The curtain rises night after night, and over the years the performers have their entrances and exits mapped out for them by an unseen force.
For years the Ingénue has fallen in love with the Leading Man, to the audiences delight. For years he has ended up with her simply because he is supposed to. Isn’t that love?
For years the Bad Guy is given the fate so justly deserved and is booed off the stage, every plot having failed again and again.
For years the Comic Relief delivers jokes with perfect timing, milking every single laugh out of the tired old script and calculating every tiny shift in expression to amuse. Making others laugh while never being able to laugh is a miserable existence, but it has value here.
For years the Outcast can’t seem to find a break, marginalized by fellow castmates and audiences alike. Never quite good enough. Never quite appealing enough. Harboring bitterness against the stars who have life so easy and always seem to get just what they want.
For years the Ensemble Member has waited in the wings, ready in case they are needed to fill a part, hoping to someday have a song of their own soaring to the theater rafters.
For years the Tech Crew has built sets and mapped out elaborate lighting plans, repairing every lose board and replacing every broken prop.
For years the Pit Musician has turned the pages of dozens of volumes of sheet music, providing accompaniment, never standing out above the rest of the orchestra.
None of them deviate from their assigned role and none of them question the lines that they have been given. They do not know why they have been trapped in the old theater. They do not know where the audiences come from, filling the seats every night and never noticing that the players cannot leave even after the curtain falls. The players do not see the hands that pull their strings, and they do not question that they are exactly where they belong.
Until one night
The wind blows north by northwest and they are suddenly aware. Will they remain content to have their parts assigned to them, or will they find the determination to change the script and embark on new, untried paths? Will there be consequences if they throw the script out the window and embark on a quest to find out who they really are? Will they discover who has forced them to do the same two or three actions every night, and will they make their way at long last, out of the theater and into the sun?
Each character should begin as one of the roles defined above, and there should be no duplication of roles. The characters are free to develop away from their prescribed origins, but be warned…failing to act in a manner fitting ones nature carries a cost.
Please note that other than the ingénue and leading man, any character can be any gender. Also please provide in your background a starting prop for your character. This will become useful fairly quickly, so choose wisely. The director is watching you. The prop can be as fantastical as you like. Also, feel free to come up with your own strengths/weaknesses as appropriate to your character. Creative thinking will be greatly encouraged.
Hosted and narrated by:
Juliet (ShakespeareanSoprano)
Started 11/26/14.
Scenes played: 5
License: Community License
