Chapter 7 of 30 · 3'04"
Clifford arrives with his play, and the evening starts warmly — a toast to Deathtrap, Myra joining as a reader. Then the mood turns: Sidney learns there is no second carbon copy, and Myra launches into a speech urging him to 'put aside' his own work and collaborate with the young writer.
Clifford at the Bruhls' House
❝ Monologue · 7 lines Myra's push for a deal
She piles promise on promise, leaving the young writer no graceful way to refuse.
Myra's Push to Collaborate
Clifford Anderson arrives at the Bruhls' house with the manuscript, happy to explain how he laid it out in loose leaves. He, Sidney and Myra drink a toast to Deathtrap and start reading together. But when Sidney realizes Clifford has no second carbon copy, the talk shifts, and Myra pushes Sidney to set aside his own play and work with Clifford.
The pleasantries hide a negotiation. Clifford is thrilled to be read by a famous playwright — 'I've been summoned to the principal's office,' he jokes — and Myra plays the gracious host until she sees an opening. When it turns out there is only one copy of the script, Sidney pauses to think, and Myra takes over. Her speech reframes the whole visit: 'I am the one whose feet are on the ground, whose eye is on the checkbook.' She argues that Sidney's 'hard-earned knowledge' shouldn't be given away 'without any quid pro quo,' and lands on the real request: 'Collaborate with him.' What began as an eager young writer showing off his pages becomes a push to turn his script into Sidney's next hit.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“I am the one whose feet are on the ground, whose eye is on the checkbook.”
Two parallel whose-clauses split the marriage into dreams and bookkeeping in one breath.
Neutral
“As if that stupid seminar were still in session.”
One as-if clause drags up an old classroom and dismisses the visitor as a student.
Informal
“Collaborate with him. That's the suggestion I'm making, Sidney.”
The order comes first and the label arrives after, which makes it sound unanswerable.
Neutral
“Darling, this is Clifford's first play and I am its first reader.”
Claiming the role of first reader sounds kind but quietly guards a possession.
Neutral
“I've been summoned to the principal's office.”
It shrinks an adult ambush into a schoolroom dread everyone remembers.
Informal
Mr. Anderson, Sidney is simply bursting with creative ideas about your play. I've never seen him so enthusiastic. He gets so many plays... From aspiring playwrights, supposedly ready for production... And usually he just laughs and says the most disparaging things. I know he could improve your play tremendously. He could turn it into a hit that would run for years... And make more than enough money for everyone concerned...
Up next · 08go out of your wayThe scene: Clifford Asks for a Second OpinionShe thinks Clifford's play has real potential and that Sidney's experience could turn it into a long-running hit that makes money for everyone involved.
It's Latin for an exchange — something given in return for something else. Myra uses it to argue Sidney shouldn't hand over his experience for nothing.
Sidney discovers Clifford brought only one copy of the manuscript, so Myra can't read along easily — and the missing carbon copy becomes the opening for her to take charge.
She tells Sidney to put aside the play he's writing, the one about Helga Ten Dorp, and collaborate with Clifford on his script instead.
Yes — he jokes that being read by Sidney feels like being summoned to the principal's office, but he seems pleased and open to working with him.
