. Spinning .

On my last post regarding Facade, Steve asks, "There can certainly be the capacity for lying in the system. What’s important is what came before. Can you trace this?"

Well, I did go through the scripts and found these two containing conflicting statements from Grace about the painting:

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Evidently, as Steve has discovered as well, if you come on to either Trip or Grace, you are summarily ousted from their badly decorated penthouse (personal opinion only because I hate contemporary home decor). 

One thing I noticed on this latest excursion into their world was that there are a few different private conversations Trip and Grace have either before you knock on their door, or when they are together in the kitchen while you’re out in the living area. 

One word I stuck in my questioning this go-round was "divorce."  That did change their attitude a bit.

Another revelation, and I’ve got to check the previous transcripts on this, is that this time, Grace said she had bought the painting over the couch, and in the others, I think she admitted to painting it herself.  This would bother me.  Are the characters advanced to the level of telling lies?  Is it just another scenario?  This seems unlikely because prior visits, while having some but not all of the conversation lines, do hold to the same basic background of the characters.  And what accounts for the difference here?

Curiouser and curiouser.

This time, visiting Trip and Grace as their friend George, brought out some new things as well as replaying the old.  The good part is that I seem to have successfully gotten both Trip and Grace to admit their feelings, and to let me know that I’ve helped them.  There was a phone call in this episode from Trip’s mother, and while I tried to make one of them answer the phone, I assume that as in a previous session where Grace’s father called, it is meant to be picked up by the answering machine so that you can possibly glean some information from the caller’s message.

While some of the responses were out of whack with what was offered in my end of the conversation, it would seem to be a question merely of expanding their vocabulary and provide more proper responses.  But then, who knows what a user will ask?  And me, I still think that Photopia should have been programmed to recognize the word "cry."

My major frustration with the piece is that I do not seem to have enough time to respond, and feel pressured to come up with the proper "plotted out" question or answer, or risk being ignored.  While this is good in that it makes the action flow more smoothly without the down time of silent space, I’m thinking maybe that if Trip or Grace put some music on the stereo system it might make it less noticeable and allow for a more natural visit. 

They also seem to get into the argument rather quickly.  But heck, that’s their problem.

I think I’m almost ready to go for the background notes on this.  I didn’t want to get them earlier because I would have been too tempted to look them up before playing enough with the program to figure some things out for myself.  And that, basically, is the more interesting part of the whole experiment.  (Unlike Silent Hill 2, where it was a matter of life and death when I was getting clobbered by those yucky skin stretching things!)

Honest, I could care less if Trip and Grace split up.  ACCKKKK!  A spider just came down in front of me! 

Thanks to The Great Lettuce Head, I can share one of the short films we watched last night.  It is animation, but cleverly done.  I must admit that I loved it (laughed my ass near off) and was so very glad that it is available online.  As a writer, I look at the details, the parallel stories going on concurrently that relate and yet are separated.  What we are watching is a small scene unfolding silently, were it not for the radio that gives us some background and a conflicting viewpoint.  The radio announcer cannot, of course, be privy to the information we are given by what is happening in Emma’s kitchen.  But the information given us by the radio announcer–and in fact, the mood set by the music–while not vital to the story, adds another dimension.

Warning:  The story is a bit much perhaps for animal lovers, but then, there’s a toll taken in human cartoons as well…Dear, Sweet Emma. 

Easy.  Just get too kissy-face with Grace while you’re coming in as friend Ben.  Trip quickly responds:

GRACE
Ben,  every time Trip is unhappy he rushes out and buys some new gadget.

TRIP
What are you talking about? You’re always buying stuff…

GRACE
Trip, you’re the one who’s always bringing home an electric lemon zester or automatic creme Brule torch.

(BEN hugs trip.)

TRIP
No, uhh…    Ben,  what I need is to figure out what hell is going here…

BEN
what is going on?

GRACE
Let’s continue focusing on Trip.

TRIP
Grace, we don’t — we don’t have to do this… things are okay, we can just —

GRACE
Ben,  I can’t stand the pretending anymore… I can’t take it!

TRIP
No, Grace, we can… I mean, come on, don’t make it out to be so bad…

(BEN hugs grace.)

TRIP
Jesus,     Ben,  quit it with that stuff!

(BEN comforts grace.)

TRIP
Christ,     Ben,  stop it with that stuff!

BEN
why should I

(BEN hugs grace.)

TRIP
Christ,     Ben,  stop it — (interrupted)

(BEN kisses grace.)

TRIP
You know what,    Ben,  that’s it, you need to leave. — (interrupted)

TRIP
There’s

BEN
why

(Trip opens the front door.)

(Trip closes the front door.)

In the continuing saga of the Trip and Grace, Steve has managed to bring out one more underlying catalyst for their marital problems, that of Trip’s being ashamed of his parents in comparison to Grace’s wealthier upbringing.  This is a newly admitted resentment on Trip’s part, and it makes me wonder what else can be brought out.

I have an appointment with Trip and Grace later this morning.

Well that knocked Grace and Trip speechless. 

I just kept kissing Trip in front of Grace!

Addendum:  Honest, this was an experiment using a character I had already used, that of "Amy", and trying to determine if the action had as much effect on the narrative play as the text and conversation.  At first, Trip suggested I leave, but then he just let me have my way with him.  Grace said nothing.  When I finally decided to leave, I said "Goodbye," and while this usually got a response from them in prior stageplays, when I left the apartment they were still standing in the same spots, absolutely speechless.  I can well imagine the argument that ensued after I entered the elevator.  And I assume I most likely will not be invited back!