JUNE I don’t think you could be boring if you tried.
LENA (beat) Stayed where?
JUNE You ever wonder what you’d be like if you’d stayed?
The jukebox plays low. Rain streaks the window. JUNE sits across from LENA in a booth, coffee gone cold. anya ivy casting
Underneath a quick, almost reckless wit is someone terrified of being truly known. When she meets JUNE (late 20s, sincere, a little lost), a customer who keeps ordering pie at 2 a.m., Lena’s defenses start showing hairline cracks. The scene below takes place after their third late-night conversation — the first time Lena doesn’t make a joke to escape. INT. DINER – NIGHT
Lena’s jaw tightens. Something behind her eyes flickers — fear, maybe, or want.
[Date] Self-tape preferred — slate with name, height, and what draws you to Lena. JUNE I don’t think you could be boring if you tried
Lena looks down at her hands. For once, she doesn’t have a line.
Lena stands. Not dramatic. Just… careful.
June doesn’t laugh. She holds Lena’s gaze. The jukebox plays low
LENA (almost a smile) That’s because you haven’t seen me on three hours of sleep and a sugar crash.
She walks toward the counter. Doesn’t look back. “Lena is a role that requires restraint. The audience should feel the earthquake beneath the linoleum floor. I’m looking for someone who can hold silence like a secret — and whose eyes tell the story their mouth won’t. Wit is armor. Let me see what it’s protecting.” Audition Request: Please prepare the above sides. Be off-book if possible. No need for a “diner voice” — Lena’s naturalism is her superpower. If you have a short improvisation of Lena alone after this scene (30 seconds), that’s welcome but not required.
JUNE You don’t have to be the sharpest thing in the room with me.