Palm Springs IV

Interpreter: (smiling broadly) Hi, I’m the interpreter.

Sheila confusing him for someone she knows opens her arms in a hug. The interpreter goes in for the hug and then a kiss on the cheek. Neither characters know each other.

Shiela: Well, hi. Um. So, who are you again?

Interpreter: I’m here to interpret for a deaf adult—maybe more than one?

Shiela: (Playing with her hair) Oh, oh! Yes, of course, you must be here for Teresa and her parents. (Interpreter nods questingly he does not know who the client is). I don’t know if they are coming; you heard Drew died?

Interpreter: (Nodding head) Yes, I heard something about it this morning.

Shiela: Well, yes, so I don’t know if they are coming. I really do not. Did you speak with Teresa?

Interpreter: No, the association set up the interpretation. I have not met the deaf client.

Shiela: (Nodding emphatically) Well, hun, you got the wrong blonde, anyway. You want the other gorgeous blonde other there (pointing across the stage to Barbara).

Interpreter: Thank you (walks away less confidently towards Barbara).

Barbara: (In a high-pitched voice) okay Kelsy, well I have—.

Interpreter: (Interrupting) Hi, I’m the interpreter, I believe we spoke on the phone.

Barbara: (Looks blankly and slowly recognition covers her face) Yes. Yes! Melissa, right?

Interpreter: Yes, Melissa gave your my info.

Barbara: Okay, okay (moving away from Kelsy), so you heard about? (Pauses and scrunches her face sadly).

Interpreter: Yes, I was told this morning. It’s sad.

Barbara: But I spoke with Teresa. You know we are going to discuss the service animal situation and she has a service animal, so this meeting is important for her. (Pulls out her cell phone) She confirmed. I’m going to call her. Let me call her. (Looks at time). She should be here. Oh, it’s 7. Here come with me.

Barbara and Interpreter walk downstage right towards the four chairs. A man has sat there and is looking at his phone.

Barbara: Hi, Charles, can we have these four chairs for the hearing impaired.

Charles: I’m hearing impaired.

Barbara: Yes, yes we all are but there are people who are really hearing impaired.

Charles: Can I move back here?

Barbara: Yes. (Charles walks offstage sits in the first row of audience) That works, right?

Interpreter: Yes. Where should I stand?

Barbara: Oh, here they come (pointing at the house).

House doors open again and deaf adults walk in signing.

Barbara: (As deaf adults walk to the stage) So Teresa—.

Interpreter: Oh, I know, Teresa. (Waves in recognition at Teresa, she waves back).

Barbara: Oh good. Teresa (pointing emphatically) here are your seats. Come come. (Interpreter begins interpreting immediately).

Teresa introduces mother and father. The friend introduces herself and she sits on one end. Teresa takes the other end and her parents sit in the two middle seats. From this point on the deaf will be signing (voiced by unseen interpreters). The interpreter will be signing also and he will be voiced by himself (previously recorded). Barbara moves away.

Mary: Oh you know each other?

Teresa: Yes, we work together.

John: Is he a psychiatrist?

Teresa: No, No. We work at the Foundation.

Mary: I get it, I get it now. Well, what does he do during the day?

Teresa: He works at the high school.

John: Which high school (looking at interpreter).

Interpreter: North Hampton.

John: Oh, oh, of course.How long have you been signing?

Interpreter: Signing, signing, hmm… Ten years. Interpreting 6, 7.Mary: How did you learn to sign?

Interpreter: With the community. I went to a high school with a deaf population. They were signing all the time and I started learning.

Nancy: That’s nice.

In the background, the board members are taking their seats and shuffling paper. There is quiet mumbling back and forth.

Teresa: This meeting is about service animals.

Interpreter: I heard.

Teresa: I have a service animal. (Looking at phone) They are late. 5 minutes late.

Mary: Normally, they start on time.

Nancy: They always start on time. Strange. What are they talking about?

Interpreter: Let me see. They are speaking low. (Strains to hear). We are late. (Shifting positions as he interprets for different board members).

Lighting focuses on the board tables.

Barabara: Okay we have to start this meeting.

Jack: Then what are you waiting for Barbara. Go.

Barbara: I was waiting for you. Do you have the policy?

Freddie: Yes, he has it. I passed it to him.

Barbara: I call to order this meeting of the… (voice trails off)

Audience member 1: (From the house, screaming) I can’t hear, can you hear?”

Audience member 2: (From the house, screaming) No, I can’t. We can’t hear you.

Charles: Use the microphone. Use the microphone, so we can hear.

Barbara: Freddie, use the microphone. No not that one. That one doesn’t work. Here use this one.

Freddie: Motion to accept last week’s (use dates) minutes.

Sheila: I second.

From Stage left to right each board member says aye.

Freddie: Motion to accept minutes from meeting two weeks ago (use dates).

Barbara: I second.

From Stage left to right each board member says aye.

Freddie: Motion to table discussion of on-going repavement issues till open forum at the end.

Jack: I second

From Stage left to right each board member says aye.

Teresa: What is this about?

Mary: Procedures. Procedures.

Freddie: Motion to bring amend Service and Support animal policy tonight.

Jack: No, no. Why is the board—

Audience member 1: We can’t hear you, use the mic. Come on!

Barbara: Pass him the mic.

Audience member 2: We still can’t hear him.

Barbara: The other one. The other one.

Kelsy: (In the front row of the house, stands up) The lights are on a car out there. (pointing house right). Someone left their light on.

Sheila: Okay, who left the light on?

Barbara: Did you hear that? Who left the light on?

Audience Member 3: (Second row, house, stands up) My granddaughter is in there playing on her phone. I left it on on purpose. Come on let’s get going with the meeting.

Jack: Can you hear me now?

Audience Member 2: Yes.

Nancy: What is going on?

Interpreter: Someone left their lights on and they are complaining about not being able to hear. It’s true, I can barely hear myself.

Jack: The board’s job is to propose a policy and then the committee creates the policy. After that, the board approves it.

Sheila: Well you didn’t provide a policy.

Jack: Yes, I did. I gave it to you two weeks ago.

Sheila: No jack, you went online and downloaded a lot of information. Do you have the policy I created? So we can go over that?

Jack: No I don’t. I never got it.

Sheila: I sent an email. I sent an email to everyone.

Jack: I didn’t get it.

Sheila: Well, do you want me to print it?

Jack. Yes.

Sheila: Anyone else need it?

Freddie: Yes, I need it.

Sheila: You didn’t get the email?

Freddie: I did. I just didn’t feel like printing 22 pages.

Sheila: Well, do you want a copy of it now, so you can follow along?

Freddie and Jack: Yes.

Sheila storms off testily backstage. Lights darken over the board. Interpreter and Deaf adults begin to speak again.

Mary: They went to make copies? Of what?

Interpreter: A policy. I think they said it was about the support animals?

Teresa: It must be. They should have done this before.

John: We have service dogs. They are not pets.

Teresa: No they are not pets. They have a special legal classification.

Mary: (To Nancy) They keep harassing Teresa about her dog.

Nancy: I don’t understand it. It’s different, very different.

Interpreter: Apparently, Sheila? Is that her name?

Mary: Yes, Sheila.

Interpreter: She had sent out an email. They said they didn’t want to print it.

John: Of course not. You’d think they were busy.

Sheila comes back with papers.

Sheila: Can I have the floor?

Freddie: Yes.

Audience Member 3: We can’t hear you.

Sheila: Pass me the mic. Thank you. I want to speak about the Service and Support Animal Policy. I created one and I sent this one with a couple of corrections.

Jack: I just see grammatical corrections.

Shiela: They are important changes. See the title. Originally the name submitted by the committee was called The Psychiatric and Service Animal Policy.

Jack: That’s a grammatical change. The committee has to approve changes.

Sheila: First off, first off, the committee did not create a policy in the first place.

Jack: What did we send you then?

Shiela: They were legal documents found online.

Jack: They were necessary, but it is not the job of the board to create policy. Only approve.

Sheila: I wrote the policy because your committee did not do it. So, now the board—Really, first of all, there was a—.

Jack: The committee did do its job. It found information.

Sheila: I have the floor, can I speak? Can I speak?

Barbara: Jack, let Sheila speak. She worked very hard on the policy. She deserves to speak.

Jack: Okay, but she shouldn’t lie.

Sheila: First, I went to—just so everyone knows—there was a seminar. I went. Out of all the board members, there was only one person that went to the seminar for associations and service animals. Jack, did you go?

Jack: No.

Sheila: I want to ask you why? Did you not feel it was important?

Jack: No, I’ve been to many seminars. Many over the years many, many, seminars.

Sheila: But you didn’t feel that this one was important. There was a lot of information. A lot. And I. I tried my best to put this policy together. However, I feel the board should change the name.

Jack: Semantics.

Sheila: Words are important.

Jack: It means the same thing.

Sheila: No, no, legally psychiatric animals fall under the category of support animals.

Teresa: That’s wrong.

John: Why?

Teresa: I don’t like it. They are support animals.

John: It doesn’t really matter.

Teresa: Yes it does.

Jack: It doesn’t matter either way.

Sheila: It is important to make the distinction.

Barbara: Can we meet half-way on this. Call them psychiatric/support animals. Can I get a motion for that?

Sheila: No, that doesn’t make sense.

Jack: Fine. I don’t care what you call it.

Sheila: Psychiatric animals are support animals.

Barbara: So we do a slash on this?

Sheila: Support animals, not psychiatric animals.

Audience Member 1: We are a “no pet” association.

Barbara: That has not changed but support/service animals are not pets.

Audience member 1: Are they cats?

Audience member 2: We have cats. Lots of cats. I see them in the windows.

Barbara: The policy says a support animal can be any animal but a service animal can only be a dog or a small horse.

Teresa: A horse? No.

Interpreter: Yes, she said a small horse.

Mary: That’s ridiculous.

Interpreter: I’m going to get a pony. Okay tuning back in.

Audience member 1: What, do they need stalls too?

Barbara: That is what the laws says, a small horse.

Jack: That’s insane. They will destroy the property.

Barbara: No one has a horse.

Jack: But they could, Barb. They could get a small horse.

Sheila: That is not the point.

Jack: It is the point, Sheila. Then do we have to create an area for them to meet their needs?

Sheila: Again, according to the seminar, which you didn’t attend, we cannot restrict the animals—.

Jack: So they can go on the grass?

Sheila: Well, if we could get to the policy we can see what they can and cannot do.

Barbara: Motion to read the policy and make changes.

Freddie: Second.

Jack: It is not what the board does. It is the committee’s job to—.

Sheila: The committee did not do their job.

John: Oh boy, not again.

Sheila: Jack, you have had this job for months now and you didn’t do it. I had to do it.

Freddie: Can we move to table this?

Barbara: No, no, no we have tabled this for too long. It is a liability.

Jack: The committee should be in charge of changes.

Barbara: Jack, you dropped the ball on this and Sheila had to do the policy.

Jack: I gave her the policies.

Sheila: Again, you gave me raw laws and opinions. I had to make a policy applicable to the association.

Audience Member 3: (Screaming) The manholes are covered.

Freddie: What?

Audience Member 3: While you guys sit here discussing dogs and cats the paving company is paving over manholes.

Freddie: That is not happening.

Audience Member 3: Are you calling me a liar?

Freddie: I didn’t say that.

Audience Member 3: When you come in, at the south entrance, there were three manholes; 12 ft apart. Now they are gone. Covered in tar.

Freddie: Where?

Barabara: We tabled this discussion to the end when the floor is open.

Audience Member 3: I’m going to sue.

Nancy: What is going on? What does that mean? (Signing word attack).

Interpreter: (Fingerspelling) S.U.E.

John: Oh, that is serious.

Freddie: You can’t sue me.

Audience Member 3: Now you’re telling me I can’t sue. I can.

Freddie: You can’t sue me. Maybe the association but not me.

Audience Member 3: We’ll get sink holes.

Freddie: No we won’t.

Audience Member 3: I worked on this for decades. I’m telling you, the runoff—.

Freddie: Are you sure? No manholes?

Audience Member 3: Yes, I am sure. 12 ft apart, gone now.

Freddie: That is serious.

Barabara: Okay, can we move on with the policy?

Freddie: I don’t see why—

Barbara: Because it opens us up for liability. We have people on both sides of the argument here for this. Not the paving situation. People with service animals are getting picked on. That needs to stop. We can get sued.

Freddie: Fine, let’s read the policy.

Jack: It’s not the board’s job—.

Sheila: It is now because your committee gave it to the board.

Barbara: This has to be resolved today. We will retool it tonight and vote on it next week.

Jack: That is what the committee is supposed to do, and then it gets voted on next week.

Sheila: The lawyer—.

Jack: Which one, the one in the seminar?

Sheila: Yes.

Jack: They say whatever they want.

Sheila: No, they explain the law.

Jack: Oh my God Sheila, it is their interpretation. You get three lawyers and they will tell you three different things.

Sheila: It is legal advice, Jack.

Barbara: I’m going to read this policy. Number 1. Service and Support animals are not pets.

Audience Member 1: What about the cats? We know there are cats.

Barbara: Then they will be fined.

Jack: After how many infractions, give us a number.

Freddie: Two.

Barbara: One.

Sheila: Are we just pulling a number out of our hats.

Jack: I prefer one. Can we vote on that? One infraction.

Sheila: If they do not have the proper documentation. Yes. Motion

Barbara: Second.

From Stage left to right each board member says aye. Audience Member 3 walks out of the meeting (house).

Audience Member 1: I have seen people with three cats. I can tell you who they are.

Freddie: No names. If you have a complaint walk it to the office.

Audience Member 1: What if they run up on someone. I have seen pets, big dogs—

Sheila: They are not pets.

Audience Member 1: We have older ones here. They are going to break a neck and then what. Someone’s neck is going to get broken.

Sheila: Then the unit owner is responsible.

Audience Member 2: What about poop?

Barbara: Well that is in here. It says that they are not to urinate on the pavement or walls.

Jack: Does it say the grass? They can’t go in the grass.

Teresa: What? They have to be allowed!

Jack: The law says we are required to provide an area.

Teresa: No. Voice for me.

Interpreter: Okay. (Stands up to voice for Teresa). The law says that in places where there is no natural place for service animals to do their needs, such as an airport, such accommodations must be made. But, here, we do not have that problem. We have plenty of grass.

Jack: But you have to pick up after it.

Interpreter: (Voicing for Teresa both standing). Of course. It’s necessary.

Sheila: The law also states if someone is disabled and cannot pick up after their service or support animal then the association has to clean up after the service animal.

Audience Member 2: Why? They shouldn’t be able to keep a pet then.

Barbara: These animals are not pets. We are a no pet association.

Audience Member 2: What about the cats, huh? What are those?

Sheila: If they are properly certified then the are support animals. When the policy goes into effect we will notify and fine accordingly if unit owners do not have the proper paperwork. The seminar also mentioned—

Audience Member 1: They will ruin the grass.

Jack: That is a valid point, let’s restrict them.

Sheila: We can’t. It’s discrimination. It’s against the law. Also, the information has to go on a separate file.

Jack: How will we know? That makes no sense.

Sheila: Privacy issues.

Jack: I don’t care if you have a service animal.

Sheila: No, the doctor’s note that certifies the animal can be a psychologist’s note.

Jack: And? I don’t care if you see a shrink.

Teresa: Voice again for me, please.

Interpreter: (Voicing) The HIPA medical privacy laws govern that type of documentation and they have to be kept apart.

Jack: Well then how should the fining committee know?

Sheila: That is another thing. You cannot refer violations of the policy to any committee; much less a fining committee.

Jack: Our lawyers say before we levy a fine we have a committee give several warnings. That is another thing, if the dog is loose, then they get fined. We need the committee.

Sheila: No, the seminar mentioned that there could be legal repercussions—.

Audience Member 2: So what does it mean for the cats. They sit there on the windows. We have lots of cats.

Audience Member 1: Oh, and what happens when the unit owner dies. What happens then. The animal stays but the other person doesn’t automatically get support services. It has happened to—.

Freddie: No names. That is a valid point. At some point, the support animal becomes part of the family but they still need the proper documentation for the living adult.

Sheila: Yes, we need to add that. Give me that pen Barb. Thanks.

Barbara: Okay, we have been at this for an hour in a half.

Teresa: Do you need a break?

Interpreter: I’m fine. No worries.

Barbara: Can we fix what we have to fix and bring up the policy for a vote next week?

Sheila: Yes. I motion we add today’s changes and bring it up for a vote next week.

Freddie: Second.

From Stage left to right each board member says aye. Jack votes Nay.

Barbara: The ayes have it with only one nay.

Jack: The committee should make the changes.

Freddie: Okay, we are moving on to the treasury’s report.

Treasurer: We are doing good. We have 11 people who have not paid the special assessment.

Audience Member 1: Eleven, that is a lot of people!

Treasurer: Well the number is down considerably. In fact, two of those 11 have paid already. They paid after hours so we could not record them, but they paid.

John: Eleven is not bad.

Treasurer: The delinquent amount for special assessment is 54,327.

John: How much?

Interpreter: 54,0o0.

Mary: Again.

Interpreter: 54,000

John: That is a lot.

Interpreter: (Voicing for John) That is a lot of money.

Treasurer: It really is not. The project total is 367,638. From the special assessment, we have collected 313,311. We have 248,877 in the reserve account. We only have three people delinquent, which has come down a lot from where we were a couple of months ago.

Audience Member 2: Is it the new people? It’s probably the new people. Renters? They have cats too, I might add.

Freddie: No names.

Kelsy: Why are you paying the paving company if they are doing a terrible job. There are two colors. They started with a beautiful black color. Then they stopped. They didn’t pave the other side. Just left it there.

Freddie: They paved both sides, Kelsy.

Kelsy: How are you going to tell me they repaved both sides. They didn’t. I was there. I had to move my car from behind the dumspter—there, by building 27—then they never came back.

Freddie: They came back, Kelsy. They came back and repaved. They had a problem with the roller it was old and that is why there are two different colors.

Barbara: Can we finish with the treasurer’s report?

Freddie: Yes, we will open the floor at the end.

Kelsy: This is important. Only half of the road is paved.

Barbara: Okay, Kels. Give us a second and we will hear your grievance.

Treasurer: We are in good shape.

John: Yeah it sounds like we are in good shape. How much money in the reserve again?

Interpreter: Over 200,000.

Mary: How much?

Interpreter: Over 200,o00.

John: That is good.

Mary: Yes, remember before?

Treasurer: That concludes my report.

Barbara: Now, we can open the floor to hear complaints about the paving company.

Audience Member 2: There are flowers on the pavement.

Freddie: Flower?

Audience Member 2: Yes, Flowers. When they were painting the bumpers they spilled paints. It looks like a painting. Flowers everywhere.

Freddie: Where?

Audience Member 2: By building 33.

Freddie: Noted. We will have a meeting with the paving company.

Audience Member 4: Have they been paid. They will leave without finishing.

Freddie: No we still hold over $200,o00. They will be paid the rest of the money when they complete the project to our satisfaction.

John: How much money?

Interpreter: Over 200,000.

John: Oh good, they are doing a terrible job.

Nancy: (To Mary) How much?

Mary: 200,000.

Nancy: Good, don’t pay them.

Freddie: That is why we want to hear your concerns and take them to the company tomorrow. We are having a meeting with them tomorrow.

Audience Member 4: Building 29 is sloping. Like the first rain we get it will be flooded.

Freddie: Sloping issues. 39.

Audience Member 4: It’s 29, Freddie, 29.

Freddie: Noted, 29.

Audience Member 5: Well on my side of the complex they have done well. I sat there and watched the rain the other day and saw it come straight to the middle in a river and right to the drain.

Audience Member 4: It is like they have two crews a good one and a terrible one. And the two colors. There is a real pretty black and then a brown one like this carpet.

Freddie: Like I said, they informed us that they had trouble with a roller and they stopped using it.

Kelsy: My part of the road is not paved.

Freddie: I drove by there. It IS paved.

Kelsy: It is not. Look at the different colors.

Freddie: That is the issue with the bad roller.

Audience member 2: Well, how thick does it have to be?

Freddie: Two inches.

John: How thick?

Interpreter: Two inches.

Audience Member 4: Near my building, it is more like 4 inches.

Mary: What did he say again?

Interpreter: 4 inches by his building.

Freddie: They are doing a good job in that respect. Remember building 19? That was a pool. Those people have been living in a pool for the last 11 years. They laid down like 5 inches of tar down there.

Mary: Which building?

Interpreter: 19, I think.

Nancy: Oh yeah, that was bad down there. Are they going to warn us when they start near my building?

Interpreter: You want me to voice that?

Nancy: Yes, please.

Interpreter: (Voicing for Nancy) Will they warn when they start paving near Nancy’s building?

Freddie: Yes they will post a notice the day before.

Audience Member 1: No they won’t. They knocked on my door the same morning. Rushed me out of my parking spot.

Freddie: They should have warned you the day before. I gave them the papers.

Audience Member 4: That never happened. I was told the first day also. I couldn’t prepare my house and all the dust and smell rushed into my house.

Freddie: I’ll address that with them tomorrow, Nancy. Anything else? Rember, I just got back this week. So I am catching up with a lot of your complaints. There are serious issues, like the manholes. They have not been paid, so they have to do it how we want it or they won’t get paid.

Audience Member 1: What about the entertainment budget.

Barbara: There is no entertainment budget.

Jack: Yes there is.

Audience Member 1: Can the board organize at least 4 events a year. We had a labor party and only one board member went. One! We had a good time. It was a good time.

Sheila: Well board members cannot go to every event. It is impossible.

Barbara: If you want to get together with your neighbors, call up your friends. That is not the function of the board.

Audience Member 2: We are not asking for a lot; only 4 events. Maybe Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and New Years. I—.

Audience Member 1: Yeah, and it could be cheap, maybe, 7 dollars a head.

Barbara: It won’t be that cheap, more like $20 and up.

Teresa: This is ridiculous.

Sheila: Well, we would have to look at the budget.

Treasurer: I do not think it is in the budget.

Audience Member 1: Years ago, the people who have been here 40 years, we remember how the board organized events.

Barbara: Those people aren’t coming back. They are gone and it is not in the budget anymore.

Jack: It is in the budget. I have seen it.

Sheila: Well we have to see the budget.

Treasurer: Yes I’ll look into it.

Barbara starts collecting her papers and stands up suddenly. She starts walking away. Stopping to speak to several audience members.

Freddie: Barb, where are you going?

Barbara: I’m done. I’m leaving.

Audience Member 1: I can’t hear.

Barbara: (Louder) I’m done. I’m leaving.

Freddie: I guess meeting is adjourned.

Barbara: Adjourned.

Sheila: (Laughing) Motion to adjourn.

Jack: Second.

Board members start to stand up and collect their things. The Board President stands up and walks down towards the house doors. He stops halfway and lights a cigarette.

Barbara is still speaking to audience member when interpreter comes up to her.

Interpreter: Hi, about payment.

Barbara: Oh, yes, I’m sorry.

Mary: I want to say something to the Board President.

Barbara: Hun, I don’t have the key for the petty cash. Maybe Freddie does, let’s ask him.

They walk together.

Barbara: Freddie you have the key for the petty cash?

Freddie: (Smoking) No. I left it. Why?

Barbara: Someone has to pay this man. What is it? 70?

Interpreter: Yes that’s correct.

Barbara: Well do you have 70, Freddie? We will pay you and then reimburse ourselves.

Freddie: No I don’t. I always have money but not today.

Barbara: Well, I only have 35. Okay, I’ll go home and get it. (She walks off and gets interrupted by audience member 1 further down house)

Mary: (Signing)

Interpreter: (Voicing) I want to say that you are doing a wonderful job.

Freddie: Thank you, it is nice to hear something positive for once.

Mary: (Signing)

Interpreter: (Voicing) You know we share—(To Mary) Can you finger spell that again. (Signing) M.A.I.D? I don’t understand.

Mary: (Teresa walks up; to Teresa) The interpreter is not understanding me can you tell Freddie that we share—

Teresa: (Voicing) Maiden name. Giacoman

Interpreter: Oh, of course. Sorry, I didn’t get that.

Mary: That is fine. Thank you for your interpretation.

Teresa: Yes, thank you. Great facial expressions.

Interpreter: You’re welcome, it was my pleasure. I have to catch up to Barbara.

Interpreter walks near the house doors.

Kelsy: I just think he is so sincere. He says what he says. It’s great.

Barbara: I don’t know, he says some awful things.

Audience Member 1: Listen forget him, what about the entertainment budget.

Barbara: I don’t think there is an entertainment budget, hun, I’m pretty sure—

Interpreter: Um, hi?

Barbara: Oh my goodness. I’m sorry. I got caught up. Girls I have to go. He is waiting on me for payment. Follow my car it is that the red one right outside.

Interpreter: Okay, mine is the blue one.

Barbara and a noticeably tired interpreter leave through the house doors. Lights dim slowly, except for spotlight on Freddie. Freddie takes a long puff on his cigarette and starts to laugh maniacally, exagerated. The only light left is the one on Freddie and he continues to laugh. The light starts to dim slowly until Freddie’s laughter rings out in complete darkness. Suddenly, the lights turn on. Everone is in their orignal starting positions and the house doors open revealing the smiling interprter who cheerfully walks up to the stage.

Interpreter reaches the stage climbs up and he walks directly towards Shiela. She opens her arms in a hug and he goes in for a kiss.

Interpreter: (smiling broadly) Hi, I’m the interpreter.

Curtain.