———–<.thom.>———–

THE GREAT WORKS PROJECT
a puppet play in many parts
Season 03, Episode 02

By Thomas Typewriter
(c) 2020

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FADE IN TO BLACK

From the bottom of the screen scrolls up the following text: “03-02”. It moves upwards, pausing a moment in the center of the frame, then continues upward, exiting the frame at the top edge.

FADE OUT

FADE IN

INT. UNROOM NOT.SEVEN IN THE UNDECORATED SPACE
The unroom Not.Seven fades into view. Squares of grey hued carpet sit on the floor, arraigned in expanding rows around a central circular wooden disc. Spindly lights help illuminate the grey-hued space.

THE CAMERA IS SITUATED IN THE UNROOM AT THE POV OF THE OUTER ONE SITTING ON ONE OF THE CARPET SQUARES LOOKING AT THE WOODEN DISC IN FRONT OF HIM OR HER.

The wooden disc appears empty but then unseen lamps turn on. THE TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE slowly materializes in the center of the disk.

TRANSITION FROM THE UNROOM TO MID-STAGE

THE CAMERA PANS IN TOWARDS THE MID-STAGE AREA OF THE TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE. THE CAMERA STOPS PANNING ONCE THE MID-STAGE IS PROPERLY FRAMED.

MID-STAGE: CURTAINS CLOSED.
The pleated curtains of Mid-stage fill the picture frame. The curtains part and the stage lights turn on with the CLICK OF A LIGHT SWITCH CLICKING ON revealing…

MID-STAGE: EXT. PORCH OF THE BEIGE HOUSE, DAYTIME
The Beige House is a large block of a home in a rural setting. The back of the house runs across the stage, brown siding broken by a storm door and a simple window. The storm door opens onto a rail-less wooden deck. A clothesline hangs off the stage-right side. Various BIRDS SING AND CRICKETS CHIRP in the background. THOMAS TEENAGER bursts on stage through the storm door. Gripping his head, he walks off stage stage-right. The curtains close. It soon reopens revealing…

MID-STAGE: EXT. BACK PASTURE, DAYTIME
Tall blades of alfalfa and wildflowers spread across the stage, gently swaying in the soft breeze. The SINGING OF SONGBIRDS AND CHIRPING OF CRICKETS floats louder across the stage. THOMAS TEENAGER enters stage-left. Gripping his head, he stumbles to the center of the stage.

THOMAS TEENAGER
“No. Not now.”

…All sound fades away…

THE RIGHT SPIRITUAL, a glowing right-handed arm reaches down from the top of the stage. It grips Thomas Teenager by the back of the neck. THE LEFT SPIRITUAL, a glowing left-handed arm descends from the top of the stage. It is holding a pitcher filled with liquid light.
Thomas attempts to struggle free, but the Right Spiritual tightens its grip. The Left Spiritual sets down the pitcher of the stage. It then opens the top of Thomas Teenager’s head like a jar. Picking up the pitcher, it pours the glowing liquid into Thomas’ head.

THOMAS TEENAGER
(screams)

THE SCREEN FADES TO WHITE.

TRANSITION FROM MID-STAGE TO HIGH-STAGE

THE CAMERA STARTS TO PAN UPWARD, THROUGH THE WHITE. THE CURTAIN OF CLOUDS EVENTUALLY EMERGES THE HIGHER THE CAMERA PANS. IT KEEPS PANNING UPWARD, MOVING ALONG THE CURTAIN OF CLOUDS, TILL REACHING THE HIGH-STAGE. THE CAMERA STOPS ONCE HIGH-STAGE IS PROPERLY FRAMED.

HIGH-STAGE: CURTAINS CLOSED
The Narrator’s Door opens and out steps Y-MOUSE. He steps forward, and wobbles. He grips the side of the Narrator’s Door to steady himself.

Y-MOUSE
“Ughh. (pauses) Did everything go too bright for you too? Feeling nauseous, Give me a moment.”

Y-Mouse leans over and takes a couple deep breaths.

Y-MOUSE
“Let’s try this again. Is a moment the movement of a clock, bits of now slipping by, or is it something more. A distance of self applied over a landscape oh no…”

Y-Mouse covers his mouth. He jerks. Y-Mouse swiftly exits via the Narrator’s Door. It closes.
The curtains part and the stage lights turn on with the sound of A COMPUTER BOOTING UP revealing…

HIGH-STAGE: INT. THE SPACE EGG
THE INNER-SPACE MAN sits inside the interior of the SPACE EGG. A control panel and view screen sit in front of him. The control panel has a simple LED display in the center. It bears a circle bisected horizontally by a line design motif. The view-screen bears the same design motif. Various shaped hexagonal buttons surround the LED screen on the control panel.
The Inner-Space Man, sporting a long grey beard and long grey hair, is slapping his face. His body is completely mobile, except for his head, which is frozen looking slightly downward at the control panel.

THE INNER-SPACE MAN
“Come on, come on…”

He grips the sides of his head and tries to twist it free.

THE INNER-SPACE MAN
“Why is my head taking longer?”

THE SPACE EGG
(sounding like a slowed down record) “Don’t know. None of this makes sense to me.” (Note that any dialogue the Space Egg speaks also scrolls as text across the LED screen in the center of the control panel.)

THE INNER-SPACE MAN
“Hang tight my ovidian ovoid friend. A little longer and I’ll finish my metamorphosis from frozen dinner to free range chicken ala king. And then it’ll be your turn.”

THE SPACE EGG
(continuing to sound like a slowed down record)”No rush. Not like I am going anywhere.”

The Inner-Space Man continues to rub his head in an effort to lodge it loose from it’s frozen state. As he continues, one of his ears twitches. The stage lights turn off to the sound of A COMPUTER TURNING OFF. The curtains close on High-stage.

TRANSITION FROM HIGH-STAGE TO MID-STAGE

THE CAMERA PANS DOWNWARD FROM HIGH-STAGE. IT FOLLOWS ALONG THE CURTAIN OF CLOUDS, WHICH SLOWLY FADES TO A SCREEN OF ALL WHITE. THIS WILL BE THE REVERSE OF THE EARLIER TRANSITION FROM MID-STAGE TO HIGH-STAGE. ONCE THE SCREEN HAS BECOME ALL WHITE.

MID-STAGE: EXT. BACK PASTURE, DAYTIME

DISSOLVE TO AN EXTREME CS OF THOMAS TEENAGER’S FACE, SPECIFICALLY HIS CLOSED EYES.

The sound of BIRDS SINGING AND CRICKETS CHIRPING slowly returns. Thomas’ eyes blink open.

CUT TO FRAMING SHOT OF MID-STAGE

THOMAS TEENAGER is lying in the middle of the stage, having fallen over into the alfalfa and wildflowers. The RIGHT SPIRITUAL and LEFT SPIRITUAL can be seen retreating from view. Thomas sits up, wiping away stray tears. He sits a moment and listens. Listens to the birds. Listens to the crickets.

THOMAS TEENAGER
(sighs)

Thomas stands. He takes a moment to steady himself and his viewpoint. He watches as BIRDS enter from stage-right and fly across the stage. They dance in the air around him. A smile slowly spreads across his face. The birds exit stage-left. Thomas Teenager follows them leaving stage-right. The stage lights turn off to the sound of A LIGHT SWITCH CLICKING. The Mid-stage curtains close.

FADE OUT