Three Plays: Six Characters in Search of an Author, Henry IV, The Mountain Giants (Oxford World's Classics) by Luigi Pirandello
Authors: Luigi Pirandello
Ads: Link
goes off. In the meantime the
ACTORS OF THE COMPANY ,
men and women, start coming in through the stage door, first singly, then in pairs, in no special order, until there are nine or ten, about as many as are needed for the rehearsal of Pirandello’s play
The Rules of the Game,
which is scheduled for that day. They enter, greet the
STAGE MANAGER ,
and say their good mornings to each other. Some of them set off towards thedressing rooms; others, including the
PROMPTER
with his script rolled up under his arm, remain on the stage, waiting for the
DIRECTOR
to come and begin the rehearsal. They sit or stand around in groups, and chat; one starts smoking, another complains about his part, a third reads aloud to his group from some theatre magazine. Both
ACTRESSES
and
ACTORS
should wear bright cheerful clothes, and the way this first scene is improvised should be very lively as well as natural. At a given moment one of the cast sits at the piano and plays a dance tune; the younger
ACTORS
and
ACTRESSES
start dancing
.
STAGE MANAGER [
clapping his hands to call them to order
]. Come on now, pack it in! Here’s the Director.
The music and the dancing stop abruptly. The
ACTORS
turn to look out into the auditorium as the
DIRECTOR
enters through a door at the back. With bowler hat on head, walking stick under arm, and fat cigar in mouth, he walks up the aisle between the seats, is greeted by the cast, and mounts one of the stairways up to the stage. The
SECRETARY
hands him the mail: a few newspapers and a script in a wrapper
.
DIRECTOR . Any letters?
SECRETARY . None. That’s all the mail there is.
DIRECTOR [
handing back the script
]. Put it in my office. [
Then, looking around and turning to the
STAGE MANAGER ] Can’t see a thing here. Give us a bit more light, please. *
STAGE MANAGER . Right away.
He goes to pass on the order and soon the whole right side of the stage, where the
ACTORS
are, is flooded with white light. By now the
PROMPTER
has taken his place in the box, switched on his lamp, and opened out his script
.
DIRECTOR [
clapping his hands
]. Right then, come on, let’s get started. [
To the
STAGE MANAGER ] Is anyone missing?
STAGE MANAGER . The leading lady.
DIRECTOR . As usual. [
Looks at his watch
] We’re already ten minutes late. Do me a favour: make a note of it. That’ll teach her to be on time for rehearsals.
Before he has even finished this reprimand, the voice of the
LEADING LADY
is heard from the back of the theatre
.
LEADING LADY . No, no. Please don’t! Here I am, here I am!
Dressed in white from head to foot, with a dashing broad hat on her head and a charming lapdog in her arms, she runs down the central aisle and hurries up the steps onto the stage
.
DIRECTOR . You never miss an opportunity to keep us waiting.
LEADING LADY . So sorry. I tried so hard to find a taxi and get here on time. But I can see you haven’t started yet. And I’m not on stage straightaway. [
Calls the
STAGE MANAGER
by name and hands him the dog
] Please lock him in my dressing room.
DIRECTOR [
grumbling
]. And now the dog as well. As if there weren’t enough dogs here already! [
Clapping his hands again and turning to the
PROMPTER ] Right then, let’s go: Act Two of
The Rules of the Game
. [
Sits in the armchair
] Your attention, ladies and gentleman! Who’s on stage?
The
ACTORS
and
ACTRESSES
clear the front of the stage and go to sit at the side—all except for the three who are supposed to be on stage and the
LEADING LADY
who, paying no attention to the
DIRECTOR ,
has gone to sit at one of the two small tables
.
DIRECTOR [
to the
LEADING LADY ]. So you’re on stage, are you?
LEADING LADY . Me? No, sir.
DIRECTOR [
annoyed
]. Then get out of the way, for God’s sake!
The
LEADING LADY
gets up and goes to sit with the other
ACTORS
who have already withdrawn to one side
.
DIRECTOR [
to the
PROMPTER ]. Let’s get started, let’s get started.
PROMPTER [
reading from the script
]. ‘In
ACTORS OF THE COMPANY ,
men and women, start coming in through the stage door, first singly, then in pairs, in no special order, until there are nine or ten, about as many as are needed for the rehearsal of Pirandello’s play
The Rules of the Game,
which is scheduled for that day. They enter, greet the
STAGE MANAGER ,
and say their good mornings to each other. Some of them set off towards thedressing rooms; others, including the
PROMPTER
with his script rolled up under his arm, remain on the stage, waiting for the
DIRECTOR
to come and begin the rehearsal. They sit or stand around in groups, and chat; one starts smoking, another complains about his part, a third reads aloud to his group from some theatre magazine. Both
ACTRESSES
and
ACTORS
should wear bright cheerful clothes, and the way this first scene is improvised should be very lively as well as natural. At a given moment one of the cast sits at the piano and plays a dance tune; the younger
ACTORS
and
ACTRESSES
start dancing
.
STAGE MANAGER [
clapping his hands to call them to order
]. Come on now, pack it in! Here’s the Director.
The music and the dancing stop abruptly. The
ACTORS
turn to look out into the auditorium as the
DIRECTOR
enters through a door at the back. With bowler hat on head, walking stick under arm, and fat cigar in mouth, he walks up the aisle between the seats, is greeted by the cast, and mounts one of the stairways up to the stage. The
SECRETARY
hands him the mail: a few newspapers and a script in a wrapper
.
DIRECTOR . Any letters?
SECRETARY . None. That’s all the mail there is.
DIRECTOR [
handing back the script
]. Put it in my office. [
Then, looking around and turning to the
STAGE MANAGER ] Can’t see a thing here. Give us a bit more light, please. *
STAGE MANAGER . Right away.
He goes to pass on the order and soon the whole right side of the stage, where the
ACTORS
are, is flooded with white light. By now the
PROMPTER
has taken his place in the box, switched on his lamp, and opened out his script
.
DIRECTOR [
clapping his hands
]. Right then, come on, let’s get started. [
To the
STAGE MANAGER ] Is anyone missing?
STAGE MANAGER . The leading lady.
DIRECTOR . As usual. [
Looks at his watch
] We’re already ten minutes late. Do me a favour: make a note of it. That’ll teach her to be on time for rehearsals.
Before he has even finished this reprimand, the voice of the
LEADING LADY
is heard from the back of the theatre
.
LEADING LADY . No, no. Please don’t! Here I am, here I am!
Dressed in white from head to foot, with a dashing broad hat on her head and a charming lapdog in her arms, she runs down the central aisle and hurries up the steps onto the stage
.
DIRECTOR . You never miss an opportunity to keep us waiting.
LEADING LADY . So sorry. I tried so hard to find a taxi and get here on time. But I can see you haven’t started yet. And I’m not on stage straightaway. [
Calls the
STAGE MANAGER
by name and hands him the dog
] Please lock him in my dressing room.
DIRECTOR [
grumbling
]. And now the dog as well. As if there weren’t enough dogs here already! [
Clapping his hands again and turning to the
PROMPTER ] Right then, let’s go: Act Two of
The Rules of the Game
. [
Sits in the armchair
] Your attention, ladies and gentleman! Who’s on stage?
The
ACTORS
and
ACTRESSES
clear the front of the stage and go to sit at the side—all except for the three who are supposed to be on stage and the
LEADING LADY
who, paying no attention to the
DIRECTOR ,
has gone to sit at one of the two small tables
.
DIRECTOR [
to the
LEADING LADY ]. So you’re on stage, are you?
LEADING LADY . Me? No, sir.
DIRECTOR [
annoyed
]. Then get out of the way, for God’s sake!
The
LEADING LADY
gets up and goes to sit with the other
ACTORS
who have already withdrawn to one side
.
DIRECTOR [
to the
PROMPTER ]. Let’s get started, let’s get started.
PROMPTER [
reading from the script
]. ‘In
Similar Books
