Two women sit in an expensive home office of one of the women. They wear expensive suits, sip bourbon and smoke cigars. Boss De Luca wears a red carnation in her lapel.
Dani: Michelle wants to see you.
Boss De Luca: I’d like to tell her to go to hell.
Dani: Do you want me to send her away?
Boss De Luca: No. On this, the day of my son’s wedding, I’ll agree to meet with her.
Dani: Alright.
Boss De Luca: Not yet, you and I have some business to discuss.
Dani: Everything alright, boss?
Boss De Luca: I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I built this family. We were nothing. My mother, she was a great woman, may she rest in peace. I loved her more than my own life, but she did not know how to run this family. No one knew what we were capable of. There was no respect for our foremothers to be had. And it’s gotten me thinking. Tonia died six months ago. Dani, you’re now the next in line. That means that when I die, which might very well be soon, seeing as this Bracco business is getting out of hand, that you’ll be the head of this family.
Dani: I suppose that’s true. But you don’t need to worry about being killed with Maria and I around. We’ll make sure you’re safe.
Boss De Luca: You’re losing my point. You’re 24 years old now, and I want to make sure this is the line you want to walk.
Dani: What do you mean, ma?
Boss De Luca: You’re old enough to know yourself, and I want to make sure this is the person you are, the path you want to travel, before you move any further forward. Because after today, it won’t be as easy to go back.
Dani: What are you talking about?
Boss De Luca: I have something I need you to do for me. And if you agree to it…well, it means you’re agreeing to take over this family.
Dani: I’m ready, ma.
Boss De Luca: (Looks long and hard at Dani, then finally decides she means it). Tonia was killed 6 months ago. Blown away by those God damned Bracco sisters. Your younger sister Maggie found her body riddled with holes outside her school. Tonia was gunned down while standing outside an elementary school, waiting to take your sister home. This cannot stand. I’ve waited long enough. Waited until I feel like I can finally breathe again. I will never get over the death of my eldest daughter, just as I’d never get over the death of any of you. But here we stand. Tonia gone and you now set up to be the next in line. We have a difficult task in front of us, Dani. Our family’s reputation hangs on the line. All around people wait for our reaction, our retaliation. I made a choice to hold off revenge until your sister’s blood had been dried and washed clean from the streets. But the time has come. I can wait no longer.
Dani: Whatever the plan is, ma, I’m ready. I’ll do whatever you want to repay those bitches.
Boss De Luca: This is part of my problem, Dani. Part of our problem. If you’re serious about taking over for this family, I want you to plan our revenge.
Dani: …what?
Boss De Luca: I won’t be around forever, and it’s better you start this now. It’s the most important part of running the family. Retaliation. And I want it to be good. I want the blood of the Braccos raining from the fucking heavens! I want their heads on spits. I want to wipe them from existence, if that’s what it takes to get the message across not to fuck with us.
Dani: But ma, people already know not to fuck with us.
Boss De Luca: Not if we let the murder of your sister go un-avenged. I will not be seen as going soft. Kill them, Dani. Kill them all.
Dani: I don’t even know where to start.
Boss De Luca: You start one step at a time. Start with what you know. What you don’t know, you find out. Talk to our connections at the NYPD and the mayor’s office.
Dani: What if I’m not cut out for this?
Boss: You are, Dani, forget about it. You’re my daughter. What was the first thing you felt after the grief had settled?
Dani: Rage.
Boss: Exactly. That’s a family rage and it burns in all of us De Luca women. You need to stop trying to keep that in. It will burn you alive. As soon as you let that fire out, you’ll know what to do. Think of your sister Maggie, living with the sight of her sister bloody and full of holes for the rest of her life. Think of your brothers whom we’ve sworn to protect and who are waiting for us to make a move. They depend on us for vengeance.
Dani: Will you help me?
Boss: This is your project. I’m entrusting this most important of tasks to you, my daughter, who I trust above all others. Will you accept the task, and your rightful place as my heir?
Dani: Yes.
Boss: Good. There are a few things you need to know.
Dani: I’m listening.
Boss: You remember Sarah? (Dani nods). Sarah was a fighter. No matter how big the guy was, she’d take them on. Come at her with a fist, she bring a knife, you bring a knife? She’d come at you with a gun. You brought a gun, she’d keep coming at you until one of you was dead.
Dani: What’s the point, boss?
Boss: The point is: you need to find Sarah. She disappeared after Tonia’s death, you know how close they were. Bring her back to the family. She needs protection, and we need her on our side.
Dani: Is that all?
Boss: (Shakes head no) Don’t trust anyone. Not even your own cousins, unless I say. The Braccos have gotten to someone, and I need you to find out who it is. In the meantime, don’t trust anyone’s advice but my own. I can’t bear to lose another daughter. Until we find the rat, everyone’s a fucking rat.
Dani: Alright, I understand.
Boss: Trust your sisters. Remmy is 20, and if she feels ready, let her join you. She’s woman enough to be given the chance.
Dani: I don’t want to pull Remmy into this, she’s happy at school.
Boss: I think you’ll find she’s less content than you believe. She has the rage in her, as well as you and I do. Talk to her. It’s her decision, and yours. If you don’t feel she’s ready, even if she says she is, then you don’t let her help. It’s as much your decision as it is hers.
Dani: I don’t think she’s ready.
Boss: Talk to her first. This is the last thing I have to say to you today.
(Boss De Luca reaches in a drawer and pulls out a silver handgun.)
Boss: I want you to have this. This is for you to use. Each of these bullets has a name of a Brucca on it. I want you to do any killing of a direct Brucca family member. Leave their cousins to your cousins. I want only a De Luca to kill a Brucca. You understand?
Dani: Yes, momma. I understand.
Boss: Now, (She pulls another gun from her drawer and cocks it) send in Michelle.
END
This piece was awesome... that's really all I have to say. I really hope that you have fun-research time and expand upon this scene for you final project. I have seen/read other male/female swaps such as yours that did not pull off the irony at all. I think this piece captures not only a clear picture of stereotypes in film but it has enough humor (the ability to laugh with the audience) that it can play off the message without being "preachy" or shock value controversial.
ReplyDeleteI think it'll be interesting to see how you incorporate the film aspect of mobster movies into your theatrical performance. We had a small talk in Dramatic Composition where Josie (Joe Z.) explained how the theatre was becoming more innovative to keep up with the movie theatres and different techniques one could use.
Love,
Melissa
I quite agree with everything previously stated by Melissa. I, too, would be interested to see how you might expand this work. How might you incorporate a film/video element? How might the stereotypical musics of these films be explored/exploited? (I'd love to hear how you might emasculate the work of Nino Rota and/or Ennio Morricone.) And, as I hinted at in class, how might you play with extremely elevated, hyper-masculine characters like De Palma's Tony Montana or Tarantino's Mr. Blonde? The gangster film genre is rife with deserving material, and I think you've really only just begun to sink your teeth into it. Tear it to shreds, Emily! And keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great idea, Emily! I think you did a really good job with it. Your dialogue was quick and entertaining and felt very authentic. I would love to see, in the next performance perhaps, some more movement/stage direction. Perhaps some conflict with another family. This idea has lots of room for playing. Also, if you want to do some more work with stereotypes, it might be fun to look at stereotypes of women in chick flick type movies and do something with that. Or work with other genres, like the horror movie. As Matt and Melissa said, since you are working within the film realm, it would be cool to incorporate some filmic elements.
ReplyDeletei've always been interested in the reversal of gender roles within a text, and this one brought a sense of female empowerment (what could be more respected than being a female mob-boss?!)that was really unexpected for me. like we said in class, typically the women within the mob scene are assigned to superficial roles: eye/arm candy, distractions, alibi stories, etc. and you turned this expectation on its head with lines like "Think of your brothers whom we’ve sworn to protect and who are waiting for us to make a move. They depend on us for vengeance." and "Sarah was a fighter. No matter how big the guy was, she’d take them on. Come at her with a fist, she bring a knife, you bring a knife? She’d come at you with a gun." there's an element of suprise, irony and drama in each piece of dialogue here, and it creates a perfect scene. what i could love to see are some more stage directions, i.e. physical movement, action, setting and such to enhance the mobster-ess vision. does the chandelier have diamonds hanging from it? are the walls a royal purple, instead of that drab grey of typical meeting rooms? does the boss wear sparkling diamonds on every finger and have a chihuaha on her lap? (whom would also wear diamonds, of course) heh..
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of what was written by everybody here. I liked the idea of what you were trying to accomplish in your piece, and the way you parodied other works in yours was well placed and even humorous at times. I would say if you wanted to take a more serious approach to it, if you really wanted to do this seriously, the most obvious issue you'd have to address would be what a woman would honestly have to do to become a respected mob leader in a subculture that has historically been so steeply male-chauvinistic. I hope I said that right...what I mean is: how far would a woman really have to go, how much more sinister would her actions have to be in order to gain the respect of the men, the other families, etc. Keep having fun with this, and good luck!
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