Second Date
Eli googled her after the first date. Sam was hoping he wouldn't. Now the dessert menu is the least awkward thing on the table.
Good for: comedy audition, romantic scene, two actors
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Start rehearsingSetting
A small restaurant, mid-evening. Second date, going well until thirty seconds ago, when ELI mentioned he 'looked her up.' SAM used to be mildly famous, and never brings it up first.
Characters
- SAM - 30s. Former child TV star, current normal person. Waiting for the other shoe.
Voiced by Aoede · Premium voice
- ELI - 30s. High school science teacher. Has just realized his mouth started a sentence his brain cannot finish.
Voiced by Puck · Premium voice
The Scene
ELI
So I have to confess something, and I want you to know I'm not proud of it. I googled you.
SAM
(setting down the menu)
Okay.
ELI
And I just want to say, the frosted tips were a choice, and I respect it.
SAM
It was 2009. Everyone on that network had frosted tips. It was practically in the contract.
ELI
My students found out I know you. I'm suddenly interesting for the first time in eleven years of teaching.
SAM
You told your students?
ELI
No. No, they found my letterboxd. That's... a separate confession. I may have reviewed your show. In 2019. Favorably!
SAM
Eli. What did you rate it.
ELI
(a long pause)
Three and a half stars.
SAM
Three and a half. The season I did all my own stunts, Eli.
ELI
The writing lost half a star! Your falling off the roof was flawless. Genuinely moving roof-falling.
SAM
You know what's funny? Most people pretend they haven't seen it. Then three months in, they quote it at me like a trap.
ELI
That's why I told you now. I didn't want to be carrying it around. You'd say something and I'd be thinking, do I know that from her, or from season two.
SAM
Season two me was a hologram for six episodes, so I'd hope you could tell us apart.
ELI
See, I have questions about that arc. Scientifically it made no sense. I teach physics, Sam. My students did a unit on it.
SAM
A unit. There's a curriculum about my hologram year.
ELI
'The Thermodynamics of Bad Television.' Highest test scores all semester. You're educational.
SAM
(leaning in)
Okay. You get one question about the show. One. Make it count, professor.
ELI
What's your favorite dessert here? That's my question. The show's fine. I'm not on a date with the show.
SAM
Four stars, Eli. You just earned the half back.
Original scene written for the Line Echo scene library. Free to perform in classes, auditions, and self-tapes.
lineecho.app/scenes/second-date
How to play this scene
The beats
- Eli detonates it early: "I googled you" puts the secret on the table and Sam's guard goes up on "Okay."
- Humor is the test: the frosted-tips and letterboxd jokes are Eli finding out which door opens.
- The real wound flashes on "they quote it at me like a trap," which is why Sam never brings the fame up first.
- Eli passes on "I'm not on a date with the show," choosing the person over the celebrity, and Sam lets him in.
Playing it
Eli's objective is to clear the fame out of the way so a real second date can happen, and Sam's is to find out whether he is another fan or an actual person. The banter is courtship and a screening at the same time. Play Sam's guardedness as real rather than cute, so her final "You just earned the half back" reads as a decision she makes, not a punchline.
Common mistakes
- Playing it as pure comedy and missing Sam's genuine wariness, which is the whole stakes.
- Making Eli smooth; he is a nervous teacher improvising, and the fumbling is the charm.
- Rushing past the tender turn, "I didn't want to be carrying it around," that earns the ending.
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