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Interpreting A Dream
SETTING: A high-school principal's office.
AT RISE: IVANIA sits sullen, slumped in a
chair in the principal's office.
ARIEL, in the chair beside her,
tries to cheer her up and reason
with her.
ARIEL
So, listen, don't be scared or
nothing like that. I'll try to do
some damage control for you.
(IVANIA does not respond)
ARIEL (CONT'D)
Listen, I been meaning to tell you
- if you want to go to the mall
some time, together, that would be
cool. We could go with Sandra and
Elise, or whatever. I could just
go with you. Pick out some new
clothes. I'd be happy to do that.
(IVANIA looks down at her
clothes, then over at
ARIEL, expressionless)
ARIEL (cont'd)
I'm not saying you have to spend a
fortune, and buy all Calvin Klein
and DKNY or whatever. Oiste? No
es necesario a comprar muchas
cosas, es posible a llevar mucho
que ya tu tienes . . . I just
mean, like, if you want to fit in
more. Don't take it the wrong way.
(IVANIA continues to
glance around the room)
ARIEL (CONT'D)
Que piensas?
IVANIA
(Shrugs)
Nada.
ARIEL
Nada. Great. Espero que tu
insanidad no me dañe. Mira, quiero
ayudarte, pero tienes que intentar
ayudarte tu mismo. You gotta try
to help yourself!
(IVANIA again shrugs.)
ARIEL (cont'd)
He's not such a bad guy. No es mal
hombre. El cree que un dialogo,
you know, a "dialogue" puede
resolver todo. Pero, la cosa es
para parecer escuchar su consejo --
y no a mostrar miedo! Don't look
like you're scared!
IVANIA
No tengo miedo.
ARIEL
(Annoyed)
Y porque no?
(MR. MILLER enters. HE
gives the girls a big,
reassuring smile, and
moves to shake hands with
both of them. IVANIA
lets him lift her limp
hand, but applies no
pressure to his)
MR. MILLER
Hello, ladies. Thank you for
waiting.
(HE moves behind his desk,
sits)
And, Ariel, thank you for
volunteering to help out here.
ARIEL
No problem, Mr. Miller. I'm glad
to do it.
MR. MILLER
I think this is the third time
we've had you in here interpreting
for someone, is that right?
ARIEL
Fourth time.
MR. MILLER
Well. If this keeps up, you can go
to work for the U.N. after college.
(ARIEL smiles at his
little joke. IVANIA
remains expressionless)
MR. MILLER (cont'd)
You are planning to go to college,
aren't you?
ARIEL
Yes, sir, I've applied to five
schools where I maybe got a shot.
MR. MILLER
Well, that's terrific. You know,
I've heard really wonderful things
about you from Mrs. Caldicott.
(Clasps hands on desk. HE
pronounces the first
syllable of "Ivania" the
same as "eye")
So. Does Ivania know --
IVANIA
(Sharply corrects him)
Ivania.
MR. MILLER
(Taken aback, prounounces
it correctly)
I'm sorry. Does Ivania know why
she's been sent to my office?
ARIEL
(To IVANIA)
Entiendes porqué estamos aquí?
(IVANIA shrugs)
MR. MILLER
We understand that she's having
trouble adjusting, and that a new
country can seem big and scary.
We're not trying to gang up on her
here. We want to try to help her,
be her friend.
ARIEL
El dice que es tu amigo, quiere
ayudarte. Hazlo más facil!
(IVANIA shrugs)
MR. MILLER
Aha. ARIEL, do you have any idea
what's going on with her?
ARIEL
Oh, I don't know. I think she's
just sad, she misses her country,
maybe she misses her old friends.
MR. MILLER
Well, but she's been over here
since the start of the year. And
apparently she's making no effort
to adjust or learn the language.
Explain to her, please, that when
we say "bilingual education" we do
mean it. "Bilingual" means both
languages, not just Spanish.
ARIEL
Dice que "bilingual" significa
ambos idiomas. Porque no puedes
hablar inglés?
IVANIA
No me gusta.
ARIEL
Qué?
IVANIA
Es un idioma feo, un ruido, con
sonidos como la ladrido de un
perro. No tiene lógica ni ritmo.
Es feo como este país es feo, y
tosco . . . y cruel.
MR. MILLER
What did she say?
ARIEL
(Uncertain how much to
tell him)
Um, she says that English is very
hard for her to learn, it's, uh,
different from Spanish . . .
MR. MILLER
But did she just say we were being
cruel to her?
ARIEL
Oh, no . . . she's saying that . .
. she doesn't like English and the
US so much.
MR. MILLER
But she's here now. And frankly .
. . I'll level with you Ariel.
This is someting I don't understand
about a lot of our hispanic
students -- and obviously you're an
exception. If I go on a trip to
visit a foreign country, I at least
listen to Berlitz tapes. I mean, I
would make an effort to learn the
language, to at least say "How much
does that cost?" Or "Where is a
good hotel?" It's just polite. I
wouldn't expect them to speak like
me. And yet we have students here
. . . and of course I don't mean
you, your English is wonderful . .
.
ARIEL
Well, I was born here. I'm an
American.
MR. MILLER
Well, all right then, you see? But
the ones who weren't born here,
they're not just here on vacation.
Most of them are planning to live
out their lives here. And yet so
many just won't make an effort.
And I suppose, in their homes, in
their neighborhoods, they don't
have to. But what about when they
get a job, out in the real world?
ARIEL
Plenty of jobs you don't need
English for, Mr. Miller. I mean,
you're making a really good point,
don't get me wrong --
MR. MILLER
But earlier generations of
immigrants, they learned the
language. They had to.
ARIEL
Well, you know. First generation?
MR. MILLER
(Annoyed at being
challenged)
First generation, second
generation, they learned it. This
is a nation of immigrants, yes.
But in order to be united, we need
to have one language in common, a
lingua franca, a coin of the realm.
The name for the United States in
Latin is E plurimus unum, did you
know that?
ARIEL
No, sir.
MR. MILLER
"In many one." And the common
language makes us one. That's what
I don't understand about a student
like this. Her attitude. What
does she think about when the
teachers are trying to help her
with her English?
ARIEL
(To IVANIA)
Qué pasa cuando las clases son en
inglés? Porqué no lo aprendes?
IVANIA
Porque no vale la pena.
Generalmente, no estoy allí en el
aula.
ARIEL
(Surprised)
Dondé estas?
IVANIA
Estoy en mi cuarto en mi casa. Mi
casa de verdad, no ese pequeño
apartamento feo donde vivimos ahora
en esta ciudad sucia. En mi casa
de verdad, en mi país, tengo una
vista de los árboles alrededor del
patio. Huelo las hojas y las
flores, y siento el silencio y el
viento. Escucho los discos de mi
abuelita. Y . . . eso es todo.
MR. MILLER
What did she say?
ARIEL
(Again, trying to be
diplomatic)
She . . . gets distracted during
class.
She feels homesick, she misses her
old house, the courtyard. Stuff
like that.
MR. MILLER
Well, sure. I can understand that.
But her parents decided to come
here to build a better life, right?
They wanted her to be an American.
Doesn't she owe it to them to try?
ARIEL
(To IVANIA)
Mira, si tus padres quieren vivir
aquí, tu debes aceptar esta
cultura, dice.
IVANIA
No.
ARIEL
No?
IVANIA
En mi propio país, por supuesto
tuve mucho cariño y respeto de mis
padres. Pero eso era antes de su
traición a mí y a mí país. Allí
tenían trabajos admirables, aquí
son mugre. Ellos piensan que es un
cambio bueno, yo no.
ARIEL
Ay.
MR. MILLER
Well?
ARIEL
She's mad at her parents that they
moved here. She doesn't -- respect
them so much anymore.
MR. MILLER
I see. So, she refuses to learn
English in order to get back at
them. Well, we all go through a
phase when we're angry at our
parents, when they make choices we
don't understand.
(Smiling, affable)
Tell her that the great writer Mark
Twain used to fight with his father
when he was growing up.
ARIEL
(To IVANIA)
Habla de Mark Twain. Creo que va
hacer un chiste.
MR. MILLER
And he said, when I turned twenty
one, I was amazed to find that my
father had suddenly become so much
smarter!
(HE chuckles. ARIEL
smiles, and urges
IVANIA:)
ARIEL
Si, lo hizo. Algo aburrido sobre
el padre del escritor. Por lo
menos, sonrie!
(IVANIA remains
expressionless, staring
at MR. MILLER without
seeing him)
ARIEL (cont'd)
You know, I think she's a really
messed-up person, with a lot on her
mind.
(To IVANIA)
Mira, estas en un aprieto! El es
el principal del colegio!
IVANIA
(Shrugs)
Y, pues?
ARIEL
Llamara a tus padres. Quieres eso?
IVANIA
No importa.
ARIEL
Oh no?
IVANIA
No. No creo en él. No creo en mis
padres. No creo en tí.
Todo esto es un sueño que no
significa nada, mi vida real es en
mi pueblo, en mi casa vendida,
donde hay belleza y suavidad, donde
las personas son gentiles y no son
vulgares . . . todo esto no existe.
MR. MILLER
What is she telling you?
ARIEL
(Uncertain once more how
to tell him)
She says, um . . . we don't really
exist.
MR. MILLER
(Surprised)
What?
ARIEL
She feels . . . she sees all this
as a dream. She wants to be back
in her country.
MR. MILLER
I see.
(Thoughtful)
Perhaps the school counselor should
have a talk with her. It's a shame
that he really doesn't speak
Spanish. We might need you to
interpret for us again, and I don't
want to keep pulling you out of
class, so maybe we can arrange some
kind of meeting after school. Do
you play any team sport?
ARIEL
No, not right now. And I'm not
doing any clubs.
(MEANWHILE: from the
moment MR. MILLER
mentions the school
counselor and he and
ARIEL begin to talk, a
SPANISH BALLAD, from the
forties or fifties,
begins to play)
(It should be a love song
about loyalty, about not
forgetting a loved one.
IVANIA looks off to the
side of the stage,
previously in darkness,
where a bed with a nicely
patterned blanket is
revealed. There is a
potted plant on a table
by the bed, and books in
Spanish on the table and
the bed. The other two
do not see it)
MR. MILLER
So that might work out. I think
I'd better have a meeting with her
parents first. Again, it's so
hard, when the parents don't speak
English, to find out about a
child's emotional state, what's
going on in the home. I don't
suppose you know the family?
ARIEL
No, I don't know them. You know, I
see her around, we have homeroom
together, and at lunch a couple
times I invited her to come sit
with me and my friends. But she
just keeps to herself.
(As the conversation in
English continues, the
music grows louder,
drowning it out, and
IVANIA rises and crosses
to the bed. The others
do not notice -- MR.
MILLER or ARIEL
occasionally indicates
IVANIA's seat, as if
SHE's still in it.)
MR. MILLER
Well, her parents really should get
her some kind of professional help,
but of course that costs money.
There are some community counseling
services in Spanish, though. I'll
have to have my secretary look into
it.
(We can barely hear him by
this point.
As his conversation with
ARIEL fades, IVANIA sits
on the bed, and parts
imaginary curtains as if
looking out on a
courtyard, and finally we
see her smile and look
happy. The SONG SWELLS,
and the lights grow
brighter over this area
and go down over the
principal's office as THE
CURTAIN FALLS)
END OF PLAY