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I checked and the only thread I could find on scriptwriting is this cool Script Frenzy challenge, where you attempt to write a 100 page script during the month of April. However it's not going to be April for a while yet so I thought we could do with another general scripts thread. Leng's OP is extremely thorough so I'm just going to borrow a bunch from it. Leng posted:Getting started Twisted Perspective posted:There are lots of good articles here: http://www.scriptmag.com/ NObodyNOWHERE posted:Oh cool. I didn't realize there was a new screenwriting thread, such as it is. Hope things pick up here again. I'm trying to write more seriously and it would be nice to post about projects and resources here. I just can't bring myself to go to Reddit or wherever the gently caress. I've had luck making connections on New Play Exchange, it automatically alerts you when a script you have is eligble for submission. It's geared more towards traditional theater, but with the pandemic there's a fair number of virtual opportunities too. Here's my profile, if anyone else is on NPX and wants to swap reviews I'm available. For readings, one of my friends holds a biweekly virtual get togethers, if anyone wants to take part let me know and I'll PM you the info. Aside from that, has anyone been writing any kinds of scripts lately? Comic? Podcast? TV/Movie? I've been having a lot of fun doing 10 minute stage comedies, right now I'm working on getting six together to release as an ebook. I'm also starting on the second episode of a sci-fi serial, the central idea is that the culture of all the human-colonized planets is extremely influenced by whatever TV broadcasts happened to be floating by when they were colonized. So of course the first episode features a rockabilly planet. I did just finish the first draft of a 30 minute spoof of harem anime that I'm looking for reviews on. ok OP over. Now you post. PHIZ KALIFA fucked around with this message at 18:46 on Dec 30, 2021 |
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Dec 11, 2021 18:02
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Hey, cool thread. I'll pester people to come post in it. I know we got some screenwriters around here.
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Dec 12, 2021 10:22
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Lists of Lists of Contests Stage Play Contests: American Association of Community Theater's Master List TCK Publishing's List for 2021 Note these have some International opportunities for folks in far-flung foreign parts like "britain" Screen Craft Dot Org's "Stage Play Writing Competition" (this is a list of just one contest) Screenplay Contests: Screencraft Dot Org's Master List Of Open Contests. This site has a list of 14 noteworthy contests I guess there's a 2022 podcast competition too? https://writers.coverfly.com/competitions/view/screencraft-podcast Open to scripts from unproduced podcasts. boston podcast players has a really good list: https://www.bostonpodcastplayers.com/playwritings-opps PHIZ KALIFA fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Dec 13, 2021 |
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Dec 12, 2021 16:05
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Yay, a new scriptwriting thread! Thanks for picking up my dropped ball from the script frenzy thread. I'm full steam on trying to finish my NaNoWriMo novel right now so I don't know when I'll get a chance to come back to writing more shows but I'll be following with interest!
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Dec 14, 2021 04:12
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Sweet. New thread. I've been on a writing screenwriting break for all the usual not-good-enough reasons. I'm itching to get going again though. I'm going to maintain my standing offer to read and provide notes for anyone who cares to ask.
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Dec 14, 2021 04:22
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Leng posted:Yay, a new scriptwriting thread! Thanks for picking up my dropped ball from the script frenzy thread. I'm full steam on trying to finish my NaNoWriMo novel right now so I don't know when I'll get a chance to come back to writing more shows but I'll be following with interest! Good luck with your novel! I'm definitely going to try Script Frenzy this year. NObodyNOWHERE posted:Sweet. New thread. I've been on a writing screenwriting break for all the usual not-good-enough reasons. I'm itching to get going again though. I'm going to maintain my standing offer to read and provide notes for anyone who cares to ask. Honestly now is a fine time to take a break from anything. I haven't met anyone who isn't struggling. Would you be willing to take a look at a 10 minute Zoom comedy? It's an Aliens spoof.
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Dec 14, 2021 17:05
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PHIZ KALIFA posted:Honestly now is a fine time to take a break from anything. I haven't met anyone who isn't struggling. Would you be willing to take a look at a 10 minute Zoom comedy? It's an Aliens spoof. Absolutely. I’ll try to look at it tonight after work. Where do you prefer to get notes? I can post here or shoot you a PM or email.
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Dec 14, 2021 17:29
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NObodyNOWHERE posted:Absolutely. I’ll try to look at it tonight after work. Where do you prefer to get notes? I can post here or shoot you a PM or email. PM is easy! And I'll review something of yours too if you'd like!
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Dec 14, 2021 21:09
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Been enjoying swapping script reads with PK. Had some conversation as well on networking and that's something I wanted to put out to the rest of the thread for more feedback. Networking is one of the hardest parts of this whole thing for me. I don't live in an area where there's a built-in community of screenwriters or filmmakers to hook onto and Reddit and similar places are radioactive to me. That's one of the reasons I'm always hopeful that threads here will get rolling in earnest. I'm curious what other people are doing to connect with talented and like-minded people. Any resources that are helpful?
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Dec 18, 2021 19:25
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NObodyNOWHERE posted:Been enjoying swapping script reads with PK. Had some conversation as well on networking and that's something I wanted to put out to the rest of the thread for more feedback. Networking is one of the hardest parts of this whole thing for me. I don't live in an area where there's a built-in community of screenwriters or filmmakers to hook onto and Reddit and similar places are radioactive to me. That's one of the reasons I'm always hopeful that threads here will get rolling in earnest. I'm curious what other people are doing to connect with talented and like-minded people. Any resources that are helpful? as stupid as this sounds, the reddit screenwriting discord (and subreddit) has produced a pretty solid lead for me already, someone messaged me out of the blue familiar with my stuff already. https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/ and r/producemyscript seem like good places to at least start. Meanwhile, more crypto fanfic, this time South Park flavored: https://www.wattpad.com/1170653356-cartman-the-crypto-baron-the-dawn-of-the-crypto
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Dec 26, 2021 06:46
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It's awesome to have a hub for resources and screenplay chat, thank you PHIZ. My new-years resolution this year is to get back into morning pages, a habit I once had but have sadly let lapse. I need some steam to finish a feature languishing in half-done limbo and writing 2 exercise pages ever morning will help, I know it.
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Dec 26, 2021 19:45
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BoldFrankensteinMir posted:It's awesome to have a hub for resources and screenplay chat, thank you PHIZ. Morning pages? What are those?
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Dec 27, 2021 18:03
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leekster posted:Morning pages? What are those? The first and most important exercise I was taught in play and screenwriting, the first daily warm-up. And it's simple: write X pages first thing in the morning. Every morning of a day you plan to write, start your day by filling two pages, minimum, with anything you want, as long as it's formatted like a screenplay. That's what you're exercising, is the format, and getting your brain into a scene->sequence->element pattern of thinking, understanding dialog swing, etc. Dramatic structure running-in-place. You could do this exercise for any structured writing, poetry, fables, etc, but this one is for stage directions and dialog. Morning pages can be, ideally, you hopping out of bed and getting two pages of the scene you're working on already done, and wow they're done before breakfast, hooray good job superwriter, keep it up. Or, they can be me spitefully banging "I hate writing" on the keyboard over and over with my nose, and then grumbling as I format it into dialog and action lines and there, FINE, there's my 2 STUPID morning pages, *spit* I hate it waaah. Either is acceptable. They're just free exercises, you can delete them immediately or save them as notes and fragments for other projects, never know what scrap will be useful. Either way it helps break up obstinate writer's disease with great reliability, and has helped me crunch through daily page counts I could be happy with myself about in years past. That's what I'm after in 2022, I want to log some hours and add one or two good feature-length scripts to the stack. All it will take is discipline, and exercises should help. As will camaraderie! A happy new year to us all, I look forward to writing with you!
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Dec 27, 2021 22:55
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Morning pages are a big one for me, I tend to get distracted by House Chores the minute I step into the kitchen. I will say, I had a chance to read one of NObodyNOWHERE's scripts over the holiday and it had a fascinating take on time travel, one I hadn't read before. Also, my King of the Hill spoof is the #1 Bitcoin-themed story on Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/295209976-bobby-hill-the-crypto-baron/rankings So that's kind of funny.
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Dec 28, 2021 15:45
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I've been working as a Script Consultant the last six years or so. I think writing every morning is pretty solid advice, but imo, editing regularly is just as important and is something a lot of writers avoid like the plague (which is understandable, because it can suck).
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Dec 30, 2021 10:02
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Chipping in just to confirm to myself as much as anything that I'm actually working on a screenplay and not just loving around. (I mean, I am loving around, but you know what I mean.) Bought the Syd Field Screenwriter's Handbook in a charity shop and working through a chapter a day. It's the first proper attempt at screenwriting I've done in many a year. I suspect that the Syd Field approach is possibly unfashionable now, but having an actual structure to work through is helping me, as I have a tendency to think I know it all already. Might be worth adding Highland 2 to the list of software above. I found it's got just enough features to be useful, but not bogged down like some other applications. The thing that's actually made me stick with it is having notes and script in the same place. Perhaps this is just a Fountain thing, but being able to map out beats and scenes on the page, write them underneath, and then not have the notes in the final document (but still there for you to refer to onscreen) has clicked with me in a way the whole "Index Cards" thing never did. It's Mac only for the moment, but iOS is supposedly on the way.
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Dec 30, 2021 13:46
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Calico Heart posted:I've been working as a Script Consultant the last six years or so. I think writing every morning is pretty solid advice, but imo, editing regularly is just as important and is something a lot of writers avoid like the plague (which is understandable, because it can suck). Hey, question on editing, how do I "remove the jokes that are already in the script" without "adding more jokes"? Strictly theortetically, of course. None of my jokes warrant deletion. HorseHeadBed posted:Might be worth adding Highland 2 to the list of software above. I found it's got just enough features to be useful, but not bogged down like some other applications. The thing that's actually made me stick with it is having notes and script in the same place. Perhaps this is just a Fountain thing, but being able to map out beats and scenes on the page, write them underneath, and then not have the notes in the final document (but still there for you to refer to onscreen) has clicked with me in a way the whole "Index Cards" thing never did. It's Mac only for the moment, but iOS is supposedly on the way. oooo thanks for the tip!
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Dec 30, 2021 17:56
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PHIZ KALIFA posted:Hey, question on editing, how do I "remove the jokes that are already in the script" without "adding more jokes"? Strictly theortetically, of course. None of my jokes warrant deletion. The answer is I would need to read the script in question to get a feel for the tone and style. Sorry, I know that must not be very helpful but that's a fairly specific question and I can't think of a generalised answer I'd ever apply across multiple different scripts. The most general piece of advice I can give you in this scenario is to soldify the tone of the scene in question in your head, along with the voices of the characters, and try to stay true to both in the editing process.
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Dec 31, 2021 15:07
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I Installed the Final Draft 12 demo this morning, thank you OP. And I wrote two nonsensical pages about an alligator-themed donut store. So far so good!
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Jan 1, 2022 21:02
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BoldFrankensteinMir posted:I Installed the Final Draft 12 demo this morning, thank you OP. And I wrote two nonsensical pages about an alligator-themed donut store. So far so good! That was cute and I want the gator to be my friend. Would buy donuts from this store.
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Jan 1, 2022 21:15
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BoldFrankensteinMir posted:I Installed the Final Draft 12 demo this morning, thank you OP. And I wrote two nonsensical pages about an alligator-themed donut store. So far so good! This is adorable and I was really expecting her to end up with like a dozen pickle and boysenberry doughnuts
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Jan 2, 2022 01:50
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This morning's pages turned into a corny horror pulp story with cliche-spewing background characters, hooray. Anything two pages long counts! Does anybody else struggle with which elements to bold in action lines? I know to bold story-specific foley and visual FX, but also major set elements? I'm unclear on the best practices there.
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Jan 2, 2022 22:50
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Nice. These pages are fun. Good stuff. I've never been able to do daily pages, but I think it's really important to do SOMETHING screenwriting related every day to maintain momentum. It's just too easy for me to slip into the easy flow state and lizard brain dopamine hit that I get from video games and stuff. If we're plugging software then I'm going to throw Fade In out there. I started off using Trelby because it was free and easy, but switched to Fade In after I got more serious with my writing. I'm super happy with it. It's very full featured, stable, easy to use, and an extremely reasonable price compared to Final Draft. It's constantly being updated and improved too. I can't really foresee any circumstances where I would switch to something else at this point. BoldFrankensteinMir posted:Does anybody else struggle with which elements to bold in action lines? I know to bold story-specific foley and visual FX, but also major set elements? I'm unclear on the best practices there. This is something I've spent a lot of time thinking about in recent years, but there still aren't any hard and fast answers outside of the standard elements that everybody knows about. I think these days you have more license to do whatever makes sense for your story and improves the read. The trend I've been picking up on in the scripts I read is using caps, underlining, italics and bold printing to emphasize things that help to visualize the shot. The Blade Runner 2049 script is a great example to look at for this. It's packed with passages that use formal elements like that to stay incredibly visual and active. It's verbally dense but still a good and smooth read, which is very hard to pull off.
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Jan 3, 2022 05:41
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Today I felt like writing a monologue about Radio Shack.
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Jan 3, 2022 20:27
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A road trip comedy scene entitled "loving Hell, Tommy" I won't gum up the thread sharing these every day, but I'm really happy with how morning pages are going so far for me so I'm gonna try and do it all year. I'll share especially good ones now and then.
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Jan 4, 2022 20:46
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BoldFrankensteinMir posted:A road trip comedy scene entitled "loving Hell, Tommy"  Seriously, these are fun and whatever keeps things moving a little is totally fine by me. It’s hard to gum up a thread that gets posts only a couple of time a week.
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Jan 5, 2022 16:42
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NObodyNOWHERE posted:
Okay! Today I sent a sitcom family to a mini-golf course This is the kind of scene I can't help but wonder am I stealing any of these jokes and just not realizing it? Several of them could very well be unconsciously copied from actual shows I've watched, but if so it's unintentional. Is there like a Tineye for jokes?
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Jan 5, 2022 20:31
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Since I did a monologue recently, today I thought I'd try a physical comedy scene that's got a bunch of actions.
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Jan 6, 2022 20:30
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This thread came along at just the right time. I'm a writer up in Boston and I've been feeling pretty discouraged lately, what with my wife and I hating the idea of living in LA or NYC. Most of what I've written and had produced so far is scripts for podcast sitcoms (True Tales of the Illuminati, Wizard Seeking Wizard, a few others) and sketch scripts, but I'm starting up with morning pages and trying to get a spec together this year. Is this totally futile without moving? Maybe! But it beats not writing at all by a mile. Edit: I also need to finish writing the pilot for my genetically modified Sasquatch/David Bowie hybrid audio sitcom "Starsquatch." Strange Cares fucked around with this message at 20:52 on Jan 7, 2022 |
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Jan 7, 2022 20:48
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This morning I was in the mood for some peplum (but then, I'm really never not in the mood for peplum).
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Jan 7, 2022 23:48
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BFM I like your morning pages!!Strange Cares posted:This thread came along at just the right time. I'm a writer up in Boston and I've been feeling pretty discouraged lately, what with my wife and I hating the idea of living in LA or NYC. Well hey there Boston Buddy, have you done any work with the Boston Podcast Players? https://www.bostonpodcastplayers.com/ I have some scripts for a sci-fi spoof I started writing at the beginning of the pandemic, I've been thinking of pitching them. If anyone wants a funny read, here's Starship Angelique: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vhMVyc0AS_3uRNlj8iuNc1RvcgNyFEsv/view?usp=sharing Ha ha it's friday and I have assigned you all homework! enjoy
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Jan 8, 2022 01:04
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PHIZ KALIFA posted:BFM I like your morning pages!! I have not worked with them! I basically work as my own production house for Wizard Seeking Wizard and for True Tales we record down at the Bridge Sound and Stage with our cast and hire a sound designer etc etc. I'll have to get in touch with them. I'm kind of loath to let my babies out of my control-freak grip, but it'd be worth it to not have to produce and promote everything myself. I'll take a look at Angelique this weekend, I checked out your notes at the top about the cultures and I enjoy the conceit already.
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Jan 8, 2022 01:59
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Today: something waffle.
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Jan 8, 2022 21:47
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A trip to the superzoo
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Jan 9, 2022 22:21
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Strange Cares posted:I have not worked with them! I basically work as my own production house for Wizard Seeking Wizard and for True Tales we record down at the Bridge Sound and Stage with our cast and hire a sound designer etc etc. I'll have to get in touch with them. I'm kind of loath to let my babies out of my control-freak grip, but it'd be worth it to not have to produce and promote everything myself. Hey I'm reading the transcripts for Wizard Seeking Wizard and this is hilarious, it's such a perfect setup and execution every time. If you end up making more I'd love to be a part of it. Also, somewhat related to True Tales, do you know Worcester has a chain of vegan eateries run by the Supreme Master Ching Hai cult?
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Jan 10, 2022 03:31
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PHIZ KALIFA posted:Hey I'm reading the transcripts for Wizard Seeking Wizard and this is hilarious, it's such a perfect setup and execution every time. If you end up making more I'd love to be a part of it. Also, somewhat related to True Tales, do you know Worcester has a chain of vegan eateries run by the Supreme Master Ching Hai cult? Those places serve good-rear end food, as do the Sai Baba cult eateries. I lived near a Loving Hut in SK and it was a godsend.
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Jan 10, 2022 17:34
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PHIZ KALIFA posted:Hey I'm reading the transcripts for Wizard Seeking Wizard and this is hilarious, it's such a perfect setup and execution every time. If you end up making more I'd love to be a part of it. Also, somewhat related to True Tales, do you know Worcester has a chain of vegan eateries run by the Supreme Master Ching Hai cult? Thanks so much, I have a lot of fun writing those. At some point I'm planning on a second season, but it's a ways off. I use a big open-submission form for new wizard dating ads and then select from those the pitches that seem like the best fit for the show. So I will definitely post that here when the time comes! I did not know about the secret society of eateries, but that is extremely cool and funny. Starship Angelique is good, my favorite part was the second act VR bar hangout session. You should stage it, maybe with The Riot Theater over in Roslindale? They do regular zoom performances of plays, and they're usually looking for content. A sketch about wonderful bon mots
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Jan 10, 2022 20:18
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Today I wrote a western card-game scene, which is probably full of anachronisms, I did not bother to check the timeline between the Spanish American War and player-pianos. Whatever, morning pages!
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Jan 10, 2022 20:45
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Fleta Mcgurn posted:Those places serve good-rear end food, as do the Sai Baba cult eateries. I lived near a Loving Hut in SK and it was a godsend. I forgot to mention, the restaurants all have multiple TVs broadcasting Supreme Master TV, which will frequently feature these extremely elaborate stage plays, full of poetry written by the Supreme Master themself. It's... An experience. Strange Cares posted:I did not know about the secret society of eateries, but that is extremely cool and funny. Thank you! That VR scene predates Facebook's Metaverse hysteria by several months, and now I'm wondering if it feels dated. I sent off an email to Riot, I'll let you know if I hear back! That's exactly the kind of organization I've been looking for this whole nightmare, thank you again! I loved the script, their voices are perfect. I hear them like a hybrid of Julia Lous-Dreyfus in Christmas Vacation and the mom from Schitt's Creek. Just a really great character sketch, I really felt that bit about how much of polite society is just a muzzle on animal lust.
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Jan 11, 2022 06:00
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Today I went to retro space for laughs, inspired by my good friend PHIZ KALIFA and soviet scifi movie night.
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Jan 11, 2022 23:23
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