Against Love, page 1

Against Love
(7 burlesque sketches)
by Esteve Soler

Translated by H.J. Gardner

2010 draft 10/19/10

Against Love, page 2

Its not so easy to be nowhere.

--Eugene Ionesco, Dlire a Deux

Against Love, page 3

...a powerful work, crazy and political at the same time...as entertaining as
it is forceful and effective.
Le Figaro, Armelle Hlliot
The Ionesco of our times.
Elefcerotypa, Ioanna Kleftgiani
Texts that go straight to the bulls-eye.
Ta Nea, Yiorgos Sarigianis
Amazing...dark and abysmal....brilliant and strange...moving.
Bieler Tagblatt, Christopher Pochon
Brings to mind Beckett, Ionesco and Daniil Kharms.
Der Bund, Charles Linsmayer
His burlesque scenes unmask the monstrosities generated by the
times we are living in.
Weltexpress, Hinrike Gronewold
Death and comedy, humor and horror, go hand in hand in the fantastical
scenes of Soler, while the contemporaneity of his subject matter is a
revelation.
Berliner Zeitung, Ilona Goyeneche.

Against Love, page 4

1.
In a small theater, the audience sees a performance of the following puppet
show:
Palace interior. In the throne room, a princess addresses a peasant from her
majestic seat. Through a window, we see the sun high in the sky.
PRINCESS: Peasant, approach.
The peasant approaches.
PEASANT: Close to your heart?
PRINCESS: Actually, for that, you dont need to come too close.
PEASANT: Then you make me doubly happy.
PRINCESS: The reason Ive summoned you here today is for the sole
purpose of making you happy on a third occasion. You dared to ask my
father, the king, for my hand in marriage, and I am surprised by that.
PEASANT: It takes even more courage to live a life of silence.
PRINCESS: You must know that not long ago an act like this would have
meant the ultimate punishment.
PEASANT: Id happily die for you, any day.
PRINCESS: Doubtless, youre aware of the fact that my fathers sword is
sharper and more accurate than any of Cupids arrows.
PEASANT: Even so, one of them has broken it.
PRINCESS: Youre not mistaken. I shall marry you.
PEASANT: Is what my ears hear true?
PRINCESS: Tell your ears to listen up because its the truth.
PEASANT: If I had to, Id tell them to learn how to smell so they could smell
the sweetness of what youre telling me.
PRINCESS: Smell the roses, their perfume is both pleasant and fleeting.

Against Love, page 5

PEASANT: My mothers heart will leap for joy.

PRINCESS: I will be yours, but first, I expect you to prove your love.
PEASANT: Whatever you ask, it will be no problem.
PRINCESS: Rip out your mothers heart, then, and bring it to me.
Short pause. The peasant is clearly taken aback by the princesss cruelty.
PEASANT: Dont be cruel.
PRINCESS: You just said, a moment ago, that only my silence could be
cruel.
PEASANT: Surely you understand that if I am here before you it is because I
have a mother, and in that we are equals, just as we will share the joys
of marriage as equals.
PRINCESS: Do you love me? Make sure your reply is sincere.
PEASANT: I do.
PRINCESS: Dont you want to look down on everyone from this throne?
PEASANT: I do.
PRINCESS: Dont you want part of this life of mine, the only one that is true?
PEASANT: I do, but...
PRINCESS: Then theres only one thing is keeping you from your hearts
desire. One simple act...
The puppets exit. The sun is substituted with a moon and the stage is dark.
The peasant enters with a sack, clearly upset.
PEASANT: Im a good son, so tonight you have no worries. Im a good son,
so you wont think Ill betray you. Im a good son, so youll have the best
daughter-in-law in the world. No God can contradict me: today I made
my mother happy.

Against Love, page 6

He stumbles suddenly and the contents of the sack tumble to the ground:
the huge heart of his mother. The bloody organ contracts and begins to
speak.
HEART: My son, are you hurt?
The peasant backs away in fear while his mother repeats the phrase with
profound affection.
HEART: My son, are you hurt?
The puppets exit. The moon is substituted by the sun again and the stage is
lit. We see the princess with the peasant, carrying the sack in his hand.
PRINCESS: I never thought Id see you again.
PEASANT: Id rip my eyes out for the chance to see you again.
PRINCESS: And your mothers heart?
PEASANT: Here.
The peasant hands her the sack with the heart inside.
PRINCESS: How did you do it?
PEASANT: In silence.
PRINCESS: Then dont be silent with me.
PEANSANT: Believe me, never before has a son ripped out his mothers
heart with so much compassion and discretion.
PRINCESS: I believe you. Show it to me.
The peasant starts to take out the heart but does not.
PRINCESS: What are you waiting for?
PEASANT: For you to believe me without anyone having to say anything
else.
PRINCESS: Take it out.

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PEASANT: It may be rude and talk back.

PRINCESS: No mothers heart can ever really go against her sons
intentions.
PEASANT: I cant.
PRINCESS: Why not?
PEASANT: I guess I dont have the heart for it.
PRINCESS: I knew you couldnt do it. Youre not a man of your word.
PEASANT: Heart in hand, would you have given me the crown?
The princess doesnt answer. The peasant exits.
PRINCESS: I suggest that you eat the heart you bear, whatever animal it
comes from. It will be delicious as long as it is prepared with love.
A small curtain falls and ends the puppet show.
Blackout.

Against Love, page 8

2.
A modest hotel room in the dark. Outside the door, a couple is arguing.
Before they open the door, we hear the man say, Youre MY wife! They
enter, but she trips and breaks noisily into a thousand pieces. He turns on
the light. The room is impeccably decorated, but is now covered with her
fragments as if a ceramic statue had shattered.
Pause. Mouth open, he is dumbstruck by what has happened. He raises a
hand to his mouth in fear. He closes the door. He approaches the shards and
looks them over. He searches the room for his companion. He touches the
shards, trying to understand what happened. He is practically in tears.
A knock on the door. He doesnt know what to do. Pause. Another dock on
the door. He hides the biggest pieces of her as best he can under the bed.
The knocking continues. He opens the door to find a woman dressed in a
strange uniform made of plastic. They look at each other in silence and
without moving.
WOMAN: Did you hear something?
HE: No. Yes. Yes, but I dont know what it is. I mean, it didnt come from
here. Im sure.
WOMAN: Youre sure?
HE: Totally sure.
WOMAN: Are you okay?
HE: Fine.
WOMAN: May I come in?
HE: No. Why do you want to / come in?
WOMAN: Wheres the woman?
HE: What?
WOMAN: The woman you were with. (Pause.) Where is she?
HE: How do you know that I was with someone?

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WOMAN: I saw you come in. The two of you. Just now. Before the noise.
HE: How do you know shes my wife? She / could be...
WOMAN: I didnt say she was your wife.
HE: You know what? Youre right. Im not myself. If you wouldnt mind, Id
prefer to be / left alone...
He starts to close the door.
WOMAN: I can help you.
HE: I dont think so. Its just a bad headache, nothing serious.
WOMAN: Let me come in.
She keeps him from closing the door.
HE: Um, what? Listen... yes... yes... I broke a... a mirror, thats it. Its not
mine, you know. Im not going to skip out without paying for something I
broke, I wouldnt do that. Ill take care of it tomorrow at check-out. Cost
is no problem. Really, Im not myself. If / you could just...
WOMAN: Where is she?
Pause.
HE: What do you want? (Pause.) What do you really want?
WOMAN: I want to help you.
He starts crying and WOMAN enters the room. She begins looking around
the room and finally kneels down to look under the bed. He watches her
tearfully.
HE: Tomorrow, Ill let them know / when I check out, and pay whatever I
have to...
WOMAN: Its nothing. Its nothing. Its nothing.
WOMAN exits room then returns with cleaning supplies, including a bucket
and a broom. HE watches as WOMAN sweeps up the shards from under the
bed. Pause.

Against Love, page 10

HE: Wheres my wife? (Pause.) I said, wheres my wife?

WOMAN: I dont know.
HE: Wheres my wife?
WOMAN: I came to clean up the... mirror that you broke, didnt I?
Pause.
HE: Thats not a mirror.
WOMAN: No?
HE: Thats not a mirror.
WOMAN: It isnt? I dont know what it is.
HE: Thats MY wife.
WOMAN stops.
WOMAN: Youre right. Youre not yourself. Rest a while.
She goes back to sweeping up the pieces from under the bed. He kneels
down and picks up some pieces off the floor.
HE: Why?
WOMAN: Why what?
HE: You know what I mean.
WOMAN: Rest. Youre not yourself.
HE: Im fucking fantastic! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY WIFE?
WOMAN: Calm down.
HE: How the hell am I supposed to calm down when youre picking up my
wife in a million pieces?
WOMAN: That attitude will get you nowhere.

Against Love, page 11

HE approaches her menacingly.

HE: You know something, dont you?
WOMAN: I just came here to do my job.
HE: Tell me what you know.
HE takes the broom from her hands.
WOMAN: Fine.
She starts to leave the room, but HE closes the door ahead of her, blocking
her path.
HE: Start talking.
WOMAN: If I were you, I wouldnt play games.
HE: Why? You going to smash me to pieces like my wife?
WOMAN: I didnt smash anyones wife.
HE: But you admit, thats my wife.
WOMAN: I didnt say that.
HE: Stop playing games! I deserve an answer.
WOMAN looks for the last remaining pieces under the bed.
WOMAN: If you dont want to give me the broom back, thats your business.
I told you, I came here to do my job, period. Dont freak out on me.
Something broke, something of yours, or something belonging to the
hotel, whatever. Im picking it up and then Im out of here. Understand? I
dont want trouble.
HE: Fine. But... you have to realize that...
WOMAN: Youre confused, just calm down. Itll all make sense again soon.
HE: I dont know, its all so...

Against Love, page 12

WOMAN: Relax, it wont last.

HE: Its just that when I turned on the light, she was...
WOMAN: Stop thinking about it.
HE: But...
WOMAN: Think about something else. Maybe if...
HE: What are you going to do with that? You cant throw them out, thats
my...
WOMAN: Theyll be part of...
HE approaches the bucket and looks inside.
HE: What is all that in there? What have you got in there?
WOMAN stops.
WOMAN: Dont.
HE: Dont what?
WOMAN: Dont look in there.
Pause.
HE: Why not?
WOMAN: Its better that way. Really. Its garbage. Leave it be.
HE begins taking out pieces of broken things.
HE: What is all this?
WOMAN: Other broken things.
HE: Other things? Its people! Who are all these people?
WOMAN: A thing can break, a person cant. Youre being paranoid.
HE shows her some of the pieces from inside the bucket.

Against Love, page 13

HE: This is an ear. An ear! And this has got to be a shoulder! All of this
belongs to someone!
WOMAN: Youre imagining things.
HE: What are you doing? What happened to my wife? Answer me!
WOMAN: What do you want me to say...
HE: Are you picking up the pieces of people who have been staying in these
rooms?
Someone knocks at the door. Pause. Neither speaks.
HE: Who is that? Im asking you... who is that?
WOMAN: I dont know.
HE: You never know anything, do you?
HE opens the door and finds another woman dressed like the first.
WOMAN 2: Finished?
HE: Who are you?
WOMAN: Yes.
WOMAN gathers her things and heads for the door.
WOMAN 2: Hurry up. There are three couples on the first floor and on the
fourth...
WOMAN: Stop talking and help me out.
HE: Whats wrong with the couple on the first floor?
WOMAN: Nothing.
WOMAN 2: Is that it?
WOMAN: Yes, yes.

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HE: So this happens to every couple?

WOMAN: Lets get out of here.
HE: Why dont you answer me?
WOMAN 2: You got the broom?
WOMAN: Right, yes.
She grabs the broom.
HE: What am I supposed to do now?
WOMAN 2: A pair of newlyweds, huh?
WOMAN: I said, stop talking!
WOMAN 2: Same old story.
HE: Those pieces belong to me.
WOMAN and WOMAN 2 leave, dragging large sacks behind them. HE sits on
the bed, helpless, then picks up an object in the room and looks it over. He
hits himself on the head with it, perhaps to see if it will break, but he only
ends up hurting himself.
HE: Ouch.
Blackout.

Against Love, page 15

3.
An outdoor cafe. A young woman, GIRLFRIEND 1, is seated drinking coffee
and looking anxious. GIRLFRIEND 2, a woman of the same age, arrives in a
rush.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Sorry about that.
They kiss.
GIRLFRIEND 1: Dont worry about it.
GIRLFRIEND 2: You know Im not usually late. I dont know whats wrong
with me today.
GIRLFRIEND 1: Its no big deal.
GIRLFRIEND 2 sits.
GIRLFRIEND 2: How are you?
GIRLFRIEND 1: Fine, I wish, except...
GIRLFRIEND 2: Oh no, sweetie, whats wrong?
GIRLFRIEND 1: I wish I didnt have to bother you about it, but Im
desperate, really. I dont have a clue what to do.
GIRLFRIEND 2: When I heard your voicemail today, I got goose bumps all
over.
GIRLFRIEND 1: Im an idiot.
GIRLFRIEND 2: What happened? Did you and Andrew break up?
GIRLFRIEND 1 shakes her head no.
GIRLFRIEND 1: Its not that.
GIRLFRIEND 2: So tell me.
GIRLFRIEND 1: You have to promise, not a word to anyone about this.
GIRLFRIEND 2: You know me. My lips are sealed.

Against Love, page 16

GIRLFRIEND 1: Swear.
GIRLFRIEND 2: I swear. Really.
GIRLFRIEND 1 unbuttons her blouse a bit.
GIRLFRIEND 2: What are you doing?
GIRLFRIEND 1 shows her a section of her torso, without the audience being
able to see it. GIRLFRIEND 2 grimaces.
GIRLFRIEND 2: What is that?
GIRLFRIEND 2 stands to get a better look.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Is it alive?
GIRLFRIEND 2 moves closer.
GIRLFRIEND 2: What is that? Jesus Christ, what has happened to you? I
mean, its alive!
GIRLFRIEND 1: Im screwed.
GIRLFRIEND 2 sticks out her finger.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Can I touch it? I mean, you?
GIRLFRIEND 1 nods, miserable.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Holy Mother of Jesus, what is that? Does it hurt?
GIRLFRIEND 2: Sometimes, a lot.
GIRLFRIEND 2 gives GIRLFRIEND 1 a careful hug so as not to press herself
too close to the object under consideration.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Have you seen a doctor?
GIRLFRIEND 1: No.
GIRLFRIEND 2: How come?

Against Love, page 17

GIRLFRIEND 1: Its a long story.

GIRLFRIEND 2: But this is so... so... I dont know, its beastly.
GIRLFRIEND 1: Sit down.
GIRLFRIEND 2 complies.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Where does it come from? Is it some kind of parasite... or
larvae... or... ? Oh my God, its horrible!
GIRLFRIEND 1: Please, you have to help me. I dont know what Im going to
do about this.
GIRLFRIEND 2: You have to get it out of you as soon as possible. Im taking
you to the hospital!
GIRLFRIEND 1: Its not that simple.
GIRLFRIEND 2: What do you mean?
GIRLFRIEND 1: Its not an insect, or, whatever you said, a larva. Its not a
tapeworm or a tumor or anything like that. Its my ex.
GIRLFRIEND 2: How can you joke about this?
GIRLFRIEND 1: Hes practically killing me. You think Im joking about that?
That, I find funny...
GIRLFRIEND 2: But how can your ex...
GIRLFRIEND 1: I dont know, but its him, it is. When Im alone, he talks to
me from inside there for hours on end.
GIRLFRIEND 2: He talks to you?
GIRLFRIEND 1: Hes really mad at me. Furious.
GIRLFRIEND 2: How did he...
GIRLFRIEND 1: He spends all day wriggling around like crazy, like hes never
going to stop. He makes me throw up anything I eat, he kicks me in the
ribs...

Against Love, page 18

GIRLFRIEND 2: You have to get him out of there. This is...

GIRLFRIEND 1: I know, I know, I know...
GIRLFRIEND 2: ... is very strange, I mean... have you checked to see if hes
still living at home?
GIRLFRIEND 1: Hes not. Nobodys been there, not for at least a month and
a half. I asked the doorman.
GIRLFRIEND 2: And is that about the same time that... ?
GIRLFRIEND 1 nods yes.
GIRLFRIEND 2: What does he want?
GIRLFRIEND 1: Believe me, I wish I knew. To drive me crazy, I imagine.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Does Andrew know about this?
GIRLFRIEND 1: We havent made love for a month. I cant let him see me
like this. Im scared to hell hell discover him and something bad will
happen or that hell be totally grossed out making love to me while this
bulge is wriggling around my body.
GIRLFRIEND 2: So how is he taking this?
GIRLFRIEND 1: I havent exactly been Miss Congeniality lately... I dont feel
that good either... I havent been to work, I havent even told them
why... Im pretty sure Andrews going to break up with me.
GIRLFRIEND 2: You have to tell him whats going on.
GIRLFRIEND 1: I cant! Cant you see that?
GIRLFRIEND 2: You have to let him help you.
GIRLFRIEND 1: Dont you understand? This thing is holding me hostage. At
any minute, it could do something.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Its going to ruin your relationship.
GIRLFRIEND 1: I cant sleep at night. He wraps itself around my heart at
night so tight I get palpitations. I have to do whatever he wants. Think

Against Love, page 19

about what this asshole would do to me if he decides to kick me in the

gut or take a piss in my lungs... I mean, Jesus! Just imagine! What in the
hell am I going to do about this?
GIRLFRIEND 1 suddenly stops speaking.
GIRLFRIEND 2: What is it?
GIRLFRIEND 1: I dont know. Hes on the move.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Where to?
GIRLFRIEND 1: Hes headed for my stomach. Get some help.
GIRLFRIEND 2: From who?
GIRLFRIEND 1: How the hell do I know? I just have to put an end to this.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Have you tried poison or...
GIRLFRIEND 1: Id poison myself too.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Right... and if... if you pay attention to him?
GIRLFRIEND 1: What?
GIRLFRIEND 2: Pay attention to him... He must be doing this because you
werent paying any attention to him, were you?
GIRLFRIEND 1: Of course not. Im the one who broke it off, remember. And
it wasnt easy.
GIRLFRIEND 2: I remember everything.
GIRLFRIEND 1: Im not going to go back to doing everything he wanted.
GIRLFRIEND 2: But your situation is different now, now theres no getting rid
of him.
GIRLFRIEND 1: What are you suggesting?
GIRLFRIEND 2: I dont know... Do what he likes.
GIRLFRIEND 1: Like what?

Against Love, page 20

GIRLFRIEND 2: I dont know...

GIRLFRIEND 1: Denigrate myself in front of my friends?
GIRLFRIEND 2: No, of course not.
GIRLFRIEND 1: Get skunk drunk and spend the night passed out on the
sofa?
GIRLFRIEND 2: I dont know. There must have been something he did that
made you fall in love with him.
GIRLFRIEND 1: Seriously, its really difficult to come up with anything right
now.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Didnt you guys like going to that little place by the...
GIRLFRIEND 1: What are you saying? That I should take him out for seafood
dinner? Celebrate the fact that hes turned into my favorite tumor?
GIRLFRIEND 2: What about the trips to the country that you took?
GIRLFRIEND 1: The last time we went upstate, he abandoned me there. He
was a bit of a nut job.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Well, I dont know. Think of something that will get him to
stop fucking with you the way he is now. Speaking of which, where is he
now?
GIRLFRIEND 1: I dont know, somewhere in my stomach. I have no idea
what hes up to.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Have you tried to speak to him, honestly?
GIRLFRIEND 1: Only a thousand times. Hes the kind of guy you dont want
to contradict.
GIRLFRIEND 2: I remember that about him.
GIRLFRIEND 1: He was so bitter, he never forgave me for dating Andrew.
GIRLFRIEND 2: I know.

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GIRLFRIEND 1: Every time we got together, he always had to throw

everything back in my face... he was the kind of prick who...
GIRLFRIEND 1 starts suffocating.
GIRLFRIEND 2: What is it?
GIRLFRIEND 2 stands and rushes to her friends side.
GIRLFRIEND 2: What is he doing to you?
GIRLFRIEND 1 indicates that a body is rising up her throat toward her
mouth.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Please, say something! Im going for help!
GIRLFRIEND 1 pleads with her to stop.
GIRLFRIEND 2: Jesus Christ!
GIRLFRIEND 1 finally throws up. Its a party blowout. The women look at
each other, frightened.
GIRLFRIEND 2: So it would seem he wants to go out partying.
Blackout.

Against Love, page 22

4.
A pair of teenagers grapple with each other, obviously swept up in sexual
foreplay. They head for the bed, fall onto it and begin undressing with an
urgent desire to fuck.
GIRL: Do you have one?
BOY: Im not sure.
They continue.
GIRL: Do you have one or not?
BOY: Im not sure.
She freezes while he continues trying to undress her.
BOY: Do you have one?
GIRL: No. I wanted to know if you had one.
BOY: It doesnt matter.
GIRL: It does too matter.
She stops.
BOY: Why?
GIRL: I wont do it without one.
BOY: Just this once, nothings going to happen.
GIRL: Yes, it is!
She moves away. Pause.
BOY: Lets do it without one.
GIRL: Why?
BOY: To see what it feels like.

Against Love, page 23

GIRL: Its not any better without one.

BOY: It is, I bet.
GIRL: If you thinking Im fucking without one, youre crazy.
BOY: Lets try, just a little bit.
GIRL: Im not trying, not without a pill.
Pause. Grudgingly, he takes a pillbox from his pocket and throws it on the
bed.
GIRL: So you do have one.
BOY: We get a box at work every Friday. And then dont let us out the door
without making us swallow a couple in front of the boss.
She opens the pillbox and sees that it is full.
GIRL: But you skipped yours.
BOY: I swallowed some M&Ms instead. Just this once, I wanted to do it not
under the influence, not in love.
GIRL: I cant imagine why. Fucking when youre in love is the greatest thing
ever.
BOY: Not if you ask me, its not.
She approaches him lasciviously and begins touching him again.
GIRL: Its amazing... euphoric... psychedelic...
BOY: I know what youre up to.
GIRL: Its like talking to God and downing a shot of whisky at the same
time.
BOY: You sound like the ad campaign at the office: All the advantages of
alcohol and Christianity with none of the harmful side effects.
He disentangles himself from her.

Against Love, page 24

GIRL: Dont be ridiculous.

BOY: Have you ever stopped to think about whatever the hell it is were
doing?
GIRL: What do you mean?
BOY: About the consequences of taking those fucking pills?
GIRL: Whats got into you?... Which fucked up book have you gotten your
hands on?
BOY: Havent you ever wondered what would happen if we werent all doped
up out of our heads on this love thing?
GIRL: You talk about it like its a bad thing.
BOY: Its not enough that we have to watch American movies all the time,
no, we gotta swallow pills 24/7, too.
GIRL: But thats good. Whats wrong with it? Thats why I buy Coca-Cola.
Because its got a little extra love in it that you cant get in other brands.
BOY: No, its not good. Thats what Im trying to tell you. Its ridiculous.
GIRL: Ridiculous? Youre saying our love is ridiculous?
BOY: Im saying love is ridiculous.
GIRL: What bullshit...
BOY: Behind these pills is a massive corporate conspiracy.
GIRL: I cant wait to hear what youll think of next.
BOY: Ever met anyone who admitted to not taking them? Whos renounced
love?
GIRL: Im sure we can come up with some freak somewhere.
BOY: Thats what Im talking about. Refusing to take the pills anymore
thats exile, from everything.

Against Love, page 25

GIRL: Its moronic, thats what it is. Why would anyone give up something
so good for them?
BOY: Someone made these pills so youd fall blindly in love, and take out a
mortgage you cant afford, and buy a car on loan, and try to dress better
than your friends, and have two kids who are born with as much debt as
their grandparents had. Im talking about control.
Pause.
GIRL: You have something you want to say to me, but youre not sure how
to say it, is that it?
BOY: Are you even listening to me?
GIRL: Fine. I know where this is headed. Youre breaking up with me. Go
ahead, say it, I can take it.
BOY: This is serious. Im serious.
GIRL: Do you realize the effect ideas like this can have on me?
BOY: The world would be a better place / without...
GIRL: Im talking about you and me. Please! Stop saving the world for a
minute and work on saving me. Do you think Im going to live with
someone who doesnt do love?
BOY: Come on, you know / that...
GIRL: I dont know anything! All I know is that I love you and it doesnt
mean anything if you dont love me back!
She hugs him tearfully. Pause. Unmoved, he separates himself from her.
BOY: It doesnt make sense to love someone if you insist on them loving you
back.
GIRL: Youre an idiot. And ungrateful to boot.
BOY: Youre not listening to me. Theyve cheapened love. They dont teach
us anything about controlling our emotions because they want us to
depend on them. Cant you see that the way they make us live doesnt
have anything to do with love?

Against Love, page 26

GIRL: What good does it do me to listen to you? You think youre going to
accomplish anything other than making a mess of your life?
He picks up the box of pills.
BOY: Taking one of these isnt the same as being alive.
GIRL: Taking one of these makes being alive better. And thats how I want
to live.
BOY: Then I dont want to live with you.
Pause.
GIRL: You think youre going to find someone who wants to live without
popping pills?
BOY: There are a lot of strange people in the world.
GIRL: People who want to live without a mortgage, without a car, without
designer clothes, without kids, without debt?
BOY: Maybe.
GIRL: Youll be all alone. Theres no way people will accept you as normal.
You cant make them believe youre in love.
BOY: Maybe I could.
GIRL: I could turn you in.
BOY: Youd do that?
GIRL: I could tell everyone you know at work, your family, your friends, that
youre just faking love, that you wont take the pills because you feel like
fucking it all up for the rest of us.
BOY: Bitch.
Pause.
GIRL: I could do that, but Im going to.

Against Love, page 27

BOY: Why not?

GIRL: Because I love you.
BOY: Listen, I think / maybe...
GIRL: And because theres something I want from you.
BOY: What is it?
GIRL: To screw, in love. Its the least you could do.
BOY: You can be in love and screw and let me screw however I want.
GIRL: No, I want us both to be in love. Go ahead and think Im desperate,
that I dont care that Im a junkie, that Ill do anything just to do it one
more time. Thats all Im asking of you, then you can spend the rest of
your life doing whatever the hell you want.
Hes speechless.
GIRL: Because I love you. Ill do it for love.
He considers it.
GIRL: Agreed?
BOY: This is the last time in love? Never again? Promise?
GIRL: Promise.
She picks up a glass of water and a couple of pills and swallows them in one
gulp.
BOY: Ill stop tomorrow. In the evening, when theyve all worn off, Im
getting rid of the lot of them.
GIRL: Water?
BOY: Not this time.
GIRL: They can be hard to get down sometimes. Sometimes they make you
gag, or get stuck halfway...

Against Love, page 28

BOY: I told you Im taking them. Please, you dont have to...
She takes a pill and downs it with another gulp of water.
GIRL: Its for your own good. I dont want you to choke.
BOY: Okay, okay.
GIRL: Ive always had your back. You should be a little more trusting, really.
BOY: I am, its just that...
GIRL: Dont worry about it, just relax.
BOY: I know, I know.
GIRL: Come here.
They embrace. They begin touching again, slowing getting more and more
sexual. They begin to make love, but she stops him.
GIRL: Tomorrow morning, well go see about the mortgage, right?
BOY: You think Im stupid?
Pause.
GIRL: What?
BOY: Tomorrows Saturday. Our banks not open Saturdays.
GIRL: I think if you can prove that youve taken an entire package of pills,
they open it just for you.
BOY: Then what are we waiting for?
They both start eating pills with the same intensity with which they were
screwing moments earlier.
Blackout.

Against Love, page 29

5.
A faraway planet. An astronaut is seated in silence in a rudimentary chair.
He wears a heavy suit and a helmet with an opaque visor so that we cannot
see inside. Next to him is a machine of some kind, in partial stages of
completion, which seems to have had some sort of communicative function.
Short pause. We hear his voice, masculine and mature, filtered through an
intercom.
ASTRONAUT 1: I dont know, really, and I dont give a fuck.
Silence. Very slowly, moving heavily, another astronaut enters the scene,
dressed similarly and carrying equipment to dismantle the machine. Before
she speaks, in an elderly and feminine voice, we hear her heavy breathing.
ASTRONAUT 2: Are you still upset?
Pause. ASTRONAUT 2 stops in front of ASTRONAUT 1.
ASTRONAUT 2: Im sorry.
ASTRONAUT 2 sets down the equipment she was carrying.
ASTRONAUT 2: Forgive me? You always forgive me eventually. Its your only
option.
Pause. ASTRONAUT 2 stands motionless in front of ASTRONAUT 1.
ASTRONAUT 1: You know what I love most about this planet?
ASTRONAUT 2: No.
ASTRONAUT 1: The simplicity of the landscape. I could sit here staring at it
for the rest of my life. So clean, so perfect. An immense orange desert
with gradations of red and nothing else. Simple, like the palm of a hand.
Nothing to disturb it, nothing to sully it, nothing. No one to interfere. Not
a footprint, no rusted sign. No plastic bag flying about for no reason.
Pause.
ASTRONAUT 1: I could care less that no ones left on Earth. I dont give a
shit not having a clue about what happened to everyone. And I dont give
a damn that you and I are the only ones left. I dont give a damn. I dont
give a damn because this purity is going to outlast us. This desert will

Against Love, page 30

outlast us. The sand dunes that seem to shift in secret will still be here
when you and I arent.
ASTRONAUT 2: What if youre wrong about that?
ASTRONAUT 1: About what?
ASTRONAUT 2: What if, when you and I disappear, the sand dunes
disappear with us>
ASTRONAUT 1: Are you joking?
ASTRONAUT 2: What if the world wants to be observed? If reality wants
someone to see this simplicity?
ASTRONAUT 1 laughs.
ASTRONAUT 1: Bullshit.
ASTRONAUT 2: Think about it.
ASTRONAUT 1: Theres nothing to think about.
Pause.
ASTRONAUT 1: Its probably not worth working on the radio.
ASTRONAUT 2 realizes she wasnt doing anything and begins to take apart
the radio.
Pause.
ASTRONAUT 2: I dont mean to beat a dead horse, but...
ASTRONAUT 1: So dont, if you dont want to.
Pause.
ASTRONAUT 2: Have you always been like this?
ASTRONAUT 1: Like what?
ASTRONAUT 2: Suicidal.

Against Love, page 31

ASTRONAUT 1: Suicidal? Now Im suicidal?

ASTRONAUT 2: Youre acting suicidal.
Pause.
ASTRONAUT 1: Meaning, if I dont want to have kids, Im suicidal.
Pause.
ASTRONAUT 2: You expect me to answer that?
ASTRONAUT 1: Youre goddamned right I dont want an answer to that! I
know how you feel about it. You yak about the same thing all day long.
ASTRONAUT 2: Sorry.
ASTRONAUT 1: Youre not sorry! Youre not sorry at all!
Pause.
ASTRONAUT 2: Do you still love me?
ASTRONAUT 1: Thats a stupid question right now.
ASTRONAUT 2: Are you trying to break my heart?
ASTRONAUT 1: Youre questions are getting stupider by the minute. Go
ahead, lets see what you can do with the next one.
ASTRONAUT 2: Youre a self-centered asshole.
Pause.
ASTRONAUT 1: If, by some celestial miracle, you manage to have a child / in
spite of...
ASTRONAUT 2: I was just talking about trying...
ASTRONAUT 1: You havent had a period for a year.
ASTRONAUT 2: Just trying...

Against Love, page 32

ASTRONAUT 1: The kid doesnt stand a chance of a normal life. Its not like
you can send him out to play unless hes going to asphyxiate himself.
Hes going to end up lost and alone for his entire lifetime.
ASTRONAUT 2: Like us.
ASTRONAUT 1: Exactly.
Pause.
ASTRONAUT 1: Even if we had a couple of kids, which is what youre really
thinking, theyd still have to live their lives lost and alone.
ASTRONAUT 2: Totally self-centered.
ASTRONAUT 1: You and I are barely going to get by with what we have
here.
ASTRONAUT 2: Its our duty.
ASTRONAUT 1: Thats where youre mistaken.
ASTRONAUT 2: It is.
ASTRONAUT 1: How so? Lets hear you explain this one.
ASTRONAUT 2: Isnt it obvious?
ASTRONAUT 1: No.
ASTRONAUT 2: Youre unbelievable!
The machine ASTRONAUT 2 has been dismantling is now in transportable
pieces.
ASTRONAUT 1: Same as that machine youre working on. Wont do a damn
bit of good.
ASTRONAUT 2: What do you care?
ASTRONAUT 1: Youre kidding yourself.
ASTRONAUT 2: So let me.

Against Love, page 33

ASTRONAUT 1: Are you recording this?

ASTRONAUT 2: Yes.
ASTRONAUT 1: What for?
ASTRONAUT 2: I dont know. I thought you were going to say something
beautiful, so I wanted to record it.
ASTRONAUT 1: Well, youre wrong. I didnt say anything beautiful. You
shouldnt have recorded me.
ASTRONAUT 2: Drop it. Its my business. Maybe someonell want to hear
what you have to say in the future.
ASTRONAUT 1: I doubt that.
ASTRONAUT 2: You never know.
Pause.
ASTRONAUT 1: Im sorry. I think our situation is getting to me.
ASTRONAUT 2: I know, to me, too.
ASTRONAUT 1: You shouldnt, you know, question the fact... that... I...
ASTRONAUT 2: What?
ASTRONAUT 1: You know.
ASTRONAUT 2: What?
ASTRONAUT 1: Never mind.
ASTRONAUT 2: What? Tell me.
ASTRONAUT 1 falls off his chair, knocking the helmet off of his head. Inside,
the skeleton of a cadaver is revealed. ASTRONAUT 2 pushes a button on the
intercom. Slowly, she approaches ASTRONAUT 1 and puts him together
again, without replacing his helmet. She looks at him. She puts on his
helmet. She looks at him again. Pause. She takes off his helmet and leaves
him with his decaying skull in the open air. ASTRONAUT 2 pushes a button
on her intercom, causing feedback.

Against Love, page 34

ASTRONAUT 2: You never know.

Pause.
ASTRONAUT 1: Im sorry. I think our situation is getting to me.
ASTRONAUT 2: I know, to me, too.
ASTRONAUT 1: You shouldnt, you know, question the fact... that... I...
ASTRONAUT 2: What?
ASTRONAUT 1: You know.
ASTRONAUT 2: What?
ASTRONAUT 1: Never mind.
ASTRONAUT 2: What? Tell me.
ASTRONAUT 1: Its something I dont want repeated.
ASTRONAUT 2: Very funny.
ASTRONAUT 1: Maybe it doesnt seem like it, but... remember that I...
The voice of ASTRONAUT 1 begins to distort monstrously.
ASTRONAUT 1: I love you.
The voice comes to a halt. ASTRONAUT 2 pushes more buttons on her
intercom but the voice continues with frightening distortion.
ASTRONAUT 1: But remember that... I love you.
ASTRONAUT 2 tries several times to fix it, but it sounds worse each time.
She stops. Silence. Finally we see her, an old lady, remove her helmet.
Blackout.

Against Love, page 35

6.
A middle-aged couple dressed to the nines. They are submerged up to their
necks in a slimy and degrading substance reminiscent of quicksand, which
restricts all movement. It might even be said that they are up to their necks
in shit, but shit of an unknown, perhaps infinite, depth. All we can see are
their heads and her hand as she cleans one of his ears with a cotton swab.
MRS: I dont like it when you get dirty...
Pause.
MR: I dont like you telling me what to do.
MRS: I dont like you telling me what to do.
MR: I dont like how you have your things all over the floor. I dont like not
knowing whats underneath, what Im stepping on.
The dialogue acquires a rapid-fire rhythm.
MRS: I dont like it when you get confused and think your things are my
things.
MR: I dont like the way you dont trust me.
MRS: I dont like how you leave home without telling me where youre going.
MR: I dont like how you go out without telling me who youre going out
with.
MRS: I dont like how you go to the theater without thinking maybe Id like
to go with you.
MR: I dont like it when you ask me what time Ill be home from work when I
always get home at the same damn time.
MRS: I dont like how you dont do, at the very least, your half of the
housework, even if I have decided to do twice my share that day.
MR: I dont like it when you decide the house is messy and needs cleaning
when it doesnt.

Against Love, page 36

MRS: I dont like it when you dont knock before you come into the
bathroom.
MR: I dont like how you leave all your jars of face cream all over the
bathroom.
MRS: I dont like how you always leave the bed unmade.
MR: I dont like the way you expect me to thank you every time you make
the bed.
MRS: I dont like the way you snore every time you fall asleep on the sofa,
especially when Im watching a really good movie.
MR: I dont like the way you wake me up when I fall asleep on the sofa and
expect me to go to bed with you.
MRS: I dont like the way you get up out of bed right after we fuck.
The dialogue gets increasingly more aggressive. If they could, they would be
hitting each other over the head.
MR: I dont like how you think theres something special we should be saying
to each other right after we fuck.
MRS: I dont like how you act all lovey-dovey before we fuck.
MR: I dont like how you spend an hour on the phone every time one of your
girlfriends calls.
MRS: I dont like the fact that you say what you think about my family.
MR: I dont like the fact that you think you have the perfect family.
MRS: I dont like feeling like you treat me worse than your other girlfriends,
especially in front of your family.
MR: I dont like you the fact that you hide things about your other
relationships.
MRS: I dont like the fact that you watch porn in secret.
MR: I dont like the way you have secrets with other people.

Against Love, page 37

MRS: I dont like it when you shop in secret, especially when you spend too
much, and especially when I havent bought anything at all that day.
MR: I dont like shopping.
MRS: I dont like it when its lunchtime and youve been snacking so much,
youre not hungry.
MR: I dont like it when you skip a meal because youre trying to lose
weight.
RMS: I dont like when you wont eat what Ive cooked.
MR: I dont like it when you cook things I dont like just because I dont like
them.
MRS: I dont like it when you read the paper at the table.
MR: I dont like it when you feel like you have to get up and do the dishes as
soon as weve finished eating.
MRS: I dont like how you can never seem to wash the plates off right.
MR: I dont like how you comment on my lack of manners every time I drink
out of the bottle.
MRS: I dont like how you never notice the breadcrumbs youve left on the
floor as if you didnt know they drive me crazy.
MR: I dont like how you take everything personally.
MRS: I dont like how you pretend youre criticizing someone else when
youre really directing it at me.
MR: I dont like how you turn every little thing into some big drama.
MRS: I dont like it when you start yelling as soon as you realize youre
wrong.
MR: I dont like it when you start your sentences with You always... .
MRS: I dont like it when you start your sentences with I never... .

Against Love, page 38

MR: I dont like how you have your things all over the floor. I dont like not
knowing whats underfoot, underneath all this. I dont like how whatevers
underneath all this keeps trying to grab my foot.
The dialogue comes to a stop. Then it starts up again little by little in a much
more relaxed manner.
MRS: I dont like it when you tell stupid jokes, especially in front of my
friends.
MR: I dont like it when you use that tone of voice to make fun of me,
especially in front of your friends.
MRS: I dont like it when you go online to chat and flirt.
Their manner becomes increasingly romantic.
MR: I dont like how you like talking about your gynecologist.
She laughs. He does too.
MRS: I dont like how you never talk about your ex-girlfriends.
MR: I dont like how you wont tell me whether or not your ex-boyfriends
had bigger dicks than mine.
One might say they are making love with their words, and one might even
suspect something is going on with their hands underneath the slimy
substance.
MRS: I dont like it when you pay more attention to other women than to me
when were out on a date.
MR: I dont like it when you act twice as charming in front of other men.
MRS: I dont like how every time Im charmed by another man, I have to tell
you hes gay, even if hes not.
MR: I dont like how much you like lying to me.
MRS: I dont like how you never notice all the things I dont tell you.
MR: I dont like it when you dress sexy, way too sexy.

Against Love, page 39

MRS: I dont like it when your clothes make you look fat.
MR: I dont like the way the way you think all women fake their orgasms.
MRS: I dont the fact that you dont understand why women have to fake
their orgasms.
Their dialogue reaches an orgasmic pitch.
MR: I dont like the fact that you think just by fucking Im going to forget all
about our argument.
MRS: I dont like the fact that you think because we fight, that means I dont
love you.
She blows him a kiss.
MR: I dont like it when you kiss me in front of my friends.
Enter MR #2. He is also impeccably dressed, and he walks carefully over the
slippery substance until he is next to MRs head.
MR: I dont like that guy youre always meeting up with.
MRS: I dont like the way youre so jealous, for good reason.
MR: I dont like you not being mine.
MRS: I dont like not knowing whose I am.
MR #2 begins stepping on MRs head.
MR #2: I dont mean to interrupt, but...
MR: I dont like how you see more of him than me.
MRS: I dont like how you dont understand that I might need a little space.
MR: I dont like not knowing exactly what I need a little space means.
MRS: I dont like how you think I never loved you.
MRS turns away to avoid seeing what MR #2 is doing to MR.

Against Love, page 40

MR: I dont like being pulled under by my kneecaps.

MRS: I dont like the way your family wont look at me in public.
MR: I dont like the fact that you guys use same brand of condoms that you
and I do.
MRS: I dont like the fact that you two dont get along.
MR #2: I dont like the fact that hes so hard to get rid of.
MR #2 continues stomping on MRs head, which begins to go under, as does
MR himself.
MR: I dont like thinking about how Im no longer the one who makes you
say you dont like something.
MRS: I dont like the way you think your emotional blackmail proves you
love me.
MR: I dont like loving you.
MRS: I dont like the fact that he thinks Im a slut just because I still like the
fact that you love me.
MR: I dont like... like...
MR can barely speak.
MR: I dont like you!
MR is completely submerged in the gelatinous substance until he disappears.
MR #2 is now up to his legs in it, and stuck.
MR #2: I dont like the man you were with before.
MRS: I dont like speaking about my past.
MR #2: I dont him trying to pull me under by my kneecaps.
MR #2 sees someone in the distance.
MRS: I dont like the way you can always see whats coming.

Against Love, page 41

MR #2: I dont like seeing someone getting closer.

MRS: I dont like the way you obsess over nonsense.
MR #2 is submerged until he is in the same position as MR.
MR #2: I dont like how you wont change your ways.
She begins to clean out MR #2s ear with a cotton swab.
MRS: I dont like it when you get dirty.
Pause. MRS waits for MR #2s reaction.
MR: Whatever.
MRS is surprised by his answer. She replies immediately with disgust.
MRS: I dont like your answer.
Pause.
MR (doubtfully): You mean... you mean... you dont?
Blackout.

Against Love, page 42

7.
A man is seated on a chair and facing the audience. He is forty-something
with a slight paunch and salt-and-pepper hair. He is wearing cowboy boots,
although for some time he has known that the style doesnt suit him.
MAN: Hey, thanks for coming. I know that you all dont always make the
meeting, but I appreciate your being here today. Those of you who could.
Really. It means a lot to me.
Brief pause.
Everybody comfortable? I mean, if you want water or anything, Im happy to
get some for you, no problem. Its important to me that everybodys
comfortable. So... Im going to go ahead and share and get it over with,
okay?
He laughs.
Anyway, Im sure, you know, my story isnt a whole lot different from yours.
Brief pause.
Well, so... ugh, its not so easy...
He laughs.
Some of you know that, because I mentioned it before, that I made porn.
Does that seem possible? Do I look like a guy in the porn business?
Brief pause.
Well, I dont know, that fact is, I was. Its a job, like any other. Except not
exactly like any other job because it pays really well.
He laughs.
And when I say well, I mean, really well. Maybe some of you are thinking
Im some kind of sicko and some of you that Im a hero. I get that every
time, every time I say something. And I dont care. I understand. There are
people who think one way and people who think another way. But for those
of you who dont like it, you should know that if you can make that amount
of money, its because a lot, a lot of people watch it. And if so many people
watch it, that must mean something, right? Its not like were doing anything

Against Love, page 43

unnatural, its just people doing what theyd do at home, fucking, thats all.
Whats the harm in that? I dont really see anything wrong with it.
Everyones free to live however they want and watch the movies they want.
Brief pause.
Maybe some of you are thinking, I never saw any film with this asshole in
it. And thats true. This guys just come to brag about being a porn star.
Thats not it at all.
He laughs.
I make porn, but Im not the talent. Im a casting director. What that means
is... Not everyone can do porn, you cant just grab the first chic who shows
up and start filming. Some folks arent... arent pretty enough, for one. You
have to be outgoing, you know what I mean? There are some folks that,
until youve fucked them, you dont have any idea of what theyre capable
of. Everyonell say theyll do things, but when it comes to really doing
them... So my job was crucial. Id travel to Eastern Europe, Budapest or
Prague, say, spend two or three weeks auditioning. Take their photos, make
sure they were at least halfway decent, gotta protect our firms reputation.
Then I fucked them. Seriously, I never had any woman give me any
problems. Sometimes, itd even seem like you could grab any girl off the
streets of Budapest, get a room and take her there to fuck. Its amazing how
many girls want to be porn stars. And beautiful ones, too. Seriously. After
that, Mario, my director, hed take a look at the tapes, and if he saw
someone he liked, hed pay for to come here and make a movie. They feel
like theyre halfway to Hollywood. Besides, it made me feel... lucky doing
this, and not just because I got to screw them any way I wanted but
because I was giving them the big break in life they were waiting for. A job,
for example, what with unemployment being out of control. Or getting them
out of a troubled situation at home, whatever. Maybe it sounds silly, but I
loved what I did, I did. For them as much as for me. I guess I sound pretty
full of it, dont I?
He laughs.
Ive never been so sincere in my entire life. You guys shared with me, so
now I guess its my turn. Maybe youre wondering about my home life. So
this dudes goes home to a wife and kids after hes been in Prague on a sex
spree? No way, right? But I did, I had a girlfriend, Tania. Most people in the
business end up with someone else in the business, actresses, producers or
the like... Women also in the business. That way no one worries about what

Against Love, page 44

theyre doing at work. Like I said, some people just cant get their heads
around this kind of thing... oh well...
Brief pause.
I met Tania in a club in Valencia. I was on vacation with friends, friends not
doing porn, and one of them had a sister and her friend... anyway, they
introduced us.
He exhales.
She was gorgeous, hot, and clearly, of legal age, I mean, she is. A real
catch, as they say, someone you can count on, not someone whos going to
knife you in the back.
Brief pause.
And we hit it off. The first night, we fucked like crazy. And I know what Im
talking about. I put what I know to good use. You have to have certain skills
to work in this industry. I dont mean to brag, but, if youre going to do what
I do, you cant just come whenever you want, you have to have some
endurance. In any case, we were both smiling from ear to ear all day. Tania
was happy, over the moon even, she walked around all day singing to
herself. She liked to play slow music when we fucked, and I finally figured
out shed move her ass to the rhythm of the song. She used to play a CD
called Nights of White Satin? Ever heard of it? The first song was Without
You by Nilsson. Its one of those typical la-de-da songs.
He hums it.
Thats when it hit me. Shit, shes that kind of girl. She believed that after
youd been in a bunch of crappy relationships, youd find the one for you,
that it was poetic justice. Shed say things like that. Poetic justice. And
thats when I began to think what youve been thinking all along. So how
did you explain to her what you did for a living?
He laughs.
I decided to kid myself, thinking wed just have fun for a while, that it didnt
make any, I dont know, any sense to tell her.
Brief pause.
I doubt things wouldve turned out differently if I had told her.

Against Love, page 45

Brief pause.
No, it wouldnt have changed anything. She thought I sold computers, plain
and simple. We kept our separate lives and hooked up whenever we could,
weekends mostly. I remember one time I asked her about porn, like
somebody who didnt care for it... we were at the beach, talking a lot and
getting all hot and bothered, and I asked her, You ever watch porn? And
she said yes, once she found a movie of brothers that hed hidden and
watched the thing the whole way through. Thats the thing about chics,
theyll watch a porn movie the whole way through. All we guys need is a
little bit. She said she even got off during it, just to see what it was like, she
said.
Brief pause.
Maybe you like it, maybe you dont, but porn has its place, it serves a
purpose, a social purpose, you cant deny that. Ever think about how many
people in the world would be walking around wound up tight at tops if they
couldnt get off every now and then watching someone else doing it in front
of them? One of these days youll be able to get porn at the pharmacy,
doctorsll be prescribing it for trauma and psychosis. Porn is good for you.
When I come all over some girls face, and she smiles up at me, the whole
world lights up, I feel a sense of gratitude, satisfaction, total satisfaction.
Maybe you dont know this, but porn flicks always end like that, with the guy
coming all over some girls face, or more than one girl, two at least. Its a
tradition, thats how its done. Men understand, coming on some girls face is
a lot more pleasurable, dont ask me why, its cultural or something. The
men in the room are all agreeing with me right now. It feels good and thats
why its done that way.
Pause.
The worst day of my life ended up with me coming home and finding out
that Tania wasnt there. I thought, Shit, not now, not now. Id just got
back from the doctor and she wasnt at home, the way shed said she would
be. I called her but no luck. She wouldnt take my calls. A couple of days go
by and I manage to get in touch with her sister who tells me that Tania
never wants to see me again, no explanation needed. My first thought was
that shed gone through my things and found a tape, but that was
impossible, because I keep them all in a computer file with password
protection. Nothing of mine had ever gone public.
Brief pause.

Against Love, page 46

Or thats what I thought. About a month earlier Mario had decided to release
some clips of my audition sessions without telling me. I barely appeared on
screen, but you could still tell it was me. I guess someone saw it and told
her about it, or maybe she recognized me herself, and decided to dump me.
Did she dump me because of that? I dont know. Im too afraid to ask her.
What I do isnt that bad, is it? She even confessed to watching porn, didnt
she?
The man appears to be emotionally exhausted.
Ever since they told me about the cancer in my balls I havent had anyone to
talk to except for you guys and these meetings. Im too scared to tell her
that Ive beat it, that they left me with a pair of plastic scrota after the
surgeryIm scared shell say I deserve it. Im scared shell say its all my
fault, that I deserve everything that happened to me, losing my job, my
balls, losing her. That it was poetic justice or something like that. I couldnt
take hearing her say thatthat it was poetic justice. But I dont know what
to do. Do I keep calling her? What do you think?
Brief pause.
Not that Im asking for advice, but... its just that... I dont know what...
anyway, Im sure youve all got problems that are a lot worse... but... I dont
know...
He smiles.
I gotta get going. Sorry I cant stay to hear everyone else. Its just...
today... I dont think I could... I dont know. Some other time, okay?
He exits.
Thanks for coming.
In the small theater from Scene 1 we see the final shots of the scenes from
his audition tapes, with him coming onto the faces of the actresses. The
soundtrack plays Without You by Nilsson for the duration of the song (3
min 15 sec). Then, lights up. If the audience applauds, there is no response
on the part of the actors or stage crew. End of show.