Dr. Wilkin's Will
Cast
S: Sadie Hawking
R: Jack Rollins
N: Richard Nagel
B: Constance Baggerly
W: Woman/Leda
Orderly
Other orderlies - stagehands
Scene 1
Lights up. An empty cell in the asylum. There is a door upstage left. As the scene opens, B is leading R through the door and into the cell.
B: I hope you’ll please pardon, Doctor Rollins, but we’ve yet to set up the room for you. You have to understand that with the remodeling and all, the whole of the place is in a bit of a confusion. Why, we weren’t even expecting you ‘til the day after tomorrow, and late at that.
R: It’s quite all right nurse... I’m sorry, what was it?
B: Baggerly, Constance Baggerly. And that’s quite all right, yourself. Why, with all the confusion these days I sometimes forget my own name. (She laughs.)
R: (Laughs politely.) I see, nurse Baggerly-
B: Call me Connie.
R: Very well, Connie, I was wondering if I could speak to the director any time soon.
B: Oh yes, of course, Mr. Nagel is on his way as we speak. As I said, we-
R: Weren’t expecting me?
B: (Pause.) Yes, and with-
R: All the confusion?
B: (Pause again.) Yes, I’m afraid he was given a rather short notification of your arrival. I had to pull him out of some rather important meetings so he could come down and greet you-
N: (Entering through door.) Oh, nothing so important that it would keep me from meeting with our young Dr. Rollins, Constance. (Walks to R and shakes his hand vigorously.) Welcome, doctor, welcome. Thank you for coming on such short notice, Jack. May I call you Jack?
R: If you want to. Your message seemed urgent. Now, if you don’t mind, director, could you tell me what all this is about? I took the time to study this patient’s case on the trip down, but I still don’t understand why you specifically called me down to work with her.
N: Ah, a man who gets right down to it. I like that, Jack. Very well then, you are aware the asylum’s former director, Dr. Wilkins, passed away a few months ago?
R: Of course. I have to admit that it was quite a shock to hear about-
N: Yes, quite a shock. Terrible thing, and all. The doctor was quite an amazing fellow. You worked with him, correct?
R: (Pause.) For the better part of a few years, in fact. That man was essentially my mentor.
N: So I’ve heard, I’m very sorry for the loss. Anyway, Wilkins spoke very highly of you in his will. Praised you up and down the pages. It’s that right, Constance?
B: (Jumps.) Up and down the pages, and into heaven, Sir.
N: Right. He considered you the best of the best. For that very reason, he requested that you specifically come work with the woman in question. She was of a great deal of interest to the dear man, as I’m sure you can understand, and he felt that if anyone could cure the woman, it would be you. Isn’t that right, Constance?
B: If anyone at all, it would be you and only you, Sir.
N: Right. And I have to say, that someone would have to be a geniuses to crack this nut, if you’ll pardon the expression (Polite laughter from all, especially B.) That’s enough Constance. (She stops.)
R: Well, I hope I can live up to Dr. Wilkins vision of me.
N: We all do, doctor. (Slaps R on the back.) Now, you said you studied her files on the way down?
R: Yes.
N: Good, in that case you can start right away.
R: Director-
N: Please, call me Rich. Constance?
B: Yes Mr. Nagel?
N: Why isn’t the room set up?
B: Well, I have to say I’ve been a bit detained with this conversation we’ve been having and all.
N: I see, well, I’ll tell the orderlies to get you some chairs and bring her in, Jack.
B: Mr. Nagel?
N: What is it, Constance?
B: That’s part of my duties.
N: Very well then, you tell them and I’ll be in my office. (B exits.) Welcome aboard, Jack, and good luck. (Exit.)
R stares at door. Puts briefcase on the ground and pulls out a file, clipboard, and pen. Arranges materials while the stagehand orderlies bring in two chairs and a small table. The table is downstage center with the chair an equal distance away to either side. B enters in the middle of the set up and watches R. He puts his materials on the small table and notices B.
B: Are you ready for your patient, doctor?
R: I think so, thank you Constance.
B: Connie.
R: Thank you, Connie. (Sits in chair facing away from door.)
B: So, you worked with doctor Wilkins?
R: That’s right.
B: You must be very good for him to have taken you on and all. From what I knew of him, the man was exceedingly picky with his students, on account of how talented he was himself.
R: He was one of the best.
B: So, did you ever meet the girl during your time here? I mean, I’m betting she was around at the time.
R: We were introduced once, I believe. But I doubt any impression of her I got then will be of much help now.
B: Of course. Well, we’re all hoping that you can do something for her.
B exits, lights down.
Scene 2
Lights up. No set change. R sits cross legged, note pad resting on his leg. S sits limp, tied to her chair. An orderly remains in the doorway, blending into the background, staring straight ahead and seemingly unaware of anything else in the room. The stage is evenly lit. They sit in silence until S tilts her head up at R.
R: Hello Sadie, I’m Dr. Rollins.
S tilts her head the other way, says nothing.
R: Now I could go on to give you a little background on myself and why I’m here, or I could start asking you the basic questions about yourself, but given your extensive background with doctors, I’ll sure you’ve heard it all before and I wont insult your intelligence.
S: Clever.
R: I thought so.
S: I hope you’re not here with the trite old new treatment plan.
R: Excuse me?
S: You know, the old idea of a new method to bring me out of my insanity. A new way of addressing me, a new series of pills or... other forms of treatment.
R: Not at all. In fact, you may find me rather traditional.
S: Oh, but traditional is boring.
R: Then you may find me boring.
S: Quite possibly. Maybe not.
R: So-
S: Have all the king’s horses and all the king’s men gotten so sick of trying to put me back together again that I’ve become a training case?
R: What do you mean?
S: A dry run? Whatever they call it. A few sessions with me and you can deal with anything?
R: What makes you ask that?
S: What do you think?
R: You feel I’m young.
S: Can you grow a beard?
R: I’m not younger than you.
S: Any child can misplace a marble or two.
R: But you wouldn’t want a child chasing bats out of the belfry?
S: It’s been my experience that children don’t deal well with scary winged creatures in high up places.
R: I wouldn’t say someone my age working with such creatures is unprecedented.
S: Neither is someone your age hitting their head on the bells in the process.
R: You speak from experience?
S: I’ve made it happen.
R: And you think you can make it happen with me?
S: That depends on if you can figure out what makes me tick counter-clock wise.
R: If I can cure you before I get so deep into this doctor-patient relationship that I can’t get out?
S: That’s not what I said. (Smiles.) So, what now? I know you’re here for some reason. As much as I’d like to think everyone’s finally decided to let me sit in some corner gathering dust, I know I’m far too enticing for every drop-in and old timer who walks past these walls. You should be very careful about that, you know. So many have come and gone, inconsistency breeds contempt you know.
R: I do know, I’ve seen the list of your former doctors. It’s my hope that I’ll be that last name on the list.
S: That’s your hope, but what do you think the reality is?
R: I think I can help you.
S: Do you? Why?
R: Because I think you don’t want to be helped, and at the very least I can get you talking long enough to change that.
S: I’m touched by your modesty. Most think they can come in and do the entire fix up job all by their lonesome.
R: Maybe I’m not letting your initial lucidity fool me.
S: Good boy. Now be off with you. I’ve a meeting with the peasants at a quarter to three, and I’m afraid they’ve gotten quite unruly. If I don’t make an appearance, I do think they shall have my head. Not literally, of course, I know my head is quite well bolted and locked to my neck, and only I have the key. They could take my kingdom from me and still not get that key, I should say. And even if they did, it would be useless, for I’m the only one who knows quite how to work that key to the point that it could be used practically to remove my head from my neck. No sir, I might say that I’m the only one who can do that with any real success.
R: Clever.
S: I thought so.
R: Is that a sample of what the rest of these conversations are going to be like?
S: Only every now and then.
R: Good, because that was awful. The metaphor was badly mixed with the allusion, and was far too apparent all around. I expected far better from you.
S: Huh.
R: No other response to that?
S: You know who you remind me of? Dr. Wilkins. You worked with him, didn’t you? I can see that poker face look.
R: Is it really that apparent?
S: Oh yes. It always drove me crazier. Take my advice, don’t use it around here. He made quite the rounds.
R: Well he was the director of the asylum.
S: That’s not what I was talking about, and you know it.
R: You were alluding to what he did with his lady patients, of course.
S: Of course.
R: To what he did with you?
S: Text book connection.
R: You’re the one who opened the avenue.
S: But that’s just it, I never did. At least, not to him. He never tried it with me.
R: And what do you think made you special?
Light change start: Lights very slowly begin to change, moving to slightly shadow R, illuminate S, and completely shadow Orderly. Change does not finish until end of scene.
S: A driving mother pushing me towards a life as a working mother so she could stop working and be supported by her offspring, while staying at home and playing with her grandbabies, driving me to the point that I couldn’t handle my own life any more and surrounded by the overwhelming need to have myself committed and taken care of by nice people for the rest of my life? Or did you mean what made me special in the sense that he didn’t try to screw me while he pulled that stunt with every other female patient he had in the forty years prior to his death?
R: Is that your story?
S: That he didn’t try to screw me, or the fragment of the wonderfully complicated path that lead me here today?
R: I was referring to the fabricated version of your relationship with your mother as a driving reason to why you ended up in an asylum in the first place. But I’ll let you choose which way you want the conversation to go from here.
S: You’re assuming that it’s fabricated?
R: You never committed yourself, you were dragged in. Based on the fact that you just lied about that, there is a very good chance that everything else you just said was a lie. And even if it’s true, the very presence of the one lie voids it all into a fabrication. Now, why do you think Paul Wilkins never made any sexual advances towards you?
S: Very nice. I think I remind him of someone.
R: Anyone in particular?
S: His daughter.
R: His daughter? You look like her?
S: Not in the slightest.
R: So then what?
S: She had a special interest in me.
R: In what way?
S: I was her patient.
R: She’s a doctor?
S: She was.
R: And he didn’t infringe on his daughter’s territory?
S: I could construe that to give it an awful meaning.
R: Did young Dr. Wilkins ever give you a reason so that you’d want to construe it in such a way?
S: You’re a very sick man, doctor.
R: Given which one of us is tied up, and which one of us will get to go home at the end of the day, I find that statement laughable coming from you.
S: (She laughs.) Oh, you’re going to be very fun, Jack, very fun indeed.
Lights down.