addresses the others.)
MOCHA
TCHOKHA ROSE
Ladies,
you are all out-of-work writers in need of employment.
WRITER
1
That’s
not strictly true, Mocha. I have a seasonal job
as a gift-wrapper.
WRITER
2
I,
too, am a gift-wrapper.
WRITER
3
As
am I.
MOCHA
TCHOKHA ROSE
Seasonal work comes to an end. Would
you like something longer-lasting? Would you like to ply your trade with a pen?
WRITER
2
Is
there pay?
MOCHA
TCHOKHA ROSE
My soap opera is too much for one
woman. It’s taking away from my job as a
non-seasonal wrapper.
WRITER
3
(To the others)“Butch Gardens” is a popular series.
WRITER
2
I’d like to write---!
MOCHA
TCHOKHA ROSE
There’s
no pay, mind you. No one makes
anything, especially with the internet.
WRITER
1
Words
are our bread.
WRITER
2
I
wouldn’t do it if there was pay.
MOCHA
TCHOKHA ROSE
It’s settled? Here are my outlines. Write well or I’ll kick you off.(An UGLY WOMAN enters, with frizzy black hair.)
UGLY
WOMAN
Is
this the meeting for authors?
MOCHA
TCHOKHA ROSE
Westward
Ho, your mother told me to watch out for you.
UGLY
WOMAN (WESTWARD HO)
But,
Mocha . . . can I write, too?
MOCHA
TCHOKHA ROSE
Women-only. We won’t
be silenced.(The four women leave the backroom to fill up on free samples of crusty loaves.
WESTWARD HO takes off his wig and sighs.)
