The show

‘’The Show’’

16:00, Friday, 17th of August

Partly cloudy

10% chance of rain

4 hours until the event starts

A grey Toyota Prius stops at an intersection going East on Seaside Boulevard.

(voice over the radio):

Man voice: … and don’t forget, folks, tonight is the premiere of the show simply titled ‘’The Show’’, where, and I quote the director of the venue, ‘’visitors will be able to experience many interesting collaborations between the best artists currently alive. The aim is to create shock and awe all wrapped up in the most unique experience that the art world can offer.’’

Tonight at 8 o’clock at the old Casino building by the port.

Woman voice: That has to be the most vague description for an event we’ve read on this show. But maybe that fuels the interest of the people that want to attend such an event.

Man voice: I’m sure it’s just good marketing. It’s art, so even the marketing has to be elaborate and why not abstract.

Woman voice: Yeah. I’m sure it’s all part of a statement. Even the building they picked for tonight has to mean something. Wasn’t that old casino abandoned back in the 80s after it was discovered they were doing shady business?

Man voice: I heard, back in the days, that it was haunted.

Both laughing

Woman voice: … well there you go, that’s already half of the appeal of the show tonight.

So remember, The Show, tonight at 8 o’clock at the old, abandoned and possibly haunted Casino on the Seaside Boulevard. Don’t miss it!

Man voice: We’re opening the lines for calls, tell us what you think of the event tonight and tell us all the weird spooky stories you have about the old casino, we all have one.

Both laughing...

The car radio stops as the car is being parked. The producer of the event steps out of the car

and heads into the office carrying a briefcase.

……….

17:30, 2 and a half hours to the show

The producer storms into his office and starts shouting.

Producer: Where is it ?

AP 1: What?

Producer: The notebook. The black notebook. My notebook.

AP 1: How should I know? It's probably underneath that mess.

AP 2: Which one?

AP 1: On the goddamn table.

It looks like we all took a dump on that table. No wonder we cannot find anything.

Producer: I don’t have time for this, find the damn notebook and bring it to me. Fast!

The producer’s phone rings and he steps out of the room.

AP1: Jesus! What is his deal?

AP2: He’s stressed, we all are. Let’s just find the damn notebook.

AP1: What’s in that notebook?

AP2: He has all his little notes, who’s coming, what’s happening, salaries… that sort of stuff. Come on, let’s move!

By the vending machines, containing mystery boxes that can be purchased using only bitcoin, two assistant writers are having a chat.

AW1: Have you seen Bob?

AW2: He’s not coming. He quit.

AW1: He quit?

AW2: Oh yeah. He got really mad after his monologue didn’t get picked.

AW1: … What an aggro move..

AW2: Yeah, I think he left town. He was counting on the paycheck, I think he had some troubles around town, owing money and all that...

AW1: I heard he kind of gambles...

AW2: Me too, but I don’t know details. It’s just what I’ve heard around. I really don’t know much about the guy.

AW1: (wanting to pursue this line of conversation): But I’ve heard-

AW2: And neither do you.

AW1: (pause) Anyway it’s late…

AW2: Right! What’s in these boxes anyway?

AW1: Ah, who knows...

………

2 hours to the show

Outside the venue the assistant director is receiving the carpet for the main entrance from the delivery company.

AD: What is this?

Delivery guy: Your package sir. The carpet you ordered.

AD: But this is red. It’s RED!!

Delivery guy: Yes, for the event, a red carpet.

AD: But we ordered green!! It’s green! It’s an old casino, we ordered green!!

Delivery guy: I’m just the delivery guy, I…

AD: GREEN!!! You understand that?

Delivery guy: I don’t know, sir. Could you sign for the package now?

AD: The hell I will. I’m going to call your company, this is outrageous.

The assistant director walks frustrated back in the building, dialing on the phone. The man from the delivery company follows him with the signing sheet.

……..

1 hour to the event

A line of black, luxurious cars starts to form in front of the main entrance of the venue. Celebrities are walking on the red carpet among crowd cheers and camera clicks. Journalists from both local and international press are gathered along both sides of the entrance forming a human cushion between the fans and the stars on the red carpet.

…….

45 minutes to the event

TV reporter: You could call the gathering of personalities here today as ‘’La creme de la creme”....

An artist is signing autographs in the background when one of the fans asks him a question.

Fan: How can I be a better artist? You are my hero and I would like to know what inspires you.

Artist: Umm… yeah… You know, I got into this business because I was poor and that conditioned my life and how I saw the environment around me. I thought I could express something and make money out of it. And I did. Now I live well and I drink fancy wines… and I eat things that I cannot pronounce and I have organic honey on my kitchen counter and I still feel miserable.

……

30 minutes to the event

In the parking lot, two volunteers from the event are having a cigarette break before the show starts.

1: Do you have a light?

2: Here you go.

1: Thanks, man. I cannot wait for this to be over. I’m so done with this. We work 14 hours for

free. That’s bullshit!

2: I like it here.

1: You serious?!

2: It’s the only thing I have.

1: Uhum!

One takes his phone out of the pocket and starts scrolling with no purpose.

2: You know, sometimes I find a zit on my body and I pop it. I really give it business. I wait for the blood that comes out to thicken and form that crust…

1: … Yeah man, I know what you mean.

2: … I wait religiously until the next day to go back and tear that crust off so another one forms in its place. There is a short moment of enthusiasm when I find a crust the next day and a slight disappointment when it heals. It keeps me going sometimes for weeks because I really don’t know how to deal with this.

1: Cool man, let’s go back, it’s about to start. Let’s get this over with.

…..

15 minutes to the event

In a gas station, near the highway entrance, two men exchange envelopes. One of the neon lights inside the billboard doesnțt work well and keeps flickering, the price of Diesel is 1.41/liter.

….

Inside the main hall, a welcome committee headed by the director of the venue is taking the stage in their pin-point, designer suits, specially tailored for the event. The microphone is on.

Venue Director

“Good evening everybody!

You know, thinking of how this all came to be, it's really hard to pinpoint what's happening. Doing research for a project like this is arduous work, you see and read and write so much that by the end of it you cannot differentiate anymore and you present your work mushed together with your inspirations and you risk not being able to differentiate anymore. Maybe it's true what people say, everything has been done before. It's good to have a base, something you can add to, but I think this moment is unique right now, as all are, the fact that you are here, the fact that I'm giving this speech, this exact group of people, the cosmic odds of this exact same thing happening again are close to none. But we've all tried to recreate moments we loved and we all know how that goes. What I'm trying to say is enjoy whatever is happening now, here, in front of your eyes, see it as it is and then move on with life. Thank you all for being here and thank you for stopping to share this moment with us.

Have a great night.”

Guest: What the fuck was that?

Guest 2: I have no idea, wanna go get some food? I heard there’s good catering.

Guest: Really? I heard they have an open bar.

Guest 2 : I bet they do. We’ll need it. This place is strange.

The opening act is a poet, reading his work in a very broken English. A piano is being played in the background.

Lines converge,

marked randomly

With Xs and Ys.

A time and a place

Something,

to chase

Other than misplaced faith

What do you dream of?

When you really love nothing

Meanwhile…

Brand Manager: Look at that couple that just came out of the bathroom. They're all messed up. You usually go to the bathroom to sort yourself out.

Bodyguard: Sir…?

Brand Manager: Look at his pants!

Bodyguard: …

Brand Manager: Oh come on!! This is exactly what I thought would happen if we install same sex bathrooms in here. We thought we could make a statement and now look at this shit. Newspapers tomorrow are gonna bash us, instead of getting what we're trying to do here, they're just gonna say that people had sex in the bathroom at our show.

You have to stay in front of the bathroom!

Bodyguard: What do you mean?

Brand Manager: You need to stay in front of the bathroom and check what’s happening before it becomes an orgy.

Bodyguard: I can’t do that sir.

Brand Manager: Do it now!

Bodyguard: I can’t check on every single person that comes and goes! That’s crazy!

Brand Manager: Do it!

Bodyguard: I won’t!

Brand Manager: Do it now! It’s an order!

...

Outside on the terrace two guests are sipping their drinks and admiring the sea.

Guest 1: What is it about? I don't get it. And who are these people?

Guest 2 : The artists?

Guest 1: Yeah. I swear to you I never heard of anybody here.

Guest 2 shrugs and takes another sip from the glass.

Guest 1: It feels like a set-up. It feels like we’re being conned.

Guest 2: What do you mean? The event is free. We’re just here to attract the media.

Guest 1: Exactly, I feel like we’re being used. Anyway let’s go inside, it’s getting a bit chilly.

..

An old grandmother falls down the stairs. The band is playing in the main hall. One of the limousine drivers is cutting his nails, carefully leaving his pinky nail long, an old souvenir, a habit he picked up back in the days when he was a truck driver. It’s surprisingly useful as a tool. A waiter drops a tray of entrées trying to chase away a fly that landed confidently on the goat cheese and prosciutto bruschette. The cognac glazed pear that was topping the food construction lands on an 8 year old’s forehead, right between the eyes. Toilet flushes. A huge bearded man flips over one of the vending machines, protesting with his fists clenched. Photographic clicks. The singer of the band gets electrocuted by the microphone. Alarms go off. A panicked crowd heads towards the beach and notices thick smoke coming out of the building. The third floor is engulfed in flames and fireworks are popping in every direction.

The view from the beach is that of a beautiful mess culminating towards its peak.

Hundreds of pairs of lost eyes gaze through the chaos, searching desperately for meaning.

The show’s over.

.

9 AM

Bob is drinking his coffee on the black leather couch in his duplex.

A woman on the TV: … left handed premiere for ‘’The Show’’ last night. Several were injured as the building was ravaged by flames. The Police and the Fire Department are conducting an investigation in order to determine what caused the incident after fire marshals spent more than 3 hours to secure the site.

The controversy surrounding the event continues as files were leaked during the night and are being offered for publishing today by the media conglomerate The Daily Opinion. These files contain confidential information such as artists’ and collaborators’ payment that confirm a strong gap between male and female income, to the disadvantage of the latter. Several female artists have taken to social media already to express their discomfort regarding the pay gap. We are still waiting for a press release from the director of the venue.

Stay tuned as we are running a special today to cover all the news regarding the event, as they unfold…

He counts the money, 20.000 American dollars, and stuffs it in the bag. It’s all there. He drinks his coffee, turns off the TV and makes a call as he heads out.

Bob: What a shit show!

Across town, on a not very different couch the director is also having his coffee when the phone rings. He answers to the voice of one of the board members. The voice is angry.

Board Member: What did you do?

Director: I’m sorry, things got out of control and…

Board Member: Listen! I told you at the beginning, we need someone reliable, someone that can keep their mouth shut. I don’t care how much you pay and who you pay…

Director: … Yes, but…

Board Member: … We don’t care about gender, color, politics or whatever you do there. The only color in this business is the one printed on the money in your pocket, son. But you made a public scandal and we cannot have that. It will reflect poorly on our investors.

Director: … but, sir…..

Board Member: You’re fired! That’s it.

Director: I know...

Board Member: You should go back to your old job, you’re done here.

Click!

On the beach crowds gathered from the early hours of the morning observe the debris and comment on the event as everyone is trying to form their own opinion. Department officials are still working on the site, scavenging whatever is left beneath the ash.

A seagull steals an ice-cream cone from a young girl’s hand and flies towards the sea and away from other seagulls chasing it, and then, drops the ice-cream in the water.

The End