Starring:
Mo McKynzie as Marisol Montgomery
Yodeet Nymberg as Nina Greene
Lolita Marie as Summer
Chinna Palmer as The Stranger
Cody Smith as Aaron
KenYatta Rogers as Arthur Montgomery
David McKay as Man At The Motel
Akanimo Effang as The Host
Director & Sound Designer: Nathan Gabriel
Writer, Creator, & Producer: Jade Madison Scott
Supervising Producer: Virginia Wilson
Producer: Will Stokes
Beyond Underscore & Dialogue Editor: Michael Ronstadt
Theme Composer: Sterlyn Termine
Show Art: Julia Patrick
Introduction
HOST
WGC Productions presents Small Victories.
(The Host’s line glitches as Marisol unscrews a pill bottle. She pours out the pills and swallows a few. It fades into a glitch remix of the Small Victories Theme.)
AUDIO MONTAGE
(A thunderous heartbeat that exists in isolation dives into the sweeping sounds of crowds and club parties. Marisol does a line of cocaine. Crowds cheer. The sounds melt into Marisol’s frenzied laughing and running can be heard underneath. The distant swirl of police sirens sounds in the background but their rudimentary beat morphs into full-body congo drums. A door slams-)
NINA
(sounds as if underwater)
Where have you been? I’ve been calling and texting and, shit, Marisol. Marisol, come on, look at me. I know things between us got weird, but I still care about you, alright? Marisol? Marisol, where are you going? Where are-
(The drums speed up and up and up! A text dings. Everything goes quiet except for the sound of Marisol’s heavy breathing. Another text dings. Then another and another. They start to pile on top of one another until it sounds like one disastrous cacophony. Marisol throws the phone and it cracks. It becomes quiet again. Marisol does a line and then she hears it, a water droplet plops to the ground. Then another. She walks towards the sound which has now transformed into rushing water. She moves forward and finds that she is now stepping in water. She takes step after cautious steps until she is nearly submerged. She takes a deep breath and goes under. The music twinkles and then she hears them. Overlapping voices saying-)
AARON
(as if underwater; still understandable)
-there’s a girl, I stabbed a girl, she’s bleeding there’s blood everywhere. There’s blood fucking everywhere-
NINA
(as if underwater; still understandable)
Marisol, I thought you killed yourself. It was so close to Sam’s anniversary, and I thought...Do you know how that felt? How worried I was? I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t make myself do anything.
SUMMER
(as if underwater; still understandable)
You care about people, about everything, so much and I don't know who told you that you shouldn't but you do.
MR. MONTGOMERY
(as if underwater; still intelligible)
I’m sorry, kiddo. I’m sorry. Kid, I’m so sorry.
(The voices become more and more intense until suddenly-)
STRANGER
MARISOL!
(Marisol is sucked into the Beyond.)
THE BEYOND
MARISOL
Shit! What?
STRANGER
What are you doing?
MARISOL
Are you blind?
STRANGER
Marisol-
MARISOL
Wait let me guess? You wanna fight, right? That’s what you wanna do, right? You wanna fight? Okay. Let’s fight.
STRANGER
Marisol-
MARISOL
Fight me, goddamnit.
(The world glitches.)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Hit me back. You have to hit me-
(The world glitches)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
I’m evil.
STRANGER
Are you?
MARISOL
(desperate)
Yes. I am. I am and you have to stop me. You're good so you have to stop me. Stop me. Please stop me. Stop me. Hit me back. Please hit me back. I deserve it. Please. Please. Make me stop. Please, make me stop.
STRANGER
I will not help you hurt yourself, Marisol Montgomery.
(Beat.)
MARISOL
Then you’re a coward. You’re the coward. You’ve always been a coward. You and yours are the ones that stole them, right? My Mom? Sam? They were good. They were good. They should have lived. They’re the ones that should be alive.
STRANGER
Marisol-
MARISOL
Stop saying my name like that. Stop it. You, you, they were good. They were good. They were good.
(Beat)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Well, aren’t you gonna say anything?
STRANGER
What do you want me to say?
MARISOL
I don’t know. Anything?
(A loud heavy banging echoes through the space. Pause.)
STRANGER
You should get that.
(Marisol is sucked out of The Beyond.)
INT. MOTEL BEDROOM
Marisol unlocks the chain on the door.
MARISOL
Yeah?
MAN
Front desk. Neighbors were complaining ‘bout loud sounds, like, crying kinda sounds, from your room.
MARISOL
Hold on.
(Marisol unlocks the door chain and opens the door a crack.)
MARISOL
It’s the pipes. They’ve been wailing the whole time. You should send someone up for that.
MAN
You okay? You don’t look so good.
MARISOL
Fuck you, man.
(Marisol closes the door and rehooks the chain. She sits on the bed. Her text dings.)
MARISOL
Jesus Christ, these fucking people.
MR. MONTGOMERY
Oliver called me. He said you’re missing. Tell me you’re okay, kiddo.
(Long Beat.)
MARISOL
Fuck.
(Marisol calls Oliver. The phone rings once-)
OLIVER
(over the phone)
Tiny, you’re alive!
MARISOL
My dad? You called my fucking Dad?
OLIVER
(over the phone)
You’ve been missing for six-
MARISOL
I haven’t been missing! I haven’t been fucking missing. Not wanting to be found isn’t the same as fucking-
OLIVER
(over the phone)
You don’t get to yell at me. I’ve been worried for six days straight, I can’t do anything over here, I missed classes and I’ve lost sleep and I skipped a date with a very cute boy to help Nina think of where you could be-
MARISOL
Who asked for all of that? You want a pat on the back? No one asked you to be my little bitch-
OLIVER
(over the phone)
I’m your friend.
MARISOL
You’re not here, Oliver! You’re not here when I need you! I fucking needed you and you’re as far away from me as fucking humanly possible!
OLIVER
(over the phone)
We’re not twins. You can’t expect me to be with you all the time. I have a life.
MARISOL
Your life’s boring as fuck. Ooh, I have to do my little pieces of homework so so-and-so can tell such-and-such that I’ll fucking whore myself out so I can fucking lick someone's boots until they tell me I’ve got the right stuff for whatever the fuck. Newsflash, asshole, you’re not smart, you’re not talented, you just don’t have enough self-respect to stop people from treating you like the community bitch. That’s why you’re gonna go far, cause you’ve got nothing holding you down.
(Beat.)
OLIVER
(over the phone)
I love you.
MARISOL
Oh, shut the fuck up. You love me? You love me? Then you’re even more of a fucking idiot than I thought. You love me? There’s nothing fucking here, Oliver.
OLIVER
(over the phone)
Tiny-
MARISOL
And don’t tell me something you read when you searched how to talk to your fucked up friend. Christ, I wish you killed yourself instead of Sam. If he were here instead of you I'd be so much better.
(Long Beat.)
OLIVER
(over the phone)
When’d you relapse?
MARISOL
It doesn’t matter. Nina hates me. Who cares? I wish Sam was here.
(Pause)
MARISOL
My Dad? Really?
OLIVER
(over the phone)
I needed an adult.
MARISOL
You picked the worst one.
OLIVER
(over the phone)
I don’t know when the last time you two talked was, but he’s gotten a lot-
MARISOL
Look, man, I can’t handle hearing you sing my father’s praises right now, okay?
OLIVER
(over the phone)
Where are you?
MARISOL
In some shitty motel in Anacostia.
OLIVER
(over the phone)
You need to go home.
MARISOL
You too, huh?
OLIVER
What?
MARISOL
Is it a good or bad thing that binging didn’t make me feel as good as it usually does?
OLIVER
(over the phone)
You need to go home, Marisol.
MARISOL
I’m so tired, man.
OLIVER
(over the phone)
Go home.
MARISOL
Oliver, I’m sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry.
(Pause)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Oliver? You gotta forgive me, alright? I need you to forgive me. You love me, right? If you love me you gotta forgive me. You have to. You have to. Please. Oliver?
(Pause)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Oliver?
(Pause)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Ollie?
OLIVER
(over the phone)
Call Nina, okay? I gotta go.
MARISOL
Ollie-
(Oliver hangs up. Glitch. Small Victories Theme.)
CLOSING
HOST
You have just listened to Small Victories. Starring Mo Mckynzie as Marisol.
MO
Your life's boring as fuck.
HOST
Yodeet Nymberg as Nina
YODEET
I thought you killed yourself.
HOST
Chinna Palmer as the Stranger
CHINNA
I will not help you hurt yourself, Marisol Montgomery.
HOST
Lolita Marie as Summer.
LOLITA
You care about people. About everything.
HOST
Jacquir LaFond as Oliver
JACQUIR
We're not twins.
HOST
Cody Smith as Aaron
CODY
There's, there's blood fucking everywhere.
HOST
David McKay as Man at the Motel
DAVID
You okay? You don't look so good.
HOST
KenYatta Rogers as Arthur Montgomery.
STEVEN
Tell me you're okay, kiddo?
HOST
And Akanimo Effang as the Host. Theme Composer, Sterlyn Termine. Original Cello Music Composed by Assistant Sound Designer Micahel Rondstadt. Script Supervisor, Virginia Wilson. Director and Sound Designer, Nathan Gabriel. Created and Written by Jade Madison Scott.