I'm Rory L. Aronsky, residing in Southern California, working many writing-related jobs including a stint at a local newspaper here in the Santa Clarita Valley writing movie reviews (and also close to a job maintaining their website), but as it is with any restless creative soul, I'm also working on other personal projects.

One of them is a set of monologues that will constitute a full-length stage performance. They all take place late at night and into the early morning and include a blackjack dealer, a slot machine player (I may only choose one since gambling might only be interesting from the perspective of the dealer, but I've mulled over a lot of things while sitting at a slot machine in Vegas for an hour or so), a woman in a bakery making donuts for the crowd that will come in a few hours, and a custodial worker. I thought of a custodial worker in a high-rise office building, but also a custodial worker at a college campus, a custodial worker at an elementary, middle or high school, but am not sure which one, if any of those, would be conducive to the kind of story I'm looking for, and I don't even know what that is yet, but have been writing preliminary lines for the monologue just to figure out where I want to go with this.

I've been doing research on custodial services, the industry itself, but am seeking stories about those who work at night. What do you think about during your work? What do you feel at the end of your night job compared to the beginning (sounds obvious, but feeling is most important)? I'm seeking stories to answer those kinds of questions and am looking for many things. I'm looking for the feeling of night work, I'm looking for insight into method and knowledge, but most of all, I want to get an accurate feeling for this. As I mentioned, I'm not certain right now what this character wants, what he's feeling (or even she, if the stories I might read about pull me that way), but I am certain that I want this character to be a custodial worker at night.

So please, if you have these stories to share, give in to all the details. I'm hoping for that one detail to spark a clear understanding into exactly what story I'm looking to tell through this monologue.

Hi Rory. Most custodians that work at night are for businesses that are open days and p.ms. School custodians usually work during the 3:00 to 11:00. What do janitors think about at night. School janitors think about teachers that don't supervise the children in keeping the room clean. Glitter all over the floor..Ever try to sweep clitter up, spilled chocolate milk and soda especially in the carpet. Popcorn on friday; so much that you've thought of using a leaf blower or Bobcat.. They think about salt in the winter and mud in the spring and sand in the summer. They think about employee rights and benefits. They think about family or what they have left to due in the time remaining. They think about the positive things like crafts, hobbies, hunting and fishing etc. Those that work in large old schools think about the noises they hear. Is it the ghost of the man that was crushed when they were installing the boiler, did an employee come in, did someone break in or is it just the noises of the old building. Or they think about what time it is and how far are they from the next break or they think about what they brought for dinner. Difference in beginning of shift and end it beginning is usually alert and enthusiastic to zombie in the morning. In fact even at the end of a 3-11 shift most crew are tired and physically drained.