Act 1, Scene 3: The Monologue Flashcards
So you see my dear
…..
If I’d never have run into Gilbert’s stage manager, who tipped me off that he was looking for an ingenue.
But you DID get the part.
That means you were GOOD.
You had the talent in the first place.
Luck and talent go together like ham and eggs.
I don’t want to presume Miss Crane, but I can’t help feeling Mr Howell has done his part in making your career such a success.
Thank you, Eve. I need a champion in my corner sometimes.
I’ve read lots of biographies of actresses and it seems to me that all the ones who’ve reached the top have had a brilliant man in the background. Someone who has helped them choose their plays, or has directed them; or a fine playwright who has written for them.
Don’t listen to him, eve. He’s like all producers and directors. He thinks he’s Svengali. However, I think I’ve talked quite enough about myself. You’ve hardly said a word. I want to hear about you. Where do you come from originally, darling? Begin at the beginning.
I’m afraid it’s a pretty dreary ⛈️ story. I’m from Milwaukee. We didn’t have much money 💰. I’m one of six children. Somehow I managed to finish High school. I wanted to go to the University of Wisconsin and study drama 🎭 but there was no money to send me to college.
Then one day in the summer Mother and Daddy went out on lake Michigan in a boat ⛵. A squall came up, the boat overturned somehow and they were both drowned.
So I got a job in a restaurant waiting on tables. That’s where I met the boy I married. Harrington is my married name. My real name is Swanson. Ricky had volunteered for the Air Force ✈️, but we had a week’s honeymoon before he went away. We spent it in Chicago. He was the one who took me to see Miss Crane on the stage there. After he went off to Texas to start his basic training I returned to the restaurant and went on working.
The manager was a horrible man. A real letcher. When he found out I’d got married and that my husband was away he became, impossible. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I’d saved up a little money, so I went back to Chicago. I was hoping you might return there, Miss Crane in another play. Well, I got a job in a restaurant, in “The Loop”. And began to go to night school to study ShortHand and Typing. After 6 months at the Business school, I secured my first job, in an office.
By this time Ricky was through with his training and had become a pilot. I’d just had a letter from him saying he’d found a place for us to live and that he wanted me to join him in Texas. I was getting ready to leave Chicago when I got The Telegram.
The telegram?
There’ed been an accident,
A training accident.
The whole crew was killed.
What a sad story! First your parents. Then your husband. And you’re so young.
Suddenly I felt I had nothing to live for. And then I remembered you, Miss Crane.
At a time like that you remembered me?
Yes. I remembered how thrilled I’d been with your performance. How you’d sort of taken me out of myself. That might happen again, I thought to myself. If anyone can make me forget my troubles, it’s Margo Crane.
Maybe she can help me to go on living even without Ricky. So instead of going to Texas I came to New York.
I found a job and a place to live. And I found something to do with my evenings. That makes them bearable. Because of the theater, Miss Crane, And because of you.
Well, I’ve learned to live with my sorrow.
I think that’s the most touching story I’ve ever heard. I never dreamed that I would inspire someone to go on living.
That’s exactly what you did, Miss Crane. I have a lot of boring letters to write, business letters. I’m more of a secretary than a stenographer. Frankly, I think my boss imposes on me but since he keeps me so busy I don’t complain.
In what way does he impose on you?
Well…he leaves a lot to my discretíon.
I answer most of his letters now. Then I make appointments for him or refuse them. I know by this time the people he wants to see and those he wants to avoid. It’s quite a responsibility.
Eve, how would you like to work for me?
In what way MS crane?
You shut up! You know I need a secretary
…
Eve could make herself useful to me and all sorts of ways.
I write a very good letter, Miss Crane. I have a fabulous memory. And I won a prize for spelling.
Of course, your hours will be more erratic, but at least you won’t have to pay to go to the theater. You can watch me from the wings as often as you want to.
It would be heaven.
What’s there to think over about going to heaven? Write down our address, Clement.
I’ll be there at 9 in the morning, Sir.
If you don’t mind,
Mrs Roberts,
I’ll be running along.
I’d like to be fresh for tomorrow.
I’ll take Eve home.
Please don’t bother, Mr Roberts.
I can Get the Subway 🚃 straight down👇 to the Village.
At this hour of the night? I won’t allow it. I’ll put you in a taxi….
Good night 🌃, Mr Roberts.
Thank you ever so much.
I hope I’ll be able to repay you someday.
Good night Eve. I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.
It’s a dream. I simply haven’t taken it in yet.
Good night, Mr Howell, I’ll make sure Miss Crane doesn’t regret her generosity.
Good night, Miss Crane. Thank you.
