“I need your help," he said. He grimaced at her disbelieving Look. "I'm going to be in a play at COD. Opening night is in less than a week. And

I'm screwing it up.

“The play is Othello. By William Shakespeare. Do you know it?"

Maria shook her head. "When I am in school we read Romeo and Juliet.

And I have seen Much Ado about Nothing on the DVD, with Kenneth

Branagh" She rolled her eyes appreciatively.

“But Othello I do not know."

He nodded.

“I play Iago. He's the villain. He hates Othello because he has been passed up for a promotion, and also because he's just a horrible person who enjoys watching other people suffer. He plays on

Othello's insecurity by convincing him his wife is having an affair.

Sleeping with another man.

“At the end of the play, Othello strangles his wife, Desdemona." Maria nodded, her face alight with interest.

“Iago's wife Emilia comes in to see Othello standing over Desdemona, dead in their marriage bed. When

Othello tells her Iago told him Desdemona was cheating on him, she knows her husband is lying. She confronts him and he kills her.

"In the original play, he stabs her with a sword. But our director is making a change. He wants Emilia's death to be more violent, so the audience can see what a monster Iago is. Rather than being run through with a sword, he..." he swallowed thickly, "...he strikes her several times, then stabs her with a dagger on the bed where Desdemona is lying.

"I can't do it," he grimaced. "I won't really be hitting her," he said in response to Maria's concerned look.

“It's just a play. But I can't even make it look good when I'm acting. I've seen the recordings. It's awful.

"So I was wondering if you might Like to read with me? I've got the script here," he said, waving a sheaf of paper.

“You could play Emilia, read her lines. And maybe I could figure out why I can't make the scene work."

A smile lifted one corner of Maria's mouth, and she reached for the script. "This sounds...interesting,"” she said.