Who wrote it? Who knows – but we like it

It’s time again for us to check in with UnSpun Theatre’s WikiPlay Project – “an ongoing work that anyone can read, write, edit or overhaul whenever they like.”

Let’s see what’s happening over at Story thread two and Story thread three:

Story thread two is the absurdist’s playground
A meta-narrative about an audience that’s waiting for a play to start. Long, awkward silences; a series of bizarre interruptions; and the revelation of a second audience make this piece an absurdist’s dream:

“The elderly woman stands, wanders around briefly in a disoriented manner and promptly collapses in an awkward sprawl. Nobody comes to her aid.”

Story thread three – Ada and Costello meet the mummy
A snappy dialogue involving a door-to-door salesman and a big-city girl who seems to resent the small town her mother lives in. Here’s our favourite part so far:

COSTELLO: Thank you. Do you have a habit of inviting strange men into your house?

ADA: (She gives him a look, rolling her eyes) This isn’t my house.

COSTELLO: Oh.

ADA: It’s my mothers’ house. I’m staying here.

COSTELLO: Oh. It’s a nice town.

ADA: It’s a little frightening. I wouldn’t want to walk alone out here.

COSTELLO: No? It’s not like we live in New York City or something, it’s quite safe out there.

ADA: I preferred New York. Felt safer there.

COSTELLO: Really?

ADA: Yes. I could be walking down the street, and meet a crazy person. A rapist or a murderer. In New York City there’d be me, the murderer, and at least a dozen other people. Here, I could be on the busiest street in town, and not see a soul. Except the murderer.

With its three active story threads, weekly WikiPlay Challenge (a writing challenge involving three random elements), and Streams of Conciousness scratchpad, the WikiPlay Project is getting us excited about writing again. Wicked!

Check it out here, and deposit your two cents into this borderless play.