Labyrinth

FADE IN ON:

1EXT:
SKY - DAY

A WHITE BIRD soaring. The sky is a glorious explosion of blue and

mauve and lavender. The setting sun washes the clouds with a delicate

pink tint. The bird swoops and spirals and we are right there with

him. Then suddenly, below us, an extraordinary sight appears.

2EXT:
LABYRINTH - DAY

It is the labyrinth, an enormous maze of incredible mandala like

intricacy. From our magnificent vantage point, WE ARE BARELY ABLE TO

MAKE OUT its details: the twisting walls interrupted here and there

by lush forest, the complex web of waterways, the forbidding castle

at the core. It is vast and magical, frightening and compelling at

the same time. We would love to linger, perhaps fly lower and get a

better look at this wondrous place, but the bird flies on

3EXT:
GLADE - DAY

It is an idyllic setting, warm and inviting. The late afternoon sun

washes everything with a pink glow. Between the water and a line of

lush fruit trees is a flower-strewn glade. A FIGURE emerges from the

trees and walks toward the water. It is a YOUNG WOMAN dressed in a

flowing white dress that swirls around her in the breeze. The pink

light burnishes her hair and causes a gold circlet she wears on her

head to glow. She is breathtaking, a vision of innocence and grace.

She stops to pick a flower and then turns suddenly as if she has

heard something.

GIRL:
Is it you?

She takes a few hurried steps and then stops, smiling shyly

GIRL:
Your Highness!

The GIRL curtsies deeply and then looks up through lowered lashes,

the shy smile still dancing on her lips. And then WE PULL BACK TO

REVEAL a crown perched on a head of tight curls. WE ARE LOOKING

THROUGH the crown at the girl as she rises slowly, then looks boldly

at the PRINCE.

GIRL:
Do not be swayed by my pleasure at the sight of you, my lord.

For though my father, the Duke, has promised you my hand, I cannot

consent to be yours until the evil that stalks our land from highest

hill to deepest dale is ...

Suddenly the GIRL stops speaking, a look of stunned confusion on her

face.

GIRL:
... from highest hill to deepest dale ... (her brow furrows in

concentration and then) Damn!

She burrows one hand into the deep sleeve of her gown and pulls out a

rolled-up soft-cover book. She rifles through the pages.

The PRINCE is not a prince at all, but a SHEEPDOG wearing a tin foil

crown. He thinks his work is over and it's time to play and he lunges

happily towards the GIRL who isn't a princess or even a duchess, but

15-year-old SARAH.

SARAH is knocked over by the playful DOG. Beneath the gown which WE

CAN NOW SEE is homemade and not very grand at all, WE SEE faded jeans

and running shoes.

SARAH:
Get off me, you monster!!

The DOG grabs the book out of her hand and runs away with it, hoping

to be chased. SARAH doesn't follow, she just sits up and pulls the

grass out of her tangled hair and sighs with frustration. The DOG

comes back over to SARAH, its tail wagging hopefully.

SARAH:
If you value your mangy life, Merlin, you'll hand it over.

The DOG obediently drops the book.

THE BOOK:

On the cover it says, _MEANDER'S QUEEN a play in three acts by Robin

Zakar_. SARAH reaches for it and we hear a clock tower begin to chime.

SARAH leaps to her feet.

SARAH:
Oh no, Merlin! We're really late! Why does everything have to

happen to me!!!?

MERLIN prances around her happily, his foil crown in his mouth. SARAH

pulls it out of his mouth and throws it in a nearby trash basket. He

rushes after it and peers into the basket, wanting to fetch.

SARAH:
It's all your fault, you miserable mutt!!

She hikes up her dress and runs into the trees. MERLIN whimpers and

tags along behind her.

4EXT:
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TREES - DAY

SARAH comes bursting through the trees and runs down a hill toward

the street. WE PULL BACK and WE CAN SEE an enormous steel mill on the

other side of the river. And now WE NOTICE that the light isn't pink

any more but sort of dull and hazy, and the idyllic glade is barely a

suburban park, and this is just an ordinary day in a very ordinary

place.

5EXT:
AN OLD RAMBLING HOUSE - DUSK

SARAH runs up a path to an older, rambling house. She goes through

the front door, MERLIN hot on her heels, and neither one of them sees

the beautiful SNOW-WHITE BIRD that lands in a tree beside the path.

6INT:
INSIDE THE ROUSE - EVENING

SARAH bursts through the front door and makes a beeline for the

stairs. She almost makes it. SARAH'S MOTHER appears in the hallway.

MOTHER:
_Sarah_, where have you been?!!!

SARAH abruptly stops and changes to an elegantly graceful ascension

of the stairs.

SARAH (in an affected voice): I can't talk to you now. I'm in

rehearsal.

She continues grandly on and heads for her room.

MOTHER:
You were supposed to be home an hour ago to baby-sit for

Freddie! Don't we at least deserve an explanation?

SARAH stops and leans over the railing. She speaks with a

melodramatic solemnity.

SARAH:
As Meander's Queen, I've been ... meandering. Dither me not

about explanations.

With that she turns and heads for her room. On the door is a sign

that says:
"Admittance by Invitation Only." SARAH'S FATHER comes into

the hall.

FATHER:
What's that all about?

MOTHER:
It's a part in a play, (raising her voice) but that's no

reason to...

SARAH turns in her doorway. She calls down.

SARAH:
Chasten not your Queen, _Peasant_!

She dramatically sweeps into her room.

7INT:
SARAH'S ROOM - NIGHT

SARAH slams the door and leans against it, playing the scene.

FATHER (VO):
_Sarah_, that's no way to talk to your mother!

SARAH (mumbles to herself): She's not my mother.

SARAH takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She can hear footsteps

and SOMEONE comes to the other side of the door.

SARAH ignores her STEPMOTHER and kicks off her running shoes.

With a practiced gesture SARAH removes her jeans while leaving her

gown in place.

STEPMOTHER (VO):
_Sarah_, when I tell you to be home at five, I

expect you to be home at five.

SARAH quickly shifts to her STEPMOTHER's attitude -- hands on hips,

and silently mimes her words.

SARAH:
Yes, Madame!

7AINT:
UPSTAIRS HALLWAY

STEPMOTHER:
And don't "Yes Madame" me!

FATHER:
Is she all right?

STEPMOTHER (frustrated): Of course she's all right! I left the

Bernsteins' number on the kitchen table ... Freddie might be coming

down with a cold so call us if he seems even the least bit

uncomfortable ...

SARAH (VO) (sighs): Yes, Mother.

STEPMOTHER:
Oh! I give up!

She hurries down the stairs.

FATHER:
We'll see you later, baby. And remember ...

7BINT:
SARAH'S ROOM - NIGHT

SARAH speaks along with him, mimicking.

SARAH & FATHER (VO): Don't open the door to strangers.

We hear him leave. SARAH waits a beat and then turns and opens her

bedroom door.

SARAH:
And don't call me baby! (she slams the door shut; mimicking

her parents) Precious little Freddie might be coming down with a cold

...

She sighs and looks around. This is really her world, her retreat,

and she knows and controls every inch of it. The shelves are filled

with an orderly array of childhood dolls and toys. The books are

lined up neatly in the bookcase and if we could see them up close we

would see that they were placed in alphabetical order -- and

according to the year they were acquired. She walks over to her

dresser. She checks herself out in the mirror above the chest of

drawers and adjusts the golden circlet which has been knocked askew

by her run. She then stops for a moment and looks at the photographs

on the dresser. One of her FATHER, her MOTHER and herself as a LITTLE

GIRL. Another picture of her MOTHER in a newspaper clipping is taped

to the mirror. The headline says, "Linda Williams a Smash in New

Play." A cover of a Playbill is also tacked on to the mirror. It says

_Best of Both Worlds_ starring Linda Williams. SARAH then reverently

opens a music box -- the kind with a twirling dancer inside -- and to

the strains of an unbearably tinny version of "Greensleeves" she

begins to rehearse.

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