Future People
Starring: Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon
Scene: A slightly overgrown hiking trail in upstate New York. The late afternoon sun casts long shadows.
Characters:
- TINA FEY: Mid-40s, sharp, exasperated but ultimately responsible.
- JIMMY FALLON: Early 30s (in this parallel), energetic, prone to panic.
- (OFF-STAGE) SETH: The "new guy."
(SCENE START)
TINA and JIMMY are breathing heavily, standing over a suspiciously lumpy pile of leaves and poorly concealed branches.
JIMMY: (Wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand) Okay. Okay. Deep breaths. Nobody saw us. Right?
TINA: (Staring intently at the leafy mound) Unless that squirrel with the judgmental eyes is a witness, I think we're in the clear.
JIMMY: That squirrel did look pretty judgy.
TINA: Jimmy. Focus. He… he just slipped. Right? One minute he was behind us, talking about his artisanal mayonnaise collection, the next – thwack. Head meets rock. Lights out.
JIMMY: Totally dead. You checked, right? Like, really, really checked?
TINA: I felt for a pulse, Jimmy! And frankly, the way his eyes rolled back, I'm pretty sure his soul has already booked a one-way ticket to the great beyond.
JIMMY: This is bad. This is so, so bad. Lorne's gonna kill us.
TINA: He's not going to kill us. Because he's not going to find out. This was an accident. A stupid, horrible, unbelievably ill-timed accident that happened during a team-building “nature walk” I organized to foster inter-office harmony.
JIMMY: Which you only organized because I said Seth was giving me the stink-eye during the monologue rehearsal!
TINA: Well, he was looking at you funny! Like you stole his last gluten-free bagel.
JIMMY: He probably did! Anyway, what are we gonna tell Lorne? About Seth?
TINA: That he… got a sudden case of… Lyme disease? Very sudden, very aggressive Lyme disease that required immediate and silent evacuation by a top-secret medical team?
JIMMY: (Gesturing wildly at the leafy pile) No! About this! About… you know.
TINA: Oh. Right. That he… slipped.
JIMMY: And?
TINA: And… tumbled into a… very conveniently located… unmarked ravine?
JIMMY: There are no ravines here, Tina! We're practically on a putting green!
TINA: Okay, fine! He slipped… and then he… kept slipping. Down a… surprisingly steep and leaf-covered… gentle incline.
JIMMY: So we just left him at the bottom of a gentle incline? Lorne's gonna ask questions!
TINA: Okay, okay! He slipped… and then he… kept slipping… and then… he somehow… burrowed underground? Like a startled mole person?
JIMMY: Tina!
TINA: What?! We panicked! It was a stressful situation! He's the new Weekend Update guy! If he's suddenly gone, people will ask questions! Especially after you kept muttering about how he was “encroaching on your desk space.”
JIMMY: He was! His ergonomic keyboard was practically in my personal bubble!
TINA: Look, Lorne is a rational guy…
JIMMY: Yeah, I'm sure he'll understand that our new colleague spontaneously decided to take an unscheduled dirt nap after a minor tumble.
TINA: He'll understand that accidents happen! We were just trying to… bond!
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