Below we present the complete text of Jail Cells and Graveyards; episode 1 of The Reanimator’s Revenge.
THE REANIMATOR’S REVENGE
EPISODE #1 – JAIL CELLS AND GRAVEYARDS
by Philip Craig Robotham
Cover Illustration by Miyukiko
Edited by Margaret Wilkins
Copyright 2013 Philip Craig Robotham
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Edition.
This play is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) International license. This play may not be commercially reproduced, performed, or sold. Non-commercial production, performance, and reproduction are allowed under this license so long as attribution is maintained. No derivative content or use is allowed. It can be freely shared in its current form (without change) under this license. If you would like to purchase one or more copies of this work (for your own personal non-commercial use, or to help financially support the author) then please return to https://weirdworldstudios.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Other works by this author can be found at the author’s website: https://weirdworldstudios.com or through select, online book retailers.
Serial #4: The Reanimator’s Revenge
When visiting the Star City Penitentiary Trent Stone and Tess Carter encounter an old gypsy woman who warns them that the city is facing imminent destruction. An investigation of her claims leads the pair to the City Cemetery where they are attacked by shambling reanimated corpses bent on tearing the city apart. Before long large sections of the population are succumbing to a mysterious sleeping sickness, martial law has been declared, and the dead are tearing the city apart building by building. Trent and Tess must race against time to introduce an antidote into the city’s water supply and face down the villain before the city is completely destroyed. Will they be able to uncover the secret behind the undead plague and bring it to an end? Tune in to “The Reanimator’s Revenge” and cheer as the conflict between Trent, Tess, and their arch-nemesis reaches its thrilling conclusion.
Episodes in the Host Your Own “Old Time Radio Drama” series are designed to provide a fun dinner party experience for 6–8 participants. Read along, taking on the role of one or more of the characters in the story, and listen as the exciting drama unfolds. This is the theater of the mind, where the special effects are only limited by your imagination, and your participation will build a memory that you’ll treasure for years to come.
THE REANIMATOR’S REVENGE
CAST LIST
NARRATOR: The Narrator
TRENT STONE: Our hero and adventurer
TERESA CARTER: Our heroine and reporter
TONY WELLS: Detective
SOFIE MALEFICENT: Mystic reader of portents
CATHERINE FILMORE: Chemist
MELANIE WILKES: Lab Assistant
TODD MORLEY: Lab Assistant
ANGELA WALSH: Lab Assistant
TERRY MARKS: Lab Assistant
GUARD 1: Prison Guard
GUARD 2: Prison Guard
CLAIRE DOMINGUEZ: Newlywed
FELICIO DOMINGUEZ: Newlywed
SFX: SFX operator (1 required)
ACT 1
SCENE 1: INT. DINING ROOM OF THE REGENCY HOTEL — BREAKFAST TIME (NARRATOR, TERESA, FELICIO, CLAIRE, TRENT, WELLS)
1. MUSIC: [92] OPENING THEME — LET IT FINISH
2. SOUND: [1] WALLA — GENERAL SOUNDS OF PEOPLE BREAKFASTING, CUTLERY, AND CROCKERY, ETC. — ESTABLISH AND UNDER
3. NARRATOR: A quiet morning in April, and Trent Stone and Tess Carter are enjoying a light breakfast at the hotel with friends.
4. TRENT, CLAIRE, AND FELICIO: (TOGETHER AND INCREASINGLY EXCITED) Five… Four… Three… Two… (DISAPPOINTED) Oh!
5. SOUND: [19] SOUND OF JANGLING HANDCUFFS BEING DROPPED ON TABLE
6. TERESA: Done! Told you. I got out of those cuffs in under 30 seconds! That’s a buck each please. Trent, Claire, Felicio?
7. FELICIO: (GOOD-NATURED) Okay, Senorita. You beat us.
8. CLAIRE: Yes. I thought with Trent betting against you, it was a sure thing.
9. TERESA: Yeah, well… (AHEM). Here’s your cut, Trent. One fifty each right.
10. TRENT: (FULL OF HUMOR) Thank you.
11. CLAIRE: Did we just get hustled? That’s the last time I let you two save my life!!
12. TRENT: Consider it a life-lesson, kid. Trust no one. (BEAT) To make it up to you, we’ll pay for breakfast.
13. FELICIO: (LAUGHING) Si, Senor. With our money!
14. CLAIRE: (LAUGHING) Wiser but poorer, huh? (BEAT) Anyway, it’s good to see you. We just wanted to thank you once more before we left on our honeymoon!
15. FELICIO: Yes, you saved my life and cleared Claire’s name. We couldn’t just leave without saying goodbye and thanking you once more.
16. TERESA: Don’t sweat it, kids. We’re glad we could help. And besides, Claire’s testimony regarding the Technomaster’s operation has helped the police roll up large sections of his organization.
17. TRENT: That’s right. In some ways it should be us who’re grateful.
18. FELICIO: Well, I hate to break this short, but we do have a train to catch so we need to get going.
19. TRENT: Good luck, Felicio, you and Claire deserve all the best… You don’t happen to be finished with that paper you’re carrying, do you?
20. FELICIO: No problem, Senor Stone, and thanks again.
21. SOUND: [101] RUSTLE OF NEWSPAPER BEING EXCHANGED — LET IF FINISH
22. CLAIRE: Goodbye.
23. TERESA: Yes, all the best.
24. SOUND: [20] FELICIO AND CLAIRE EXIT — LET IT FINISH
25. TERESA: Damn it, Trent, I wish you’d leave the papers alone!
26. TRENT: Come on, Tess, you know it’s the only way to keep tabs on what’s happening in the city. The authorities distrust us. The gangs are either trying to kill us or recruit us, and we’ve been back in Star City for weeks without a single lead on the Technomaster.
27. TERESA: Maybe he died trying to get back through the portal after all.
28. TRENT: You know as well as I do that’s not the case. You were with me when I contacted the League after our trip to Peru. Miriam’s sister is still seeing visions of disaster. The museum had a small localized fire in the place where it stores the pair to that obelisk the Technomaster used as a portal in Peru. He definitely came through.
29. TERESA: (GIVING IN) Yeah, I know. If he came through the portal and burned to death, we’d have found a body.
30. TRENT: Exactly. He’s here somewhere. Lying low. Plotting and planning his next move. And we haven’t a thing to go on to help us anticipate what that next move might be.
31. TERESA: Okay. Okay. But that’s not what’s bugging you this morning. Is it Tegan again?
32. TRENT: (SIGHS RESIGNEDLY) Yes. She’s calling for an inquest into Martin’s death… and the Police Commissioner is giving her public support.
33. TERESA: Trent, Martin’s death wasn’t your fault. You know that. He was your friend. Deep down she knows it too.
34. TRENT: Tess, she’s calling for my arrest.
35. WELLS: Yeah, but they have my statement regarding what happened down in the sewers. It’d never come to trial.
36. TERESA: Detective Wells! I didn’t see you come in!
37. WELLS: Sometimes you two are pretty casual about personal security. I’d have thought that with two separate mob contracts out on your lives you’d be more careful about sitting with your backs to the doors in a public place.
38. TRENT: Actually, I was watching you approach in the mirror above the counter over there.
If, as you say, you’re not here to arrest me for Martin’s murder, then what gets you down here so early in the morning?
39. WELLS: Well, I can’t promise that the Chief won’t have me down here to arrest you one of these days — he’s determined to find an excuse to prosecute you for something and I’m betting he’s hoping the inquest will bring something to light — but I’m here on different business this morning.
40. TERESA: Oh yes? And what would that be?
41. WELLS: I’d like you to accompany me to the city watch-house.
42. TERESA: Is this some kind of joke? I thought you said you weren’t here to arrest us.
43. WELLS: I’m not. It’s one of the prisoners. She’s requested “an audience with Trent Stone and Teresa Carter.” I’m here to bring you to her.
44. TERESA: Isn’t this a little beneath your pay grade, Detective?
45. WELLS: What can I say? The Chief’s still mad at me for bringing you in on that alligator business over at the Pendleton Gallery. He’s had me running errands for the better part of two months.
46. TRENT: I’m sorry to hear that. It seems like everyone is paying for Martin’s death except the one responsible for it.
47. WELLS: (SHRUGGING) The Chief’ll get over it… and so will I.
48. TRENT: Oh? I take it you’ve changed your mind about us partnering up with the Cordovas.
49. WELLS: Yeah. Sorry about getting up on my hind legs over that. You’ve got to admit though, it looked pretty screwy, you two birds getting a cozy little note from Caesar Cordova like that.
50. TERESA: Well, if you’d hung around for a minute we could’ve explained it to you.
51. WELLS: (EMBARRASSED) Yeah, well. At the time it seemed to make a certain kind of sense. With two gangs after you already, forging an alliance with the other one might have afforded you some protection.
52. TERESA: We can look after ourselves pretty well, you know? And besides, once Cordova had his hooks in us, whatever the reason, we’d have been hooked for life. Kind of a bonehead play when you think about it.
53. WELLS: What do you want from me? I’ve said sorry once already.
54. TRENT: Yeah. Yeah. Forget about it. I already have.
Who wants to see us over at the watch-house?
55. WELLS: To tell you the truth I can’t rightly say. We haven’t figured her real identity out yet. She calls herself “Madame Sofia Maleficent.” She’s some kind of charlatan fortune teller. The Mayor’s got it in for her — I think he caught her giving his wife a consultation. There have been rumors forever that the Mayor’s wife is into Ouija boards and all that hoodoo. He’s been trying to keep it under wraps for years and he doesn’t want the papers getting a-hold of it.
56. TERESA: You know you’re talking to a reporter, right?
57. WELLS: (CONFIDENTLY) Am I on the record now, Miss Carter?
58. TERESA: (SMILING DESPITE HERSELF) No, I guess not.
59. WELLS: I didn’t think so.
60. TRENT: And why are we being dragged into this?
61. WELLS: Like I said, the Chief doesn’t like you very much. I think the thought of wasting your time is one of the things that keep him warm at night… besides, she’s refusing to cooperate with us boys in blue until she’s talked to you first.
62. TRENT: I’ll bet Doogan didn’t want you to let on regarding that. How do you know we won’t try and milk the situation to our benefit?
63. WELLS: (YAWNS) I figure Maleficent would have told you anyway so I don’t really think I’ve given anything away. You ready to come along quietly now?
64. TERESA: (LAUGHING AND USING A MOCK CRIMINAL VOICE) Sure, Copper. You got us. Slap on the bracelets and take us downtown.
65. MUSIC: [85] (BRIDGE) NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER — LET IT FINISH
SCENE 2: EXT. STAR CITY CORRECTIONAL CENTER (TERESA, WELLS, TRENT)
66. SOUND: [2] WALLA — TRAFFIC NOISES, PASSING CARS, ETC. — ESTABLISH AND UNDER
67. SOUND: [21] CAR PULLS UP; DOORS OPEN AND CLOSE — LET IT FINISH
68. TERESA: Not the most inviting place, is it?
69. WELLS: It’s a prison, not a five-star hotel.
70. TERESA: That’s not what I mean. (BEAT) Every piece of empty land in the city’s been covered in tents and shanties etc. by the homeless.
71. WELLS: Yeah, so?
72. TERESA: So, why’s that block next door to the prison empty? It’s right in the heart of the city.
73. WELLS: Oh, so you noticed that? That block’s been empty since before my grandpa was a kid. The city’s made lots of plans for it — I think it was going to be a park at one point — but nothing ever comes of it. I guess the homeless think it’s too close to the prison for comfort.
74. TRENT: In my experience, the homeless have never been too picky.
75. WELLS: Yeah? Well, that’s not today’s mystery. We need to get inside. Come on. I’ll get us buzzed through.
76. MUSIC: [85] (BRIDGE) NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER — LET IT FINISH
SCENE 3: INT. STAR CITY CORRECTIONAL CENTER (GUARD, WELLS, TRENT, TERESA, SOFIA)
77. SOUND: [22] CLANG OF PRISON BARS CLOSING — LET IT FINISH
78. GUARD: Please leave any loose items in the boxes provided — keys, pens, etc.
79. TRENT: Will you be joining us for the interview, Detective?
80. WELLS: No, for that they’ll have a junior man on hand. The Chief has got me running some other pointless errands today, so this is where I leave you.
81. TERESA: And I’m guessing you’re leaving us without transport back too?
82. WELLS: Like I said, these are the things that keep the Commissioner warm at night.
83. TRENT: Alright. Thanks for the lift, Detective. I’m sure we’ll see you again some time.
84. WELLS: No doubt.
85. SOUND: [23] SOUND OF WELLS DEPARTING (ECHOING MALE FEET ON CONCRETE) — FADE OUT
86. GUARD: If you’re ready, please step through here.
87. SOUND: [24] SCREECH OF DOOR TO INTERVIEW ROOM OPENING — LET IT FINISH
88. GUARD: (SHOUTING) Prisoner number Two Four Six Zero One, step to the center of the room.
89. SOUND: [25] SHUFFLING FEET AND DRAGGING CHAINS — ESTABLISH AND FINISH UNDER
90. TERESA: Chains? Really? She could pass for someone’s kindly old grandmother.
91. GUARD: Don’t let her looks fool you. She put one patrolman in hospital and tried to bite the ear off one of the guards when she was brought in.
92. SOFIA: (IN A QUAVERING, INSANE VOICE FULL OF REPROACH) I was hungry. No one offered me anything to eat.
93. GUARD: (DISGUSTED) She’s all yours. (MUTTERING) Why do I get all the crazies?
94. SOUND: [23] FOOTSTEPS OF GUARD DEPARTING AND DOOR CLANGING SHUT — LET IT FINISH
95. SOFIA: (BEAT) Oh, you must be my lovely heroes. I’m sorry I can’t see you very well. They took my glasses away when I tried to stab one of them in the eye with them.
96. TERESA: I see. Would you care to sit down…er…?
97. SOFIA: You may call me Madame Sofia. And yes, thank you. These old bones do get weary these days.
98. TRENT: I take it you’re some kind of fortune teller?
99. SOFIA: Among other things… though I’m sure the police have other names for what I do.
100. TERESA: Yes, like charlatan for one!
101. SOFIA: Ah, a skeptic. Don’t worry, my dear. I’ve spent my whole life facing down skeptics far worse than you. Besides, you’re only half-hearted. You’ve seen things.
102. TERESA: Don’t try to talk as if you know anything about me. I know what cold reading is. You’ll get nowhere fast.
103. TRENT: As fascinating as this discussion is, I believe you actually asked to see us for some reason?
104. SOFIA: Yes, I did. I’d like you to save the city if possible.
105. TRENT: I’m sorry?
106. SOFIA: You heard right, young man. I want you to save the city.
107. TERESA: Now look, lady!…
108. SOFIA: Oh, stop it! The two of you have been hoping for a lead on the Technomaster for weeks. Well, his plan goes into action tonight and, if you’re going to have any chance of stopping him at all, you’re going to need my help.
109. TRENT: Putting aside how you think you know all this, what help do you think you can give us? It’s not like we can do anything to get you out of here.
110. SOFIA: Ha! You think I want to be outside. As of midnight tonight, this will be the safest place to be in the entire city. I wanted to be locked up.
111. TERESA: You’re crazy. Who’d want to spend any time in here… and besides the guards said they brought you in struggling and assaulting a police officer. It doesn’t sound to me like arrest was part of your brilliant plan.
112. SOFIA: (IMPATIENTLY) That was just to make sure they put me in the secure wing.
113. TRENT: So, if you don’t want us to try to get you released, what do you want?
114. SOFIA: I want you to go to the Star City Cemetery. I want you to take a tin of gasoline with you and some matches. I want you to wait inside at the north-western-most grave site. At exactly one a.m. you will encounter something that will put you on the path to a final confrontation with your enemy.
115. TERESA: Trent, this is nonsense!
116. TRENT: I’m inclined to agree, Tess. (BEAT) Madame Sofia, is there anything you can do to convince us we should believe anything you’ve told us to be true.
117. SOFIA: (WEARILY) Alright. (HUMS FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN SPEAKING RAPIDLY) In just a moment the guard will come through the door and apologize that he is late in coming to get you because of a mix-up with the boxes in which your possessions were placed when you first entered the prison. He’ll explain that the boxes were accidentally collected by the Evidence Group but that he has retrieved them before any lasting damage was done. What he won’t tell you is that he pilfered five dollars from your wallet while no one was looking.
118. SOUND: [24] SHRIEK OF SQUEAKY METAL DOOR OPENING — LET IT FINISH
119. GUARD #2: Sorry to keep you folks waiting. Your belongings got mixed up with the evidence collection. I’ve just been getting it all sorted. Did you get everything you need?
120. SOFIA: (INTERRUPTING) Be sure to come back here before nine tomorrow morning. I will have more news for you from beyond.
121. GUARD #2: Save it, sister. We don’t need any more of that crazy fortune-telling hoodoo.
122. TRENT: Yes, I think we’ve heard enough. (ACKNOWLEDGING) Madam Sofia.
123. SOUND: [26] FOOTSTEPS FOLLOWED BY SQUEAKY DOOR CLANGING SHUT BEHIND THEM — LET IT FINISH
124. TRENT: (STAGE WHISPER) I think we have a date at the cemetery this evening, Tess.
125. TERESA: (SURPRISED) What? Why?
126. TRENT: (STILL STAGE WHISPER) There’s five dollars missing from my wallet.
127. MUSIC: [126] (BRIDGE) MYSTERIOUS SCENE ENDER — LET IT FINISH
SCENE 4: EXT. STAR CITY CEMETERY 12:55 A.M. (TERESA, TRENT, TODD, TERRY, ANGELA, MELANIE, CATHERINE)
128. SOUND: [3] WALLA — LIGHT WIND, CREAKING SIGNBOARD, TREE BRANCHES, HOOT OF AN OWL, AND FLICKERING ELECTRIC LIGHT —ESTABLISH AND UNDER
129. TERESA: I can’t believe you convinced me to come with you on this crazy outing.
130. TRENT: Come on, Tess, it’s the first solid lead we’ve had on the Technomaster in nearly a month.
131. TERESA: Solid lead? Do you hear yourself, Trent? I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a put-up job by Doogan to disgrace us. It occurs to me that it wouldn’t be that hard to pay that crazy old fraud to spout some baloney at us and organize ahead of time for the guard to swipe five bucks from your wallet. There could be a pack of newspapermen and cops sitting out there right now laughing and waiting to get us for grave-robbing or something.
132. TRENT: It occurred to me as well, Tess.
133. TERESA: (EXASPERATED) Then what are we doing here?
134. TRENT: Call it a hunch. Besides, a set-up like this isn’t Doogan’s style. He wants to get us alright, but within the rules. Anything less just wouldn’t satisfy.
135. TERESA: Well, you can pay to get these shoes cleaned at least. If Madam Sofia was all that good as an oracle she could at least have warned us about the mud.
136. SOUND: [27] CRACK OF STICK BREAKING AND APPROACH OF FURTIVE FOOTSTEPS — ESTABLISH AND FINISH UNDER
137. TRENT: Quiet, Tess, I think someone’s coming.
138. TODD: (BEAT) (AT A DISTANCE) Can you please try not to trip over your own feet in here, Terry. You’re making enough racket to raise the dead.
139. TERRY: (AT A DISTANCE) Oh, Ha! Ha!
140. TODD: (AT A DISTANCE) Is that the best you can do? Ha? Ha?
141. ANGELA: (AT A DISTANCE) This is no time for you two to start fighting again.
142. MELANIE: (AT A DISTANCE) Leave Todd alone. We’re all nervous enough. He’s just letting off steam.
143. CATHERINE: (AT A DISTANCE) (WITH AUTHORITY) Be quiet, all of you. This business is dangerous enough without dropping your guard now. If my calculations are correct we’re going to need some more bodies for testing.
144. MELANIE: (AT A DISTANCE) Sorry, Catherine, but I just want this to be over with. This place gives me the creeps.
145. CATHERINE: (AT A DISTANCE) (STERNLY) You’re a scientist, Melanie. Or at least you will be if you ever get over this maudlin sentimentality of yours. Science cares little for “the creeps” as you put it. Instead, it focuses on finding answers… and right now we need to focus on why these things have started happening. Todd, Terry! Dig here.
146. MELANIE: (SWOONING) Oh!
147. SOUND: [28] MELANIE COLLAPSES TO THE GROUND
148. TODD: (SHOCKED) Catherine (PAUSE) Melanie’s fainted.
149. CATHERINE: (ANGRY) We don’t have time for this. Lean her against that headstone and start digging.
150. TERESA: (STAGE WHISPER) Trent, what’s going on? Are they grave robbers?
151. TRENT: (STAGE WHISPER) I’m not sure. They don’t seem to have noticed us yet. Do you think you can work your way around to the other side of that grave marker over there? We may be able to get a better…
152. CORPSE: (MOANS ANGRILY)
153. TERESA: (STAGE WHISPER) What was that?
154. CORPSES: (MORE ANGRY MOANS)
155. CATHERINE: (AT A DISTANCE) (FEARFUL) We’re too late. He’s activated the process. Look… here they come.
156. TRENT: (STAGE WHISPER) I don’t believe it. Corpses are pulling themselves up out of the grave sites.
157. CATHERINE: (AT A DISTANCE) Put down the shovels, boys, and grab those axes. Remember, go for the heads. We have to sever the spinal columns if we want them to stay down.
158. TODD: (AT A DISTANCE) Damn it, we still don’t know how it’s being done. Can’t we run for it?
159. ANGELA: (AT A DISTANCE) (PANICKED) They’re coming from everywhere. We have to fight. (SUDDENLY CRIES WITH FRIGHT) Aaargh!
160. TERRY: (AT A DISTANCE) Look out. The grave we’re standing on. One’s coming up right underneath us.
161. ANGELA: (AT A DISTANCE) (CRIES OUT) It’s got my ankle. Get it off me. Get it off!
162. TODD: (AT A DISTANCE) I’ve got it.
163. SOUND: [29] SWISH, THUNK OF THE AXE REMOVING A CORPSE’S HEAD — GARGLNG DEATH CRY OF CORPSE AND HEAD ROLL SOUND — LET IT FINISH
164. CATHERINE: (AT A DISTANCE) Good swing. That’s one down.
165. TERRY: (AT A DISTANCE) Don’t be too proud of yourself. It looks like dozens more are coming.
166. TRENT: (STAGE WHISPER) He’s right. There are dozens more. And they’re all converging on our visitors.
167. TERESA: But that puts us right in the path of at least six of them coming this way.
168. TRENT: I think I see why Madame Sofia wanted me to bring the tin of gasoline. Come on.
(LOUDLY TO VISITORS) Ahoy. Let us approach. I think we can help you.
169. TERRY: Don’t listen to them. It’s a trick.
170. CATHERINE: Don’t be stupid, Terry, you know as well as I do these things can’t speak.
(TO TRENT AND TERESA) Quickly. Over here.
171. TRENT: Thanks. We’re grateful for…
172. CATHERINE: (IMPATIENTLY) We’ll have time for the niceties later. You said you thought you could help?
173. TRENT: Yes. We’ve got gasoline. I’m hoping these things will be stopped by fire.
174. CATHERINE: It’s worth a try. But you better be quick. The closest of them will be upon us in a minute.
175. TRENT: I’m already on it.
176. SOUND: [30] GASOLINE GUZZLING OUT AND SPLASHING ON GROUND IN A WIDE ARC — LET IT FINISH
177. SOUND: [31] MATCH LIGHTING — LET IT FINISH
178. SOUND: [32] WHOOMF OF GASOLINE LIGHTING UP — LET IT FINISH
179. SOUND: [4] WALLA — FLAMES AND CORPSE MOANS — PLAY UNTIL NEXT MUSIC
180. CORPSES: (ANGRY MOANS OF HUNGER AND FRUSTRATION) Oh!
181. TERESA: I think you’ve done it.
182. TRENT: Yes. That appears to be holding them… for the moment.
183. CATHERINE: But now you’ve put a wall of flame in front of us, you’ve blocked our only way out.
184. TRENT: Not quite. We’re in the north-western-most corner of the cemetery. That’s the boundary wall behind us. If we can get over it, I’m pretty certain these… things… won’t be able to follow.
185. CATHERINE: Good enough! Terry, you carry Melanie. Todd, give Angela a boost. We’re getting out of here.
186. MUSIC: [87] (BRIDGE) ACTION SCENE ENDER — LET IT FINISH
187. MUSIC: [93]CLOSING THEME — ESTABLISH, FADE UNDER, AND CREDITS
CASTING SHEETS — MAJOR CHARACTERS
NARRATOR: Hello, I am your narrator. I introduce the cold stormy nights on which our stories take place, the dark alleys, and darker personalities who inhabit the lonely city. It is my job to set the scene and establish the serious tone of suspense and intrigue that will carry the story forwards. It is also my job to remind listeners of what came before in a calm, trustworthy voice and ensure that everyone is oriented to where we are and where we are going.
SOFIE MALEFICENT: Most people seem to think me slightly mad. Perhaps I am. I see the future shifting and changing all the time. Not just what is, but all the possibilities that flow from it — and, more importantly, their outcomes.
CATHERINE FILMORE: My husband is Marcus Filmore. He’s gone mad. I’m a chemist and a damned good scientist. I have to stop my husband before he does something terrible. I am impatient and irritable, but very capable. I demand a lot of those around me and I maintain their loyalty by modeling hard work.
MELANIE WILKES: I’m a virologist, an expert in the transmission and progression of diseases. I specialize in infection rates and communicability factors. Marcus has been misusing my research and I’m working with Catherine to stop him.
TODD MORLEY: I’m a chemist, like Catherine, though I specialize in brain chemistry — those chemicals that suppress signals in the brain and leave it dormant. Like Melanie, my research has been misused and I’m working with Catherine to put an end to it.
ANGELA WALSH: I’m Angela. I’m a huge fan of Trent Stone and I have something of a crush on him. I’m also a virologist like Melanie, only I study the way organic compounds can be transmitted from person to person. I believed I was working on the spread of vaccines but my research has been misused and I am working with Catherine to put things right.
TERRY MARKS: Unlike the other scientists working with Catherine, I’m an engineer and radio specialist. Marcus brought me in to do research on radio emissions but we think he is using my research to control the dead. I’m working with Catherine to stop him.
TRENT STONE: Hello, I’m Trent Stone, Adventurer. I’m always in command of the situation (except perhaps, when it comes to Tess — who can easily throw me for a loop). I say things like “indeed,” “hmmm,” and “I see” a lot and speak in a way that friends of Clark Kent would find very familiar. I’m smart, observant, and quick to use my fists when required, but never impulsive. I sound like Joe College but I’m blue collar through and through. My lack of higher education is something of an embarrassment to me — but I’d never let on.
I’m aware of Tess’s flirting and occasionally I wonder if it’s more than just a way to keep entertained on the job — mostly I just ignore it and keep on working.
TERESA CARTER: Hiya. Everyone calls me Tess. I’m the take-no-prisoners sort who can hold her own in the man’s world that is the concrete jungle of Star City. I’m college educated but have a mean right hook. I’m a reporter by training and a stickybeak by inclination — this tends to get me in trouble. Curious, playful, and smart, that’s me! But I’m also painfully honest, easily moved by the troubles of others, and as protective as a tigress of my friends. I secretly have a thing for Trent — who’s a bit of a stuffed shirt and easily embarrassed by flirting. We both pretend it’s not there for the sake of the job, but I can’t help occasionally feeling a bit wistful.
FELICIO DOMINGUEZ: I am smart and resourceful. I am also loyal. Trent and Teresa saved my life recently and also cleared my wife, Claire, of charges that would have sent her to the electric chair. I am very grateful to Senor Stone and am about to leave on my honeymoon with Claire.
TONY WELLS: I’m a detective in a city full of liars, cheats, killers, and con-men. You’d think that would have made me a cynic. And I guess it has a little. But underneath the hard-boiled exterior, I actually give a damn. I do this job because I want to keep people safe from the animals and predators who roam the dark side of the city. I believe in heroes, or at least I want to believe in them. I’m still not sure about Stone and Carter. They cross a lot of lines — but then so do I.
CLAIRE DOMINGUEZ (NE MANNIX): I was a victim of the Technomaster’s mind-controlling drugs. Under their influence, I did terrible things. Trent and Teresa caught me and then helped clear my name. I was recently married and am about to leave on my honeymoon with Felicio Dominguez.
CASTING SHEETS — MINOR CHARACTERS
MESSENGER: I’m just a kid really, hawking newspapers, all enthusiasm, and energy. When I get a tip, that just makes my day.
GUARD: I’m a prison guard. I see the worst in here and it’s made me cynical. I engage in a bit of petty theft when visitors leave their belongings behind while seeing prisoners, so what? Only scumbags would be friends with the cons in here. Prison’s a brutal place. It makes you brutal in turn. You just have to be polite to the bosses and dignitaries, and seize your opportunities when they arise.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Philip Craig Robotham grew up in a house full of books and has held numerous jobs as a teacher, computer programmer, graphic and web designer, an e-learning consultant and, most recently, writer. He currently lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and two sons. When he was younger and fitter he enjoyed martial arts, but in recent years his hobbies have tended towards more sedate fare (board games, movies, books, and role-playing games).
He is extremely grateful for the encouragement he receives from his biggest fans — his wife and two boys — all of whom read and enjoy his scripts and in general make his life worth living.
You can contact the author regarding performance rights (or simply to say hello) through his website: https://weirdworldstudios.com.
Don’t forget to check out the free sample portions of our titles at https://weirdworldstudios.com/product-category/our-products/.
This post and all its content is copyright © 2013 Philip Craig Robotham and has been released under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. This play cannot be reproduced, shared, or performed commercially without the written permission of the author. The production of derivative content, merchandise, or creative works and materials is expressly forbidden under this agreement. However you may share, reproduce, and perform this play freely so long as authorship is acknowledged, no money changes hands, and the play is not modified in any way.
The Reanimator’s Revenge
- The Reanimator’s Revenge – Episode 1 – Jail Cells and Graveyards
- The Reanimator’s Revenge – Episode 2 – Scientists and Laboratories
- The Reanimator’s Revenge – Episode 3 – The Attack Begins
- The Reanimator’s Revenge – Episode 4 – The Transformed Metropolis
- The Reanimator’s Revenge – Episode 5 – The Pumping Station
- The Reanimator’s Revenge – Episode 6 – The Fall of the Technomaster
