| 3-14 GAY/STRAIGHT ALLIANCE Written by: Winnie Holzman and Maggie Friedman Directed by: Patrick Norris 1. ANNOUNCEMENT IN CLASSROOM (Grace’s hair is up, secured with a clip but with a little hair sticking out the back.) Mr. Dimitri underlines “John Donne” on the blackboard. He tells the class “So for tomorrow I want you to read the poems of John Donne (he turns and walks toward the class) that I’ve put on the board and one that I forgot, “To His Mistress Going to Bed.” The class titters. Mr. Dimitri leans against the front of his desk. The bell rings and students start to gather their books. Mr. Dimitri opens his palms, “And speaking of sex, I have been blackmailed into, I mean I have graciously consented to serve as the faculty facilitator, I think that’s what they call it, for the much-maligned Upton Sinclair Gay/Straight Alliance.” Tad asks, “They still have that?” Mr. Dimitri answers “Yes, apparently the need for tolerance and understanding has not yet been eradicated. Hmmph?” He shrugs his shoulders in mock bemusement. Grace smiles at this. “We’ll be meeting tomorrow evening. I don’t know where yet but I’ll keep you posted.” Mr. Dimitri stands up, turns his back, and starts gathering his things together. Grace walks up to Mr. Dimitri, throwing a wad of paper into the trash. “Well, that’s cool that you’re doing that.” Mr. Dimitri puts his gradebook and another book on his left arm. He turns toward Grace and shifts his thermos from his right hand to his left hand. He gives a small smile. Grace brushes a strand of hair from her face and leans in to ask “So what did you mean by blackmailed?” Mr. Dimitri looks back briefly at the emptying student desks, then puts his hand on Grace’s shoulder. “I was kidding,” he says with an amused smile. Grace quickly glances at his hand on her shoulder. Mr. Dimitri leaves. “Oh, oh, right,” Grace laughs, as if she had been in on the joke. Tad calls out after Mr. Dimitri that he’s going to join. He and Katie joke, then Jessie comes into the classroom to meet Katie. They chat and leave the room. Tad says to his friends that Mr. Dimitri just outed himself. He and Grace argue about it. Tad and his friends leave. 2. 1ST CAR SCENE (later that day) Mr. Dimitri is putting his things in his silver car parked in reserved space 122. He is wearing a dark gray overcoat, scarlet scarf, and smart black sunglasses. Grace calls out to him “Mr. Dimitri!” He turns to see Grace rushing to approach his car, barely missing passing students. “Hi,” she says with a bright smile. Teenagers are milling about the parking lot, standing in front of schoolbuses. “Hey,” he answers, turning back to the books on the roof of his car. “Uh, I, I was just wondering, um—“. She stops and looks at his car. “This is your car?” Mr. Dimitri leans into the back seat. “Yep.” “Oh! It’s nice.” Grace leans to peek into the car through the open driver’s door. Surprised, Mr. Dimitri turns toward her slightly. “What…(he smiles)…what were you wondering?” Grace lifts her head to look at him, then remembers and laughs. “Oh yeah!” She pushes hair behind her ear with a mittened hand. “I was wondering, um, you know, about the Gay/Straight Alliance?” she says with disguised earnestness. Mr. Dimitri answers “Mmm hmm” and finishes putting the last of his things in the car. She continues. “Maybe part of the reason that it’s hard to get people to join is that they might feel uncomfortable.” Mr. Dimitri takes off his sunglasses and looks at Grace with his light blue eyes. “So we should probably figure out some way to help people, you know…”, Grace trails off, as if losing her train of thought. After a pause Mr. Dimitri smiles and finishes her sentence. “Feel more comfortable?” He laughs. “Yeah.” Mr. Dimitri grins, nodding his head, then looking down. Grace jumps in to continue the conversation. “So this is one of those hybred cars?” she asks. Mr. Dimitri has one hand on the door and one hand on the roof. “Hybrid, yes.” He runs his hand along the roof. “Oh.” Grace smiles at her mistake. “That’s very, uh…I mean that’s the kind of car I would want.” “Don’t you drive? I seem to remember—“ “Oh, yeah, yeah!” Grace assures him. “But I mean, I don’t have a car of my own.” Mr. Dimitri realizes Grace isn’t going anywhere, so he closes his car door, smiles, and steps close to her. “My mom just lets me drive hers to school once in a while, and of course, drive Jessie places.” Dimitri smiles. “I see.” Grace continues. “Well, her mother’s in the hospital, so…” “I didn’t know.” “Yeah.” “Hmm.” No longer smiling, Dimitri looks at the parking lot. Grace, looking at him, keeps rambling. “So everyone’s like really worried about her now. You know, like even more than usual.” Dimitri looks now to the left of Grace, then back up at her uncomfortably. Grace sees this and looks down momentarily, then adds “I mean, I think it can be even harder when your mother’s not in the hospital.” Dimitri laughs and Grace bursts out with a laugh and a brilliant smile, tucking an imaginary hair behind her ear. Mr. Dimitri starts moving back and opens his car door. “No, she’s just, you know, she’s just the kind of person that people are always worried that she has a ride home, you know. And I guess I’m just the kind of person that people just assume…can walk.” Grace smiles briefly, then stops. Mr. Dimitri gets the hint. “Would you like a ride home?” he asks kindly. Grace looks at him, then smiles again. The car is driving down Grace’s street. “Like last year, my little sister got so terrified about global warming, you know. But, I mean, she’s young. She barely understands the implications.” Mr. Dimitri parks the car in front of Grace’s house. Grace suddenly realizes they’ve arrived. She looks at the house and then at Mr. Dimitri. “We’re here!” she smiles. Mr. Dimitri smiles back. “So, okay, thank you. Really.” Grace unbuckles her seat belt and turns toward the door. She stops and turns back toward Mr. Dimitri. “Oh, wait! What I was trying to say before. Um, I just think that if you had the meeting somewhere…besides school, like say, at your house, I think it would be less embarrassing for some people…to join.” Surprised, Mr. Dimitri looks away briefly and asks “At.my.house?” He smiles as Grace continues her pitch. “Yeah! Teachers do stuff like that all the time. Well, not all the time. But Mr. Walsh had the film festival at his house last year.” Mr. Dimitri considers the idea. “Anyway, well okay. So, thanks again, really.” Dimitri nods and smiles as if to say no-problem. Grace pulls at the door handle unsuccessfully. “How do you…” “Oh, just,” Mr. Dimitri starts, then leans in front of Grace, flipping the lock and pulling the door handle. “That’s, there.” At this almost-contact Grace leans back slightly, surprised, and looks out Mr. Dimitri’s window, then back at the front. Slightly flustered, she says “Oh, well.” She laughs, “Thanks again. Again.” Grace realizes she’s repeated herself, climbs out, closes the door, and starts walking toward her house. Mr. Dimitri waves goodbye. Home (continue to page 2) |
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