Hobart Hughes
Deep Space Dracula
Extreme close up of an eye from inside a costume. A small circle of light is landing around the eyelid. Some movement can be seen in the reflection of the eye. POV tracking along a paper street . Paper houses paper dust bins paper people. A hand is held up to camera it’s made of maps. Rivers run down the fingers swamps are in the palms contour ridges are on the finger tips. A man covered in tissue paper, that resembles loose skin being blown in the wind, walks in and starts to sing in a sad wispy voice “To Dream The Impossible Dream” .
Sharon (POV/VO)
Everything looks pale and fragile, including me. It looks like the set of a play I’d been in sometime before, but when, I couldn’t quiet say.
We cut to a mid shot of Sharon looking at her hands. She is encased in a full paper suit. In the background two paper figures approach each other cautiously . They stop reach out and oh so delicately shake hands. They immediately look at their hands in a close up we see some small creases. One of the figures shakes his head then pops the crease out of his hand. The singing figure swans his way past and bumps into an old woman. She looks down at her arm and uncreases it, however it already has many creases in it. The singer stops for a moment and uncreases his arm relatively free of other creases. The old woman cackles. The singer starts to sing again and wanders off.
Sharon (VO)
Something’s wrong, I don’t know what but it’s probably going to be allright, as long as I don’t get scared.
As were looking around we start to see worrying trends smoke and moisture coming from the corners of the buildings. A figure wanders in with a large pair of scissors. Some old paper shoes enter frame and we pan up to see the old paper woman. Her costume is made from old encyclopedias and per war newspapers.
Sharon (VO)
I realise, this is a play, I’m acting again. It’s been a long time since I did any acting , Am I going to remember how to do it ; I’m good, at least, I used to be good.
Old Woman
Darmib vog hi jac fokbeed. Duad fok name been dapadaped good.
There is an almighty pause while Sharon looks about. The man with the scissors is cutting out a section of someone’s pocket.
Sharon
Ummm sorry just let me look at my script.
We can hear the noise of an angry audience. She fumbles in a paper brief case she suddenly has. A large book is pulled out. The old woman quickly taps a finger onto Sharon creasing her suit.
Old Woman (angry)
Naf gung hut ob nas. Ob nas dor toorgang yak fooog.
Sharon holds the book and opens it. Every time she turns a page it breaths in and every time she closes it breaths out.
We look at what she is reading and the words are not static on the page, they move about and form pictures. But the longer the page stays open the more grunting sounds the book makes, the page begins to turn blue. When she closes that page there is a heavy pant coming from the book. She opens another page again the book breaths in and objects keep forming. from the text
Sharon VO
The script is very difficult, I’m not at all sure I’m up to performing it . Then I see the name Demitri Golingkoff . Wow, I working with Golingkoff. His scripts have no narrative time, they can include any kind of thought by the actor , they can affect material already written, they have no form as such, they may be in anything, they are ideas which affect other ideas or other written material. Billboards lolly wrappers bus tickets.
Sharon closes the book her body luggage is now very confident. She looks at the old woman.
Old Woman
There was a time when thoughts could do things to me now they are like Star fish moving across the bottom of my life, they dream they are swimming but in fact they crawl.
Sharon is still stumped she looks at her sleeve and reads a little of the printed material which forms her costume. Cut to a close up of the sleeve.
Sharon
Application forms can be obtained from the registration centre ..or …..(Cut back to mid shot) failing that ………from the soft spot between our opinions that place which we have no control over because like starfish we refuse to see the truth .
The Old Woman nods and gives Sharon the thumps up
Old Woman
If the sea were not so cruel then more would survive but as things ….ec’t ec’t
Sharon (VO)
As she spoke it struck me as sad how cruel it all was and how I was sometimes like a crawling thing.
Old Woman
Blag haw dumb dupit sop dauge blechit Ha ha ha ha
The old woman walks off cackling to herself as the singer swans in singing a more cynical version of The Impossible Dream . Cut to inside Sharon,s mask her face close up on camera sweat rolls down her face.
Sharon (VO)
I feel like I’ve made a complete idiot of myself and begin to dread what the audience might be thinking. But where is the audience I don’t remember seeing any .
Cut back to a mid shot . Sharon now notices that there are paper cameras locater all over the place. We cut to Sharon on a screen peering into a camera. We track back and see that she is sitting at a table drinking a coffee watching herself on the screen. The screen cuts to another man
Paper Man
Deep space Draculia cares nothing for your feelings he is alone on Pluto where he can live free of the effects of the sun.
Cut back to Sharon sitting drinking coffee
Sharon
Deep space Draculia ! what’s that got to do with anything that’s really stupid … I was doing better than that.
Voices In The Background
Shut up idiot Deep Space Draculia is a B grade classic. Golingkoff himself plays the part.
Sharon (VO)
Why can’t I work well with people or at least keep quiet.
We cut back to the monitor
Deep Space Draculia
Although I’m not constrained by the debilitating effects of the sun it’s horrendously cold out here in deep space. The blood has frozen in my fangs. Besides which it’s one big suck without the raspberry juice. I can’t work in a vacuum. It’s rocks and rocks and as we all know you can’t t get blood out of a stone.
Sharon is sitting swishing her coffee around in the bottom of her cup when Deep Space Draculia walks in and sits beside her.
Sharon
Oh Mr Golingkoff or can I call you Demetri (he nods) I felt so stupid. I never attract the kind of person I want if I keep behaving like this.
Golingkoff
Yes if you behave weakly then someone can’t think of themselves as being strong in attracting you. So they’ll blame you for making them feel weak by not being strong yourself.
Sharon
That’s very well put, thank you. I really mean it you’ve got quiet a mind
Golingkoff
Your too kind
Sharon
Let me pay for your coffee.
Sharon feels her sides for a purse then feels under her top. Finding nothing she tears it open . There is just more paper underneath. She keeps tearing as more and more layers get revealed. She rips open a final layer and there are these intestines grinding away.
Golingkoff
Wow look at you digest that coffee, you must be in love
Sharon
No I’m fine.
The singer reappears add lifts up the volume of the last part of the song and we fade to black.