Arty

Gender unspecified | 20s
Starts on page 5

EXTRACT: In the life Arty’s living in his head he is An explorer Intrepid He likes the word intrepid His body is hard and brown and lean He has facial hair A sexy, roguish beard ’cause you don’t have to shave in the Amazon And he’s with his sidekick Pedro He and Pedro have been together for ages, doing this kind of thing, not shaving and being sexy without trying, sleeping under the stars and caving down underwater river systems that lead to the Lost City of Z and encounters with an ancient warrior tribe guarding pyramids and gold and stuff And when Arty looks at Pedro He has an intensity, a real shocking intensity that says, ‘I know who I am and I’m a man and I matter’ And Pedro respects and loves Arty and they’ve been friends so long they forgot where they met (some bar in Rio drunk on cachaça over a poker game that got dangerous when Señor Gangster Thug refused to accept he was beat and he wore a wide-brimmed hat A white hat of course And a white suit ’Cause that’s what gangster thugs wear in Rio) And in this life that Arty’s living in his head He smiles the brilliant white-teeth smile of the movie star.

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Jojo

Female | 40s | Under 3 minutes
Starts on page 49

EXTRACT: His dad? [She snorts.] Do you think the snort works? I don’t wanna look bogan. Maybe it should be more of… y’know, like a lion roar so I’m more powerful woman instead of… I know! I’ll do a… y’know, a— [She sweeps her hand in a dismissive gesture.] A sorta ‘piff!’. A ‘sweep and piff!’ and that’ll look more like it’s of so little consequence to me I just ‘sweep and piff!’. [She composes herself.] His dad? [She sweeps and piffs.] I knew all along he was no prize. Five feet nothing and eyes pointing any which way but straight.

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