QUESTA - Act 1

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What happens in the opening rain‑soaked Chelsea scene?

Anthony Holiday 0:00
One, two, three.
Kiel Kennedy 0:04
Yes. So
John Milhiser 0:08
Questa by Victor Bumbleow. Fade in Black Postcard. It reads 1991. Exterior New York City Chelsea Evening. A quiet residential area, brownstones and small apartment buildings. It's an hour after the rain. The street, fairly deserted, is glistening with colored lights reflecting off it. For a second, the street sparkles with a make-believe look to it. This image is interrupted as Paul turns the corner. He is attractive, thin, and in his early thirties. He is running, scared. He instantly slows down when he sees a woman coming down the block toward him. He crosses the street trying to control his heavy breathing. Paul and the woman pass each other on opposite sides of the street. When he is sure she can no longer see him and no one else is on the street, he rips off his baseball life jacket, wipes his shirt with it, and buries it in a street corner garbage bin that is already filled.
John Milhiser 1:05
He cleans his dirty hands on his jeans. A car turns a corner. Paul shies away from it. He then turns another corner onto a heavily trafficked street and picks up his pace. Exterior street continuous. Paul passes a store window and sees his reflection. His face and shirt have blood on them. He stares at himself. Dissolve two exterior head of a young man same time. The young man is perhaps twenty one eight. Some blood drips from his mouth. His head lies in a pool of blood coming from the back of his skull. Red. Such a vivid red in contrast to the pale face and the dark concrete. The face is attractive. The face of an all American boy. The eyes are still open, startled. Two old and worn shoes step into the frame.
John Milhiser 2:00
Cut two exterior street a moment later. Paul is running. Exterior a deserted alley a second later. Daniel, early forties, is staring at the body. He is a black street person very, very thin. Daniel is effeminate when he wants to be, and ever so butch when he needs to be. The real Daniel disappeared years ago.
Paul Clarke 2:24
Don't touch anything.
John Milhiser 2:26
He slowly backs away from the body. Exterior in front of trucking, a gay bar in the village, moments later. A few people in front of the bar watch Daniel as he walks into trucking. Interior trucking continuous. Daniel enters the bar. It is the weekend, so it's fairly crowded. Immediately a bartender comes over to Daniel.
Paul Clarke 2:48
Somebody just got killed in the alley. And that's all who did it.
John Milhiser 2:51
That grabs the customer's attention. Word spreads. Some laugh like it might be a joke. Some folks leave, maybe to take a look. Some just study Daniel. Shouldn't someone call 911? The bartender just stands there.
Paul Clarke 3:05
If you want proof, go look for yourself.
John Milhiser 3:07
The bartender backs away from Daniel to do just that. Exterior Chelsea a little later. Paul is hurrying down another street, trying to be invisible to a passerby. He turns a corner and runs up the steps of a brownstone and rings the intercom. The intercom answers.
Ashley Platz 3:24
Yes?
John Milhiser 3:24
It's me. Are you alone?
Ashley Platz 3:27
Yes. Why?
John Milhiser 3:29
Interior, one bedroom apartment in the brownstone building, moments later. Susan, mid-twenties, whose open heartedness can be intimidating, goes to answer the door. As soon as she opens the door, Paul pushes past her and starts ripping off his clothes. What the hell? Paul is half out of his mind, hyper and desperate. His speech is rapid and disjointed. We've gotta get
Bruce Davison 3:50
rid of
John Milhiser 3:51
these. What happened? Give me something to wear.
Bruce Davison 3:55
No, I had better shower first. When will Nicholas be back?
John Milhiser 3:59
In a few minutes.
Bruce Davison 4:01
I don't want him to see this. Get me a plastic bag.
John Milhiser 4:05
Susan runs out of the room to get a plastic bag for his clothes. Then a drink. I need a drink. You shouldn't. I need one. Susan comes into the room with the plastic bag. Paul grabs it out of her hands and starts throwing his bloodied clothes into it. What happened? The drink Paul is now down to his underwear. He checks his body for blood. Susan goes to a cabinet and pours Paul a drink. I think he's dead. Who?
Bruce Davison 4:33
The man in the alley. Oh Jesus
John Milhiser 4:35
fucking Christ. Paul grabs the drink out of Susan's hand and gulps it. He keeps aimlessly moving around the room. What alley?
Bruce Davison 4:43
I didn't mean it. You believe me, don't you?
Ashley Platz 4:51
What are you talking about?

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