“Okay, let’s stop it there for a moment” starts this scene excerpt from the comedic one-act eplay, Across The Face.

MUMFORD: Okay, let’s stop it there for a moment. When Carol approaches you, I want your character’s ego to come out. You see, you don’t think she would ever smack you across the face, in fact, you almost sort of lean in to it because you even go as far as to tempt her, so when she does smack you, it’s like a bomb going off in your mind because your ego gets obliterated in an instant. No one has ever done something like that to you…you see what I’m getting at Dave?

DAVE: Loud and clear.

MUMFORD: Carol what you are doing is working, is it working for you?

CAROL: I’m getting there, exploring.

MUMFORD: Right. Good. Let’s have another—

BOBBY: Excuse me, ‘scuse me, ah, as producer can I say somethin’ about this thing here?

MUMFORD: Bobby, to be honest, it’s really not—

BOBBY: Yeah, but I think I can add some value, being as Yolanda and me are sittin’ right here in the audience, you know, her and I could bring additional insight.

MUMFORD: Insight?

BOBBY: Like when the actress goes up to him and slaps him, right? She should do it with force, it doesn’t seem to be coming across as something she REALLY, REALLY wants to do, you know, so if she just goes at him, like, that would be powerful cause I’ve had women slap me before and let me tell you, when a woman wants to slap a man, there ain’t no hesitation, follow? She needs to let it rip, BAH, right across the chin or cheek or whatever and that’s another thing too, she needs to pick a spot, like a location, a TARGET, one time she slaps him in the throat, another time in the chin, another time across the head, she needs to have a target, so this way it has more impact I think, I don’t, just my two cents.

MUMFORD (to himself) Christ. (to BOBBY) Bobby, I appreciate you giving me your perspective—

BOBBY: I’m just sayin’.

CAROL (whispering to Mumford): Mumford, please do not let that man give me notes.

MUMFORD (under his breath): I know, I know. (to BOBBY) Thanks Bobby–

BOBBY: And one more thing, Yolanda here just made a good point.

DAVE (quietly muttering): Yolanda?

YOLANDA: I think she should punch ’em.

BOBBY: Wow, that would be somethin’. Ha ha ha! Give ’em a nice WHOP to da nose, right?

YOLANDA: That’s what I’m sayin’, sh’t.

MUMFORD: No, no, we don’t, no, there is no punch in this moment, it has to be a slap, that’s what the writer wrote and a punch would overdo the nature of the scene, it would be overdone. A slap is right where we want to be, it’s what the scene calls for.

(beat)

BOBBY: …Okay. (to Yolanda) He knows what he’s doin’. Go with the slap then. Alright.

MUMFORD: Let’s ah, let’s take it from the top.

• To read the full one-act play, find purchase link below:

In this one-act ePlay, Mumford is directing his dream play but the problem is that he has borrowed money from the wrong people to do so.  Comedy.  5 Characters.

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