The scene opens with a conversation between the young actor and his friend, the actress Clara. Clara asks the young man if she is hinting at something. The young man replies that he is not hinting at anything, but rather that she is asking him for a date. Clara replies that she does not want to be alone, but that she will look for someone who is kind, mature, and steady. She says that her problem is that she cannot find a man who will understand her and support her in her career. Clara says that she has found a quiet spot in the courtyard where she can work on her lines. She asks the actor if it is true that he has won an award for his performance in the play. The actor says that it is, and Clara is sorry for disturbing him. She then asks the man if he would like to take a picture with her. The man says that he wants to take one with his mother, and she says that happiness came too quickly for her. Clara thanks the man for taking the picture, and then she asks why he is looking at her like that