PLAYGROUND

I began by writing a statement explaining my concept, and how the story will unfold.

What I am picturing is someone waking up, standing on the rings of Saturn. They explore the area. In the end it is revealed that the person in the suit is a little girl, and the events unfolding are resembling her violent home life.

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The girl is 6 years old. When at home, she likes to wander off and imagine that she is floating in space in order to forget about her struggles. She likes to imagine that she is older, and as far away from her current life as possible. The audience is experiencing and learning about her struggles in a vastly different way. They start out watching a mysterious adult sized astronaut wake up laying on the rings of Saturn. The spacesuit is unlike any of the bulky suits seen in the real world. It is form fitting, aside from the face area where the helmets visor is not allowing us to see who this person is.

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They begin to explore, and seemingly enjoy this endless jungle gym that has been presented to them. They play and dance on the rings. They jump off them and begin to float in space. Observing the things that pass them, we notice meteors, stars (miniature stars that can be held in the hand). However, some things that pass by seem to get completely ignored, like a bottle of booze.

The girl continues to play while things like a baseball bat and a belt float around her. We then see very small glimpses of a little girl screaming in fear of her dad threatening her, and that same girl later in the fetal position. Finally, the fun that the astronaut was having has all drifted away. We see the little girl sitting alone. She is in pain and frightened. The astronaut stops floating and walks over to her.

The astronaut then kneels to the girl’s level and reaches their hand out to her, and she takes it. They lead her floating into the stars as they enjoy their space together, and the girl experiences a brief but valuable moment of happiness.