I'm a coke head

Our scene class had us pick a play or movie that we hopefully hadn't seen and do it in front of the class. The rules are that you have to dress the part, bring the props, and of course act the part.

So my partner and I chose this amazing scene from what I think was a play called Threnody. I must admit that we actually didn't think too much about it when we chose it. It was just intriguing in some sort of weird way but we didn't think we'd have to perform this scene in front of the class.

Nonetheless here is what I had to perform. I wonder what you see in your mind as you read this. What would you see me doing? How do you think I played this? What was I wearing? How do you think my scene partner acted?

Threnody David‐Matthew Barnes Scene: A one‐room house in rural California. Summer, 1989 Man and Woman Dana (20s), poetic, volatile, and desperate, trapped in a relationship with Jake (20s), a guilt‐ridden coke addict. Dana and Jake are broke and living on the edge. She is an aspiring writer and he wants to paint. Following a three‐day jag, Dana here reveals her dislike of life in the country. (Dana is sitting at her typewriter, a pencil clenched between her teeth. A glass of orange juice, a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter are within her reach. Jake is at his easel, painting and covering a canvas in vivid blue. It is the beginning of summer and the year is 1989. Dana and Jake have not slept in three days.) DANA: What time is it? JAKE: Six. The sun is coming up DANA: I just want a little more time. JAKE: How's the last chapter? DANA: I'll finish it later JAKE: I think I'm coming down. DANA: (She stands. She gulps down the glass of orange juice, spilling some. She lights a cigarette.) Let's do some more.(Jake goes and gets their "kit," hidden in a special place. It is a tin box in which is a small bag of speed, a razor blade, a hand mirror and two ends of straws. Dana steps aside and allows Jake to sit at her table, to prepare the drugs. ) It is sucha good thing that you went and saw Ray last night. JAKE: He was glad to see me. DANA: That stuff he's been giving us is the best. It's so pure, Jake. It burns. JAKE: I love it when it burns. He threw in a little extra for celebration. DANA: You told him? JAKE: About the money? DANA: Yeah. JAKE: He doesn't care. He was happy for us. DANA: What if he starts charging us more? JAKE: Dana, you're just paranoid. DANA: I'm okay. JAKE: Are you sure? DANA: It just took us so long to get that money from your parents. JAKE: Well, it's ours now. Five thousand dollars to get me out of debt. DANA: I love you. JAKE: Here. (He offers her two lines of speed.) DANA: Should I do them both or should I save a little for later? JAKE: Do you wanna sleep? DANA: Never again. (She snorts both lines) JAKE: Maybe we should clean the house. DANA: It is clean, honey. We did that yesterday, remember? JAKE: I remember. DANA: (Her attention turns to the picture that Jake has been painting.) Jake, this picture is great! JAKE: Do you like it? DANA: Baby, it's incredible. JAKE: Blue is the color of heartbreak. DANA: You are so amazing. JAKE: You're the talented one. (He snorts two lines.) DANA: You'll love me when I'm famous, won't you? After I write a best‐seller and they make it into a movie?! JAKE: I love you now. DANA: No flowers. JAKE: What? DANA: Remember the first time… when you said that you loved me? JAKE: Yeah. DANA: You almost crashed your car. JAKE: I remember, Dana. DANA: I was staring at you and then I looked out the window. I was looking for the stars. I saw the guardrail on the highway. I thought we would hit it. JAKE: I told you that we wouldn't die. DANA: You scared me. JAKE: I'm a good driver. DANA: I mean the words, Jake, You just said them. . . "Hey, Dana, I love you." I saw this amazing reflection in your eyes . .. . the car lights and the rain . . . it was beautiful. A part of me almost wanted to die. I even smiled when we swerved and just missed that guardrail by inches. I had everything that I needed. JAKE: We're still here. DANA: No flowers. (She returns to the painting.) The color of heartbreak. I like this picture. JAKE: It isn't finished. DANA: Maybe so. JAKE: I love this house. DANA: You like living together? JAKE: Of course I do. DANA: But I've stolen your independence. JAKE: That sounds like a song. DANA: I hear it all the time. JAKE: Do you really? DANA: I've been here for seven months now. Living in the land of nowhere with you. Washing the sheets by hand.Feeding chickens. Scratch and feed. Fields and crops. It's strange here. It's really, really strange. I never imagined life in the country. JAKE: Do you miss the city? DANA: The smell of flowers and piss? I was nothing but a marble living there. People rushing all around, breathing on me with their cinnamon words and candy‐coated bullshit. No, thank you. JAKE: You miss it, Dana. I can tell. DANA: (She is about to cry.) Let's go back there. With the money from your parents, we could get an apartment. I could get a job at a newspaper or a magazine. JAKE: Until you write a best‐seller. DANA: And a swimming pool. I want a swimming pool, Jake. JAKE: Frozen yogurt. DANA: Vanilla. JAKE: We can't move yet. DANA: Why not? JAKE: Dana, we have bills to pay. I'm about to lose my job. If we don't' get caught up‐‐ DANA: The five thousand took you out of debt! We can just go. We'll get one of those bright yellow moving trucks andwe'll pack up our stuff and get the hell out of here. JAKE: It was your choice to move out here with me. DANA: But we never go anywhere! JAKE: Because we don't have any money. DANA: I fucking hate it here. It's always the same thing. When you go to work, it gets so quiet. You wouldn't believe how scary this house is when you're away. I just sit here and I listen to nothing. JAKE: What do you want me to do? DANA: I want you to get me out of here! JAKE: We have nowhere to go. DANA: What about Paris? JAKE: We're not going to Paris, Dana. DANA: But you promised me. JAKE: We're staying here! DANA: I'm here because I love you. JAKE: But you're unhappy. DANA: It isn't your fault. (She kisses him.) I can taste it. JAKE: What? DANA: It's on your lips. JAKE: The speed? DANA: The words. The guardrail. My savior.

So here's what we did. I had a tin box from a Fossil watch I had gotten. I never used it for anything but I figured this would make the perfect prop as described in the scene. I filled a little baggy with some flour, bought a razor blade at the 99 cent store, cut up a straw, and got a little mirror from my scene partner.

I brought in my laptop to replicate the typewriter, and I tried to sort of dress the part. I was in a wife beater shirt, with cotton twill black pants. I figure in 1989 they were loose in California, and they're supposed to be some sort of artist.

I must say that it was quite a stomach wrenching thing for me to do. To be shirtless in front of my peers for a prolonged period of time. It's not that I'm ashamed of what I look like without a full shirt, but it's more of the fact that I'm never in the environment where I have to be shirtless in front of 14 other people.

Nonetheless I think we did an amazing job and I'm extremely happy with our effort. We really did put maximum effort into this. I gotta tell you, this whole acting thing isn't as easy as many of you may think. There is so much more to it than we all think is needed.

So of course you know this means that people in my class can see movies in a totally different way than myself prior to these classes. But that is because we are now trained to sort of understand how one can make you believe in something that isn't really real. Does that make sense?

So I wonder, what did you see (in your mind) when you read my scene?