Press from The Promise of a Rose Garden
"Spence keeps the khaki-clad thrills coming" --Mary Shen Barnidge, Windy City Times "Dustin Spence's new play imagines the first class of female candidates in which some are successful—fertile ground for some sophisticated ideas about the politics of tokenism and the unique burdens carried by trailblazers." --Dan Jakes, Chicago Reader "'Rose Garden' is visceral, hard-hitting, and it arrives on the Chicago theater scene like water to quench an unfortunate drought of substantive roles of women and actors of color." —Sean Margaret Wagner, Theatre by Numbers "In Dustin Spence’s devastating new play [...] the eye of the storm is not the story of their feminist triumph in unusual circumstances but the malaise of a system built on masculine notions of dominance. It’s those who stand nearest the top who know that there’s no heaven above and nothing below but a hell of bodies driven by fanatic ambition to reach an invisible summit, past which lies only their demise." —Irene Hsiao, Newcity Stage |
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Photos by Johnny Knight Photo |
An excerpt from the first act of The Promise of a Rose Garden. The Marines stand in the middle of a training yard watching Lt. Nichols and Lt. Sharif who are squared off in a mixed martial arts bout. Lt Ruiz and Sgt. Ferguson are gather around cheering and jeering. Capt. Rockford watches impassively.
RUIZ Come on Sunny wrap this shit up! FERGUSON Ten says Nichols takes her next chance she gets. RUIZ Not a chance. I'll take that green clean off you sergeant. SHARIF You hear that Nicci? NICHOLS Yeah I heard. SHARIF You could always just give up. NICHOLS Just as soon as you catch me, Sunshine. NICHOLS moves quickly around the ring landing some light hits to SHARIF's head and torso. SHARIF Cute. NICHOLS Naw! Cute’s how you block. Figure daddy's money coulda got you some fucking boxing lessons. They not have those in Baghdad? SHARIF Abu Dahbi is not Baghdad. NICHOLS Close enough. SHARIF You're off by about a thousand miles; just like your punches. RUIZ Fuck her shit up Sunny. You got this, girl! FERGUSON She hasn't even landed a hit. RUIZ Watch and learn kid. NICHOLS A thousand huh? SHARIF American education. What can you say? NICHOLS You know where Louisville is? SHARIF Near Chicago? NICHOLS kicks SHARIF in the side. SHARIF grabs the leg and twists, throwing NICHOLS to the ground. ROCKFORD Time! NICHOLS Bullshit! ROCKFORD What's that lieutenant? NICHOLS Two more seconds and I would have had her, ma'am. ROCKFORD Then I suppose you died two seconds too early. You are expected to be the best so that you can lead the best. Understood? TEAM Yes ma'am! ROCKFORD Our little jog this morning, only a handful of wookies have made it to the end. RUIZ Yeah cuz it's a fuckin marathon. ROCKFORD Something to add, Ruiz? RUIZ Just wondering how many runners in Boston do it with fifty pound packs, ma’am. ROCKFORD Should I be impressed? RUIZ No ma’am. ROCKFORD You've got that right. Selmy. Smith. Rockford. These are the names that should impress you. These are the names of the women who have completed the Infantry Officer Course. You must earn the right to be unimpressed. Do I look impressed to you? TEAM No ma'am. ROCKFORD Damn straight. Because my name's on the list and I'm going to make sure you wookies earn every inch of ground you take. Is that clear? TEAM Yes ma'am! ROCKFORD Ruiz, Ferguson, you're up. FERGUSON and RUIZ square off in the middle of the group. FERGUSON Easy, aren't you sick of me beating you all the time? RUIZ How you figure that comemierda? FERGUSON The little run, what time did you pull? 4:30? RUIZ 4:12 and right on your heels kid. FERGUSON Pin you to the ground; leave you in the dust, and what I'm like half your age? ROCKFORD Begin! FERGUSON and RUIZ circle each other. The others watch as the match begins. RUIZ If you're such a badass on the front why the fuck are you running the Course? FERGUSON Just thought I could use the exercise. RUIZ Seems like a hotshot knuckle-dragger should stay in the trenches. Go crush some skulls; leave the orders to those of us that know how to shoot and read. FERGUSON I guess I just didn't know any better. My CO, he told me to jump- NICHOLS Watch yourself chica. She's sneaky. RUIZ takes the first swing. FERGUSON dodges under the punch and grabs RUIZ around the torso lifting her off the ground in an attempt to throw her. FERGUSON I asked how high. NICHOLS Told you. RUIZ jabs an elbow into FERGUSON's back and they both drop to the ground. The two grapple on the ground and eventually separate to regain their feet, but not before RUIZ lands some unforgiving blows. They continue to fight throughout the following with FERGUSON naming RUIZ's fighting styles as she is using them. FERGUSON Krav maga... Judo... Not bad not bad. RUIZ This funny to you kid? FERGUSON Muay thai's a little rusty. RUIZ These moves gonna wipe that smile right off your fuckin face. At the last moment FERGUSON drops down and flips RUIZ over her shoulder. RUIZ lands on her back with the wind knocked out of her. ROCKFORD Time! FERGUSON Aikido. They always forget aikido. FERGUSON offers her hand to RUIZ. FERGUSON "Know yourself and you'll win all battles." RUIZ Get outta my face no-rate. FERGUSON Sun Tzu. Read it some time. SELMY enters. ROCKFORD. Attention! The women snap to attention. SELMY coldly examines the troops walking among them without any hint of what she is thinking. After a moment she speaks. SELMY. Why are you here? Think you're too good to work at a desk; too good to patch up some dumb grunt in sickbay? Do you think you're too good to get fucked by your man back home; too good to birth and rear and raise his brats? Is that it? Lieutenant why are you here? SHARIF I would like my chance to train the Infantry Officer Course, ma'am. SELMY Of course you would. I wouldn't be standing here is you didn't. Think you're too good for women's work lieutenant? SHARIF The IOC seems like excellent work for a woman, ma'am. SELMY You bet your sweet ass it is. And you had better be too good to sit at a desk, too good to sew a stitch, too good to spread ‘em like a bitch in heat because you are Marines goddamnit. Do I make myself clear? TEAM Aye-aye ma'am! SELMY You are the finest killing machines the world has ever known. The fact that you do not have a dick between your legs means that you are more aerodynamic. Why are you here, lieutenant? RUIZ I want to run with the best, ma'am; make my family proud, ma'am. SELMY And you think you're going to make them proud by commanding trained killers, is that it? RUIZ I hope to ma'am. SELMY Well I suppose we'll see. Only three wookies have ever seen the other side of the IOC. Two are standing in this yard and the third is dead. How does that make you feel lieutenant? NICHOLS Like it's time for a fourth, ma'am. SELMY And I bet you think that's you don't you lieutenant? Not if I have anything to say about it you redneck hillbilly cunt rag. What? Did I hurt your feelings? The enemy doesn't care about your feelings and you had better believe that the grunts under your command won't either. Captain Rockford. ROCKFORD Yes ma'am. SELMY Have I heard correctly that we have a boot among us? ROCKFORD That would be Ferguson ma'am. SELMY How old are you sergeant? FERGUSON Twenty-two ma'am. SELMY I hear you just found your clit Ferguson. What makes you think you are command material? FERGUSON I'm the best Marine you've ever met ma'am. SEMLY Is that so? FERGUSON I'll drag my grunts through to the other side by myself if I have to, ma'am. SELMY We'll see about that. SELMY turns to ROCKFORD. SELMY Captain. Suddenly ROCKFORD kicks FERGUSON in the leg causing her knees to buckle. Without a moment's hesitation FERGUSON rolls and aims a punch at ROCKFORD's head. ROCKFORD blocks the punch and flips FERGUSON onto her back, knocking the wind out of her. The others stand by in various states of watchful satisfaction. SELMY First rule of command sergeant: the men you lead must want to follow you; want to die for you. If they don't you'll end up on your ass while your troops stand around and watch. Clear? FERGUSON Aye ma'am. SELMY Last thing the Corps needs is a know-it-all who can't tell the difference between her ass-crack and her twat. You are not better than the men in your command. But you are responsible for them. They die you die. Clear? FERGUSON Aye ma'am. SELMY Captain. ROCKFORD Yes ma'am. SELMY One week. Then things get interesting. ROCKFORD Do you think they'll be ready by then, ma'am? SELMY It's been two months. They should be ready now. But they have a week just in case. ROCKFORD Yes ma'am. SELMY This thing going to happen Josephine? ROCKFORD Of course ma'am. SELMY Guess it means you can't fuck it up. ROCKFORD Yes ma'am. SELMY And when you're done captain, I expect to say, Smithy would be proud. ROCKFORD Yes ma'am. |