MARI: Previously in Session FIFTEEN

 KACEY: Rose Marie was set up to go to the spot in the dump that we hoped we might find Mr. Basement’s ashes, with the scientists and their machine.

 We’d been prepared for the possibility that her Defense might raise the wrong person, or multiple people but we hadn’t counted on six.

the scientists took off with their little zombie army in pursuit. They managed to get to the police station. And once the zombies got close enough, the scientists turned off the machine and the zombies all collapsed on the steps.

LORI: It sounds like it went off as well as could be expected.

KACEY: How was the scrapbooking retreat?

LORI: Scrapbooking?

KACEY: Your retreat by the lake.

LORI: Oh, right, “Scrapbooking.”

KACEY: Anything happen that I should know about?

LORI: My goodness, I almost forgot.

MARI: I did, too. Wow. That’s never happened before.

LORI: I went out for an early morning run on Sunday. When I rounded this corner, this tiny park ranger just stepped out into the path.

And at first I thought he was just naturally tiny but the way he was raging made me a little suspicious. So I asked him what he’d been up to, what he thought he was going to do – and he shouted, “Nothing! I just wanted to talk! Can’t a man talk to a good looking young woman anymore???”
And that’s when I realized I must have smalled him without even seeing him.

 LEILA: it happened to me out there by the lake as well.

 KACEY: There were two predators next to this lake? My God where did you all go?!

LEILA: Predator Lake. Do you think maybe that was a mistake?

KACEY: I think this group is ready to graduate.

Theme music begins

JACKI: Recorded live at Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn

Messenger Theatre Company presents

The Defense

This is Session Sixteen

LORI: Kacey! You won’t believe it.

KACEY: What?

LORI: We spotted someone using their Defense for the first time while we were having pancakes.

KACEY: What? No way.

MARI: It was amazing.

LEILA: Just out in the parking lot in front of the diner.

BRIA: We were all just gawping.

KACEY: What happened?

LEILA: She was just walking by and he must have called out of the window of his truck.

MARI: It must have been bad because she stopped to look at him.

BRIA: She looked so confused.

MARI: Then she just kept moving.

LORI: Exactly what I would have done, by the way.

LEILA: Me, too.

BRIA: And then he opened his door.

LORI: I started getting nervous.

LEILA: I started to wonder if any of us had a defense that could work at that kind of distance.

BRIA: Then he slammed the door shut and she startled and turned back to look at him.

LEILA: And when she did, he started to rise up into the air, like a balloon.

MARI: A loud and squirmy balloon.

BRIA: He was shouting as he rose up.

LORI: And he kept going and going.

LEILA: I was sort of waiting for him to be slammed back down to the ground but he just kept floating up.

LORI: Getting smaller and smaller.

MARI: And not because of you!

LORI: No! He was just getting further and further away until he’d disappeared.

BRIA: Just – vanished into the sky.

LEILA: And she was just standing there, sort of coming to, looking lost.

MARI: And that’s when Lori ran out and brought her in.

KACEY: That’s amazing. Do you have a new member of the pancake posse now?

LORI: Well, that’s what we wanted to ask you about because – I mean we explained what had happened to her and we tried to answer her questions but it just seemed like – maybe we should refer her to a starting group.

MARI: Yeah. It’s like – we’re sort of complete – and she’s going to need so much.

KACEY: Or maybe one of you wants to lead a start-up group and here’s your first member.

LORI: Ohhhh. Boy.

KACEY: You see how it begins.

LORI: I do.

KACEY: And forgive me if I’m wrong about this – but Lori, I think you may be the one to lead it.

LORI: But I’m the youngest! And the least experienced!

KACEY: That makes you closer to the new ones. And I think you have a taste for it. Am I wrong, gang?

LEILA: Totally agree.

MARI: You were made for it, Lori.

BRIA: You were the one to go get her. You were the one who explained things. You gave her your number. You’re already doing it.

LORI: Oh wow.

KACEY: We’ll get you organized in a flash, don’t you worry.

LORI: My own group? When?

KACEY: We’re looking at having graduation next week at this time and you could start your group the week after if we can get you in for an orientation day sometime between.

LORI: So by two weeks from now, I could be running a group.

KACEY: You could.

LORI: I don’t know how to run a group!

LEILA: Oh my god, Lori, you totally do.

MARI: We’ve all seen you pretty much channel Kacey on a regular basis.

BRIA: You’re a natural.

KACEY: I think so too. AND, guess what? We’ll mentor you in mentoring! We’ll give you that initial orientation I mentioned and then you’ll either meet with me, or another mentor every so often to see how it’s going. Then, there’s your group of origin.

LEILA: We can give you advice, right Kacey?

KACEY: Exactly. If something comes up in your new group you don’t know how to handle, you can take it to your group of origin.

MARI: Pancake Posse will solve it.

LEILA: Or at least try real hard to solve it

BRIA: And if we can’t solve it, we go to Kacey.

KACEY: Exactly. Oh – does next week work for everyone for graduation.

LEILA: Of course.

BRIA: So soon?

MARI: That would make this our last group!

KACEY: It would, officially. Sure. But keep in mind that I can join you any time you need me. I’m still your group’s mentor and anything you need, I am here for. We just won’t officially meet in this basement anymore.

LORI: We took on Mr. Basement and now we’re out of the basement ourselves!

MARI: And speaking of Mr. Basement – I’ve been aching to tell you all – but I wanted to wait until we were all together here. They’ve ID’d his remains.

BRIA: What?! Amazing.

LEILA: That was super fast.

MARI: Yeah – my…Mona Lisa tells me that it usually takes them months to run this kind of data but since it was all so weird they put a rush on it and one of them was Mr. Basement.

LORI: Hot damn.

MARI: The girls have been notified and that case is closed with a capital CLOSE. Which, of course makes the cops happy.

KACEY: Holy heroes. Excellent work, gang.

MARI: Extra thanks to you and to Rose Marie and the scientific team.

KACEY: Holy heroes.

BRIA: Do we know about any of the others? Were they Defense guys, too?

MARI: I mean – we can’t know that and certainly Mona Lisa doesn’t have the slightest idea. BUT at least one of them matches the DNA of a most wanted guy – so I would guess that’s a yes – he probably was a guy who met with a woman with the Defense.

BRIA: Amazing.

MARI: Yeah- the police station is all aflutter. And of course they’re dying to know how these guys ended up on their doorstop.

BRIA: Is that dangerous?

MARI: Probably not. They may be curious but they are also fundamentally lazy and no one is out there demanding the mystery be solved.

LEILA: They haven’t opened any cases on the dump bodies?

MARI: They have no reason to assume anything unusual happened to them.

LORI: Except that they walked onto their steps and delivered themselves there.

MARI: Yes – except that. But as they’re a couple of predators and a handful of mysteries - not murder victims with families bugging them, they’re not interested in making themselves more work.

BRIA: Thank you, Lord, for lazy cops.

MARI: It is a real gift.

KACEY: The science team is going to be thrilled to hear this news after their experiment. They’re hard at work trying to figure out what they’re going to attempt next. They’ll be at your graduation and I know they’re going to want to talk with you about what they see as your gifts.

BRIA: The Defense?

KACEY: Yeah. I suspect they may want to recruit you for subsequent missions, now that we do that.

LORI: Wow.

KACEY: Yeah. You don’t have to decide right away. They’re just going to ask if they can contact you about possible experiments in the future.

LEILA: It’s a whole new world of gifts.

KACEY: It is, indeed. So – as this is our last official meeting. Is there anything anyone wants or needs to discuss?

BRIA: Uh. Just how challenged I am by this being our last official meeting.

KACEY: I hear you. But just remember that we’ll see each other next week. It’ll simply be in a different location. And if you want, we can go ahead and schedule an unofficial get together for after that, just so you know it’s happening.

BRIA: That might be just the thing. Can we take you for pancakes the week after graduation?

KACEY: Absolutely. Maybe in the evening after Lori’s possible new group?

LORI: Gah!

KACEY: That way we can talk about it afterwards, if you want to -  

LORI: Sure, sure, that would be great.

MARI: I’m in.

LEILA: I am, too.

BRIA: I feel better already.

KACEY: I’m so glad. Does anyone else have anything?

LEILA: No!

KACEY: And that’s why you’re graduating next week.

MARI: This is crazy.

KACEY: Crazier than when the Defense first entered your life?

MARI: Not even close.

KACEY: It’s all relative, huh?

MARI: No kidding.

KACEY: Well – if no one has anything else they need to discuss – do we?

BRIA: Nope.

LORI: No.

MARI: All good.

LEILA: Still no!

KACEY: Then – I declare this Chapter of the Defense Support League officially closed. We will mark this moment next week at your graduation and celebrate with pancakes thereafter. Shall we do one last official affirmation?

LEILA: Affirm us!

MARI: One last time!

ALL: I am safe but I’m not safe for everyone.

The group cheers

Theme music begins

JACKI:

The Defense is a production of Messenger Theatre Company.

It is performed by Marcella Adams as Leila, Amber Jessie as Mari, Cosmic Kitty as Bria, Kristen Vaughan as Kacey and Toni Watterson as Lori.

The writer/director is Emily Rainbow Davis.

Sound Design by Matt Powell

Sound Engineering by Daniel Massey

Sound Assistance by Angela Santillo

Stage Management by Ella Lieberman

The Producer is Melvin Yen.

The Defense theme is by Scott Ethier.

I’m Jacki Jing

I am safe but I’m not safe for everyone.