Third and Oak - The Pool Hall

The scene is a rundown pool hall next door to the laundromat; the time, again, is shortly after 3 A.M., Shooter, a successful young black disc jockey, stops by to visit the owner, Willie, a bosom friend of his late father. But their meeting is not easy

Willie brings up memories of the close trio known as "The Three Blind Mice," which was comprised of Shooter senior, himself and another pool shark named George, whose daughter, Sondra, the younger Shooter has married

Recalling their glory days, Willie is resentful of Shooter's success, his philandering, and the gulf which time and circumstance have opened between them. The appearance of a young white girl (Deedee from Third and Oak: The Laundromat) who brings over Shooter's laundry and is obviously smitten by him, only serves to deepen Willie's distrust

But gradually, as Shooter reveals both the tensions and uncertainties of his present life and his compassionate respect for the way in which Willie and the others had dealt with the problems of their own time, the bitterness and antagonism between the two men gives way to a touching and revealing reconciliation in which old quarrels are laid to rest and the gap between generations is bridged

Note: This acting edition also contains an extra scene for Third and Oak: The Laundromat) which can be inserted into the latter when the two plays are presented in tandem. The scene incorporates the character of Shooter into the first play, and motivates the appearance of Deedee in the second

Originally conceived as a companion piece for Third and Oak: The Laundromat) , and so presented by the Actors Theatre of Louisville, the present play centers on a tense confrontation between a successful young black disc jockey and the aging pool hall owner who was one of his late father's closest friends