DIALOGUE WITH CONTACT
Grace Morrison and Kevin Shewey in a scene taken from Zoe Kazan’s “Trudy and Max in Love” (2013)
Over the years we have explored contact in application to scenes, finding both blocking and unselfconscious intensity of relationship. This is a scene about romantic realization about the push/pull of forbidden emotion. This scene is new for the actors- a showcase scene that is memorized, but not yet blocked. The contact with the scene dialogue is fueled by their comfort with each other as frequent scene partners, and the emotional content of the text. They are literally circling around each other, testing.
In this video, first we see an exploration of the scene through contact improvisation while the actors are speaking the text, and then the same scene immediately played out without contact. I ask the actors to maintain the energy of the relationship explored in the contact session. The resulting realistic scene is physically and emotionally charged and responsive, and it blocked itself, driven by actor intent. The text can be found at the end of the post.
TRUDY
I’m sorry. He called this morning. You should be grateful, he was going to surprise me. Can you imagine?
MAX
Your things are on the table.
TRUDY
Max.
MAX
There’s probably more in the bedroom.
TRUDY
Look at me.
He puts his book down, looks at her. She gestures helplessly, suddenly at a loss.
TRUDY
What do you want me to say? He’ll be here for three days.
MAX
And then?
TRUDY
And then he’ll be gone again. Look. I’ll call whenever I can. I’ll text you.
MAX
What if I text back? He’d see my name.
TRUDY
No.
MAX
No?
TRUDY
I don’t have it in my phone.
MAX
What’s my number under?
TRUDY
Nothing. I never put it in.
MAX
Right.
TRUDY
Why are we talking about this?
MAX
It was never permanent. Not even in your phone.
TRUDY
What did you think, that he’d never come home? He’s my husband, I live with him.
MAX
So this was…?
TRUDY
Stop talking about us in the past tense.
MAX
There is no us.
TRUDY
I told you I didn’t want to have an affair with you, I told you—
MAX
So go home.
He goes back to his book. She puts her head in her hands.
TRUDY
This is so shitty. It’s so fucking shitty. You’re the only person in the world I could talk to about this. And I can’t talk to you about it.
MAX
…You can talk to me.
TRUDY
No, I can’t.
MAX
What do you wish you could say?
TRUDY
I just wish you could be my friend.
MAX
I am your friend.
TRUDY
I wish we’d never slept together. I wish we’d never met.
MAX
You mean that?
TRUDY
(Closes her eyes.) Do you think it’s possible to love two people completely? When I’m with you, it feels like the whole world has shrunk to whatever room we’re in. And when I’m with him… Honestly, it’s been so long since he was here, I don’t even know.
MAX
…You love me?
TRUDY
(Opening her eyes) What?
MAX
You said to love two people… You love me?
TRUDY
I meant metaphorically.
MAX
I love you. (Silence.) I’m falling in love with you.
TRUDY
You are?
MAX
I think so.
TRUDY
That’s terrible.
MAX
It’s wonderful. It’s a miracle.
TRUDY
What are we going to do?
MAX
You get divorced. We move to Bora Bora. You write, I write. We have a bunch of kids and give ‘em crazy names.
TRUDY
You hate kids.
MAX
I’d like our kids.
TRUDY
Don’t say that.
MAX
I mean it. I want what you want.
TRUDY
I don’t know what I want.
MAX
Yes you do.
Silence. She gets up.
MAX
Where are you going?
TRUDY
Home. I have to. I have to think.
MAX
Spend the night.
TRUDY
He’ll be here first thing in the morning.
MAX
I’ll get you up early.
TRUDY
No.
Trudy goes to the door, then turns back and hugs Max. It gets long. He starts to kiss her neck. She pushes him away.
MAX
Call me.
TRUDY
If I can.
MAX
Promise you’ll call me.
TRUDY
I’ll try.
MAX
Promise.
TRUDY
Fine.
MAX
I love you.
TRUDY
Don’t say that.
MAX
You love me too.
TRUDY
I hate you.
MAX
You love me.
.