Coffee shop. Spot lit. Shadows in the corners. But the play begins before that.

ACT I

SCENE ONE
(The curtains are closed, and the lights are off. As footsteps are heard, lights come on to illuminate the stage in the middle. CHARLOTTE enters and walks into the light. She is wearing a grey shirt and pants with a full-length apron on which is a logo of a shark sipping coffee. She stands facing the audience until the silence becomes oppressive.)

CHARLOTTE
To the audience I face
I come to talk about
A place
Divine
And
Dark

To the audience I face
I come to speak about
A time
Righteous
And
Shark.

In a coffee bar.

To the audience I face
I come to tell you
The characters are
You
And
You.

And future you.

And though the characters
May seem ordinary
And though you
May feel ordinary,
It is in the ordinary that
Untested traits
Awaken
And
Challenge
The powerful insurance man.

Welcome
To
The Dark Side.

(The lights turn off, and footsteps disappear into the wings.)