1st Draft Script, Episode 1

502 Radio Play
Script by John Beechem
An American Fantastic & Creative Community Production

Episode 1 Scene 1

Intro:  Justin bikes through downtown Louisville.  Sounds of bicycle, street traffic. 

Interior Monologue:  Improv by Maple (30 seconds?).  Reveals a bit of Justin’s personality, and describes what exactly goes through his mind as he’s making his rounds.  All interior monologues and/or thoughts expressed by characters will have an audio effect (echo?) to distinguish these from dialogue.  

Sounds of Justin getting off his bike, walking through the door of a building (perhaps going up an elevator).  

Justin:  I have a delivery for Josh.

Josh:  That’s me.  

 Justin:  That’ll be $8.41. 

Josh:  Here, keep the change.  

Justin:  Thanks, have a good one.  

Josh:  You too. 

Justin walks out of the office.  Cell phone ring, incoming call.  

Justin:  Hey, what’s up, Max?  

Max:  On my break, man.  You wanna meet up today, before Chloe’s thing?

Justin:  Yeah.  When?

Max:  I get off at 5:00.  Meet me 5:15 at the Witch’s Hut in Cherokee.  I’ll be on my bike.  

Justin:  Cool, me too.  Peace. 

Max:  Peace. 

Max [Interior Monologue]:  Improv by John (30 seconds?) as he goes back into the bookstore.  Bell chimes on door as he walks inside.  Ugh, we are so dead right now.  Nobody’s buying books, and the delivery won’t come for another hour.  Guess I’ll bug Chloe.  Sounds of typing on a computer keyboard.  Hey Chloe.  How’s it going?  Bringing Justin to the Brew House tonight for the open mic.  You know what you’re going to read yet?  I don’t really know what I’m going to do—haven’t had any time to write this week; probably have to dig through my journals see if there’s anything worth salvaging.  

Chloe: [Interior Monologue; overlaps Max’s—his fades out]:   Anyway, let me know when you plan on getting there.  Gonna hang out with Justin after work, but we’re both coming tonight.  See you you then, Max.

Co-Worker Sam:  Chloe, you’re 12 o’clock is here.  Ready for me to send her in?

Chloe:   Yes, thank you, Sam.

Sam:  Go right in.  

Chloe:  So pleased to meet you, Jamil.  Take a seat.  Were your parents able to help you fill out the FAFSA forms I gave you?  Excellent, let’s get started.  Fade out. End scene.

Episode 1 Scene 2

Justin and Max riding bikes through the parks.  Sounds of bikes, the park (birds, etc.).  Perhaps some jams laid over top of it.  

Max:  Hey, let’s hang out by the creek for a second.   

Justin:  Alright. 

Max:  Hold on a sec, I’m gonna spark this.  [Beat]  Here you go, man.  Damn, the park is so gorgeous today.  Like, the park is gorgeous every sunny day, but sometimes I forget to look.  You know?

Justin:  Yeah, dude.  

Improv by John and Maple.  Topics discussed:  bullshit at work, Chloe (Max has a crush on her), the Brewhouse, why they can’t just live in the park and dumpster dive then hitch-hike to Mexico every winter when it gets cold.  

Justin:  Dude, what is that in the water?  

Max:  What do you mean?

Justin:  Don’t you see that red stuff?  It’s like rusty orange blood.  

Max:  Oh, that.  Dude, I have no idea.  Looks like it’s coming from that irrigation pipe.  

Justin:  Yeah, but what the hell is it?  That’s not normal.  

Max:  Some Fortune 500 Company is taking a shit in the creek.  See, this is why I don’t trust the government.  Where’s the EPA to stop this?  Probably got paid off by the guys in the Fortune 500 Company, got a cush job waiting for them after the administration’s term is over.  

Justin:  Get over yourself, man.  This isn’t a conspiracy, this is right in front of us.  I’m going to record this.  [Beat] This is Justin at Beargrass Creek in Cherokee Park, Louisville, Kentucky.  We are looking at some strange rust-colored…what do you call this?  An affluence?  Run-off?  Anyway, it’s being pumped into the creek by what looks like an irrigation pipe, but we have no idea where it comes from.  Look at that.  That cannot be good.  Max what do you think that is?  

Max:  I think it’s the tears of a lost generation.  I think it’s 200 gallons of toxic waste being poured down the throat of Mother Nature.  

Justin:  Max is a little rattled looks like.  I don’t know what the hell this is.  If any scientists, any civil engineers, hell anybody has ever seen anything like this or knows what it is, please leave a comment.  Thank you.  [Beat] As soon as I find some wi-fi, I’m putting this on Youtube.  End Scene.

Episode 1 Scene 3

Sounds of a bar, light conversation. 

Max:  Hey, Chloe.   

Justin:  Hey, Chloe.  

Chloe:  Hey, Max. Hey, Justin.  What have you guys been up to?  

Justin:  Funny you should ask that.  Check out what we found in Beargrass Creek when we went to the park today.  

Chloe:  Ew, what the hell is that?

Justin:  We have no idea.  

Max:  I bet it’s coming from some kind of industrial place.  Some kind of nasty waste they’re trying to get rid of.  

Chloe:  Maybe a valve broke.  

Max:  Maybe.  Well what you have you been up to? 

Chloe:  Oh, you know.  Facilitating the next couple decades of student loan debt for our best and brightest. 

Max:  How’s that treating you?  

Chloe:  I have a liberal arts degree.  I’m thankful.   But it’s a crime what those student loan companies make off these kids.  It’s more than credit card debt these days, have you heard?  

Justin:   Not my credit card debt.  

M.C.:  Hello everybody.  Thanks for coming out to the Brew Pub tonight.  We’re just about to start our open mic.  If anybody else would like to sign-up, the sign-up sheet is on the stool in front of me.  Right now, we would like to welcome our good friend, Chloe, who’s going to open things up for us tonight.  Come on up, Chloe!  [Light applause]

Chloe:  Hi, everybody, I wrote this one about …[Jodie reads poem, either one she’s written or one written for her]  End Scene.

Episode 1 Scene 4

Max:  Justin, what’s up, man?  

Justin:  All good, dude.  Hey, I up-loaded that video I took of the creek.  

Max:  Yeah?  Anybody actually watch it?

Justin:  I’m sure somebody has.  I don’t know, let’s check it out.  Justin pulls out laptop, sound of computer chiming on, click of the keyboard.  What the fuck?

Max:  Let me see.  “This video has violated Youtube’s terms of service and been removed.”  They deleted it, man.  Are you sure you uploaded the video of the creek and not one of you wanking it? 

Justin:  Dude, I’m sure.  And I don’t take video of myself wanking it, you’re mom does that for it.  

Max:  Ouch.  Regardless man, somebody must’ve taken this video down.  Why do you think they did that?

Justin:  Who knows, maybe it was an accident.  I’m just gonna upload it again.  [Beat] Hold on a sec.  Where is my video?   

Max:  Did you delete it? 

Justin:  No. 

Max:  Maybe you have a virus.  

Justin:  Maybe.  Let’s get back to the creek.  If it’s still there, I’m going to take another video, and then I’m going to make another back-up.  

Max:  Let’s go.  [End Scene]

Episode 1 Scene 5

Sounds of bicycling.  Sounds of brakes skidding.  

Justin: Woah, what the hell is that?  

Max:  Looks like they’re doing some work.  

Justin:  Yeah, but what kind of work?  Sounds of walking through brush.  Excuse me, sir?  What are y’all doing back here?  

Worker:  You can’t come back here, sir.  This is a work zone.  

Justin:  What’s going on?  

Worker: That’s confidential.  You need to leave.  

Max:  C’mon, Justin.  You’re going to get in trouble.  

Justin:  Yeah, all right.  What are you writing down?

Max:  Nothing.  Let’s go. 

End Scene, End Episode.

Radio Play Outline, ep. 1

I  Establishing Scene-Justin

• Bicycle lunch delivery through a busy downtown (Louisville, KY)
• Sounds of a bicycle, sounds of traffic
• Interior monologue (improv or scripted, glimpses of personality)    
• Delivery complete (very short interaction with customer, could also involve elevator noises, more interior monologue, etc.)
• Phone call to Max

II  Establishing Scene-Max

• "Hey, I'm at work."  "Yeah, me too."  We still meeting up later?"  "Hell yeah."  "Cool. Gotta go."  "Cool, peace."  (etc.; improv or scripted)
• Short interaction with customer (buying a book)
• Sounds of cash register (receipt tearing, drawer closing, clatter of change)
• Interior monologue (improv or scripted, glimpses of personality)
• Writes e-mail to Chloe, sounds of typing, content of e-mail as interior monologue), switches to:

III Establishing Scene-Chloe

• Reading Max's e-mail as interior monologue (fades into overlap with Max's words, Max's words fade-out
• E-mail is invitation to hang out before spoken word event the three (she, Justin and Max) are going to
• Chloe interrupted by co-worker
• "So and so is here to see you."  Chloe begins speaking to incoming student about applying for student loans, fades out to

IV  Justin and Max

• Riding bikes together through park (sounds of bikes, maybe some cool tunes laid over it)
• Justin and Max pull off the trail and lock their bikes up, walk over to the Creek (Beargrass)
• Sounds of running water, birds, etc.
• Justin and Max smoke a joint (could be implied), relaxed conversation, venting about work/relationship bullshit, maybe Max and/or Justin and Chloe have a love-hate thing going on, audience gets their honest opinion of her (improv or scripted)
• Justin notices something weird in the water, some kind of rusty, red run-off flowing through it
• Max makes cynical remarks about a dying planet, corporations taking a dump in the creek, etc.
• Justin takes video on his phone, narrates over top of it

 V  Chloe, Justin and Max

•  Busy coffee shop or bar/lounge (sounds of background conversation, clank of dishes, etc.)
• Conversation between the three about the weird run-off found in the creek
• Justin shows Chloe the video
• The three crack-wise about what it could be, Justin vows to upload it to Youtube
• M.C. announces the beginning of the poetry jam, calls Chloe up for the open mic
• Chloe goes up and reads a poem (original written for/by her)
• As she finishes, the M.C. goes up to thank her ask for another round of applause, etc., fades out to

VI  Justin on Youtube

• Justin's narration from earlier scene filming creek cuts out, Justin speaks directly into webcam 

 VII Justin and Max

• Justin meets up with Max at coffee shop.  Max on his laptop.
• Justin asks Max to pull up Youtube video.   
• Max does, only static comes up 
• Video removed "Violating terms of service?  What the fuck (or bleep, may be funnier for effect)?" 
• Justin tries to pull up video on phone, sees it's been deleted
• Max laughs, teases him gently (witty banter ensues, etc.--scripted or improv)
• Justin convinces Max to go back out to the creek with him, take footage of his own phone, put it on Youtube to see what happens 

 VIII Outro

• Justin and Max go to the creek
• Contaminated area of creek blocked off, signs posted say "private property, construction", etc.
• Obvious cliff-hanger is obvious 

Preliminary Notes

Setting:  In and around present day Louisville, Kentucky.  This will include some workplace scenes, street scenes, outdoor scenes, scenes inside apartment/homes, and a creepy laboratory. 

Premise:  A group of friends stumble upon what they perceive to be an urgent environmental threat, a fork of Beargrass Creek whose waters have been tinged red.  After their report of this phenomenon is ignored by the authorities, they begin their own investigation.  They make an awful discovery:  an enormous fast-food conglomerate based in the city is conducting experiments about new additives to make their foods even more addictive, and have unwittingly created a monster they don’t know how to control.  These friends must make a choice: do they try to find a way to rescue the once-human subject of these experiments, or destroy him along with the rest of what they’ve uncovered?  And if they do rescue him, what next?

Principal Characters (names are placeholders):

Justin:  Delivery cyclist for a local fast food chain, also a musician (guitar, etc.).
Justin is a friendly and upbeat.  He has many friends and acquaintances through his job and his involvement in the local arts scene.  His endless curiosity and love of the outdoors helps initiate the discovery of the creek’s red waters.  Justin also knows a great deal about natural foods and medicine, which is slightly ironic given his day job.  He likes teaching his friends about these ideas, and makes some damn tasty meals and teas as a result.

Max:  Bookseller at an independent bookstore, also a writer.  Max is also an outgoing artistic type, but sometimes wavers in his mood between a tired sadness and an energetic enthusiasm.  Like Justin, he also loves riding his bike, and considers exercise the best cure for his “blues”.  Max is into conspiracy theories, and even though he doesn’t take them completely seriously, he finds them fascinating and is deeply suspicious of corporations and authority in general.  He’s also deeply spiritual.  In his mind, he connects his strange moods with his own spirituality, even though he knows some people might say this makes him crazy.  

Clover:  Clover is a financial aid advisor at the University of Louisville.  She works in a typical office setting, and has to maintain a very professional demeanor throughout the day.  Outside of work, she feels like she can be herself:  a dead-pan wit who is occasionally vulgar.  Clover likes to practice yoga and knows a lot about Buddhism, even though she was raised Catholic.  Sometimes, she’s very vulnerable and has some guilt associated with her job:  even though she knows the importance of education, she feels the loans she helps facilitate are unfair.  She went to the same high school as Justin, and knows Max as a fellow writer.  Clover is a poet.