———–<.thom.>———–

THE GREAT WORKS PROJECT

a puppet play in many parts

Season 01, Episode 09

By Thomas Typewriter

(c) 2020

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FADE IN TO BLACK

Across a dark field the following text scrolls up: 01-08. It scrolls up from the center of the bottom of the frame, ascending vertically until finally exiting the center of the top of the frame.

FADE OUT

FADE IN

INT. UNROOM NOT.SEVEN

POV OF THE OUTER ONE

A wooden disc sits in the center of the unroom. Grey squares of carpet fan out from the wooden disc, much likes seats encircling a stage. The OUTER ONE is sitting on one of the squares looking at THE TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE sitting on the wooden disc. Spindly lamps at the ends of the rows of carpet squares cast a dim light in the unroom, while lamps unseen illuminate the Typewriter Abstract Puppet Stage. The CLICK CLACK OF TYPEWRITER KEYS TYPING signals the next show is about to begin.

TRANSITION FROM THE UNROOM TO THE TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE.

PAN AND ZOOM IN TOWARDS MID-STAGE TILL MID-STAGE FILLS THE FRAME.

MID-STAGE: CURTAINS CLOSED

The curtains part and the stage lights turn on, with the sound of A LIGHT SWITCH CLICKING ON, revealing…

MID-STAGE: INT. THOMAS TYPEWRITER’S APARTMENT’S LIVING ROOM. NIGHT

Four bookcases, filled with books, comic books, graphic novels, DVDs, VHS tapes, artwork, knick-knacks, and CD’s stand around the stage. Assorted houseplants sit in large pots. OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE stands off to one side looking through the objects on one of the book cases.

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
(off-stage) “Sorry about this. Let me wash up and change. It’ll only take me a moment.”

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
(giggling) “No, that’s fine. At least you got some free passes.”

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
(off-stage) “The manager said he’s never seen anything like it.”

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
“I don’t think anyone’s seen anything like that.”

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
(off-stage) “Feel free to look through or read anything while you wait.”

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
“Sure thing. Thanks. You have a lot neat stuff”

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
(off-stage) “Oh, thank you.”

Ophidia pulls out a graphic novel and starts to read.

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
“Did you buy all these?”

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
(off-screen) “I wish. Most of it is stuff my sister didn’t want when she moved. (pause) You good? You need anything before I turn on the shower.”

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
“I’m fine.”

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
(off-stage) “Okay.”

We hear the sound of RUNNING WATER. Ophidia reads her graphic novel, but she keeps stealing glances to off stage-right.

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
(to self) “Come on girl, just do it.”

Ophidia starts to walk stage-right but stops.

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
“But what if he gets mad.”

Ophidia returns back to reading the graphic novel. She steals a few more glances off stage.

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
“I should just do it. He likes talking to me. I like talking to him. It’s no big deal. Right? Right.”

Ophidia exits stage right. Just before leaving the stage, she stops and pivots. Catching her resolve, she turns and finally walks off-stage, exiting stage-right. From off-stage we hear a KNOCK KNOCK on a door.

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
(off-stage) “Hello?”

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
(off-stage) “Can I come in?”

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
(off-stage) “Sure. (Hear the sound of A DOOR OPENING THEN CLOSING.) So what did you think of the movie?”

TRANSITION FROM MID-STAGE TO HIGH-STAGE

THE CAMERA PANS UPWARD. IT MOVES ALONG THE MID-STAGE SETS, OVER THEIR TOPS TO THE CURTAIN OF CLOUDS VISIBLE BEHIND THEM. IT CONTINUES PANNING UPWARD ALONG THE CURTAIN OF CLOUDS TO THE TOP AND THE HIGH-STAGE. THE CAMERA STOPS WHEN PROPERLY FRAMING HIGH-STAGE.

HIGH-STAGE: CURTAINS CLOSED

The High-Stage curtains part and stage lights turn on, with the sound of A COMPUTER BOOTING ON, revealing…

HIGH-STAGE: INT. NUTRI-CORP’S EXECUTIVE OFFICE. DAYTIME

An executive office with a large window, made of four smaller hexagonal windows in a row, across the back of the stage. A vid-screen, made to look like a wall sized vintage television, sits to the stage-left side of the window. A large heavy wooden desk, carved with throne like reliefs, sits on the stage right side of the window. ORSA ARTIO sits at one end of her desk facing the Vid-screen across the room. MANGIANA ARTIO and BEVA ARTIO stand to either side of her. Mangiana is holding a bowl of fruit. Bera holds a pitcher of beer.

MANGIANA ARTIO
“The agency has sent over the new commercial.”

ORSA ARTIO
“Well, let us see how they did.”

Beva leans in and whispers into her pitcher of beer.

BEVA ARTIO
(whisper) “Play Commercial number eighty-one.”

Beva, Mangiana, and Orso all turn to look at the Vid-screen expecting it to start playing the commercial. It does not. A glow forms in the beer and soon the commercial starts playing inside the beer pitcher. The three of them all turn and stare at the pitcher. Beva winces in embarresment and leans in to the pitcher.

BEVA ARTIO
(stern whisper) “You know what I meant. Play it right, your embarressing me.”

The glow in the pitcher fades out. The vid-screen lights up. It starts playing Nutri-Cubs commercial #81.

THE CAMERA PANS INWARD ENTERING THE FRAME OF THE HIGH-STAGE AND PIVOTING TO ZOOM INTO THE VID-SCREEN.

The static of the screen fills the frame, then it switches to black with the following in white letters in the center of the screen:

NUTRI-CUBS COMMERCIAL #81
PERSUASIVE WORD AD AGENCY

FADE OUT

TRANSITION FROM HIGH-STAGE TO NUTRI-CUBS COMMERCIAL #81.

NUTRI-CUBS COMMERCIAL #81.

FADE IN

INT. KITCHEN COUNTER. DAYTIME

A box of Nutri-cubs sits on a counter next to a bowl.

CS OF NUTRI-CUBS BOX AND THE BOWL

In the bowl, asymmetrically arraigned, are the various colors of the large gummy bear like Nutri-cubs: red, yellow, blue, green, and orange.

NARRATION
“Nutri-cubs. Now the vitamin-most food-vitamins. An officially official food of the Sparkfleet.”

CUT TO…

EXT. OUTER SPACE.

Across a field of stars, a spaceship of rotating habitat rings and needle-like spindles flys up and over the camera. It fades into the distance.

CUT TO…

EXT. SPACESHIP.

MS OF A DOOR ON THE SIDE OF THE SPACESHIP.

The door opens, pressure HISSING as the BIGFOOT ASTRONAUT drifts out. He clamps his lifeline onto the hook outside of the door. Using the handholds, he works his way along the side of the spaceship.

CAMERA FOLLOWS THE BIGFOOT ASTRONAUT

He reaches for the eighteenth handhold when it snaps loose. The Bigfoot Astronaut looses his holding and flies away. His lifeline stretches taunt.

INSERT A CS OF HIS LIFELINE PULLING TAUNT THEN SNAPPING.

The Bigfoot Astronaut tumbles out into space. He struggles but comes to realizes that he is almost certainly his death. In surrender to the situation, he pulls out a box of Nutri-cubs.

NARRATOR
(narration) “Don’t be the one who let a bad situation turn worse without having the proper nutrients. Nutri-cubs.”

TRANSITION FROM NUTRI-CUBS COMMERCIAL #18 TO THE HIGH-STAGE

HIGH-STAGE: INT. NUTRI-CORP’S EXECUTIVE OFFICE, DAYTIME

PAN OUT FROM THE VID-SCREEN TO A PROPER FRAMING OF HIGH-STAGE

ORSA props her fuzzy-bear slippered feet up on the desk and looks at Mangiana.

ORSA ARTIO
“That was horrible.”

BEVA ARTIO
“And they still haven’t found the astronaut.”

ORSA ARTIO
“Wait, that was real?”

Beva and Mangiana nod yes.

ORSA ARTIO
“Find us a new ad agency. And get me Musica on the phone.”

The curtain closes then reopens revealing…

HIGH-STAGE: INT. THE CARRO COMMISSARY, AFTERNOON

A row of Nutri-cub vending machines line the back of the Commissary, while two tables sit to the side. LUCIDO OBSIDIAN is sitting at one of the tables eating his meal of Nutri-cubs. He currently strums his guitar instead of eating. CEDAR WAXWINGS enters from stage-left. Lucido sees him and waves. Cedar waves back before grabbing a tray from the tray holder to the side of the the vending machines. He walks over to the second machine and presses the dispense button. Five Nutri-cubs come out: Red, Yellow, Blue, Green and Black. He looks at the black Nutri-Cub.

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Do Nutri-cubs ever go bad?”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“No. Why?”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Cause I just got a black one.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Gross. I wouldn’t eat that if I were you.”

Cedar picks it up and throws it away. He then walks over and sits down next to Lucido.

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Hey, you’ve still got your guitar.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Yeah. Maybe I’m being silly, but I don’t want to let it go. I spent so much time without it, I don’t want to loose it again.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Me too, but with the drums. When we were playing it was like…I had been seeing the world out of focus for so long I started to believe that was how it was suppose to be. Then when I saw the drums, when we played, I found my glasses.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Exactly. That’s what I’m feeling right now.”

Cedar eats a Nutri-cub.

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Why are we here Lucido? Not existentially, but more in a how did we forget music.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Maybe what we thought it was supposed to be was something it wasn’t.”

Cedar nods in understanding.

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“I thought music would be what I did everyday and people would pay me for doing it.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Yeah me too. That sure didn’t happen.” (gestures to the room around them)

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Nope.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Maybe music is something else, or at least maybe we should approach it as if it is something else.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“What do you mean?”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Like if we make music to be paid, as we used to believe, then we’re not really making art are we. Maybe we’re actually only making the trade, the exchange.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Yeah, I can see what your saying. Yesterday we played just to play. It was fun but, and correct me if you felt different, it was also deep. Something inside me shifted.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Me too.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“So maybe you’re onto something. Maybe music will not be our jobs. We’ll take the exchange, the commodifing, out of it.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Right, like we’ll work other jobs…”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Like this one.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Exactly, we’ll still work other jobs but we’ll play. We’ll choose to view the the role of music in our lives not to make us rich on the outside but rich on the inside. To make us feel something. To make the listener feel something. To take what’s deep inside and allow it to step outside.”

Lucido Obsidian nods in agreement. A red light glows by the door.

CARRO
(over speakers) “Lucido, Cedar, could you two come up to the observation deck. We might have a situation.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“We’ll be right there.”

They get up and throw away their trash, placing the trays in a slot behind the vending machines.

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“You think Carro would want to join our band?”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“I don’t know. Maybe.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“I hope so.”

They exit through the doors. The stage-lights turn off with the sound of a COMPUTER TURNING OFF. The High-stage curtains close.

TRANSITION FROM THE HIGH-STAGE TO THE MID-STAGE.

THE CAMERA PANS DOWNWARD FROM THE HIGH-STAGE. IT TRAVELS DOWN OVER THE CURTAIN OF CLOUDS, OVER THE TOPS OF MID-STAGE SETS, FINALLY SETTLING WHEN FRAMING MID-STAGE.

MID-STAGE: INT. THOMAS TYPEWRITER’S APARTMENT’S KITCHEN. NIGHT

A stove, sink, countertops, and cabinets rung along the back of the stage. A refrigerator sits to the stage-right of the countertop. A small round table sits to the stage-left. THOMAS TYPEWRITER is at the counter pouring some hot water from a tea kettle into two glasses. OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE is sitting at the table watching him.

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
“Would you like any honey in your tea.”

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
“Yes please.”

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
“Lemon?”

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
“No. No, thank you I mean. Do you have any limes.”

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
“No, sorry.”

OPHIDIA OPERAHOUSE
“It’s okay.”

Thomas adds the honey then walks over to the table. He sets down the glasses of tea. One next to Ophidia and the other opposite her. He sits down and reaches out his hand to hold hers. She smiles back. She blows on her tea, and takes a sip. Thomas does the same. They sit at that small table enjoying each other, enjoying the moment, as the Mid-stage curtains close.

FADE OUT