Six Characters in Search of an Author

When the curtain rises again, the set has been adjusted so that a backdrop with trees hangs and a fountain basin is onstage. The characters are on one side and the actors on the other. The Manager is in the middle of the stage, mediating the staging of the next act.

The Step-Daughter feels it is impossible to stage the whole act in the garden because some parts involving the Son and the Boy took place indoors. The Manager explains that they cannot change scenery so many times in an act. The Leading Lady adds that it makes the illusion easier to maintain, but the Father becomes irritated with her word choice as he feels illusion is painful and insulting. The Manager asks what other word they should use, as theater is about creating the illusion of reality. The Father understands, but points out that the actors are pretending while this is reality for the characters.

The Father asks the Manager to explain who he is. When the Manager identifies as himself, the Father points out how frustrating it would be if someone told the Manager he was not the Manager.