Written by Joe Janes
12/17/09
333 of 365
CAST
Joe, 30s
Rachel, 20s
Ben, 40s
Bernie, 40s
Hanna, 30s
Alexis, 20s
(Lights up on Joe at the counter of a Starbucks. Rachel is waiting on him. Ben, the manager, is cleaning a counter. Bernie sits at a table with his laptop open. Hanna sits at another table, reading a book. Alexis is at a station adding cream and sugar to her coffee drink.)
RACHEL
Another Grande Earl Grey with one tea bag. Anything else?
JOE (puts two dollars down)
That’ll do it.
RACHEL (gives him change.)
$1.98 Here you go.
JOE
Keep it.
RACHEL
Thanks.
(We see her drop two coins, one at a time, into her tip jar.)
RACHEL (continuing)
Thanks, a lot. Who are these people? They come here every day and spend hours upon hours here.
BEN
So do we.
RACHEL
We get paid for it.
BEN
Barely.
RACHEL
What’s their deal?
(Joe looks around the room and sees the other people all in their own worlds, but checking him out slyly. He finds a chair and sits. He begins to sing.)
JOE
At the Starbucks
At the Starbucks
My life is in flux
At the Starbucks
HANNA
I come here cuz
My house is a mess
And drinking coffee’s
Less than cigarettes
BERNIE
I’m sitting here
Cuz I’m a writer
Staring at nothing
Hope to look brighter
JOE, BERNIE AND HANNA
At the Starbucks
At the Starbucks
My life is in flux
At the Starbucks
RACHEL
Missed an audition
Cuz I had to work
No one will cover
Manager’s a jerk
BEN
I’m working here
Cuz I lost my job
Everyone here thinks
I’m such a knob (Rachel - me, too)
JOE, BERNIE, HANNA, RACHEL AND BEN
At the Starbucks
At the Starbucks
My life is in flux
At the Starbucks
ALEXIS (the Bridge, a little samba-y shift in the music)
I don’t go to bars
I promised my mom
JOE
Starbucks is cheaper
Than Match-dot-com
ALEXIS
Drink so much coffee
Makes me want to dance
JOE
I’m not dancing
I’m peeing my pants
ALL
At the Starbucks
At the Starbucks
Life just plain sucks
At the Starbucks.
(Blackout)
2 comments:
I like this one, but don't see enough comic tension. What if some corporate person from Starbucks came in to say that they are announcing a 45 minute maximum time for free wi-fi, and people have to get a buzzer to wear on their wrist, and when the buzzer buzzes you're out, kind of like a cattle prod?
Maybe it's possible some of the other people sitting thee can be cattle prodded to the wrist as Joe is getting his coffee, and he is not sure he wants to go there anymore? Also, what are all those people in the Starbucks doing? Is one person working on a MLM Internet scheme, another a writer, a salesperson, etc.?
Just ideas, feel free to disregard. Happy holidays!
Dear Santa,
For Christmas I would like a scene:
1) set on a space station
2) with robots and maybe aliens
3) and also hot women
4) and it also has an explosion
5) and maybe some dancing
6) but it makes sense not like that Dada stuff.
I have been a good boy all year.
Please also give my friend Joe Janes whatever he wants for Christmas, too. He has worked really hard this year writing 365 scenes, but none that were on a space station with robots and aliens and hot women and dancing and explosions.
Thanks,
Chris
P.S. Say hi to the little dentist elf from the Rudolph show for me.
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