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Language:
English
Stats:
Published:
2023-09-12
Completed:
2023-09-18
Words:
1,546
Chapters:
6/6
Comments:
56
Kudos:
308
Bookmarks:
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The Unwanted Guest [staged theatrical production]

Summary:

Presenting The Unwanted Guest, a short story by Tamsyn Muir, staged at 1:24 scale.

Notes:

Hello! The NtN short story set fire to my brain something awful, and so here we are.

I present: THE UNWANTED GUEST, staged in 1:24 scale (1 foot = 0.5 inches; 3 inches = 6 feet).

I have transcribed only what I felt was necessary from the short story, altering the text when appropriate to match the scenes as I have chosen to stage them. These descriptions also function as ALT text, though photographs will include additional ALT text to include details I was unable to convey through stage directions.

This work is best enjoyed with the creator's style on, but if you are having difficulty reading the script style formatting, feel free to turn it off.

And now without further adieu....

 

photograph of a scale model theater marquee. Golden side columns frame a purple curtain. On top the words THE UNWANTED GUEST are displayed in fancy type

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: SCENE 1

Summary:

A funeral in an empty room

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

SCENE 1: A FUNERAL IN AN EMPTY ROOM


Seven WOODEN COFFINS, exactly alike, set in a row of six with one at the forefront. The front coffin is open, its contents hidden by a gorgeous arrangement of FLOWERS and WREATHS. The FLOWERS are all in hues of gold and violet, and all are fake.

A TRAY OF MEAT rests on the bottom half of the coffin.

A photograph of a model stage as described above. It is lit with purple lighting, and the angle of the photo leaves the row of coffins in the back mostly obscured by the foremost coffin with its arrangement of flowers. An unobtrusive black door can be seen behind the coffins. Everything is clearly made of paper

 

A queuing mourner steps up to the coffin. This is PALAMEDES SEXTUS, whose MASK is distinguished by being plain, of shattered wood clumsily taped or glued back together. He is wearing what once must have been a smart GREY SUIT of traditional cut, with a matching waistcoat and deep PURPLE TIE. Unfortunately, the suit is completely ruined. Large holes have been ripped in the fabric; one jacket sleeve is hanging off at the elbow; one leg of the trousers ius charred and blackened as if by fire. What material isn't damaged is stained with big brownish patches of dried blood. Palamedes himself does not appear to be damaged in any way.

The corpse sits upright. It's IANTHE TRIDENTARIUS. Her face is covered in BLOODY KISSES.

IANTHE

You're fucked, my lad.

A photograph of a model stage as described above. Ianthe sits up in the coffin, with Palamedes standing off to the right.

Notes:

For this staged adaption, I decided to go for masked characters. This is for a few reasons: 1) I am not very skilled at drawing faces, particularly using traditional mediums on the small scale that this art project required. 2) I wanted to convey the idea that these are not, actually, Palamedes and Ianthe; in keeping with the format of TUG being a stageplay, these are people (or bits of paper, as it were) PLAYING THE ROLES of Ianthe and Palamedes. I thought the Masked look would convey this: Palamedes' mask being obviously the shattered wood, as described in the story, and Ianthe's mask being a plain face covered in bloody kisses. Both will wear their respective masks throughout this production.

I made Palamedes' mask by drawing it, coloring it, and then cutting it up before gluing it on the paper figure, in attempt to create the "shattered and put back together" look described in the story. Ianthe was done simply by praying my fine motor skills wouldn't give up on me while coloring in the lip marks.