Chapter 1
Solstice Story
Episode I
Opening Setting: San Francisco, 1899, holiday season
Florida (Flor) - young twenties, living in THE PARLOR, an old SF Victorian brothel.
Act I
December 21, night of the solstice- Flor is sitting on a wooden staircase fire-escape of a large typical San Francisco Victorian, fiddling around on a ukulele, she sings a wish.
The Madame calls her in and tells her to wash for the evening’s entertainment.
As Flor bathes, Sylvan, a mystical winged elven being, is borne from the elements and her song.
Flor entertains the evening’s gentlemen with a ragtime ballad, then misplaces her drink while in conversation. When one gentlemen selects her, she leads him to a room, but when about to collect her payment, finds she has lost her purse.
Flustered, she proposes to search all of the house’s occupants, but the gentleman John talks her down, convincing her she has left it in her room.
She agrees and they walk to her private quarters. He insinuates that he would like to have her in her own bed. She dissents, never having guests in this room, but in looking for the pouch he seizes her on her sleeping pad, and she struggles for her body.
In the siege, Sylvan appears in a haze, and whispers to her, “call to the Zephyr winds, she will hear you and help you”.
Flor calls desperately to the wind and a strong gust conjures from the window to the hand candle near the bed.
A spark pops and lands on the John’s undergarments. It singes and he smells it, sees he is on fire and hops off her.
She catches him off guard and pushes and bolts him from the room, burning and without his clothes.
The Madame is alerted, and runs to the scene, as Flor glimpses Sylvan, laughing and running around the room.
Doubting, but still Flor chases after him until disrupted by the Madame’s knock. She tries to be quiet but Sylvan knocks over her vase of flowers, clanking around, then prompting, in whispers, for Flor to ‘tell the Madame she is fat and ugly, and to mind her own business.’
Flor dissents and he creates more havoc, until the Madame threatens to remove the door from the hinges permanently.
The gentleman steps in, saying how he doesn’t want to be concerned, and Sylvan stops, and coaches Flor to act kindly for the gentleman’s service.
When the chaos has been averted, Flor goes back to her bedroom and lights the candle again. Sylvan pops in and introduces himself.
She questions him, herself, and his mission.
He explains that he is a simulation of a future simulation’s technology, and acts like an angel, daimon, spirit-ally.
She confesses that she would like to be a celebrity, celebrated, and always celebrating.
He prophesies that she will face evil seeking this path, but that he is here to guide her to her soul’s true path in this cycle of evolution.
They seal the pact, she sleeps, he disappears through a bridge/portal into her head and into her dreamworld.
Act II- Interlude
In the animated dreamworld: 1949 ski-lodge, Christmas time -
Flor is singing on a stage strumming her ukulele with an orchestra/band behind her.(Some reminiscent of Like it Hot/Sun Valley Serenade)
She is playing and singing elements of the finale song.
The sound is fuzzy and distorted and we see Sylvan in a massive sound room at a board adjusting levels.
Flor wakes (in the real live action world) and finds Sylvan sitting beside her shaping air into counting sheep.
He tells her the gentleman who assaulted her yesterday would become useful, and that she must seduce him to achieve her goals.
To do this, she must write a song that displays her understanding of history, as the gentleman is passionate about songs and history.
Flor writes ‘Sequor Me’, a ‘Fever’-like jazzy song about ancient women of the night, and with Sylvan’s advice gets a young parlor boy to deliver a note saying that she wants to thank him for his kindness.
As the message is being delivered Sylvan pops along, and right before the messenger arrives, whispers into John’s ear, so as to trick to think they were his own thoughts.
The Gentle John is pleasantly surprised and decides to visit the Parlor again that evening to pay his respects and tells the messenger to tell them he is to be expected.
Sylvan hears and pops back to Flor, who is busy composing nonsense on her ukulele. Prompted, she explains her idea to him, and they write it out.
That evening, Flor presents her new song to the company, it has themes of her distorted dream song in the piano, she becomes intensely surprised, remembering the tune. The men are entranced, particularly the Gentle John, as he likes history, and is touched by the creative wisdom of the young girl.
Escorting him to a bedroom, she confesses with Sylvan’s aid that she dreamt of baking a birthday cake for him.
Prompted, he recalls that it’s the president of his company’s birthday day following, and he has yet to get him a gift.
Inspired, he ideates that she should be the gift to the president, dressed to the nines and hidden inside a prop cake, to pop out and sing happy birthday with her ukulele.
He is persuaded, Sylvan celebrates, and she makes the arrangements with the madame to be hired by the hour the next night.
During the next day she runs about town and finds a party shop with a prop cake and costumes, montage of period appropriate costumes in a resplendent changing room with Sylvan consulting. She selects a dragon goddess ensemble and arranges to have the cake delivered to the party hall.
She eats, washes, applies make-up and puts on her costume for the evening.
Dec 23, 1898 – Masonic Italian Banquet Hall. Hands shaking, ice clinking, presents piled. Dinner is announced by bell, and group of men sit in front of plates of spaghetti and meatballs.
In a champagne toast, Gentle John chimes in and offers his gift, signaling to dim the lights and bring in the prop cake.
It’s rolled in, drum roll from band, Flor pops out, strums, sings be-dazzlingly ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President’, and walks on the table to pop into the president’s lap as the band’s drums beat out the striptease finale.
Overjoyed, he feasts his eyes on her, and the camera classically pinholes in to Sylvan’s smile.
Pinhole out to the President’s boudoir, there are books everywhere, Flor is gently looking through.
The President comes in with drinks, and hands her one, toasts, and cheers.
Sylvan pops onto Flor’s shoulder, disguised to the President. He whispers to her to ask about the books she liked.
She asks about a book on Bizet, and he begins to hum the theme.
He beckons her to sing, with Sylvan’s blessing, she reaches for her ukulele and plays and sings a reimagined Carmen’s song.
The President is astounded and confesses his position, as the president of a broadcast corporation.
He offers her a recording studio and musicians, if she can write a song to broadcast for the opening of the New Year’s Eve show.
Christmas Eve, early morning. Flor dances with her shadow to the cable car and sings an hopeful, updated, electronic-incorporated Trolley Song, (Meet Me in St. Louis-esque).
At the Parlor, the Madame questions her, and she remains aloof, hiding her ticket out.
She remembers she is due for her period and may be less desiring/desirable this evening. Counting last night’s hefty payment, the Madame excuses her from entertaining.
Flor retires to her room and despairs for a song. Sylvan walks her through a ritual to call in her creative spirit and she falls asleep.
Act III / Interlude
Flor’s animated dreamworld: in the President’s broadcast studio, she is singing with a 1970’s style band, a psychedelic anthem-version of the dream finale song.
The view zooms out to watch the scene on an old school television, and then follow a trippy animation video of transmission.
Christmas, sunrise. Flor wakes and gathers her blankets and goes to the fire escape to welcome the sunlight, she calls to Sylvan, he conjures and shares sentiments of yuletide, bearing mistletoe, and a crystal for her.
He conjures her ukulele and encourages her to call forth her holiday song, they question her motivations and she realizes she must remember feelings of love and peace to sing the most compassionate song.
Sylvan proposes he guide her down memory lane of Christmas-es past to remember the innocence and hope of the holidays.
She falls asleep, and he enters her head and guides her animated dreamworld to her childhood, with her many brothers and sisters and mom and dad.
Flor sees her childhood-self receive her first ukulele, and her dad teaching her a toy-box-like melody.
They flash to another memory; Flor is a teenager and among a camp of gypsies. They are playing instruments and singing a Spanish guitar folk holiday song together.
They flash to the future, to the 1950’s ski lodge, and a phrase of a 1950’s jazz ballad from past dream comes into visual and sonic clarity.
Flor wakes suddenly, smiles, “I’ve got an idea.” Sylvan sighs. She gets up, washes and dresses, humming along bits and pieces of the melody.
Christmas Evening. There are not many clients yet when Flor comes down in a golden dress, and she slides to the piano and chimes softly away to her ideas as the crowd mingles.
The piano player comes to the bench and asks her what she’s playing. She gives him the chords, an (Am/C tone) ‘Hallelujah’-type ballad of the dream world, and as he picks it up, she riffs a bit with some words.
The piano player is enthusiastic but no one in the room is listening.
Seeing her despair, the piano player makes it jazzy, she catches up and catches the phrase, and the song is almost born.
A drunken transitory-looking man in the corner applauds, and they catch eyes. He toasts and beckons her and, she obliges.
The drunken wanderer, Taylor Beckman, tells her she is a singular talent, and must be represented. He offers his service as an agent, body guard, and lover, if she will have him.
She refuses, and tells him the song is for the New Year’s broadcast, and she will manage.
He questions what will happen after the broadcast, how she will navigate new-found life.
She is confident and hints to her magical ally. Beckman is suspicious but not deterred. He offers to buy her for the night, and she refuses rudely.
Overhearing, the Madame corners Flor and tells her she will be fined because she refused a client, as per house rules.
Sylvan appears and tells Flor to tell the Madame to check Beckman’s pockets for the nightly fee, as she suspects he doesn’t have the money to pay.
The Madame gets a Parlor boy to pick-pocket Beckman while he orders more drink, and when he returns, they find he doesn’t have the fee.
They kick Beckman out and Flor escapes the Madame, to write down the song, but when she tries, she finds she cannot remember the melody and most of the words.
In despair, she asks Sylvan, and he does not know the words, but rings the melody on conjured bells, and she grasps for the song.
She begs him to bring her into the dream world where she remembered, and he warns her that dreams are chaos, especially on Christmas night, and he may not be able to control their journey.
She is still eager so they initiate the journey; light candles, set intention, lay totems for the passage.
As she falls asleep, Sylvan hums the melody, and rests his blessed fingers over her eyes like putting the dead to sleep, then enters her mind portal, like an ancient roman mortuary diver into a pool.
The animated dream world. Flor wakes in her bed, but in the dreamworld, and looks around.
She calls out for Sylvan and he appears in the mirror, trapped and banging for her attention.
He tells her he has been trapped in a layer of the collective, and has to find the way into her subconscious.
They look at an old school advent calendar and find it is New Year’s Eve, when she is set to record, and she must get to the studio.
She panics that she does not know the song, but Sylvan reminds her it’s a dream, and all will be fine. Assured, she washes and changes.
With her ukulele, dressed formally, she rides a futuristic subway through SF, humming to herself the melody.
A woman sitting near hears her, and comments on her lovely song, remarking that it sounds like a folk song she heard in her childhood that went something like this… She sings a version of Flor’s Melody, repeating some of the forgotten words.
Flor smiles passionately and thanks her for the song, then sings back a version of her jazzy song to the moon, which is sharing half the sky with the sun.
She looks down as a puddle splashes, she sees reflections of Sylvan in the water drops, he smiles.
Flor gets of the subway into her familiar time period, with some of the modern San Francisco skyline in the distance.
Unfamiliar with the neighborhood she wanders a bit lost, but in time to her tune, until she sees the sign on the facade of the broadcast building.
There is a security guard standing outside. He stops her and asks her credentials. She explains that she is here to see the President.He tells her that’s impossible as he is booked recording all day. She becomes flustered.
Sylvan pops in the reflection of a bead of sweat on the security guard’s head and tells her to introduce herself.
Flor takes a deep breath, stands up tall, and formally introduces herself.
The security guard is now flustered. “Oh, you? Florida? Of course, we’ve been expecting you,” and escorts her to an agent who brings her to the recording studio.
Greeted by the President, he says that some portions of the broadcast will be live, and portions recorded, and they’ve decided to make her portion live for an emotional opening.
She is spooked, he asks for the sheet music. She realizes she doesn’t have it, only the melody, which she lightly hums to them.
The drummer begins to snap along, then a bass, then piano player, then guitar, and so forth until the melody is orchestrated, (with classy educational voice over, like an old school Disney orchestra for children record).
She begins to lightly sing the refrain, and pick up the melody on her ukulele, and the scene slides like TV-universal distortion into the psychedelic dream band, and then back to the broadcast room, then back again to the future.
Then we see an engineer board, and a live light on.
Flor is singing into a microphone, the 1899 dream room/band is fading into the future dream, and the song is a mixture of jazzy and psychedelia.
The song ends and there is thunderous applause. The screen cuts to blinking universal fuzz and black.
Sylvan’s glowing fingers come into view, he lights his smile, then points into the darkness towards a doorway.
We walk with him to it, he touches it and it’s wooden veins illuminate gold, and it pops open. We see a hazy view into (live-action) Flor sleeping in her room in the Parlor. The Madame is fussing at her side.
Live-action: Sylvan walks through the mirror in the corner and blows a glistening kiss to sleeping Flor.
She wakes and sees the Madame. Confused, she questions her, and the Madame reveals that she came down with fever and has been deliriously sleeping the last five days.
New Year’s Morning. Flor despairs, she has lost her musical chance, her chance at freedom, her celebrity.
But not confessing and revealing to the Madame, she leaves oblivious, content her property did not die.
Sylvan jokes around with her: “St least she didn’t die, it’s a new day, and who’s to say what will be.”
He beckons her to the morning light outside on the fire-escape. Opening the door, they hear music playing through a downstairs window.
Taken aback, she recognizes her song.
She runs down the stairs, and fluidly with each level, time transitions into 1976, and through an open window, a radio is playing her singing her jazzy psychedelic song.
TO RETURN IN EPISODE TWO.
