"Paul Di Filippo - Weeping Walls" - читать интересную книгу автора (Di Filippo Paul)

woman, hair colored like autumn acorns, seated several rows back.
"Danny, I've forgotten my cue."
The mild-faced skinny director turned slowly in his seat and said, "You come in w
Lester saysтАФ'The planet's dying!'тАФCarol."
"He's going to call me by my real name? I thought I was playing Gaia."
A long-suffering look washed over Danny's lagomorphic features "No, Carol. He'll
say, 'The planet's dying!' "
"And then I stand up and face the audienceтАФ"
"Correct."
"тАФand rip open my shirtтАФ"
"Right."
"тАФand I sayтАФI sayтАФ"
"Your line is 'Gaia lactates no more for cuckoos born of horninid greed!' "
Carol's painful expression mimicked that of a pressure-racked semifi-nalist in a nation
televised sixth-grade spelling bee. " 'Gaia lacks tits for greedyтАФ' Oh, Danny, it's no use!"
"Carol, just calm down. You have another two whole days to practice. I'm sure you'
fine."
"I've got the shirt-ripping part down pat. Do you want to see?" The males on stage le
forward eagerly. Danny yelled, "No, no, don't!" but he was much too late.
The rehearsal didn't resume for a confused fifteen minutes spent chasing popped
buttons and draping blankets solicitously around Carol's chilly shoulders.
Hardly had the dramaтАФscript and music by Danny Simmons, directed and produced
Danny SimmonsтАФgotten once more well under way when another interruption intervened.
One of the set-building crew rocketed onstage, hammer in her hand. "Hey, Danny, ther
guy from the electric company fooling around outside at the meter!"
At that instant, the theater was plunged into darkness. Yelps and shrieks filled the musty
Feet scuffled in panic across the boards, and the sound of a body tumbling down the three s
leading from the stage was succeeded by grunts and curses.
Eventually Danny Simmons and his troupe found themselves all out in the daylit lo
There awaited the theater's landlord, a short irascible fellow who resembled a gnome sire
Rumpelstiltskin on one of Cinderella's ugly stepsisters.
"Haul ass out of here, you losers. Your freeloading days are over." Danny fought b
tears of frustration. "But Mr. Semple, we open on Friday! We'll pay all the back rent
the first night's receipts!"
 "Not likely, pal. I finally caught a rehearsal of this lamebrained farce yesterday. I
sitting in the back for the whole damn incomprehensible five acts. No one's going to lay dow
plugged nickel to see this shit-" Semple paused to ogle the straining safety pin that labore
hold Carol's shirtfront closed. "You do have a couple of good assets, but you can't coun
them for everything. No, I figure it's better to cut my losses right now. Clear this p
immediately so's I can padlock it, and my boys will pile your stuff on the sidewalk."
Defeated, the spiritless actors began to shuffle out of the building, and Danny shamefac
followed them. Out on the sidewalk, he turned to face the confusingly abstract poster for
show hanging by the ticket office:

GAIA'S DAY OFF PRESENTED BY THE DERRIDADAJSTS
The sight of the poster seemed to hearten him. He turned to rally his friends.
"Gang, I won't let these fat-cat bastards break us up! Whatever it takes, I vow
Derridadaists will go on!"
"I am so glad," Carol offered cheerfully, "that I have some extra time to practice
speech!"