a new script: “The Great Works Project: Season Five, Episode Two” by Thomas Typewriter

scripts, The Great Works Project scripts

———–<.thom.>———–

THE GREAT WORKS PROJECT

a puppet play in many parts

Season 05, Episode 02

By Thomas Typewriter

(c) 2023 thomas typewriter

———–<:type:>———–

FADE IN TO BLACK


From the bottom of the screen scrolls up the following text: “05-02”. 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. WRITER’S ROOM. LATE AT NIGHT
Z-MOUSE sits at the end of the table in the Writer’s Room. He leans over his floating cloud chair, head propped on an arm. His other arm is stretched out to the desk attempting to take notes. His writing slows and eventually halts, as his head nods forward.

OPEN INITIALLY IN A SOFT FOCUS MS OF Z-MOUSE AS HE TRIES TO STAY AWAKE.

He attempts to stay awake but sleep’s siren call is too loud.

SHIFT BETWEEN IN-FOCUS AND OUT-OF-FOCUS ON THE SHOT OF Z-MOUSE. AS HE STARTS TO FALL ASLEEP, GO OUT-OF-FOCUS. THEN WHEN HE CATCHES HIMSELF NODDING OFF AND TRIES TO STAY AWAKE PULL BACK INTO FOCUS.

Z-Mouse drops his pencil, pulls in his arm and rests his head down. Soon he is fast asleep.

ZOOM OUT TO A MS OF Z-MOUSE WHILE BRINGING INTO CLEAR FOCUS. THE CAMERA DETACHES FROM Z-MOUSE AND ROTATES TO LOOK AT THE DOOR BEHIND HIM. IT MOVES TOWARDS AND THROUGH THE DOOR.

TRANSITION FROM THE WRITER’S ROOM TO THE ALPHABET STAIRWELL

INT. ALPHABET STAIRWELL. LATE AT NIGHT
A small rectangular landing, the top level of the Alphabet Stairwell opens out to the night. Glass windows line the far left wall and part of the opposing wall. A stairwell flanked by yellow railing sits directly in front of the door to the Writer’s Room. The left, behind and opposite wall are a mixture of concrete and brick. The right wall is a cascade of striation, as if the stairwell was chiselled out of a mountain. The area over the stairwell and Writer’s Room door is brightly illuminated. The area by the natural rock wall is not as brightly lit, instead softly illuminated by one wall sconce. Next to the sconce, a door bearing the letter Y in golden script is built into the rock face.

THE CAMERA MOVES THROUGH THE DOOR AND ONTO THE LANDING. IT LOOKS LEFT AND THEN RIGHT “SPOTTING” THE Y DOOR AT THE OTHER END OF THE LANDING. THE CAMERA GOES THROUGH THIS DOOR.

INT. Y-STAIRS. LATE AT NIGHT
Behind the door we find a small stairwell. Decorated with walls of deep green and deep natural wood tones, the stairwell seems to ascend seven floors. Small windows are placed alternately. At the top of the stairs is a small landing. At the end of the landing is the green door for Y-Apartment. A doormat, with the words “Y Knot” welcomes guests, as does the potted plant in the corner.

THE CAMERA PANS UP THE STAIRS. AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS IT GOES THROUGH THE DOOR AND INTO THE APARTMENT.
TRANSITION FROM THE Y-STAIRS TO THE Y-APARTMENT

INT. Y-APARTMENT. LATE AT NIGHT.
Y-Apartment has a small front entryway, with a small table and small bowl on top for keys and mail. Coat hooks and an umbrella stand sit on the wall near the door. The entryway leads to a large open room. This is the Living Room/Dining Room area. A counter top and floating cabinets divide the two areas from each other. The Living Room area has rattan furniture and nautical themed decorations. The Dining Area has a small stove, fridge, sink and table set to the side. Green and yellow dishes can be seen in the open areas of the floating cabinets. A second hallway, leading to the bedroom and bathroom, branches off from the Living Room area and shares a wall with the entryway. Glass sliding doors flank one side of the Living Room leading to the patio deck. On the opposite wall is a very heavy ornately carved door that seems out of place with the rest of the apartment.

THE CAMERA MOVES THROUGH THE ENTRYWAY INTO THE DINING AREA/LIVING ROOM. IT SCANS THE ROOM AND THEN MOVES TOWARDS THE HEAVY ORNATE DOOR. THE DOOR STARTS TO OPEN AS THE CAMERA APPROACHES. THE CAMERA CONTINUES TO MOVE TOWARDS AND THROUGH THE DOOR BUT IT POINTS INTO THE ROOM, GENERATING A FEELING OF MOVING BACKWARDS.

From under the couch we can see different colored lights blinking.

TRANSITION FROM Y-APARTMENT TO THE HIGH-STAGE OF THE TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE.

THE CAMERA CONTINUES PANNING BACKWARDS AND MOVES OUT OF THE Y-APARTMENT AND OUT THROUGH THE NARRATOR’S DOOR OF THE TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE. THE CAMERA PANS OVER TILL PROPERLY FRAMING HIGH-STAGE.

HIGH-STAGE: CURTAINS CLOSED
The High-Stage Curtains part. The stage lights turn on to the sound of A COMPUTER BOOTING ON revealing…

HIGH-STAGE: INT. ROOM 304 OF THE MEDICALSHIP THE FLUTE
Three Medi-pods sit across the stage. The lights atop their ovid forms blink softly, growing brighter as those interned inside awaken. The stage-right side of the room we see a large wall-size vid-screen. To the stage-left side of the room we can see a large window looking out on the space outside. Lights twinkle in the distance. Lights dance in the distance. Between the stage-left and center Medi-pod stands the bathroom door. Between the center and stage-right Medi-pod stands the entry door to the room. PANACEA FLAUTO stands in the doorway, Med-scanner in hand.

PANACEA FLAUTO
“Morning gentlemen.. How’s everyone feeling today.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Heavy. Weightless. Confused.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
“To be expected. Normal Medi-pod reaction.”

She moves over to the other Medi-pods, knocking gently on each as she rouses each occupant.

PANACEA FLAUTO
“Cedar. Carro. Wakey-wakey.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Are we getting out of these things today.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
(Chuckles) “Heavens no. You’re not even close.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
(groggily) “Where am I.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
“You’re in the hospital.”

CARRO
“Where are we.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“We’re in that hospital ship.”

CARRO
“But what about our ship?”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Why can’t I move?”

Panacea presses a button on her medical device. On each of the Medi-pods, one of the three lights shifts in color from green to pale blue.

PANACEA FLAUTO
“Everyone feeling calmer?”

CARRO, CEDAR WAXWINGS, AND LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Yes.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
“Good. Now if you could follow me, you have an appointment. I’ll answer your questions on the way.”

The Medi-pods roll around the room awkwardly, bumping into each other.

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Watch it.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Sorry.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
“No, just try to imagine walking. The Medi-pod is designed to respond to your thoughts.”

CARRO
“What’s walking? Does it involve legs.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Of course it does.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
(to self) “I can see this is not going to work. Time for plan B.”

Panacea steps to the side of the room and pulls out her scanner. She holds down a button. The three lights atop each of the Medi-pods begin to blink randomly, then they blink three times in unison. The Medi-pods stop moving.

PANACEA FLAUTO
“Gentlemen, since you are having problems, let me help. I’ll guide your Medi-pods to the appointment.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“But I wanted to do it myself.”

Panacea presses a different button on her scanner and one of the three lights atop the Medi-pods turns blue.

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“But, that’s cool that you want to help.”

Panacea presses the wand of her scanner onto the scanner pad, using it as a control stick to direct the Medi-pods. She drives them in a single file line out of the room, following behind the last one. She flips off the room light as she walks out the door. The stage lights turn off as she flips the light switch. The sound of A COMPUTER BOOTING OFF can be heard. The High-stage curtains close.

TRANSITION FROM THE HIGH-STAGE TO THE MID-STAGE

THE CAMERA DETATCHES FROM FRAMING THE HIGH-STAGE. IT PANS DOWNWARD MOVING ACROSS THE CURTAIN OF CLOUDS. DOWN IT GOES AND SOON THE TOPS OF THE MID-STAGE SETS POKE INTO VIEW. THE CAMERA CONTINUES PANNING DOWN UNTIL PROPERLY FRAMING THE MID-STAGE.

MID-STAGE: EXT. MARY MARCHHARE’S LIVING ROOM WINDOW. DAYTIME
The main window for Mary Marchhare’s house sits center stage. A large window with two smaller windows on either side framed by a wide white trim. Through the window we can see MARY MARCHHARE sitting in her living room chair watching daytime television. The background noise of DAYTIME TELEVISION can be heard. She fans herself with a paper hand fan and wipes away a bead of sweat with a crumpled tissue in her other hand. A glass of water sits on the coffee table to her side. She alternates between taking a sip of water and wiping her forehead with the tissue all the while fanning herself. The sound of TIRES ON GRAVEL sings out from off-stage. ALICE, Mary Marchhare’s pet Boston Terrier, jumps at the window barking. Mary notices the dog barking and gets up. She ushers the dog out of view, placing her in a pet crate behind her chair. As she is out of sight, THOMAS TYPEWRITER enters stage-left, walks past the bottom of the window, and exits stage-right. From off-stage we hear A DOORBELL.

MARY MARCHHARE
(off-stage ) “Coming.”

A DOOR OPENS.

MARY MARCHHARE
(off-stage) “Thomas!”

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
(off-stage) “Hi Grandma.”

The stage-lights turn off with the sound of A LIGHT SWITCH CLICKING OFF. The Mid-Stage curtains close.

FADE OUT

a new script: “The Broken Book of Beasties – Book I: A Book by Any Other Cover (part one of three)” by Thomas Typewriter, Primo Operahouse-Typewriter and Secondo Operahouse-Typewriter

The Broken Book of Beasties

———–<.thom.>———–

THE BROKEN BOOK OF BEASTIES

“Book I: A Book by Any Other Cover”

Part One of Three

By Thomas Typewriter and Primo Operahouse-Typewriter & Secondo Operahouse-Typewriter

(c) 2023

———–<:type:>———–

FADE IN

TITLE SEQUENCE
The title “The Broken Book of Beasties” appears far off in the dark screen, written in bright red flowing script. The word Beasties, unlike the rest of the title, is written in a thick slashing font. The title flies towards the camera and past the edge of the frame. The dark screen is filled with a shimmer as the following text appears in white block letters: “Book I: A Book by Any Other Cover”. It fades away in a shimmer. In the absence appears the following test: “Part One.”

PAN DOWN

The dark screen fades to light grey as the “Part One” slides off the top of the screen from the camera panning.

TRANSITION FROM TITLE TO THE OVERLAP

The dark grey shifts in tones changing to dark clouds.

CONTINUE PAN DOWN

EXT. THE OVERLAP HILLS, DAYTIME
A series of forested hills in front of a forested snowcapped mountain slides into view. This is the Overlap Hills, one of the many realms used by the great wizard Orgle. So named because they are areas of multiple different dimensions folded over each other by Orgle’s vast and great magicks until they create a pocket dimension. The Overlap Hills are not as well known as Orgle’s other overlaps such as the Overlap Hotel, the Overlap Waves or the Overlap Trail. Yet, they do contain one of his greatest treasures.
In the distance stands the Trilibris, Orgle’s special library. It appears as three different columns that seem to fuse with each other but also separate creating a kind of hyper-dimensional hourglass shape.

SHIFT TO XLS OF THE TRILIBRIS

CUT TO LS OF THE TRILIBRIS

CUT TO MS OF THE TRILIBRIS

CUT TO CS OF THE TRILIBRIS DOORS

TRANSITION FROM THE OVERLAP HILLS TO THE TRILIBRIS

ENTER THE BUILDING AND MOVE TO THE MAIN ROOM THROUGH A SERIES OF QUICK CUTS AND FADES

INT. THE TRILIBRIS MAIN ROOM, DAYTIME
The Main Room is a teardrop shaped dome. The walls are covered in bookcases with a second story also filled with bookcases. Spiral staircases are scattered around the circumference. The bookcases are designed in a unique way that books are stacked horizontally and vertically giving the impression of the folds in a human brain. The center of the room is a large open space filled with thick tables and chairs. The top of the dome is glass, stained a light blue, allowing natural light to illuminate the space. The bookshelves are illuminated by pendant lights within the rows. Each desk has a bulbous table lamp to illuminate in case the dome is not allowing enough light. Across from the entry way the bookcases stop. A large alcove is built into the wall. A dark wood wall decorated with gold and brass metal in long blocky snaking patterns illuminated by two torches. In the center of the alcove is a podium holding THE CODEXIAN. A very special book, it is separated off from the rest of the main room by golden chains and small golden pedestals. A “Do Not Disturb” sign hangs off the chains.

CUT TO LS OF THE CODEXIAN’S ALCOVE

CUT TO MS OF THE CODEXIAN’S ALCOVE

CUT TO MS OF THE CODEXIAN

The Codexian is a thick book, with covers of a purple stone and thick leather binding. The front cover has a vertical row of three circles made from gold wire on the binding side. The other side is a snaking angular pattern similar to the patterns on the alcove walls. The pattern snakes down to two horizontal lines across the bottom portion of the front cover.

CUT TO CS OF THE CODEXIAN

A TRIUMPHANT MYSTICAL MUSICAL SCORE plays. The score plays a few moments and then it stops with A RECORD NEEDLE SCRATCH.

PAN TO LEFT OF THE CODEXIAN.

A GREY MOUSE crawls up onto the podium. It tentatively approaches the Codexian.

CUT TO MS OF THE GREY MOUSE

The Grey Mouse sniffs along the Codexian, moving to the top corner. It starts to nibble on the edges of the pages.

THE CODEXIAN
“OWWWW!”

CUT TO MS OF THE CODEXIAN

The Round circles on the left of the cover open revealing non-organic golden eyes. The two golden lines along the bottom of the cover move as if lips or a mouth. The Grey Mouse stops chewing.

THE CODEXIAN
“Who did that?”

The Grey Mouse steps away from the Codexian

THE CODEXIAN
“Come on, I know your there. Who is biting me!”

The Codexian’s eyes scan around the room. Ultimately they settle on the Grey Mouse.

THE CODEXIAN
“Oh, hello there. Were you the one chewing on my corners?”

The Grey Mouse blankly looks at the Codexian. It sneezes. A golden shimmer flickers in the air.

THE CODEXIAN
“Bless you.”

The Grey Mouse stands upright and nods at the Codexian.

THE CODEXIAN
(to self) “Well that’s new.” (to the Grey Mouse) “Let’s try this. Maybe what your truly hungry for is a story. If I tell you a story will you stop chewing on me.”

The Grey Mouse nods and then sits down.

THE CODEXIAN
(to self) “Definitely new.” (to the Grey Mouse) “I will need to open up to tell the story, so you may want to adjust your position.”

The Codexian opens and the Grey Mouse moves to the bottom of the podium top. The pages start to move, quickly moving to the middle of the book in a blur.

THE CODEXIAN
“Ahhh, here we go.”

The Codexian is open to a set of pages bordered in golden illumination but the actual area inside the border is blank.

THE CODEXIAN
“The Broken Book of Beasties.”

From somewhere in the Trilibris A CHIMING TONE rings out. The blank page starts to fill with an illustration in a style that is a mix of woodcut block print and midieval illuminated scripts. A vast city fills the page.

TRANSITION FROM THE LIBRARY TO AN ILLUSTRATED STORYBOOK STORY

PAN IN ON ILLUSTRATION TO FILL THE FRAME

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “Once there was a vast city filled with magic, wonder and charm.”

The illustration changes to the city in ruins with a giant burst of light exploding from the center of the city. Prismatic storm clouds fill the sky, raining storms down on the city.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “The city of magic became a city of too much magic, as the Great Rupture ravaged the city. Magic rained down like storms melting what was known and unknown equally.”

The illustration changes to people on hills outside the city fleeing. The city gripped in storms can be seen in the distance.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “Those who were able fled the city. The Great Rupture lasted decades driving one group further and further from the city.”

The illustration changes to a long stretch of landscape. Hills on the right give way to grasslands, then forests, and then mountains to the right. A group of refugees appears in the hill section. Fade to the group in the grasslands section and prismatic storms in the hills. The illustration changes more with a fade to the refugees in the forests The prismatic storms now fills the hill and grassland sections. The illustration shifts again. The refugees are now in the mountains section. The prismatic storm fills the hills, grassland, and forest sections. The illustration changes one last time. The refugees are gone and the prismatic storm fills the entire page. A THUNDER BOLT CRACKS. The Codexian turns the page.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “Past landscapes that ate lives, the refugees found a place of safety, or at least which they hope offered peace.”

The illustration area is filled with many tree branches. Colorful flowers grow along the base of the trees while animals can be seen peeking their faces out of the upper branches. The illustration changes with the trees sliding. They part in the center moving left and right. In the center of the screen sits a valley made from five rivers feeding into a lake in the center. There is a large island in the center of the lake along with a few small islands in sandbars scattered around the lake. The illustration changes again with the sun emerging in the clouds above the valley. Bright sunlight beams across the page. The illustration changes one last time with the illustrations of the refugees moving in from the left and right side of the frame and walking down to the valley. The Codexian turns the page.

THE CODEXIAN
“Having found sanctuary, the people set about building a new home for themselves.”

The illustration is blank but then small illustrations of people enter from the left and right sides. They break off into five groups, with the fifth group in the center made from the remaining few from each group. Each group then disappears into a cloud of construction dust. CONSTRUCTION SOUNDS can be heard. Slowly simple houses emerge from the construction dust. Once a house is finished the construction dust cloud disappears and the group looks at their work. Once all five houses are completed, the people CHEER.

THE CODEXIAN
“And grow they did. It was as if some creative spirit had been unleashed.”

The small people in the illustration then go to the area behind the houses and start constructing again. Rows of houses emerge from the dust. Once a house is finished, each group builds another behind it. Soon the houses recede into the distance. The construction dust finishes and the houses sit. The sun sets and the people go into their homes. The stars come out and then dawn breaks. Small people exit their houses and do daily chores. The sun rises and sets. Everyone goes back to bed. The day/night cycle speeds up to a blur until sixty days have passed. Time returns to its regular speed on the sixtieth day.

The illustration shifts zooming in on a house in the background. A lady leaves at sunrise and walks two houses down to a bakery. She enters the shop and starts baking. Smoke starts to emerge from the bakery’s chimney. As the sun rises to mid-morning, the sign in the window changes from closed to open. The illustration changes to looking in through the window of the bakery. The bakes stands at the counter.

THE CODEXIAN
“And while everyone else was moving forward, one person was stuck looking back. Little did anyone realize she would change the direction of everyone’s life.”

The illustration changes to the baker at the counter. She has a sad far away look in her eyes.

ZOOM IN ON THE BAKER’S FORLORN EXPRESSION

FADE OUT