Horizontal Hold by Daniel Paisner

Author:Daniel Paisner
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781504030656
Publisher: Open Road Distribution

Eleven

RUN-THROUGH

The sets are up and dressed. Mostly. Where they are not dressed, they are mostly presentable. And where they are not presentable, they are at least covered with drop cloths and scaffolding.

Rich Hall, also dressed (and mostly presentable), arrives on the E.O.B. set early this morning—Monday, April 9—and he wanders over to what will be his character’s desk, which sits in the back-center of the War Room, in front of a pseudomarble fireplace and mantel. He wants to see what he will have to work with, and at this moment most of what he has got is a bunch of collectible political artifacts, which dot his institutional desk like a memorabilia show. The most prominent items are a fluffy pair of Ronald-and-Nancy-Reagan-headed slippers (she, strangely, is the model for the left foot, to the president’s right) that have been donated to the cause by the senior producer of CBS News, Susan Zirinsky, who has just relocated to New York from Washington. There is also a set of what appear to be brand-new golf clubs. (Well, they are certainly golf clubs; what they appear to be is brand-new.)

“How do you feel about a pen set?” John Whitesell asks Hall as he wanders over for his own inspection.

“Generally, I’m opposed to them,” Hall responds.

“For your desk,” Whitesell tries again. “I think there should be a pen set on Hammond’s desk.”

“Oh,” Hall says, “fine.”

By this time Whitesell has brought stage manager Chuck Raymond in on the conversation. “I want to Japanese-up this desk a little bit,” the director tells Raymond. “You know, very sleek, efficient, lose all this crap.”

“Yeah,” Hall seconds, pretending at serious, “get rid of it. What were you thinking?”

Within minutes, “all this crap” is gone, including the Reagan slippers, which have been relegated to the mantel, and the golf clubs, which are now leaning against the fireplace, sleeping off the last round. In their place, Raymond has found an elegant enough desk assortment—blotter, pen set, “in” box, Rolodex—none of which has to jockey for space on the now-Japanesed surface. Everything is stacked and arranged neatly. From this outward appearance, Hammond Egley appears the very model of fastidiousness and efficiency.

Mary Beth Hurt and Jennifer Van Dyck, examining their own digs, are looking to make their characters more comfortable, or themselves more comfortable with their characters. This may or may not be the same thing. Van Dyck picks up a small, sad-looking cactus, which has been left on her desk as dressing, and tsks at it; then she looks across the War Room set to Hurt, who appears to be doing the same at hers. “How would you feel about trading cactuses?” Van Dyck asks.

And they do.

Also on Hurt’s desk is a framed picture of the actor Alec Baldwin, which no one will admit to having placed there, and the pack of assorted Kellogg’s kiddie cereals, which has followed her here from the rehearsal hall. “If those are still there tomorrow,” Julie Martin vows when she notices the cereal, which she seems

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