DIRECTOR: Splendid! Satisfaction at long last! Now you have to shake hands with her… No, wait… (a thought has dawned on him) Don’t shake hands – hug. Yes, that’ll be a good gimmick! It’s as if you’re not mourning separately but together. Do you understand?
WOMAN: No.
MAN: You never understand anything.
WOMAN: Anyone would think you’re such a genius. You can’t even portray sorrow.
MAN: Can you?
WOMAN: I can do whatever I’m told. I can cry if I want to, laugh if I want to. Whatever’s needed – that I can do.
MAN: I can do whatever I’m told as well.
WOMAN: (to DIRECTOR) So why are we hugging anyway?
DIRECTOR: An embrace is to show everyone that you’re united. And not only politically but spiritually too. Do you understand? You’re friends, like-minded people, you have the same goals, the same interests. The word “unity” is not just a sound to you. No, it’s your credo, your ideal. You’re a family – all for one, one for all. In short, the people is the party and the party is the people. What’s your party’s name? But it’s not important. Embrace.
MAN and WOMAN embrace.
DIRECTOR: (annoyed) Not like that!
MAN: Then how?
DIRECTOR: Not cold, not unfeeling, but in the throes of a shared spiritual impulse!
MAN embraces WOMAN passionately. And he doesn’t stop.
Not like that, damn it!
MAN: What’s wrong now?
DIRECTOR: You pounced on her as if she were someone else’s wife on your first date in a cheap hotel that rents rooms by the hour. I said in the throes of a shared spiritual impulse, not in a rush of lust! Not like that! How many times do I have to say it –slowly and sadly! The way a mother and father embrace over their son’s grave!
WOMAN: Instead of yelling at us, it’d be better for you to show us. A good director doesn’t tell, he shows.
DIRECTOR: A good actor doesn’t need to be shown, and a bad actor won’t be helped by it. But since you don’t understand what I’m saying, I will show you. (embraces CONSULTANT slowly and sadly; this is what he wants from his actors) Now do it again.
MAN and WOMAN embrace again, trying to imitate what they’ve been shown. DIRECTOR frowns.
DIRECTOR: Better already, though far from perfect. Try it one more time.
CONSULTANT’s phone rings. She steps aside to take the call. MAN and WOMAN embrace again.
DIRECTOR: So… Once more… OK, there’s no more time for this now. Practice it between now and tomorrow morning.
CONSULTANT has finished her conversation.
CONSULTANT: Ladies and gentlemen! I regret that I have some sad news for you. A respected member of the opposition has just passed away.
A pause.
WOMAN: How’s that? He just up and passed away?
CONSULTANT: He died in a traffic accident. The police have launched an investigation.
DIRECTOR: But is he dead for sure?
CONSULTANT: Absolutely.
DIRECTOR: So there is going to be a funeral tomorrow?
CONSULTANT: Has anyone canceled it?
DIRECTOR: And will I receive the promised fee tomorrow evening?
MAN: (cheerfully) Of course! I said that he’d die, but you didn’t believe me. I’m a decent person and never mislead my friends.
WOMAN: You don’t mislead your friends because you don’t have any.
MAN: There’s a time and a place for jokes, and this isn’t it.
DIRECTOR: What do we do now?
CONSULTANT: Continue the rehearsal. And be quick about it. The ceremony is to begin tomorrow at three o’clock sharp, right on schedule.
DIRECTOR: Yes, ma’am.
