Hi, sir. Hands piece of paper to auditioner.
Ah, on the X, sir? Stands on the X.
My name is Vanz, sir. Vanz Perlas. Where I come from, sir? I come from Pangasinan sir. There are many Perlas in Pangasinan, sir. Our whole family sir, is Perlas. That’s our family name. Perlas like the pearl.
Beat. Oh, this? I actually borrowed a polo shirt from my neighbour but I fell asleep on the bus and someone stole my bag, sir.
Beat. Oh, these? Looks at his bare feet. Uh, because sir when my bag got stolen, sir, my money was in it. And then the conductor found out—we were still in Pampanga—I have no money to pay for ticket, so he kicked me out. I walked the rest of the way sir, but on the fifth day of walking my tsinelas gave way na, sir. They were broken. So I have no more tsinelas, see? Shows black feet.
I am 20 years old now, sir. Uhm, what I came here for? I came here to audition, sir. I heard you have a movie, sir, and I want to audition. Beat. Uh, I saw it on the TV sir. “Looking for Pinoy with talent.” Sir, I’m pinoy and I’m with talent.
Beat. Oh, no sir, I have no acting experience. This is my first time to audition.
Beat. What, sir? The auditions are over? Beat. The auditions were three days ago? Oh, no! Three days ago, sir, I was still walking along SLEX so I can get here. Beat. Sir, maybe you can give me a chance. I really want to be an actor, sir. Beat.
Okay, sir. I’ll go home now. You know, sir, it’s for my sister, really. I told her she will see me on TV and she said if she sees me on TV she will laugh. That’s why I’m here sir. I want to be on TV. I already memorized the script sir.
Beat. Yes, sir, I’m going now. You know what, sir, my sister? She is the most beautiful sister in the world. You know, my mom used to say, “Ay! How beautiful my baby girl! Just like her mother!”
And then my dad, he will say, “When your little sister was born the night sky became darker.” I would say, “Why?” And he will say “Because God took some of the stars down from heaven and put them in your sister’s eyes.”
It’s true, sir! My sister is beautiful. Especially when she laughs. There are stars in her eyes that sparkle when she laughs.
Beat. Yes, sir. I’m going home now, sir. You know, sir. My sister cannot read, so I read to her. I love to read her stories. Then one day my dad gave her a gift. A large-screen color TV sir. Twelve inches. I promised her she’ll see me on TV. I will dance like Jan-Jan the boy macho dancer! But you know you said the audition was three days ago and three days ago I was still in C5 so I’m going home now, sir.
Beat. My sister is sick, sir. We have no money to pay for her medicine. When my sister got sick, she stopped laughing sir. And then we can’t see the stars in her eyes anymore. That’s why I want to be on TV sir, so she can see me and she will laugh again.
Beat. Okay, sir. Going home now. Uh, sir, you know, I walked all the way here and I lost my tsinelas already. I know the auditions are over, but if you please, if it’s okay, I’d like to recite the lines anyway. If it’s all right with you. I memorized the script sir and I walked for five days just to get here. Maybe you will just allow me just three minutes to say my monologue?
Beat. Thank you very much sir! Uhm, this is from the scene with Alan and Vernice at the beach! Alan pushes Vernice who is sitting on the wheel chair.
“Here you go, Vernice! Just like I promised you. I told you I’ll take you to the sea to watch the sunset.”
And Vernice says, “Oh, Kuya Alan! It’s so beautiful!”
And Alan says, “Yes. It is beautiful. Very beautiful.” And then they were both silent for a while, just watching the sunset.
Beat.
And then Vernice says, “Kuya Alan, where do people go when they die?”
And then Alan says, “Oi! Mama told us we should never talk about bad things! Only happy things!”
And Vernice says, “Mama’s not here. She can’t hear us. Please, Kuya, please tell me where I will go. Will it be the same place that Papa went?”
And Alan says, “I suppose. Yes. When Papa died, he went to The Very Happy Place.”
And Vernice says, “The Very Happy Place! I wish that’s where I will go, too.”
And Alan says, “Ah, I said Mama said don’t talk sad things already!”
And Vernice says, “Tell me about that happy place! Tell me what is there.”
And Alan says, “Ah, I think we should go back in now. The hamog will not be good for you.”
And Vernice says, “Please, Kuya. Please tell me about that happy place.”
And Alan says, “Okay. The happy place. That’s where Papa is now. It’s a beautiful place, like this one. Over there, you can watch the sunset as many times as you want, for as long as you want. And then you can swim in the sea. You can swim and swim and not drown. And the sea is sweet, not salty. You can even walk on water!
And there, you can dance. I bet that’s what Papa is doing now. He is dancing. There we will find the best Doctor for you and He will heal you and you will never have sickness again.
And there, you have a big-screen TV. Much bigger than our TV: 24 inches! And all the angels watch TV all the time.
And Vernice says, “All the time?!”
And Alan says, “Yes! All the time! You know what they are watching?”
And Vernice says, “What?”
And Alan says, “They’re watching you!”
And Vernice says, “Me?”
And Alan says, “Yes! They are watching you. They are watching you on TV as you laugh. And when you laugh your eyes sparkle like the stars and the place becomes brighter.”
But Vernice doesn’t hear what his kuya is saying anymore. Because at that moment, Vernice... Vernice dies. But, but Alan does not know. He just talks and watches the sun set and then when it was evening, Alan looked up, and he has never seen so many stars before. So many stars. The night was so bright. And Alan does not know that it is because the stars that used to reside in Vernice’s eyes already returned to the sky.
Sir, thank you for letting me recite the monologue even though there’s no more audition, sir. Let me get my bio-data back. You don’t need this anymore. I have a long way to walk to get back home.
-=-=-=-
Okay, that's it. That's not completely original. It's based on a scene I saw many years ago in a play by Repertory Philippines about a girl who walked all the way from the alps of Russia, I think, to audition for a play. It was played by Liesl Batucan and I can never forget the simple sincerity (or the sincere simplicity) with which she did it. Also I need to change the name because I know someone named "Vanz Perla" in real life.
