE 4:
Molly talks to the audience and tells them that the only reason she is meeting Ray for coffee is because kissing him was the best moment of her life. She remembers how confident she felt when he told her “You’ve got it made” She believed him.
SCENE 5:
Ray talks to the audience. He tells them that he remembers kissing her, but he also remembers feeling ashamed, because he was trying to touch her breasts the whole time they were kissing, and she wouldn’t let him.
SCENE 6:
Molly and Ray have coffee. Molly tells Ray she was lying about having friends waiting for her. Ray reveals that he knew this already, but didn’t want to embarrass her, so pretended to believe her. The two people chat and Ray asks if she remembers when they were children, receiving his address so that she could write to him. Molly says she never received her address. Ray asks if he can kiss her again “for old times’ sake” Molly agrees and they kiss. It is magical. Afterwards, Molly asks if Ray went to college. Ray says no. Molly asks why, and Ray reveals that he was in prison for 10 years for taking part in the murder of a gay college student. Molly tries to be understanding, but when Ray tells her that he went and ate pizza and waited for 20 minutes before calling the police, Molly is repulsed by his cowardice and leaves.
SCENE 7:
Molly talks to the audience, telling them she cannot accept what she heard.
SCENE 8:
Ray and Molly meet on a bench near the beach. Molly has called Ray because she felt awkward leaving so abruptly after coffee. Molly asks Ray about the murder. Ray explains details. He did not murder the boy, but he watched. Molly asks why he didn’t intervene. Ray says because he “froze.” Molly accuses ray of bigotry, Ray becomes angry and calls Molly a “jerk” – Molly tells the story of when her mother was in hospital she didn’t visit because she was so busy with work, and that the last words she said to her mother were “watch CNN tonight” – Molly explains that she, also, “froze” Ray asks if Molly has a boyfriend. She says no. Ray asks Molly to dinner.
SCENE 9:
Ray talks to the audience explaining that there aren’t many women who he becomes close to, who can accept his past. Ray hopes that Molly can.
SCENE 10:
Ray and Molly have dinner. They talk about contrition. Molly says that if someone is truly remorseful they must do more than simply cry. Ray asks Molly what the worst thing she’s ever done is. Since he knows her worst thing, he wants to know what hers is. Molly says that the worst thing is that she never takes risks. Molly says this is the reason why she never wrote to him when they were children. She confesses that she does remember receiving his address, but didn’t write because the moment they shared was perfect, and she didn’t want to ruin it.
SCENE 11:
Ray talks to the audience about the murder. He remembers laughing whilst it happened.
SCENE 12:
Molly talks to the audience. She says that after they had dinner, they went back to his apartment and had sex. Molly says that Ray seemed to need her so much. This made her cry.
SCENE 13:
Ray and Molly have spent the night together. They are talking about what to have for breakfast, and Molly suggests it would be fun to go for pizza, to the same restaurant where they met. Ray doesn’t want to, and Molly realizes the reason is because it is the same Pizza shop he went to after the murder. Molly suddenly realizes that it will be impossible to have a relationship with someone who has a past like Ray’s. Ray tries to convince her that he has changed, and that he feels for her. Ray asks Molly to not think of him as a murderer. Molly says she won’t. But turns to the audience and says that she always will. She prepares to leave and tells Ray she will call him. She never does. She tells the audience that she cannot be with someone with his history, which is sad, because they shared such a magical moment in their youth.
SCENE 14:
Ray tells the audience that he found Molly’s note, and wrote “Dear Molly, No” on it because he was angry that she never wrote to him. Ray explains that he is not surprised that Molly never contacts him.
SCENE 15:
Flashback to the beach, 24 years earlier. Ray and Molly are children again. They talk about their hopes and dreams. Molly is ambitious and confident, but suddenly, she stutters. Ray is surprised, Molly is ashamed. Ray kisses her forehead and tells her “You’ve got it made” She believes him.
