Chatsworth. A Play.

+++++

CHATSWORTH

A play in two acts.

+++++

Written by Roger Andrew Mathey

Published by Roger Andrew Mathey at Smashwords

Copyright © 2008 Roger Andrew Mathey

Discover other titles by Roger Andrew Mathey at Smashwords.com

++++

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

++++

This play is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

++++

Roger Mathey's study of living in the margins of the megalopolis - a commune of actors, models and assorted showbiz wannabes who have gravitated to the San Fernando Valley  -- might be defined as weirdly Chekhovian, with its tangle of unrequited loves and the often farcical romantic-erotic escapades of it its characters on their road to nowhere. Chekhov's inebriating snuff here gets translated into coke - the function is the same. Or maybe this is closer to Gorky's The Lower Depths.

- LA WEEKLY

++++

I first moved to Bakersfield, California in 1998 and started a little production company, seat of your pants Productions. In the first few years, we staged over 50 shows and in 2001, moved to Los Angeles to try my hand there. The plan was to do the successful plays we staged in Bakersfield and re-stage them in LA. I moved with a few actors from Bakersfield and we found a little place in the San Fernando Valley where we would go forth and make our name known in the world of show business. I picked the cream of the Bakersfield shows to did them for an L.A. audience and in doing so, managed to survive for a time and even won some major accolades for my work. But the success was fleeting and I just found I could not ‘play the game’ as it needed to be played in Hollywood. I wanted to conquer that place on my terms not on its terms. And I lost.

And so I found myself back in Bakersfield after totaling my car in 2005 on the side of the 101 Freeway.

But in the time I lived in the LA area, I had quite a few experiences and lived with quite an array of people, all trying to get their slice of the Hollywood pie. This play is based on a number of those experiences and the characters within are an amalgam of a number of different individuals.

In contrast to all the stereotypical Hollywood stories, I was not looking to tell a story merely about the struggles of fame, but rather the struggle of surviving and as to how much of your soul will you sacrifice to achieve your dream. I have so many friends who go week after week to auditions and interviews and work on anything from kids’ parties to student films, waiting for their break. It is not as easy as just being talented and you are discovered. It takes work and it takes sacrifice.

I would like to thank the Empty Space Theatre for giving us the time to workshop its original run and the Whitefire Theatre for hosting its LA premiere. And to everyone who was cast in both productions for embodying the struggles of those we remember.

This is for all those people I know who fight to achieve their dreams year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day. Sometimes you find yourself giving up a part of yourself to make those dreams happen. Sometimes your hard work pays off. No matter how you make it, the only person really judging you in the end is you.

This is for Jarrod and Karl and Justin and Gary and Suzanne and Jeff and anyone who lived or partied with us in that commune with the dogs and cats and birds. Don’t stop believin’.

Peace,

Roger Mathey

++++

++++

++++

++++

Chatsworth was originally produced in Bakersfield, California by seat of your pants Productions at The Empty Space Theatre on July 18th, 2008. It was directed by Roger Mathey; sets and lights were designed by Roger Mathey; sound by Jarrod Ackerley and Alex Mayes; The production was stage managed by David Rock. The assistant director was Alex Mayes. The cast was as follows:

DYLAN: James Kopp

MATTHEW: Roger Mathey

HANNAH: Alyssa Bonanno

TAYLOR: Brian Brennan

MICHELLE: Desiree Lopez

SARAH: Kimberly Canfield

COURTNEY: Natily Ray

LANE: Laura Veteran

BOBBY: Paul Sosa

Chatsworth was subsequently produced in Los Angeles, California by seat of your pants Productions and Keith Stoller at The Whitefire Theatre on October 15th, 2008. It was directed by Roger Mathey; sets and lights were designed by Roger Mathey; sound by MC Griffin with original music by Jarrod Ackerley; The production was stage managed by Mary Alyssan Griffin. The understudies were David Rock, Paul Sosa, and Natily Ray. The cast was as follows:

DYLAN: James Kopp

MATTHEW: Roger Mathey

HANNAH: Alyssa Bonanno

TAYLOR: Ry Higdon

MICHELLE: Emily Schaub

SARAH: Dana Wing Lau

LANE: Dustin Quick

BOBBY: Lorenzo Salazar

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

DYLAN, male 20’s or 30’s, stand-up comic

MATTHEW, male 30’s or 40’s, writer

HANNAH, female 20’s, musical performer

TAYLOR, male late teens, actor

MICHELLE, female 20’s or 30’s, actor

SARAH, female 20’s, photographer

COURTNEY, female, teens, student

LANE, female 20’s, porn performer

BOBBY, male 20’s or 30’s, talent manager

ACT 1.

SCENE: A modest living room in a modest house in the city of Chatsworth, CA.

1.

Dylan and Matthew are sitting in a modest living room. They both have laptops open and while Dylan is typing voraciously, Matthew stares at his screen. In between them is Hannah, who is busy texting. They are watching South Park (or some other television program).

DYLAN: Are you even watching this?

HANNAH: I'm watching.

DYLAN: How can you watch and text at the same time?

HANNAH: Why don't you just write your jokes, funny man?

DYLAN: Who are you texting?

HANNAH: Your boyfriend.

MATTHEW: Give him my best.

DYLAN: I thought I was your boyfriend.

HANNAH: Are you serious?

DYLAN: I'm not?

HANNAH: Am I your girlfriend?

DYLAN: Fuck no! I don't want a girlfriend.

HANNAH: Then how is it you're my boyfriend?

DYLAN: I'm not. Because you're not texting me.

HANNAH: You want me to text you?

DYLAN: No, I want you to change the channel.

HANNAH: No.

DYLAN: I hate this show.

MATTHEW: I hate this show because that fucker who created this crap stole one of my best friend's girlfriends away from him. I can't believe I let you watch it here.

HANNAH: I want that fucker to steal me away from my boyfriend.

DYLAN: Who you're texting.

HANNAH: You're pretty smart for a