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[0:15] Jonathan Cook: All right, welcome back to Gathered by the Ghost Light. I'm Jonathan Cook, your host, producer, and sometimes voice actor on this thing.

[0:22] Devon McSherry: And I'm Devon McSherry, host, producer, and sometimes voice actor on this thing.

[0:26] Jonathan Cook: What? That's crazy! Look at that! And today's episode, this is our season six finale.

[0:32] Devon McSherry: Yes!

[0:33] Jonathan Cook: That's right, we're six years in, wrapping it up. Thank you all for joining us on this journey all these years. And keep an eye out on the horizon for season seven.

[0:40] Devon McSherry: Oh yes, it's coming.

[0:42] Jonathan Cook: And today, we are currently on location at Le Chat Noir Theatre in Augusta, Georgia. And this weekend, we will be hosting our Off-Broadstreet Shortplay Festival here.

[0:51] Devon McSherry: That's right! So if you're in the area, come on down, see the Shortplay Festival. We're doing a total of nine plays written by playwrights from all over the place. And the show runs from April 17th through April 25th.

[1:03] Jonathan Cook: And today, we have a special preview for you. We will be presenting one of the short plays that we will have this weekend. This one is called The Diary of Maria by Dave Huber.

[1:15] Jonathan Cook: You are about to meet a high school student named Maria. After performing in the school's play, her director finds her sitting out in front of the school two hours later, still waiting on her dad to pick her up. As he discovers the reason why her father has not yet arrived, he must decide if he can do what any decent person would do. Now, gather around the ghost light. Sit back and enjoy. This is The Diary of Maria written by Dave Huber.

[1:51] Mr. Harris: Maria! I thought you'd be gone long ago.

[1:53] Maria: I was waiting for my dad to pick me up.

[1:55] Mr. Harris: The play ended two hours ago. Did he forget about you?

[2:00] Maria: No. He had something come up. An emergency.

[2:04] Mr. Harris: Well, I can't just leave you here to be kidnapped.

[2:06] Maria: Don't worry. I'll be fine. I have a lot of writing to do anyway.

[2:09] Mr. Harris: No, no. I'll wait with you.

[2:11] Maria: Thanks, but I'm safe here.

[2:14] Mr. Harris: I promise I won't jump into the first car that gives me candy.

[2:17] Maria: Sounds like you were trained well.

[2:19] Mr. Harris: I was. You can go.

[2:21] Maria: No, no. I'm responsible for you.

[2:23] Mr. Harris: Were you watching everyone else get picked up tonight?

[2:25] Maria: Well, no, but...

[2:28] Mr. Harris: Then just imagine you never saw me and assume I got picked up.

[2:31] Maria: Let me just keep you company until he shows up.

[2:34] Mr. Harris: Please, Mr. Harris. Your wife, she must be waiting on you.

[2:37] Maria: And my dad might be a while.

[2:39] Mr. Harris: My wife never waits up for me the night of a play. I'm never home before midnight.

[2:43] Maria: My dad's calling me.

[2:45] Maria: Hey, Dad!

[2:47] Maria: Okay. Great. I'm right in front of the school. Okay. Bye.

[2:55] Mr. Harris: He'll be here in a minute, so you don't have to wait anymore.

[2:58] Maria: I got to talk to him a couple of times on opening night. He was really proud of you.

[3:01] Mr. Harris: Yeah, he really liked Christine.

[3:05] Maria: She was his favorite. And the ending with Michael, he...

[3:09] Mr. Harris: I'm sure you were his favorite. Besides me.

[3:13] Maria: He told me how excited he was to come again tonight.

[3:15] Mr. Harris: I'm sorry he couldn't make it.

[3:17] Maria: It was an emergency.

[3:19] Mr. Harris: I'm glad he enjoyed it. Before the play, he told me that he wasn't a big fan of dramas. He was really hoping it was going to be funny.

[3:27] Maria: Yeah, he's pretty emotional and just doesn't like to cry in front of strangers.

[3:30] Mr. Harris: Is that why he sat in the back?

[3:32] Maria: Yeah. He cried when we were all taken away at the end.

[3:35] Mr. Harris: I saw that.

[3:37] Maria: He cried when we were all taken away at the end. I saw him wiping tears when we walked past him. That part gets me every time.

[3:41] Mr. Harris: He told me you were interested in going to college for acting.

[3:47] Maria: Is this new?

[3:49] Mr. Harris: It was just a thought. I don't think so now.

[3:51] Maria: You changed your mind since yesterday.

[3:53] Mr. Harris: I don't think I'm going to college.

[3:55] Maria: Why not? Your grades are good, and there's lots of scholarships out there, and community college is practically free.

[4:00] Mr. Harris: You don't have to wait. He'll be here soon.

[4:03] Maria: It's no problem at all. I'd love to tell him how well you did tonight.

[4:08] Maria: Sorry, it's my dad again.

[4:10] Maria: Where are you?

[4:12] Maria: Okay. Okay. Mr. Harris is here waiting with me. Okay. I'll be here. Bye.

[4:24] Mr. Harris: He'll be here soon, and he said for you to go. That you don't have to wait anymore.

[4:28] Maria: He said that?

[4:30] Mr. Harris: Yeah, so you can go.

[4:32] Maria: Don't worry, I'll be fine.

[4:34] Mr. Harris: You're free to go then.

[4:36] Maria: Yep.

[4:38] Mr. Harris: I think I'll just wait with you for a few more minutes, then I'll go.

[4:41] Maria: Please don't.

[4:43] Mr. Harris: What's going on?

[4:45] Maria: Nothing, I just, I don't want to waste your time.

[4:47] Mr. Harris: You're usually a pretty good actress, but the phone call was not very convincing.

[4:50] Maria: What are you talking about? It was my dad I was talking to.

[4:53] Mr. Harris: Nope.

[4:55] Maria: Are you saying I'm lying to you, Mr. Harris? I wouldn't lie to you.

[4:57] Mr. Harris: Maria, stop. I know it wasn't your dad on the phone because you weren't talking to anyone on the phone. You lied up when you pretended to take the call.

[5:04] Maria: I'm a teacher, I have all kinds of superpowers when it comes to teens and their phones.

[5:08] Mr. Harris: I'm sorry. He's going to be a while, and I didn't want you to have to wait.

[5:13] Maria: Come on, it'll give us time to chat.

[5:15] Mr. Harris: Okay.

[5:17] Maria: I guess.

[5:19] Mr. Harris: Your dad told me that you've wanted to be an actress since you were five?

[5:22] Maria: Yeah.

[5:24] Mr. Harris: College is a great place to get trained and gain experience.

[5:26] Maria: That was the plan.

[5:28] Mr. Harris: Something changed that plan?

[5:30] Maria: I think so. I think a lot has changed.

[5:34] Mr. Harris: Do you still want to act?

[5:36] Maria: I do, but...

[5:37] Mr. Harris: Tell me why. Why do you love acting?

[5:41] Maria: Well, I love to feel someone else's feelings and be in somebody else's story. It's like I become more of a person.

[5:50] Mr. Harris: More of a person. I like that.

[5:52] Maria: I even started my first diary on the day you cast the show.

[5:56] Mr. Harris: Really? Do you have a diary next to you?

[6:00] Maria: It is. It's not a very exciting read right now, but I have a lot to write about from the past two days.

[6:04] Mr. Harris: I bet. Opening night was pretty eventful, and tonight with Spencer forgetting his lines?

[6:10] Maria: You covered those really well.

[6:12] Mr. Harris: Thanks. Two more shows to go. I'm sure it'll get a lot more interesting.

[6:18] Maria: You've acted before, right?

[6:20] Mr. Harris: I have. I know what you mean by becoming more of a person. Do you get the same feeling when you direct a play? Do you feel what Mr. Frank feels? Does he become a part of you?

[6:28] Maria: I do. Not as much as the actors, of course, but yes. Even Anne will always be a small part of me.

[6:34] Mr. Harris: How many plays have you directed?

[6:36] Maria: Almost a hundred.

[6:38] Mr. Harris: Wow. That's a lot of small parts in there.

[6:42] Maria: It's getting a little crowded.

[6:44] Mr. Harris: It's a lot of empathy. Like I've told you, that's what the arts do best.

[6:48] Maria: So, with all that empathy, do you think you would have hidden a Jewish family in your attic?

[6:50] Mr. Harris: I'd like to think I would. I hope I'd have the courage.

[6:54] Maria: I hope I'd have the courage to do the right thing.

[6:56] Mr. Harris: Yeah, me too. Did you know that Meep Keyes never thought of herself as a hero? She said, "I did what any decent person would have done."

[7:04] Maria: You really did your research.

[7:06] Mr. Harris: I learned more about World War II by doing this play and all the research than anything Ms. Jackson ever taught us. Did you know that Mr. Crawler went to a concentration camp for hiding Anne and her family?

[7:12] Maria: And he escaped.

[7:14] Mr. Harris: That's right, he did.

[7:18] Maria: Mr. Harris, my dad's not coming.

[7:24] Mr. Harris: How do you know that?

[7:26] Maria: I can't go back home.

[7:28] Mr. Harris: What's going on, Maria? Come on, tell me the truth.

[7:32] Maria: You sure?

[7:34] Mr. Harris: I'm sure. Just know that I'm a mandated reporter. I have to report any abuse that you tell me about.

[7:38] Maria: Whoa, Mr. Harris, my dad is not abusing me. It's nothing like that.

[7:42] Mr. Harris: Well, I'm glad to hear that. It's a lot worse.

[7:46] Maria: Worse?

[7:48] Mr. Harris: Are you sure I'm the one you want to tell?

[7:52] Maria: I just know there's a lot of people in this town that I would never tell this information to.

[7:56] Mr. Harris: What about your dad?

[7:58] Maria: He knows.

[8:00] Mr. Harris: And he supports you?

[8:02] Maria: Mr. Harris, stop trying to guess what I'm going to tell you. I'm not gay.

[8:04] Mr. Harris: Okay. Sorry.

[8:08] Maria: You said there's a little bit of Anne inside of you. I'm really counting on that right now.

[8:14] Maria: My dad didn't come to the play tonight. He was going to bring my brother. We were excited. And when he didn't show up, I called him at intermission. I called my brother, I called my grandma, and no one answered. I walked home after the play, and there were flowers on the ground next to the car. They were for me, for the performance tonight. He always brought flowers.

[8:36] Mr. Harris: What happened?

[8:40] Maria: I won't be at school tomorrow, but I will be there for the play. I just need to find somewhere to go tonight.

[8:48] Mr. Harris: To go? Not home?

[8:50] Maria: You said you'd like to think you'd hide a family. My dad's undocumented. My grandma's undocumented. My younger brother's undocumented. And I need a place to hide, just for a little while.

[9:02] Mr. Harris: That's... I'm so sorry. I can't believe they just took them.

[9:08] Maria: I can't go back home. They must be looking for me.

[9:10] Mr. Harris: No. Maria, can you help me?

[9:18] Mr. Harris: I can call someone for you.

[9:20] Maria: Who do you think you're going to call that's going to do the right thing? Do you have any friends or other family that would hook you up for a few days?

[9:26] Mr. Harris: We don't have any family here, and you're the one adult I trust in this town.

[9:32] Mr. Harris: Yeah, um... Let me call my wife and tell her what's happening, see what we can do.

[9:38] Mr. Harris: Hi. I know it's late, but it's a bit of an emergency. My student Maria, she played Mrs. Frank. Yeah, that's her. She needs to stay at our house for a while. Yeah. Her family was just deported, or detained, and she has nowhere to go. Right. I know. Yeah. Pretty horrible. Oh. Right. Right. That's okay. We'll figure something out. Okay. See you soon.

[10:16] Maria: That's a no, right?

[10:18] Mr. Harris: We only have one extra room that's available, and it's filled with our living room furniture. We had a leak in a wall, and now it all needs to be repainted. So there's nowhere to put you.

[10:30] Maria: You have an attic?

[10:32] Mr. Harris: I wouldn't put you in the attic.

[10:34] Maria: No, I guess you wouldn't.

[10:36] Mr. Harris: Maybe you can just make that phone call you were going to make earlier. I'm sure that Child Protective Services can help find you a place.

[10:44] Maria: Let me find the number. I'll stay here and wait with you until someone comes to pick you up.

[10:50] Mr. Harris: Um... Here it is.

[10:54] Maria: Your phone lit up.

[10:56] Mr. Harris: What?

[10:58] Maria: Just now, your phone lit up your face. Now I can see what you're talking about.

[11:02] Mr. Harris: The superpower.

[11:04] Maria: Right. When you called your wife, it didn't light up.

[11:10] Mr. Harris: I'm sorry, Mr. Harris. This was a lot to ask of you. I suppose you did what any decent person would have done.

[11:16] Maria: Look, I'm just going to my cousin's house. It's just around the corner. I'll see you, Mr. Harris.

[11:24] Mr. Harris: Maria! You left your...

[11:28] Mr. Harris: diary.

[11:34] Narrator: This has been a Gathered by the Ghostlight production produced by Jonathan Cook and Devin McSherry. Today's play, The Diary of Maria, was written by Dave Huber. It was performed by Ava Robinson as Maria and Blake McGee as Mr. Harris. Directed by Arelis Rivera. Edited and sound designed by Jonathan Cook. Title music by JK47. Cover art by A.C. Daniel. Join us this weekend at the Shad Noir in Augusta, Georgia for the third annual Off-Broad Street Short Play Festival running through April 25th. This program is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. As always, stay safe and we'll see you next time we gather by the ghostlight.