Happy Magic Society

NOT THE PROBLEM NOR THE SOLUTION
by
Kimmo Modig
(From upcoming Alkovi 2013 - anthology, to be released in the spring 2014)

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This script is based on an exhibition by HAPPY MAGIC SOCIETY in ALKOVI GALLERY, Helsinki. The exhibition was open between 1st and 30th of June, 2013.

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PLEASE NOTE: It should be unclear whether the dialogue is
actually spoken in situation or being overdubbed.

1. INT. WHITE ROOM.

Red textiles such as drapes and blankets are placed mindfully around the space. The room is very clean, with neutral lighting. Placed on the window pane is an object referring to Christmas.
Almost hidden from sight somewhere is a misplaced book with a meaningful yet vague title.

E enters STAGE LEFT, dressed in what could be described
as grey overalls, with either mould or stains on sleeves.
At first, it seems she is walking directly towards the table to sit down. But just before reaching the chair, she starts to take little diagonal steps around the space, mostly with her hands, while looking out from the window. For 15 minutes, she is trying to force herself to speak, mimicking a plant that is reaching for the sun.

E: (inaudible)

E sits down with her right foot spread straight on the table.

E: (murmurs, almost sings) Intercom? Inter-

M enters STAGE LEFT, galloping, looking away, wearing
a long sleeved kimono made of black satin and a pair of black khaki pants underneath. He is holding a short audio Y cable in his hand. M doesn't recognize anything in the room. He hands someone [in the audience?] a note. It says: "I long to be in the open prairie but I hate to think this is how it would feel."

M: Intercom?

NARRATOR: One could be forgiven to think they are
talking about intercommu— (interrupts him/herself)

NARRATOR: I'm a voice without a body, a scene without protagonists, a city devoid of noises and pigeon shit.

2. INT. WHITE ROOM

M sits down. Soft, distinctive, purring noise is heard. Subtle changes in scenery take place behind the window. A cultural worker walks by outside but feels ashamed and hurries away from the scene.

Exotic fruits are placed on a small, white Artek shelf above the table.

KIMMO: (from underneath the table) This is all I can say,
as saying is not the way forward with our society.
(pauses) Back in L.A., in the corner of West Washington Boulevard and South St. Andrews Place, I said to her: "Showing works in a gallery is not the problem nor the solution." [Think of substitutes for Los Angeles.]

NARRATOR: Consider the many nots there. The shift from "yes"
in 2013 to "no" in 2014 is worth pointing out.

M faints dramatically slowly, with no facial expression.
E tears out a limb (from somewhere/-thing) and eats it
along with the exotic fruits, but spits some out to form
a pile in the middle of the room. The spitting is done at first quickly and then very slowly, dance-like.

NARRATOR: In the newspaper, it was desrcibed as a "festive waste of material", like a party of some kind, honouring the last minutes of our civlization's existence.

M's trembling hand can be seen trying to connect a
recorder and a speaker with his audio cable in order to
create feedback. [Think of a reference to friendship.]

NARRATOR: "The deletion and emphasis are in the original
text, taken from a press release for May 1, 1978, supplied
by the Academy of American Poets, New York."

KIMMO: This was...oh, you say it.

FEMALE ROBOTIC ANNOUNCER VOICE: This is the only part
in the script that makes a clear reference to the exhibition in Alkovi gallery by Happy Magic Society—,

KIMMO: or is it?

FEMALE ROBOTIC ANNOUNCER VOICE: —a group consisting of, at least, E and M. We just heard our narrator resitating a footnote from "The Wishing Bone Cycle", a book that was shown as part of Happy Magic Society's Alkovi exhibition. The book was an object in the exhibition. And the footnote we just heard is from the first page of the book, you lazy piece of shit.

KIMMO: It's just that... (nervously) I've lost my faith in knowledge because I never had it, either faith or knowledge. (shouts) And you are the most horrible video game cliché, reverberating in the hallways of every first-person shooter.

FEMALE ROBOTIC ANNOUNCER VOICE: I just want people to know it's time.

E dies quickly, as does M. KIMMO and NARRATOR both exit STAGE RIGHT. A neon colored banner is placed above the fruit shelf. The banner has "NEW KINGS" written on it with a gothic typeface. Outside, the culture worker seen earlier walks by, dressed up as Hamlet's father, but is too proud to enter.

3. EXT. INDUSTRIAL AREA, LOS ANGELES.

Various objects of different sizes are placed resting on a wall of a simple, small-sized storage facility located in an industrial area with no neighbours in sight. Sound of artifical wind is heard.

Two accepted grant applications, various e-mails, and
search results from piraattilahti.org and momondo.com are printed on the aspahlt.

M's legs can be seen from the RIGHT SIDE of the building, just and just. Slowly it becomes apparent that the makeshift fan-like construction on the top of the building is E's head and right arm, in an ergonomically untypical formation.

E: [exhales heavily, sounding like wind blowing]
M: [whistles the theme from "The Wire"]

FADE TO BLACK

The soft purring noise heard on the first scene replaces all other sounds.

THE END

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