The Play.

A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic

by Chenalos

Chenalos

Brought to you by 14 Rivers Productions

Scene one: a Theatre

(

The director sat back uneasily in the fourth row seat. This casting
could not have been any more miss-matched. Nevertheless, the play
continued. The auditorium was like any you could find in a modern
School building. Really the theatre had hardly changed much from it's
early introduction in Greek tragedy and satyr. The chairs for the
audience still radiated to the center, and the stage was still where
it had always been for a thousand years, at the very center of
attention, all chairs facing it. All the empty chairs.

In drama, there is a name for the week just before a show opens.
It's called "Hell Week." Rehearsals can last well into the early
hours of the morning. The actors lines, like a fine wine, have to be
fermented into perfection by a constant repetition of the same scenes,
the same dialogue, the same faces. Much like wine yeast, having
consumed most of the precious chemicals in grape juice, must finally
consume their own alcohol, the actors have to keep going through
the exhaustion that their own work had made for them, and use that
little energy they could get in order to keep on moving in rehearsals.
The name of this week, however, is not wine week, nor fermentation
week. It's name is Hell week, and to be finally succinct, it is named
such because it feels like absolute Hell.

Shinji was tired and just wanted to leave. If he closed his eyes tight
enough, he could almost see the sunlight just beyond the walls of the
theatre. He knew, however, that by the time he got to leave the
building, there would only be a few stars out, and a biting chill in
the spring night air to wish him home for four-to-three hours of sleep.
It might have been 4pm, and they were rehearsing. This was just a
preliminary line briefing, before he, Rei and Asuka were going to do a
full run-through later that day. He was playing a man named Garcin,
who is trapped in a room with two other people; Inez, being played by
Rei Ayanami, and Estelle, being played by Asuka. The play is "No Exit"
by Jean-Paul Sartre. He is in a drawing room, of second-empire style.
there are three sofas in the room, one purple, one blue, with yellow
trim, and one red. Other than that, there is a massive bronze ornament
on a mantelpiece, and a table, on which, there is a single paper-knife.
This is the set for the play which the Eva pilots will perform. The
stage, mainly the sofas were custom set for the three of them, a little
hint of their lives outside the building, as a sort of dry humor by the
faculty. It had long stopped being funny to Shinji or Asuka. Rei
didn't even think it was that clever to begin with. She was given the
red sofa. Asuka sat on the blue and yellow trimmed sofa and only
Shinji was correctly color coordinated with his Eva. At several points
in the play, the characters return to their sofas in order to relax
themselves. This is where our story begins.

Shinji is on his sofa, burying his face in his hands, in order to
ignore the other two girls. Asuka is fumbling through her bag, in an
attempt to put on her make-up, and Rei is on her sofa, just biding time
from the other two players.

Asuka fidgeted through the bag, successfully withdrawing a powder-puff
and a lipstick. Suddenly, she realizes that what she, as Estelle,
truly wants is not present in her bag. She turns to Shinji

)

Asuka: EXCUSE me,

Shinji remains, his hands covering his face. Asuka speaks up again,
more exuberantly, and quite frankly forced as before.

Asuka: I SAID, excuse me...do YOU have a GLASS? Any SORT of glass?!
Why, a-a-a *POCKET MIRROR* will do.

Shinji continues to bury his face in his hands. That is what his
character is supposed to be doing, but more than that, he is hiding
his face from the humiliation of being on-stage with Asuka. She keeps
on blaring her lines, and sending her tonality up and down like a
roller-coaster. Emphasizing all the wrong words. She sounds totally
ridiculous. So Shinji sat, his face behind his hands, turning red with
humiliation.

Asuka: Even if *YOU* won't speak to me, you *MIGHT* lend me a glass.

Shinji groans. Suddenly Asuka leaps from her sofa, turns to the audience
and holds up her make-up items.

Asuka:(Holding her powderpuff) POWDER!? (Throws powderpuff) LIPSTICK!?
(Throws lipstick) What GOOD are these with NO GLASS!? Must I forever
*TRUST* other people that I am beautiful, and *NOT* know myself?

Director: ASUKA!

Asuka: What?

Director: What? (pauses) What? (pauses again, then speaks harshly)
What the hell are you doing?

Asuka: Ohh, come on, this scene has no meaning to it, I'm adding a bit
of dimension to my character.

Director: Asuka, that dimension is not in the script. Could you please
stick to the lines? Also, you have to respect the fourth wall, the
one between you and the audience. You are incredibly unprofessional
when you speak out like that.

Asuka: HEY haven't you ever heard of soliloquy or asides?

Director: Asuka, there is none of that in your script. Stick to
what's written.

Asuka:(angry) Honestly, can't you give me a little bit of freedom with
my part?

Director: Asuka...

(Shinji buries his face deeper in his hands.)

Asuka: I mean AFTERALL, if you just OPENED your mind a little, and
give the actual ACTRESS a chance to act...

Director: Asuka...

Asuka: You might actually see that what I have in mind-

Director:(Screaming) ASUKA!

(Asuka is silenced.)

Director: Shut up!

(Asuka opens her mouth to speak her opinion again.)

Director:(commanding) NO! (pauses) NO! Shut up! Don't say anything.
Nothing.

(Asuka heaves in an angry breath.)

Director:(calmly) Pick up your make up, sit down on your sofa, and do
the line again.

(Asuka growls, and does as she was told. But before she sat down...)

Asuka:(turns around, facing the director) I'm going to ask you again.

Director:(wincing) The answer is no.

Asuka: I want the red sofa!

Director: I told you before, this is not about Asuka the Eva pilot,
this is about Estelle, the-

Asuka: Hey, do YOU have ANY idea, the difference between Unit Zero and
Unit Two? Unit Zero is like NERVs Guinea pig-backslash-lab rat.
They use it only when they want to do some mind screwing
experiment on wondergirl over here.

(She gestures to Rei, who does not react. The director rubbing hands
to forehead, all the while Shinji is still doing the same. It really
wasn't until this play started that either one truly realized how
irritating this girl can get.)

Asuka: Unit two, on the other hand was designed to do the job of
combat. It's the most technologically and tactically superior Eva
ever built. It's only out of respect for realism that you let me have
MY red sofa, to represent MY unit two, and thus MY talents and
abilities.

Director:(Quietly) Asuka...

Asuka:(arrogantly) Yes?

Director:(Quietly, still) If you don't sit down, on the blue sofa,
shut up and do the lines properly, I'm going to take you backstage,
and beat you to a bloody pulp. I have a migraine headache. I have
opening night to look forward to. I'm stressed out. Push me anymore,
and I'm going to snap. (pauses) Just sit down, Asuka, that's all
you have to do. Please, I'm asking as nicely as I can.

(Asuka sneers at the Director, the faceless shadow in the fourth row,
the pain in the ass. She does as she was asked)

Director: Thank you. Now let's try it again. Asuka, your line is
'Have you a glass?'

Asuka: HAVE you a GLASS? [Shinji does not answer] *ANY*(she pauses)
sort of glass? A (pauses) pocket MIRROR will do. [Shinji remains
silent, and blushing] Even if YOU won't speak to ME you *MIGHT* lend
me a glass.

Rei:(monotone) Don't worry, I've a glass. [opens her bag and rummages
through it, then speaks up in the same tone] It's gone. They must have
taken it from me at the entrance.

Asuka: How (Pauses) TIRESOME!

Asuka begins to sway about the stage and make apparently drunken foot
movements, in an attempt to show that she is about to faint. She tries
to collapse onto the big red sofa, but Rei stands up and catches her.

Rei:(monotone) What's the matter?

Asuka:(Panting) I feel so (pauses) queer!

Director: OK, stop. Just hold it right there. First thing: Asuka,
why are you chopping up your lines?

Asuka: Dramatic emphasis.

Director: Well, you're emphasizing all the wrong dramatics. Please
don't worry about dramatics, they should be taking care of themselves.
Don't act like you're acting, just act. Everything else will come.
Now Rei...

Rei: Yes?

Director: I...I can't say it any other way. You have to put more
emotion into this.

Rei: I am. I...

Director: You aren't doing it enough. It would seem that your problem
is exactly the opposite of Asuka's. You just have to let all of your
reserve go, and not be yourself.

Rei: I am I. I can never not be me.

Director: No, Rei, that's wrong. You have to tap into all the emotions
you feel in a day. in essence we all feel the same things it's only
when and how we feel them that makes us individuals. I want you to
tap those emotions into this part. Your single low-tone speech won't
cut it anymore. I can't even hear you. Do better.

Rei: If you make that an order.

Director: What is that supposed to mean? Order? I'm the director,
Dammit. I can't get up there and force you to express what's inside
you, anymore than I can get up there and stop Asuka from grandstanding.

Asuka: HEY!

Director: Well, it's true. All I am, children, is your mirror. I
reflect everything you do back at you. I can't force you to do
anything. I can't force you, Rei, to express any emotion any more than
I can stop Shinji from stuttering.

Shinji: Well, I'm trying my best. I just start thinking about an
audience looking at me, and it gets to me. What if I mess up?

Director: You can't keep worrying about what others think about you,
Shinji. As an actor, you have to use your performance to make the
audience feel how you want them to feel, which should be very close to
how Jean-Paul wanted them to feel.

Shinji: But what if they don't believe me?

Director: If they believed that a 14 year old kid could pilot a giant
robot and save the world from total destruction from an invading
supernatural alien force, I think it no stretch of the imagination
that you could make a little one act play convincing.

Shinji: Well, if you say so.

The director sighed, and flipped some pages in the script.

Director: OK, then let's see what you can do. Where's our Valet?

Boy:(Offstage)I'm here.

Director: I hate to do this to you son, but we may not need you for a
little while

Boy: How long is a little while?

Director: Probably twenty minutes, we're gonna do the stabbing bit,
starting on page (the director brushes through the script) 42.

Boy: Well, I'll stick it through, but I'm heading out to get my keys,
I'll be back in a second.

Director: Keys? What do you need them for?

Boy: My bike's right outside, and it makes for a quicker trip out the
back door, rather than visiting my locker at 1:30 A.M. when we get out.

Director: OK, but don't make me send out search teams for you.

Boy: I won't.

(offstage a door can be heard opening and closing, as the boy playing
the Valet exits the backstage area)

Director:(glares at the page for a moment, then looks back up at the
children on stage) Now, since you all seem to have trouble getting
into character, let me redefine this scene for you. Shinji, Garcin
has just come to the realization of where he really is, and why he is
in this room, trapped with Estelle and Inez. Asuka, Estelle wants
Garcin to ignore all of that, and to only Shut up and have sex with
her, as an escape for her to alleviate the pain of the truth. Rei,
Inez is trapped here, keeping Estelle from attaining any type of
feelings for Garcin other than loathsome hate. This is the moment
when it all comes 'tumbling down' as it were. Keep these things in
mind and you should do just fine. I've heard you do the lines, now
just put some reality into them. OK?

Asuka: Of course.

Rei: Very well.

Shinji: I'll try.

Director:(sighs) OK, then Shinji, start with your laughter. You are
at the mantelpiece, speaking to the two girls. Your first line is
'So this is...'

Shinji: O-OK.

Director: Whenever you're ready.

Shinji:(Steps up to the mantlepiece and takes a deep breath, he turns
to the girls, Asuka, downstage left of him and Rei downstage right.)
I-I-I'm ready.

Director: Go ahead.

Shinji: S-S-So Thiiiss is Hell? I nnnever h-have believed it. (he gulps
a large mass of spittle) You re-remember all we w-w-ere told about the
t-t-t-t-touture chambers, the fire and bri-brimstone, the
'b-b-burning marl' Old w-w-wives' tails! There's n-n-no need for red-
hot p-p-p-pokers. Hell is-(gulps again)-other people!

Asuka:(approaches) My DARLING! Please.

Shinji:[thrusting her away] N-No, Let me be! Sh-She is betweeeen us.
I ca-ca-cannot love you, while she is w-w-watching.

Asuka: RIGHT! Then I'll STOP her watching! [She picks up the paper
knife from the table, rushes at Rei and stabs her several times]

Rei:(monotone laugh)But you crazy creature, what do you think you're
doing? You know quite well...

Director: OK, hold it there a second.

Asuka: Nuts!

(Shinji and Rei turn their attention to the director, Asuka crouches
down upset that he stopped her favorite part of the whole play)

Director: First off, Asuka, You had really good energy-

Asuka: But Wondergirl didn't. Right? (She jabs the knife into the stage)

Director: Actually, that's pretty close to true.(Asuka stares at the
knife as the director is talking) Rei, I told you, you have to tap
into your inner feelings. You hate this girl Estelle. (Asuka continues
using the knife pricking it's point on the wooden floor) You really
have to relish this scene because you have this arrogant girl right
where she is most vulnerable. (Asuka draws a straight line in the
stage, using the blade's edge) So keep that in mind Rei, when she's
stabbing-

Asuka:(Screaming)Hold on a second!

Director: What?

(
Asuka puts the tip of the paper knife to her finger, testing the edge.
Her eyes fill with terror. She places the blade on the stage and
carves out the first katakana in her name. She then raises up the
knife and thrusts down, burying the blade into the wood. She jumps
back

Asuka:(Screaming) Holy SHIT! That knife is REAL!

Director:(not surprised) Of course it's real.

Asuka:(Frantic) What do you mean 'of course it's real?'

(A short silence broken by peals of laughter from the director)

Director:(Laughing) Where do you think you are? Your School? Tokyo-3?
Planet Earth?(the directors laughing continues)

Shinji:(terrified) No, it can't be.

Rei: But that's the only answer.

Asuka: So this is what it is like.

Director:(His laughing dies down, then a short silence) I heard it once
before, but I forgot where. 'Hell is a place where it's all rehearsals,
and no performance.'

(a long silence)

Rei: Who are you?

Asuka: There's a Naive question, we've got Satan in the fourth row.

Director:(laughs again) Are you talking to me? I'm sorry, Asuka, but
I'm not the Devil. And I'm not the one keeping you here. I don't
control the exit. I'm not your torturer, I'm not anything evil, I'm
your director.

Asuka:(Screaming) You're lying, demon! All demons know are lies.

Director: Not completely, Eve's eyes were opened, weren't they?
(a pause) Look, I said I'm not a demon. Take that any way you want.
It doesn't really matter much, I could be a demon, I could be someone
you know, I could be a total stranger, like in the play. I was given a
cast list by the faculty of this building, which is Hell, to direct
rehearsals for this play, until we got it right.

Shinji: So that's it, You're just here to direct us in this ridiculous
play?

Director:(chuckles)Yep, I'm damned if I do that.

Rei: This is pointless. Why direct a play that no-one will see?

Director: I don't know, why pilot an Eva when no-one appreciates you? Why
save the world when no-one in the world cares enough to want to save
you? Why surrender to futility? I don't know why. All I know is
that we've all done it before and we can do it again, and again and
again and again and again. We've got all of eternity ahead of us,
kids. Don't let me down. It's sad to think that Eternity will come
and go, and we still won't have this play right.

Shinji: What if we decide to quit?

Director: Quit the play?

Shinji: Yes.

Director: Quit again, Shinji, just like all those times before?

Shinji: Yes.

(A pause)

Director: Fine, Yeah. Go, all of you leave. The exit is off stage
right.

(
The children walk offstage, and a moment later a rattling can be heard.

Locked, huh? OK, try the back door, it leads to the loading dock,
right out of the building.

(
The children are heard shuffling to the back exit, and rattling the
door in vein. The director turns around and looks at the back of the
theatre.

OK, last chance, there are four theatre Exits out here, two at
the back two at the front, try them.

(
the children run out onto the stage, as soon as Asuka passes the arc
of the theatre, crossing the imaginary line that divides actor and
audience...

What have I told you about respecting the fourth wall Asuka?

Asuka: Shut up!

(
The children go to the nearest door, Rei moving at a comfortable pace,
the other two running as fast as they can.

Director: OK, Rei, you try the exit on the other side, Asuka, Shinji,
try a back exit apiece

(
Rei walks to the side exit, and the other two children race to the
back, they begin shaking the doors with all their might

Asuka:(screaming) Help! let us out!(continues screaming)

Shinji:(screaming) Open up, for the love of God, open up!(continues
screaming)

Rei:(pleading) Is there anyone out there? Hello?(continues pleading)

Director: I knew it. I knew you kids had a sense of drama in you.
It's very good.(pauses) But I'll tell you what I want you to do right
now. (their screams become louder) Shhhh-Shhhh-Shush shush shush!(they
go silent) Put your ears to the doors. (they do so) You hear that?
Do you hear them?(pauses) How many of them?(pauses) Hundreds?
(pauses) Thousands, Millions, Billions, Trillions? The damned of all
time. They've got nothing better to look forward to, than that,
forever. Look at yourselves. You're clothed, your unburned, unrotted,
you're even beautiful, young and vibrant. You got off lucky. All you
have to do is one simple play. Maybe you'll get luckier. This might
just be purgatory. I know, right now, I'm hoping it exists and I'm
not even catholic. When you perfect this play, your audience will be
a row of heavenly host. The one who is and there is no other, right
in the first row. Tell me that's not a dream worth half an eternity
of rehearsal.

(the children turn to the stage and begin walking back to it, they
are silent, but the director continues.)

OK, I want you to start again from the uhhh...(looks at prompter)
Shinji, Garcin's laughter. Remember, this is the moment you realize
you're in hell. I want you to work from personal experience here, OK?

(the children assume their places on the stage, and then tablot, and
freeze in their spots. There is a pause)

Shinji: I forgot my line.

Director: You don't have a line you suddenly burst out with laughter.

Shinji: Ohh yeah. (he does nothing)

Director: Whenever you're ready.

Asuka: We know. (They do nothing)

Director: Tell you what, you kids have had a lot to digest in the past
couple minutes, so Let's just take a five minute break.

Rei: Very well.

Director: I'm certain you'll be ready to perform after this little
respite, right?

Shinji: Of course.

(the door off stage right opens and closes)

Boy:(Offstage) I'm back.

Director: Oh, glad you're here, kid.

(Lights go down, end of scene one)

Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned by Gainax

"No Exit" by Jean-Paul Sartre, Vintage International Version, October
1989 (c) 1989 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 201 East 50th Street, New York,
New York, 10022. All rights reserved.

Pages from this book submitted into this fic includes pages: 18, 19 and
45.

All textual inaccuracies are meant to represent realism in this
fictional story.

Notes: Only want to say that The theatre they are in is my old theatre.
Is this a self insertion? You be the judge. Well, Dante wrote the
most famous poem of all time, and it was a self-insertion, I guess
S.I.'s are only welcome when you're going into hell, huh?
Also as a reminder, in the REAL ending of Evangelion, Shinji finds
himself in an empty stage, I guess this is just my version.

Thanks out to: Boogz, the Assassin, The Dog, Ted and KK.

Chenalos

This story (C) Chenalos