The Suffield Players -- Photo Gallery/Criminal Hearts pg 1

Criminal Hearts, February 2012, page one

by Jane Martin

directed by Kelly Seip

Costumes by Dawn McKay	Set design by Konrad Rogowski
Open to a dark stage. Bo, a burglar, sneaks in and terrorizes Ata Windust, the occupant of the apartment, after Bo crashes into a stack of soda cans. Ata is too frightened to move so she directs Bo to the light switch.

The lights reveal to Ata (Liz Leshine) that Bo is another woman (Vanda Doyle). Bo is stunned to find there is NO furniture anywhere.	After panickly explaining that her husband, Wib, took all her stuff, Ata manages to distract Bo and seize the gun.

Ata holds Bo at bay and interrogates her. Bo says she has two kids who depend on her. This placates Ata a little, but she finds she can't let go of the gun—her hand kinda locks up when she's stressed. Ata tells Bo to tie herself up. Since there's no rope, she uses the telephone cord.	During Ata's nervous questioning, the gun goes off, causing them both to freak out. The noise is heard by Mrs. Carnigham, the next-door neighbor, who bangs on the door demanding an explanation.

Bo's accomplice, Robbie (Allen Nott), climbs in and threatens to shoot Ata, but Bo convinces him to leave.	Ata, thinking of Bo's two kids tells her to leave, too, which she quickly does.

Ata talks through the door to Mrs. Carnigham, explaining poignantly why she won't open the door.	Two weeks later, Bo returns (through the window again) to find Ata is still in the same state, with more soda cans and pizza boxes. She's wearing a fancy dress, as the only thing Wib didn't take was her clothes. She's also still holding the gun, still unable to let go of it.

Bo tells Ata what she does when she's not burgling—she's a grifter. Ata, for her part, plans charity events, except she hasn't left her apartment in weeks. While Ata hides in humiliation, Robbie enters and urges Bo to hurry it up; he's got a truck double-parked.	Bo's idea is to get Ata to go with them to rob her husband, Wib. As she refuses, the telephone rings. It's Wib. He wants Ata to bring him the golf clubs he left in the closet.

After realizing that she actually agreed to have the clubs delivered, Ata takes the clubs out, breaks several, and throws them out the window. She then plans how they will get to Wib's country condo, get in, steal everything, and get out. However, to do this, Bo will have to wear her very first dress.