Episode three of Stage & Screen continues our special presentation of "Listening in the Shadows" with "Somewhere I Didn't Want To Be," written by Robyn Medeiros, directed by Rie Talley, and starring Anaria Jackson, Shelly Berryhill, and Gabbi Fairey.
Episode three of Stage & Screen continues our special presentation of "Listening in the Shadows," an original, five-part radio drama written and performed by our students as part of our Fall 2020 season. Today's drama is called "Somewhere I Didn't Want To Be," written by Robyn Medeiros, directed by Rie Talley, and starring Anaria Jackson as Beverly, Shelly Berryhill as Hope, and Gabbi Fairey as Mother.
Production Credits:
Project Director—Matthew Shifflett
Project Coordinator—Haley Dawn Parker
Production Manager—Jared Spears
Sound Designer and Editor—Kurt Davis
Foley Artist—Fel Macias
The Department of Theatre & Film is grateful for its patrons and corporate sponsors. As a department we are committed to the high quality instruction that our students receive. Investing in the students’ education and these quality productions helps us move toward our common goal of graduating successful, creative adults who are lifelong learners. If you are interested in contributing to these efforts, please visit https://umfoundation.givingfuel.com/theatreandfilm.
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From the Department of Theatre and Film at the University of Mississippi, this is Stage & Screen.
00:00:15 Katherine Stewart
Hello again and welcome to Stage & Screen. I'm your host, Katherine Stewart, and today we are happy to present the 4th play of Listening in the Shadows, an original, five-part radio drama written and performed by our students as part of our Fall 2020 season.
00:00:32 Katherine Stewart
This fourth play is called Somewhere I Didn't Want To Be, and was written by Robyn Medeiros and directed by Rie Talley.
00:00:40 Katherine Stewart
By the way, if you missed last week's drama, When No One Was Watching, you should definitely track back an episode and give it a listen.
00:00:47 Katherine Stewart
For today, without further ado, here is Somewhere I Didn't Want To Be.
[SFX: Wind whistling through the trees. Footsteps on dead leaves.]
HOPE: Beverly…
[BEVERLY and HOPE pant with exhaustion]
Beverly?
BEVERLY: What?
HOPE: Do you know where we’re going?
BEVERLY: Away.
HOPE: I mean, where are we going to?
BEVERLY: It doesn’t matter.
HOPE: I would think it would.
BEVERLY: Hope, as long as we’re away from Mom, I don’t care where we end up. We’re on
our own now. And we’re in control of our own destiny.
HOPE: Right.
[pause]
I don’t know if I like being in control of my own destiny if that means fumbling through the dark
woods for the rest of my life.
BEVERLY: We should hit a town soon enough.
HOPE: I hope you’re right.
[pause]
BEVERLY: You hope you’re right?
HOPE: Shut up.
[BEVERLY laughs, a welcome relief from the situation]
I am glad though. It was time to leave. I just wish it didn’t hurt Mom so terribly to see us go.
BEVERLY: She has no one to blame but herself. If she wanted a more pleasant goodbye she
should’ve let us go years ago. Instead, she kept us chained to that tiny house for all our lives and
was surprised when we fled.
HOPE: I understand how you feel...I just can’t wait to see what we’re gonna do once we get to
town. I always dreamed about having my own little house. You and me. A nice man, maybe. To
be able to go to the pond or to the shops downtown whenever I wanted to, no permission needed.
A whole new life. My very own.
[She falls into a giggling fit]
I’m so happy I could scream!
BEVERLY: Go right ahead!
HOPE: [giggles, then a joyful yell]
[SFX: A door slam].
[BEVERLY and HOPE yelp from surprise]
BEVERLY: Wait, what the…?
HOPE: A house!
BEVERLY: I didn’t notice it before…
HOPE: Do you think someone lives inside?
BEVERLY: Someone just slammed the door shut, didn’t they?
HOPE: It looks dark in there.
BEVERLY: Let’s keep going.
HOPE: Wait...Let’s knock.
BEVERLY: What? No!
HOPE: Why not? Someone in there could give us directions to a town!
BEVERLY: We don’t need directions. What we need is to not put our lives in the hands of
people we don’t know! What if they’re dangerous?
HOPE: Is it any worse than sleeping out here and being eaten by some wild animal?
[BEVERLY groans]
BEVERLY: Fine. But you knock.
HOPE: I’m sure it’s--
[SFX: Door creaking open.]
MAN: ( pleasantly ) Hello...can I help you?
BEVERLY/HOPE: Hi.
BEVERLY: Sorry to bother you...we were just looking to--
HOPE: Do you think you could tell us where the nearest town is?
MAN: [ pause, then pleasant chuckle ] I’m sorry to tell you this, but you are literally in the middle
of nowhere. There isn’t a town for miles on end.
HOPE: Really? Are you sure?
MAN: Certain as can be.
BEVERLY: Well, thank you anyway. Come on, Hope.
MAN: What are you doing out so late?
HOPE: ( giddy ) Claiming our destinies!
BEVERLY: Hope.
MAN: Ah. I see. You know, if you wanted, you could stay a while. It’s a cold night, and I have
dinner on the stove.
HOPE: ( delighted ) That would be--!
BEVERLY: Completely unnecessary, but thank you. Let’s go, Hope. ( whispering ) Hope! Don’t
go in the--
[SFX: Floor creak].
House. Dammit.
[SFX: Floor creak. Door shut].
MAN: Make yourselves at home.
HOPE: Thank you!
BEVERLY: Thanks.
MAN: Would you mind if I put music on?
HOPE: Not at all.
[SFX: Gentle music plays in the background].
What’s for dinner?
MAN: Soup.
BEVERLY: I’m sorry, but we don’t have time to stay. I think we should…
Oh.
I love this song!
MAN: I thought you might.
BEVERLY: [ suddenly overcome with giddiness ] It’s my favorite!
MAN: I know.
BEVERLY: WOOOOOOOO! [ she collapses into a giggling fit ]
[ The MAN chuckles at her ]
MAN: Are you hungry now?
BEVERLY: Yes...I think so…
MAN: Good. Let me get the venison.
BEVERLY:...Venison? I thought we were having--
MAN: Sit.
BEVERLY: Okay.
MAN: Here you are then.
BEVERLY: Where’s Hope? Did she wander off?
[SFX: Shuffling Cards]
Are you going to eat?
MAN: I’m not hungry.
BEVERLY: You made a whole dinner when you weren’t hungry?
MAN: I made it for you.
BEVERLY: Awwww! That’s so sweet!
[ pause ]
[ mouth full ] What game are you playing?
MAN: I’m sorry?
BEVERLY: Oh sorry. [ swallows ] What game are you playing?
MAN: What do you mean?
BEVERLY: The playing cards. What game are you playing?
MAN: Oh. These. It’s Solitaire.
BEVERLY: It doesn’t look like Solitaire to me.
MAN: What do you mean?
BEVERLY: You only have three cards out. Lying in a row. That’s not Solitaire.
MAN: It’s a different version.
BEVERLY: You can’t just make up your own game and then call it Solitaire when it’s not
Solitaire.
MAN: Why not?
BEVERLY: Because it’s a completely different game.
MAN: Trust me. It really isn’t.
BEVERLY: How so?
MAN: In solitaire, you can’t place one card down without affecting how you’re going to play the
others. They’re all intricately linked to each other. This game is the same way. Does that make
sense?
BEVERLY: Not really.
MAN: It doesn’t have to.
BEVERLY: Oh. Okay.
[ beat ]
Where did Hope go?
MAN: You really don’t know?
BEVERLY: Um, no, I don’t.
MAN: What kind of meat do you think you’ve been eating this whole time?
[ beat ]
[BEVERLY gags. SFX. Glass breaking. The MAN laughs]
MAN: Joking! Only joking! Oh my goodness…
BEVERLY: YOU SICK BASTARD.
[BEVERLY coughs]
MAN: [ still laughing ] Oh goodness, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you so badly--
BEVERLY: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU.
MAN: It was a joke! A joke! Come, sit down again. There you go.
BEVERLY: Do you know where she is at least?
MAN: Of course I do. She’s here.
BEVERLY: In the house? I don’t see her anywhere.
MAN: Yes. Here. With us.
BEVERLY: Where?
MAN: See this?
BEVERLY: … The Queen of Diamonds?
MAN: That’s where she is.
BEVERLY: You’re not making any sense.
MAN: [ chuckles ] That’s my specialty.
[ pause ]
BEVERLY: [ shivering ] Why is it so cold…?
MAN: So, where are you going Beverly?
BEVERLY: Um… I don’t know…[ shivers ] Does it feel cold to you all of a sudden?
MAN: You don’t know? How can you be off travelling somewhere if you don’t know where it is
you’re travelling to?
BEVERLY: [ in between teeth chattering ] I just...wanted to...get away…
MAN: From what?
BEVERLY: Maybe I should go...where’s Hope?
MAN: I’ll tell you. But you tell me first. What are you getting away from?
BEVERLY: ...Mom…
[SFX. Lightswitch]
[BEVERLY gasps]
What happened? Why is it so dark?...Hello? Where did you--
[SFX. Walking in high heels]
Oh god. Oh no no no no no…
MOTHER: ...Beverly?
BEVERLY: Mom?
MOTHER: Did you leave the house again?
BEVERLY: No! No I didn’t Mom, I swear--
[SFX. Slap]
MOTHER: I’ll ask again. Did you leave the house again?
BEVERLY: [ sobbing ] I was only...there was this bird...a baby bird...that fell from the ground
outside. I could see it from the window...it was dying--
[SFX. Slap.]
[BEVERLY shrieks and sobs even harder]
MOTHER: You miserable girl! You insult me by disobeying me. You think I wouldn’t notice?
[SFX. One step in high heels]
I know where you go...
[SFX. Step in high heels]
What you do…
[SFX. Step in high heels]
And when you do it. Nothing you do can escape from my sight. Ever.
BEVERLY: I was only trying to help--
MOTHER: What have I told you? Nothing good can come from the outside. Pure evil only exists
out there. Pure good only lives in this house. And that’s why you’ll stay.
[ pause ]
And you say…?
BEVERLY: Yes ma’am. I’m sorry.
MOTHER: [ gradually morphing into a distorted version of the voice of the MAN ] Sorry isn’t
good enough. I need to know that from now on, you will never disobey me again. Good
daughters listen to their mothers. Do you think you’re being a very good daughter now?
BEVERLY: No.
MAN: So, why did you leave?
BEVERLY: To get away. From her.
MAN: Really? Because, as far as I can tell, she is still with you.
BEVERLY: Who are you? What the hell is going on?!
MAN: Do you really think you’ll be able to leave her? After all those years of living in that
house?
BEVERLY: I have left her!
MAN: Maybe. But she might not leave you.
[ pause ]
You will never not be your mother’s daughter. And I will make sure of that.
BEVERLY: SHUT UP. LEAVE ME ALONE! You can’t do that!
[SFX. Bone breaking]
[BEVERLY shrieks with pain]
MAN: DO NOT TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CAN’T DO. I OWN YOU. AND YOU WILL
DO WHAT I SAY.
BEVERLY: [ sobbing ] I’m sorry--I’m sorry!
MAN: [ suddenly calm ] I know you are, Beverly.
[ pause ]
[ voice is no longer distorted ] This has been an enlightening experience, I think. For the both of
us. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other many more times in the future. You can show yourself
out.
[BEVERLY whimpers with pain]
[SFX. Wind whistling through the trees]
BEVERLY: How did I… end up out here?
HOPE: [ far away ]...Beverly?
BEVERLY: Hope?!
HOPE: Beverly!
[SFX. Running on dead leaves]
Beverly...did you break your arm?
[BEVERLY groans]
What happened to you?
BEVERLY: What happened to you ?...Where did you go?
HOPE: I don’t know what happened...he gave me some soup…it was so delicious, but I was so
sick afterwards I thought he poisoned me...I still feel sick. Where did you go?
BEVERLY: I don’t know...I can’t explain it. [ Sharp inhale through teeth ]
HOPE: Oh god. We need to get you to a hospital.
BEVERLY: [ sobbing ] Hope…
HOPE: It’s okay, I’ve got you…
BEVERLY: Hope...please...don’t leave me again, okay?
HOPE:...Okay, Beverly. You got it. You got it.
00:12:22 Katherine Stewart
Once again, that was somewhere I didn't want to be written by Robyn Medeiros. Directed by Rie Talley and starring Anaria Jackson as Beverly, Shelly Berryhill as Hope and Gabbi Fairey as mother.
00:12:37 Katherine Stewart
Next week will be the 5th and final installment of Listening in the Shadows and let me tell you, it's a good creepy note to end on. It's called An Oddity of Fear, and it was written by James Barton and directed by Haley Dawn Parker.
00:12:53 Katherine Stewart
After the conclusion of listening in the shadows, we will be reverting to more traditional podcast format an featuring interviews with a wide variety of people to give you an inside look at what we're creating here in the Department of Theatre & Film.
00:13:08 Katherine Stewart
So be on the lookout for announcements about upcoming guests. We’ll be sharing those on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and you can follow us there. Our handle is @theatrefilmatum on all three.
00:13:21 Katherine Stewart
In the meantime, stay tuned, subscribe, tell your friends, and if you haven't already, it would mean so much to us if you leave us a review.
00:13:29 Katherine Stewart
Until next time this is Stage & Screen.