Wanting to redo the ending to his miserable marriage, Ben writes an auto-theatricality in which he plays himself and hires an actor to play his wife. To be true to his anguish, he must also hire an actor to play his wife’s lover. In rehearsals Ben finds he has trouble making “Ben” believable, while the other characters are even more rebellious than the people they’re based on. Dramatizing heartbreak proves difficult—and opening night may foil Ben’s attempt to revenge himself on the hard reality of what is past.
Cast:
ACTOR 1, Female, late 30s, an actor. Called NINA in this script, yet the name in production should be the name of the actor portraying her. She plays BEN’s wife, Sabina, in the play called Life Is My Disease. NINA is the on again, off again lover of KAZ.
ACTOR 2, Male, late 30s, an actor. Called KAZ in this script; as above, use the name of the actor in production. He plays Sabina’s lover for whom she would have left BEN but for the fact that she became sick. KAZ is the off again, on again lover of NINA.
BEN, mid-40s, the writer and director of the play called Life Is My Disease. He plays himself—for the most part.
