Birthright Dev Update

Title: Behind the Curtain, part 2

Scene: A large, rectangular room with a low, tiled ceiling. At one end is a long table laden with half empty dishes of snacks and a handful of bite sized membranes filled with an assortment of juices. At the other end of the room is a set of mirrors bordered with lights. They are mounted above another long table covered in cosmetics. Several stools are grouped in front. In the middle of the room is a cluster of chairs and couches interrupted by small tables. The walls are bare with the exception of a light switch, a flat screen video monitor set to white noise, an intercom, and the mirrors.

Characters:

Jack: An actor with a smile that can win over the hardest of hearts. Beloved of interviewers and audience alike after his appearance on an unspecified late night talk show where he performed a satirical piece titled “Method is for Chumps.” His skillset is almost whimsical in its variety and he is rumored to have taken up stage magic lessons.

Tamsin: An actor known for her emotional range and flexibility. She credits her background in comedy for the way she approaches her roles. When not performing, she is highly reclusive, her free time currently devoted to an unnamed personal project.

Felix: An actor whose career began with a stunning portrayal of Beatrice in a stage adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. His recitation of the line “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest” brought a veteran critic to tears.

Time: Their Now.

[It is early evening everywhere excepting the windowless green room lit by fluorescent bulbs. In the green room, it is that time of day when our players gather to rest and rehearse their lines. A muffled bass beat throbs in the background and the tv static flickers, revealing the wavering and distorted image of a newscaster. A chyron beneath the figure reads “Biohybrids and the New Ethics.” The image loses focus and darkens before resolving into static once again.]

[The room is empty of people save for Jack who lies asleep on a couch. On a nearby table is an open notebook, upside down so that only its cover is visible.]

[Jack remains asleep as the door opens slowly, pausing midway as A Ghost peeks inside. Gray eyes study the room intently before they slip inside. Coming to a stop next to the couch, they wait, arms folded.]

[Jack does not stir and the rise and fall of his chest remains slow and regular. A brief smile passes across the ghost’s face and their attention is drawn to the journal.]

[A hiss of breath between their teeth.]

A Ghost: And just what are you up to?

[Tucking a stray red curl behind their ear, the ghost begins to read. They start in a cursory fashion, skipping whole paragraphs and pages until they pause halfway through and stifle a laugh, lingering on the words.] 

[They replace the journal exactly as they found it before slipping out the door, their eyes shining with some great and terrible and delightful knowledge.]

Some time later..

[Tamsin walks in carrying a large bag on one arm. The bag hits the floor with an audible clatter as she stops to adjust a bracelet on her wrist until a section of it glows a soft purple.]

Jack: How was your day?

[Tamsin startles, finally noticing him. He sits upright and awake on the couch, the journal open in his lap while he chews on a pen.]

Tamsin: Well, it was starting to calm down.

[She tries to look angry and fails.]

Tamsin: Never mind that, look what I brought.

[Tamsin’s tone is excited as she grabs the bag and carries it over to Jack. She pulls out wires and pieces of metal and unrecognizable bits that glimmer and tick and beep. At the very bottom of the bag is a small tablet, fully charged.]

Jack: What in the world is this?

[He settles down on the floor across from Tamsin and examines the tablet.]

Tamsin: It’s my sister’s art project.

Jack: And you’re helping her out with it?

Tamsin: It’s actually finished. The audience is supposed to put it together. Part of the experience is participation.

Jack: What does it do, though?

Tamsin: She says it’s a story. I haven’t tried it yet and have no idea what she’s talking about.

[Tamsin holds up a glass bauble filled with a swirling blue gas.]

Tamsin: Since we’re still waiting on our lines, why don’t we put it together this weekend?

Jack: I would but I have my other job and could use the money this month. If I can fit in some courier gigs on top of that, I’ll be set.

Tamsin: Jack, you need to rest. Before you can’t work at all.

[Jack looks away and slides his finger along the tablet screen until a simple melody plays. When he speaks again, his tone is quieter, more thoughtful.]

Jack: I could probably set aside a few hours on Saturday.

[Tamsin beams and the green room door opens again to reveal Felix. He looks more relaxed as he wanders over to perch on the arm of a couch, observing.]

Felix: I have news

[Tamsin almost drops what she is holding and it turns into a clumsy juggling movement that makes Jack snicker while Felix rolls his eyes.]

Felix: Don’t get too excited. I haven’t finished.

[He adjusts his glasses and frowns at the mess of parts on the floor before he continues.]

Felix: The first draft of this latest update is done and the writer has entered the editing process.

[Jack winces while Tamsin groans in frustration. Felix clears his throat.]

Felix: Once that is finished, we’ll begin rehearsals in a new instance using a format called Sugarcube.

Tamsin: Wait, we’re changing formats?

Felix: Yes

Tamsin: But why?

[Felix pauses.]

Felix: The writer was quite vague about it. They were muttering something that sounded a lot like “more surprises.”

[The room is silent as everyone digests this.]

Felix: What are you two doing?

[He gestures at the art project in an awkward segue.]

Jack: Discussing our weekend plans. Are you busy?

Felix: Not— entirely.

Tamsin: Well now you are because this is what we’re going to be doing—

[The lights dim and the curtain falls on the players and their plans. One is left with a sense of arrested time, as if one could lift aside a section of the curtain and spy the players frozen there in the dark, waiting for the curtain call.]