Another Day at Work

Another Day at Work

(Adapted from Charles Bukowski’s “The Hitman”)

Lebogang Tlou

CHARACTERS

Ronnie:           Ronnie is a coloured man in his mid-thirties. He wears black tracksuit pants, a brown leather jacket and athletic trainer sneakers.

Curt:                Curt sniffs a lot. He wears tight jeans and a faded sweater.

Bill:                 Bill is anxious. He walks with a stick and wears a monocle.

Katie:              a Blonde waitress

Blonde:           a young blonde teenager.

                       

SETTING

The play takes place in a Pub and Grill at 07:15 pm. It takes place in the space of approximately thirty minutes from when Ronnie first sees that his clients are fifteen minutes late.

Scene 1

The stage is turned into a large pub, with five tables spread out (Front-stage right, centre-stage, back-stage right, back-stage left, front-stage left). There is a soft score playing in the background. Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for strings”. The giant clock on the pub wall strikes Seven. Ronnie walks onto stage and heads towards the middle table. He is the only person in the pub. There is loud, busy chatter in the background.  

One blonde waitress on rollerblades and three brunette waitresses on roller-skates glide into the stage area from either side. They wait on empty tables, and engage with invisible clients. The waitering is done in dance. After a five minute routine to the score, the long hand of the giant clock drops down to a forty-five degree angle. 07:15 pm.

The blonde waitress floats over to Ronnie’s table to take his order. Her name-tag The score and the chatter quieten down to a hum in the background.

RONNIE:        You like working here?                    

KAITIE:          Oh, yeah. I meet a lot of men.

RONNIE:        Nice men?

KATIE:            Sometimes I meet nice men. Sometimes I meet the other kind.

RONNIE:        What kind of man am I?

KATIE:           A nice one, of course.

RONNIE:        You’ve earned your tip.

She glides off back into the background and continues waiting on tables. The chatter in the background roars back to life. The score changes during this transition to an electronic composition. Katie now breaks into a stylistic solo performance. Her movements are those of waitering, however she seems anguished. Trapped. The other waitresses on roller-skates now join her as the tempo increases symbolizing a busy night. The giant hand of the clock on the wall drops yet again. 07:25.

 Enter Curt and Bill.

RONNIE:        You said 7pm.

CURT:             The Bulls have gone to the dogs. They ain’t worth shit. I’ve lost an even R500 on them this season!

RONNIE:        You think Ross is finished?

CURT:             Yeah, it’s over for him. Oh, this is Bill. Bill, this is Ronnie.

They shake hands and exchange greeting notes. Bill is slightly reserved, and very quiet. The blonde waitress breezes over with a pitcher of beer. She dancingly fills their glasses.

RONNIE:                    Gentlemen, this is Kathy.

CURT:                         Oh. Yes, hi.

Curt kisses her hand. Bill nods and speaks.

BILL:                           Is he reliable?

CURT:                         He’s got the best references.

BILL:                           Look, I don’t want comedy. It’s my money.

RONNIE:                    How do I know you’re not a pig?

BILL:                           How do I know you won’t cut with the R2500?

RONNIE:                    Three grand. I just upped it. I don’t like you.

Silence, intensified by a gentle jungle-drumming hum; the atmosphere between the characters grows more ominous. Curt looks anxiously from Bill to Ronnie and then back again, waiting for the ices to break.

BILL:                           I’ve got a good mind to call it off.

RONNIE:                    You won’t. You guys never do.

BILL:                           Do you do this regular?

RONNIE:                    Yes. Do you?

CURT:                         All right, gentlemen! I don’t care what you settle for. I get my grand for the contract.

BILL:                           You’re the lucky one, Curt.

RONNIE:                    Yeah.

CURT:                         Each man is an expert in his own line. He won’t cut with your money. He won’t or he’s out of business. It’s the only kind of work he can do.

A plate drops and shatters. A momentary distraction. All eyes turn in the direction of the commotion.

Scene 5

Bill breaks the silence.

BILL:                           That’s horrible.

CURT:                         What’s horrible about it? You need him, don’t you? Other people need him too. They say each man is good at some-thing. He is good at this

Ronnie nods and smiles at Curt.

The lights above their table dim. Kathy skates around them. A navy blue beam of light follows Kathy as she waltzes to the sharp, melancholic score.  A tragic love story. A night sky is projected onto the giant clock on the wall. Kathy holds herself, lost in a memory. She dances. She skates. L

(Actress leaps into the air and lands gracefully as the music crescendos, and she spins … lower, and lower … on the spot until she’s on the ground – where she graciously drops to her knees, exhausted.)

Kathy gets up and resumes working.

Scene 6

Ronnie claps twice and speaks first.

RONNIE:        I’d really like to give it to that blonde. I’d like to give her about six hours of raw vulgarity.

CURT:             I would too if I had it.

BILL:               I’m nervous.

CURT:            There’s nothing get yourself all worried about.

RONNIE:        I have to work tonight. I gotta work tonight.

CURT:             Be sure you do a good job, baby.

RONNIE:        I always do a good job. All right, where’s the god-damned money?

BILL:               You’re lucky I brought an extra R500!

RONNIE:        I want it now. All of it.

Bill pays them. He gives Ronnie an envelope.

BILL:               The address and key are inside. It’s a thirty minute drive away. You take the Ventura freeway.

RONNIE:        Can I ask you one thing?

RONNIE:        Why?

BILL:               Why?

RONNIE:        Yeah, why?

BILL:               Do you care?

RONNIE:        No.

Ronnie leaves. Black out.

Act 2

Scene 7

Lights fade back on and the stage is projected with flashing images of the Night: the moon. The stars. Traffic. Screen projections are movie anti-clockwise, creating a forward journey which seems to be moving backwards.

Scene 8

Dim lights illuminate a bathtub on stage. The score in the back is serene, tranquil. There is a young, blonde female bathing. The bathing is done in dance. She rubs soap onto her naked body, and she sighs as the waters traverse down the length of her body from the running shower cap overhead. Her movements echo the drops’ journey across her body. She’s humming. Her hum is not in tune with the score, but it sounds beautiful. There is a thud. She stops humming. The serene score continues.

BLONDE:                   Bill? Bill, is that you?

She continues bathing in dance, but she doesn’t hum. The dim spotlight shining down on her narrows, and a shadow creeps over her. Shadows are projected onto the screen at the back of the stage. They dance violently together as Ronnie walks towards the bathtub wearing black gloves. The blonde, unaware as to who is behind her, smiles.

BLONDE:                   You’re a creep, Bill.

Ronnie bears down on her. She screams. She fights for her life. Ronnie enters the tub and throttles her. She drowns. He exits the tub. He walks off stage slowly, fixing himself up as he goes.

Fade out.