20 Summon The Dead - Chili Columbo

"Summon the Dead," explores generational trauma, family secrets, and the quest for healing. We follow Tina Leary, a psychic who uses a shortwave radio to communicate with the deceased. The radio, once used by her CIA spy mother, Martha, becomes the conduit for a client, Maria Columbo, to seek answers from the other side.

Maria is troubled by her past and the state of her family, including a daughter she calls a "whore" and a son a "lazy bastard". She wonders where her life "went wrong" and whether it was her fault. Through Tina’s psychic reading, Maria learns of a "dark energy" between her deceased younger sister, Emma, and their father.

The drama escalates when Tina helps Maria use the radio to confront her deceased mother, Cecilia "Chili" Columbo. Maria discovers a shocking family history involving abuse and secrets that reveal the source of her family's long-standing dysfunction. The play delves into how buried truths can impact lives for decades and the difficult journey of confronting them to find closure. The episode raises questions about accountability, motherhood, and the price of silence.

The major themes are generational trauma, family secrets, and the search for truth and healing.

Generational Trauma

The play explores how trauma, particularly abuse, is passed down through generations. Maria's own struggles with her children and husband mirror the dysfunctional family dynamic she grew up in. She believes her life "went wrong" because of a single past event, and the revelations about her father's abuse of her sister and herself show the deep-seated impact of her family's history. Maria's mother, Chili, also alludes to her own difficult past and the pressure to please men. The play suggests that the cycle of abuse and unhappiness continues until someone, like Maria, confronts the painful truth to find a "new way to think about" her own kids.

Family Secrets and the Past
A significant theme is the weight of buried family secrets. Both Tina and Maria work to uncover a past that has been hidden and ignored. Maria herself admits she "didn't want to look" and "couldn't face it" when she suspected something was wrong6. Tina's use of her psychic abilities and the radio allows the characters to confront these secrets head-on. The radio serves as a literal and metaphorical tool for connecting with the past to gain clarity on the present. The play emphasizes that understanding the past is crucial for moving forward, even if the truth is painful.

The Search for Truth and Healing

Maria's journey is a quest for truth and, ultimately, healing. She seeks answers to a central question: "When did I get screwed? Was it really my fault?"10. Her initial session with Tina reveals the "dark energy" and the possibility of abuse. The subsequent communication with her mother, Chili, confirms her suspicions, however painful the conversation is. Despite the terrible revelations, Maria expresses gratitude because now she knows the truth and can begin to "unpack it all". The play suggests that while the truth may not be easy, it is a necessary first step toward breaking free from the past and finding a path to healing.

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Tina Leary, Psychic
In
Summon the Dead
- Chili Columbo -
by
Rick Regan

Rick Regan
PO Box 40039
Raleigh, NC 27607
919-218-8834
[e-mail]

INT. TINA LEARY’S OFFICE - DAY
Tina is sitting at her desk, reading her phone. She fiddles
and scrolls and then looks at the old radio in the back of
the room. This is an old shortwave radio that was used by her
mother to send messages when she was a spy for the CIA in the
1960s & 70s. Tina goes to the radio, brings it to her desk.
She examines it and plugs it in. It hisses and crackles.
She switches it off, removes the back and jiggles the tubes
inside. She extracts a microphone/headset hidden inside. She
switches it on.
TINA
I wonder how this thing works...
(she fiddles the knobs)
MARTHA
(through the radio)
Tina? Tina, did you get the radio working?
TINA
(into the microphone)
Mother? Is that you?
MARTHA
Yes, Tina. That’s right. How are you, dear?
TINA
Mom, you’re dead. You died two years ago.
MARTHA
I know. It was awful. I hated leaving you but I just
couldn’t go on. You don’t know how terrible it was
for me, especially at the end.
TINA
I tried to make it as comfortable as I could for you.
I’m sorry.
MARTHA
I’m sorry, Tina. You were only trying to help.
TINA
But where are you? You’re dead. Are you... in heaven?
MARTHA
Not exactly, dear. It’s just a work-space I’ve set
up, to try to get some things done while I’m here.
TINA
Where’s here?
MARTHA
It’s hard to say. I’m here, but I don’t know where
here is. But I’m here. I’ve been waiting to hear from
you. I’m sorry it took this long, but most folks up
here never hear from anybody. It’s so frustrating!
TINA
What do you mean?
MARTHA
Parents looking down on their children mostly,
looking down and shouting at them to do things. But
nobody hears them.
TINA
But what do they say? What are they shouting?
MARTHA
All kinds of things. That they love them. That they
shouldn’t be scared or sad. Or sometimes that they
are making a mistake or going the wrong way and can’t
see what’s coming.
TINA
But how does this work? Do you have a radio?
MARTHA
Kind of. Mostly it’s just you and me, communicating,
in the old way, like we used to.
TINA
So it’s not the radio?
MARTHA
Oh, yes! The radio helps. It makes it two-way, you
see.
TINA
So, what is it you want to say? To me, now?
MARTHA
I just wanted to tell you that you are doing a
wonderful job helping people, and that I love you. I
don’t think I said that enough when I was alive.
TINA
Thank you, mother. Is Dad there with you?
MARTHA
He’s around. I see him sometimes, but we’re not
close.
TINA
What do you mean? You were married for forty years!
MARTHA
Oh honey! He is an independent man. And I am an
independent woman. Down there, it can be hard for a
woman to be independent. But here, I can be as free
as anybody. I can do whatever I want.
TINA
It does sound like heaven...
MARTHA
Tina, I have a few things to take care of. Thanks for
tuning in. Ring me up any time.
(fades out)
Tina stares at the radio. It is humming. She switches it off.
Doorbell rings!
Tina gets up to open the door. Maria, a late forties woman,
heavyset with straight black hair, cut short.
MARIA
I think I’m your four o’clock?
TINA
Oh, yes. Come right in. Sit down. Now, what can I do
for you?
MARIA
I don’t know if you can help me.
TINA
Well, I can try. Now what seems to be troubling you?
MARIA
My daughter is a whore.
TINA
I see.
MARIA
And my son is a lazy bastard.
TINA
OK.
MARIA
And my husband doesn’t give a damn if I live or die.
TINA
Oh my!
MARIA
So, I don’t know. I gotta figure it out. I wanna know
where it went wrong. What was the switch on the
tracks that sent me the wrong direction? It seems
like one minute I got a job, a boyfriend and I’m
livin’ the life. Next, I got a daughter that is
screwing the entire local firehouse, a son that is
selling pills to pay for his Firebird and I’m married
to the bum who said he’d be a good dad. I’m screwed.
TINA
I see.
MARIA
So can you help?
TINA
I suppose, as others would say, should say, that what
matters is what happens going forward, the future.
That the choices and changes you make now will change
the future for you. And you can’t change the past.
MARIA
Yeah, yeah. They all say that. But I wanna know. When
did I get screwed? Was it really my fault? Or
something else?
TINA
I don’t know what we will find but we can look. Are
you ready?
MARIA
What do I do?
TINA
Take a deep breath. Now let it go. Now relax.
Breathe. I’m going to put my hands on your head, not
hard. Just a little. When you close your eyes, I will
touch your face, and we’ll see.... What we can see.
MARIA
OK.
Maria breathes, closes her eyes and Tina reaches out to
Maria’s face. They settle.
TINA
Alright. That’s good. Relax. OK. I see... oh, that
must be you, younger. With a young man. Yes. Oh, and
probably your parents. How many were at home with
you?
MARIA
Six of us. Mom, dad and four sisters.
TINA
Ah, yes. That makes sense. But there is a darkness I
see, I guess that is your father. Very dark. And now,
OH MY!, Oh no! Did you know?... oh my.
MARIA
(opens her eyes)
What! What is it?
TINA
(calming)
Just relax. I’ll tell you everything but I would like
to see some more. Can you relax, breathe?
MARIA
(breathing, closes eyes)
Ok. Right. Breathe.
TINA
I’m seeing a strong link, between you and your
mother. But her ring, it does not have a strong link
to your father. He has a very dark energy. And the
youngest? Where is she? This is very strange. Your
older sisters, they glowed and went quickly away. You
wanted to go but had to stay? You went but,...
didn’t? Hmmm.. That’s enough. OK.
MARIA
OK. Umm... What did you see?
TINA
Something happened to your younger sister. What
happened?
MARIA
She died.
TINA
Died? How? When?
MARIA
When she was seventeen.
TINA
What happened?
MARIA
She was out with her boyfriend and, I guess, they
overdosed. He lived. But he left her there, when she
was still breathing and they say she suffocated. She
was only seventeen.
TINA
But your father? Something happened with him too.
MARIA
Oh, they had some rows! He would yell at her not to
see Ronnie, her boyfriend. And she would scream back
at him that he didn’t own her anymore.
TINA
That sounds awful.
MARIA
That’s when I moved in with Thomas. To get away from
it, from all of it.
TINA
Did you know, was your sister pregnant?
MARIA
I knew but I never told anybody. She didn’t tell me.
But she was sick every morning. She started moving
really slowly. I knew. But she wasn’t far along. I
still see Ronnie sometimes, her old boyfriend. I
hadn’t ever said anything about it. It would’ve
killed him to know.
TINA
I’m not sure that Ronnie was the father.
MARIA
What do you mean? Who else?
TINA
I saw a very dark energy between your younger sister
and... your father.
MARIA
Daddy?
TINA
It is possible that she had been abused by him.
MARIA
Oh my God! I’m going to be sick.
She heaves forward and starts moaning and gasping for air.
MARIA (CONT’D)
Oh daddy! Oh no, daddy... oh no. Not you! Oh no!
TINA
Maria, listen to me. Listen. It’s OK. You are here.
You are safe. You are OK. Breathe. Relax. You are
safe. It’s OK.
MARIA
(composing herself)
Oh, I can’t believe it. But of course, I can believe
it. It was right there in front of my face. I didn’t
want to look. I didn’t want to think. I couldn’t face
it. Something was going on, I knew it, but I didn’t
understand it.
TINA
You were a victim here too, Maria.
MARIA
That was the moment. That was the fork in the road. I
ran away from my family because I couldn’t face it.
But I didn’t want this. And I didn’t want that. And I
don’t know what I am going to do. But that was it,
the moment.
(looks at Tina sincerely)
Thank you. Thank you. I wanted to know, but I didn’t
want to remember. Now I remember. Now I know. Thank
you.
TINA
What are you going to do?
MARIA
I have to get a handle on things. I might be back.
TINA
OK.
MARIA
I just wish I could ask my mother about it all. What
was she thinking? How could she live? I don’t know.
TINA
OK. Well, just pick a time and we’ll see what we can
do.
MARIA
OK. Thanks.
TINA
By the way, what was your mother’s name?
MARIA
Cecilia. Cecilia Columbo. But they called her Chili.
TINA
Got it. See you next time.
Maria exits. Tina looks at her radio.
INT. LATER - EVENING
Tina is relaxing with a glass of wine. She looks at the
radio, sips the wine and goes and sits down next to the radio
set.
TINA
(into microphone)
Mom? Can you hear me? It’s Tina.
MARTHA
(through speakers)
Hello, Tina? Are you alright?
TINA
Yes, I’m fine, Mom. How are you? Are you busy?
MARTHA
Just straightening things up. Are you drinking again?
TINA
Just a glass of wine, Mom.
MARTHA
Don’t overdo it. You will lose your figure.
TINA
Thanks, Mom. Listen, I need a favor. Do you think you
could find somebody for me?
MARTHA
A spirit person?
TINA
Yes, a spirit person. A woman named Cecilia Columbo,
but she goes by Chili. Her daughter came in today for
a reading.
MARTHA
Yes, I saw that. Good work on that bit with the
father.
TINA
Thank you, Mother. But she wants to talk to her
mother and ask her about the whole thing. Can you
help?
MARTHA
I don’t know. But I could try.
TINA
Don’t be coy, mother. You were a cold war spy.
MARTHA
That’s true. The Ace of Espionage, that’s what
Cristophe called me.
TINA
Yes, he’s the one who brought the radio back, from
the War College. He said it was too advanced for the
students and wants to hide it here. Not get lost.
MARTHA
That’s what he said, eh? Well, take that with a grain
of salt. He may have other designs, for it and for
you. Look inside for listening bugs, or location
tracers. I’ll wait. I have time.
TINA
I’ll look later. You just see if you can find Chili
Columbo. I’m going to read and go to bed. I’ll talk
to you tomorrow.
MARTHA
Over and out!
INT. - TINA’S OFFICE, TWO DAYS LATER - DAY
Tina is reading, waiting for her next appointment.
MARIA
(enters)
Ms. Leary? I’m here.
TINA
Sure, come on in. How are you? Here, sit.
MARIA
I have been thinking, a lot. I talked to my two
sisters. I told them that you thought that maybe
Daddy was involved with Emma. They said, you have no
proof.
TINA
Well, that’s true. I am not trying to prove anything
but I am trying to help you get to the bottom of
things so you can move on, move forward.
MARIA
They said you’ve got a lot of nerve accusing Daddy.
TINA
I just tell you what I see. I don’t have an agenda
here, Maria. Maybe that would be easier to understand
but I don’t. Why would I?
MARIA
That’s why I came back, to see what else you can see.
TINA
Maria, I have something new for you. I’ve never done
this before but it might get you some answers.
MARIA
What do you mean?
TINA
I have a way, with this radio, to speak... with the
deceased.
MARIA
You talk to the dead?
TINA
I’m not sure how it will work, if it will work. But
let’s talk about your mother. What would you say to
her, if you could?
MARIA
My mother? Chili? I would want to know what she knew.
Did she know about Daddy and Emma? Was any of that
true? Or was there something else? Maybe she made him
do it.
TINA
Made him? What do you mean?
MARIA
She always told us girls that a wife should keep her
man happy, satisfied.
TINA
In what way?
MARIA
In that way. You know exactly what I mean.
TINA
OK. I understand. What did she say to you?
MARIA
She said, her mother told her, that her mother, back
in It’ly, told her on her wedding night, that she
should never ‘have a headache’, never be ‘too tired’,
always do it, or else you’ll lose your husband. Maybe
he won’t leave, but he won’t live in your heart.
He’ll find another.
TINA
Hardly a women’s libber...
MARIA
So like that, she told me, she told Imelda and she
told Roxy. ‘Never have a headache.’
TINA
But how is that related to Emma?
MARIA
Maybe momma had a headache...
TINA
And your father?
MARIA
He always got what he wanted. Maybe she offered up
Emma.
TINA
Offered... ?
MARIA
When she was fed up with him. Maybe she gave Emma to
him, for that.
TINA
Oh my god...
MARIA
I don’t know. But I’d ask her. If I could.
TINA
Maria, this is strange but could we try?
MARIA
Nothing to lose, I guess.
Tina goes to the radio. She switches it on and speaks into
the microphone. The voices come out of the speaker.
TINA
Mother? Are you there? This is Tina.
MARTHA
I know who it is. Who else would call me?
TINA
Does Mr. Christophe talk to you?
MARTHA
How did you know that?
TINA
Not far from the tree, eh?
MARTHA
We talk shop. Old times.
TINA
Mother, seriously. Did you find Chili Columbo, like I
asked you to?
MARTHA
Of course. She’s right here. She’s been waiting some
years.
(to Chili)
Chili, now here, you talk into this. It’s like a pipe
that goes to the living. Talk. It is your daughter.
CHILI
Emma? Is that you?
MARIA
(into the microphone)
No, Mama. It is Maria. Emma’s dead. Do you remember?
CHILI
Maria? Oh, sis, it is so good to hear from you. Have
you talked to mama? Is she alright?
MARIA
No, mama. Not your sister Maria, your daughter Maria.
CHILI
Maria? But you are married.
MARIA
Yes, mama. I’m married. So were you. You and daddy.
Is he there?
CHILI
Why are you bothering me? You’re married. Go look
after your family.
MARIA
Mama, it’s Maria, your daughter. I want to talk to
you.
CHILI
You never had any time for me. Why should I listen to
you? You were gone when you were old enough to switch
off the porch light. Didn’t I tell you to stay away
from that bum?
MARIA
You didn’t even know Thomas. What did you have
against him?
CHILI
His family was low. Ssssssss.....
MARIA
Don’t hiss at me!
CHILI
His people were the ignorant hill folk. Too dumb to
play cards. Now you are just like them. Look at you.
You look like you made your own clothes, out of what
poor-folks throw away. My daughter... Ooof!
MARIA
Mama!
CHILI
I should have given you away. Dropped you off at the
convent. Maybe they would have raised you right.
Probably not.
MARIA
Don’t give me that, that guff. Not from you. You were
responsible, the adult. But what did you do? You hid
in the kitchen, stirring gravy, drinking grappa with
gran-mami.
CHILI
It gets you through the day.
MARIA
With a foggy brain and no sense of right or wrong.
What did you do to Emma?
CHILI
I didn’t do anything to Emma. I did the best I could
for her but she wouldn’t listen. And then, and then,
to get mixed up in the drugs.
MARIA
Don’t blame the drugs. She was a kid, looking for
love and support. I’m a mom now too. I can see it. I
look back and think of all the times I needed you,
wanted you. Just a kiss, a pat on the head. Just to
hear that you loved me and supported me.
CHILI
Ah, go play in traffic!
MARIA
That! That! ‘Go play in traffic.’ I heard it a
million times. My mother, the tough-guy.
CHILI
You don’t know anything. Four kids in five years. I
was washed up before I ever got started. All I wanted
was to be left alone. Some peace! Is that too much?
Too much to ask?
MARIA
You wanted to be left alone? How can you say that?
You were a mother! Four girls, raising themselves. No
wonder we jumped in the car with the first boys who
said nice things to us. But what about Emma? Did you
even give her a chance?
CHILI
Listen to me, you. I had to put together the broken
pieces, of my broken life. Tie it all together, with
tape and glue. And stand there like a cracked-mirror
in front of my husband, ugly, broken and the bringer
of bad luck. You know what’s that’s like? Do you? To
stand in front of a man, naked, with my broken body,
and my broken heart. And all he wanted was another
ride on his pig. Over and over. All I wanted was to
get out of the mud, to feel clean, for Christ’s sake.
If you had any compassion in your heart, you’d know
what a trial-of-fire I lived. But no! Go ahead and
run away with your hillbilly dumbass.
MARIA
Did you give Emma to Daddy?
CHILI
No.
MARIA
Did you let him have her, so you didn’t have to, any
more?
CHILI
No.
MARIA
Did Daddy fuck Emma?
CHILI
Of course he did! I couldn’t help that.
MARIA
She was seventeen! She trusted you.
CHILI
First it was when she was fourteen.
MARIA
Oh god, no! Mama! Really? Daddy?
(MORE)
CHILI
First it was you. Don’t remember?
MARIA
Mama?
CHILI
He always said he wanted to ‘tuck the little one in’.
But I knew.
MARIA
What did you know?
CHILI
He put his hands on you. His fingers... I could smell
it. I told him, non molestarla! Keep your hands off
of her!
MARIA
Oh god!
CHILI
He wanted me to be on my knees, and to worship him,
as a god. And do you know, I did that, to protect you
from him. Every night. Every day. Yes, he was a
monster, but he was just a man, not a god.
MARIA
Why didn’t you get away?
CHILI
Finally, he told me, he called me ugly. He said the
only pretty one was Emma. And he put his hands on
her. I don’t know if she resisted. I don’t know if
she encouraged him, worshiped him, on her knees. I
don’t know. But I knew when she got pregnant. I had
the experience and saw myself, like her, sick and
tired, and so scared. And I told him, leave her be. I
will worship you.
MARIA
Why, mama?
CHILI
He was there one night, the last night, and I was
dead, inside, and he was on top of me. And I wondered
why the Blessed Virgin wanted me to suffer this way.
But then I knew. I knew that she had watched her own
child be crucified by soldiers, and that this was
beyond even my suffering. But the moment that I
understood, I saw myself being crucified, on a dirty
twin bed by a man who was killing me.
CHILI (CONT’D)
I felt like I was hung on the bridge over the Tiber
River, on the Ponte Fabricius, with my ankles and
wrists cut open, my blood draining away, flowing to
the sea, in the river through Rome. And then, he
died.
MARIA
Daddy?
CHILI
The cold, dead stone he had become, pressed down on
me, squeezing the air out of my thin, bare body. But
I rolled the stone away, pushed him away, and I was
alive, alive again. Do you understand?
MARIA
No, mama. No. I don’t understand.
CHILI
I was free. I was alive. I could wake up in the
sunshine and go to sleep under the moon. On my own
terms, in my own time. Do you see?
MARIA
But what about Emma? What about me?
CHILI
I went to your wedding. You don’t remember? All those
poor country people, shuffling around like mutes. But
it was a pretty day and I was happy for you.
MARIA
You said I was wasting my life.
CHILI
I was right. Look at you. Have you done anything,
worth anything?
MARIA
I can’t believe you.
CHILI
Basta! Enough!
(BRZZZZKK!)
TINA
Wait, what happened? Did she just leave?
MARIA
Yeah, that’s her. Just leave. That’s her.
TINA
Oh, heavens. I’m sorry, Maria. I’m sorry for all
that’s happened to you. I didn’t know this would
happen.
MARIA
It was her though. Just like when she was alive.
TINA
This was terrible. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done
this.
MARIA
No, no. You did right. She just reminded me why I ran
away. I have to unpack it all, and that will take a
while, but I have a clearer picture now.
TINA
OK. Alright.
MARIA
And I have a new way to think about my kids, maybe to
give them what they need. I hope so.
TINA
Me too.
MARIA
OK. So, next time, you know, I’ll set up an
appointment.
TINA
Thanks. See you next time.
END