Jack and Coke Treatment

Molly Cooper

(Act 1)
Opening Image:
Every corner of the house is filled with the cacophony of
intoxicated party go-ers. Nearly being drowned out by the noise,
Jack, a degenerate young man, riddled with piercings and
tattoos, is playing his guitar. Jack plays with intensity and
focus, every note seemingly placed in perfect sequence. The
lyrics aren’t Shakespere but they aren’t bad either, but
metaphors are being undermined by his offkey singing voice.

Some of the crowd rolls their eyes, snickers, and jokes about
his voice; however, a beautiful girl, Harper, bearing a smile
that could bring happiness to even the coldest person's heart,
listens intently and is impressed.

The party thrower, Ethan, throws a red solo cup at Jack and
harshly tells him to stop ruining the party complaining that
they should’ve hired a DJ. Ethan tells Jack that his performance
is so bad that he should just leave and he’s not getting paid
for it. Jack tries to argue, but seeing he’s outnumbered by the
crowd he begins to pack up his gear.

Theme stated:
Harper walks up to him raving over Jack's impressive performance
saying that Ethan doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Jack
brushes off the compliment as her just being nice. They begin to
chat while Jack packs his gear. Jack explains that he wants to
become a musician but he’s not sure that he can keep going if
gigs keep turning out like this one. Harper commiserates with
him for a moment saying she wishes that she had tried to follow
her own dreams. She tells him it’s actually inspiring and brave
that he has the courage to try to follow his dreams even when it
gets tough. She encourages him to keep trying because he has a
real talent. Harper, sees that he doesn’t believe her
compliments and pulls a $20 out of her wallet and writes
something on it and then hands it to Jack saying, “a performance
with such heart deserves to be paid.” Jack reluctantly accepts
the cash, and reads the message she wrote on it: “more will
come”

Harper explains she’s heard an old superstition that if you keep

the first payment you’ve received living your dream that it will
bring more success in the future. Jack laughs saying he’s not
superstitious and it’s also not his first paid performance.
Harper shrugs and says maybe it will still help. Jack thanks her
for the cash. As he is about to ask her name, a friend of
Harper’s interrupts them and pulls her away.

Set-Up:
Jack begins lugging his equipment toward the exit trying to stay
out of everybody’s way when he suddenly bumps into a man. The
strange man seems completely out of place at this college party.
He’s an older, balding man, with bloodshot eyes, and dirt
stained hands. A smile forms on the man's lips and he says that
Jack looks lost. Jack apologizes for bumping into him and says
that he’s just on his way out. The strange man shakes his head,
explaining he meant Jack looks lost in life.

Jack, taken aback and somewhat offended, tries to walk away but
the man places a hand on his shoulder and stops him. The strange
man asks what he wants to do in the future. Jack pulls away and
half-jokingly replies that playing a gig that he actually gets
paid for would b nice. The strange man smiles and explains that
he has a quick fix for all his troubles: “magic beans.” The man
holds up a small package full of pills. Jack immediately
declines his offer stating that he doesn’t do drugs and tries to
walk away again. The drug dealer stops him explaining that they
aren’t just any drug but a special hallucinogenic drug that
helps people enter a creative and hyper-focused state. The
strange man tells Jack this drug may be the key to writing the
song that will get him off the ground.

Jack considers the offer but says that even if he wanted to he

can’t afford it. The drug dealer gives a wicked smile and says
he will give it to him for $20 because he is feeling generous.
Jack pulls out the $20 that Harper gave him. The man snatches it
out of his hands and gives Jack the “magic beans.” Jack’s phone
begins to ring. He turns his attention back toward the man but
he’s gone. Jack shoves the “magic beans” in his pocket and
leaves the house.

Catalyst:
Jack gets in the car and answers the FaceTime call. His Mom has
a fragile frame, smooth skin, and concerned eyes. She asks Jack
where he is and he avoids the question by asking why she is
calling. She picks up on it and flat out asks if he is at a
party, to which he says no. She calls him out for lying and he
rolls his eyes asking why she even asked if she already knew.
Fed up, she begins to nag him about finding a real job and they
fight. By the end, she says that she talked it over with his
Father and that they decided they won’t support him throwing
away his life anymore. She gives him an ultimatum: either get a
real job or they won’t continue to support him. She tells him he
had his chance to make it as a musician and it’s time to face
the music that he’s never gonna make it big. Jack lashes out and
tells her that he will never give up his music and if she is
going to give up on him then there’s no reason for them to talk
anymore. Jack angrily hangs up.

Debate:
Jack slams his fists on the steering wheel in frustration. He
pulls out his lyric book and tries to release his feelings by
putting his swirling thoughts into lyrics but nothing sounds
right. He shoves the book into the glove compartment, annoyed.

He then pulls out the packet of “magic beans” and rips open the
packaging. Inside he finds a variety of pearl-colored,
heart-shaped, pills. He examines them, twiddling it around in
his fingers and then pops one into his mouth.

After a moment, the world begins to flash and change shape.

Jack's eyes widen, he begins to drool, his vision blurs and he
dozes off.

(Act 2)
Break into Act 2:
Jack’s eyes flutter open to reveal a strange yet fantastical
fairytale world. Jack is lying on a small stump along a
tree-line path. In the distance, nearly tucked away behind the
enchanted trees is a large beanstalk that reaches high above
into the clouds. Jack wanders over to it curiously and uncertain
where else to go, begins to climb.

B-Story:
Jack reaches the top of the beanstalk and walks onto a cloud and
toward a small cloud cottage. Upon reaching it, he meekly knocks
on the door. To his surprise a beautiful young woman that
resembles Harper from the party, but who is now a half woman
half harp, opens up. She smiles sweetly, both surprised and
confused why he is there.

Fun and Games:

Jack recounts how he got to her doorstep, stopping short,
remembering that he took one of the drugs. He says he has to be
dreaming. Harper reassures him he’s not and asks Jack where he
lives hoping to help him get home. Jack mentions his roommate
Giovanni and Harper smiles saying that she recognizes that name
and might be able to help him. Jack is unsure how a
hallucination would really be much help but decides to follow
her anyway.

Harper leads him to the Giant's castle. They find a Giant

sitting alone at his desk writing something. Jack pulls his
guitar out of its case, which now in this other world appears as
a golden lute, and he begins to play a lullaby until the Giant
falls asleep. Harper calls him amazing and asks if he’s a
magical bard. Jack smiles and says maybe in this world he is.

Harper asks if he’s hungry and using the Giant’s food and
kitchen they make and share a meal. Jack explains his troubles
to her and Harper relates to him and says that for years she
felt like she had to live her parent’s dreams and one day she
realized she was unhappy and had none of her own and she didn’t
know what to do with herself after. Jack says that if he only
had enough money to purchase a better guitar he honestly
believes would be able to write and create the kind of music
that would get his name out there.

Harper suddenly perks up and tells him that she knows of a shop
that buys rare items and that she can take him there if he has
anything to sell and he could earn the money that way. Jack
smiles and says that maybe they can find something inside the
Giant’s castle.

He holds up a glass in a toast and promises to help her find a

new dream if she helps him figure out how to accomplish his own.
She agrees. They clink their glasses and take a sip.

Jack and Harper explore the Giant’s castle aimlessly searching

for something to sell at the shop and come across a golden egg.
Jack marvels at the treasure. Just then, the Giant begins to
wake up. Jack and Harper scramble out of the castle and down the
beanstalk just before the Giant can get them.

Harper takes Jack to the shop and Jack sells the golden egg for
$100. Jack and Harper celebrate. Suddenly, his vision starts to
blur. Jack cries out wanting to take Harper and the money with
him.

Jack's eyes slowly open. He sits up finding himself in bed

unsure of how he got there. He rubs his head and gets up to
change out of his party clothes swearing off drugs forever.
While changing, a $100 bill falls out of his pocket. Jack gasps
in disbelief. The money from his hallucination is real.
There is a knock on his bedroom door. Jack, still in disbelief,
doesn't respond. The door swings open to reveal a tall muscular
man, Giovanni, Jack’s roommate. Giovanni berates Jack for coming
home in such an inebriated state and chastises him for
disturbing their cute new neighbor. Giovanni passive
aggressively implies that Jack better not make him look bad in
front of her. After complaining about his behavior Giovanni asks
if he even made any money from his gig last night. Jack pulls
out the $100 bill and Giovanni congratulates him snagging the
bill from his hands. Jack tries to grab it back unsuccessfully
and Giovanni tells him that he’ll keep it safe for him because
rent is going to be due soon and he knows how bad he is with
money. Giovanni also says that Jack’s Mom called to let Giovanni
know that she won’t be covering Jack anymore if he’s short and
to check in. Jack groans. Giovanni tells him that she’s just
worried about him but Jack rolls his eyes and says that he has
to get ready for another gig tonight. Giovanni leaves him to it.

We see Jack begin to slip into a new routine. At night he plays

gigs where the audience seems unimpressed, but after that he
takes a pill and has fantastical adventures outsmarting the
Giant and finding more golden eggs with Harper and selling them
at the shop. Every morning he wakes up in his bed again to an
annoyed Giovanni taking his money for safekeeping. While in the
other world Jack begins working on a new song for Harper.

Soon the real life gigs become less frequent, and the time spent
in the other world becomes more. He begins to play gigs in the
fantasy world, and here his voice is actually in tune and
velvety. The fantasy audience cheers and appreciates all of his
performances. Harper’s presence becomes overshadowed by the rest
of the fantasy world and when she does appear she looks slightly
concerned.

Days Pass.

One day, Jack gets to the top of the beanstalk ready for another
adventure but to his surprise Harper is already waiting for him.
They try to joke like old times but it feels forced. She
suddenly looks serious. Jack asks her what’s wrong. She tries to
say something but the words get caught in her throat. Finally,
she tells him that she thinks he should stop taking the “magic
beans.” Jack is taken aback and grows defensive. Harper explains
that she knows that he’s been struggling to cope with his other
life but that she’s starting to get worried. He’s been taking
them more frequently and sometimes he disappears and no one,
including her, knows where he’s gone. Jack argues that the beans
are helping him and that he finally has enough money for rent
but still not enough for the new guitar. He asks if they can
sell one last big ticket item at the shop so he can get enough
for the guitar and then he’ll stop for good. Harper reluctantly
agrees.

Jack and Harper scour the house. Harper finds a few golden eggs
but nothing seems to be worth enough to cover the guitar cost.
Finally they find the golden goose. Jack smiles excitedly and
they return to the shop. This time Jack is given $1000 for the
golden goose which is just enough for his guitar.

Outside of the shop Jack counts the money they made. Harper
looks at him dejectedly and reminds him that he promised this is
the last time. Jack frantically begins to backpedal on his
promise stating that he doesn’t know how he’s going to survive
without her and that he has to come back because he still never
found her a new dream. Jack’s vision begins to blur and he
curses the inopportune timing. Harper gives him a sad smile and
places a hand on his shoulder. “Jack, I think I-“ but she is cut
off by Jack passing out.

Midpoint:
Jack wakes up in the real world, checks his pocket, and counts
the money again. Jack throws away his old guitar and goes to the
music shop to purchase the new one. Once back in his car with
his new guitar Jack begins to play it. The sound is hauntingly
beautiful. He begins to sing the song he wrote for Harper but
unfortunately his voice in reality is not as velvety as his
fairytale bard’s was. He gets frustrated and strums harder until
he accidentally breaks one of the strings. He groans and drives
home. Just as Jack is about to leave his car he spots the bag of
“magic beans” in the center console. He takes one.

Bad Guys Close In:

Jack, now alone, frantically rummages through the Giant’s castle
thinking if he could just buy a new microphone it would help his
voice and his troubles would be solved. Jack, frustrated because
he’s unable to find anything in the nearly empty castle, notices
the magic mirror on the wall. Jack’s vision begins to distort as
he lunges for it and tries to rip it off the wall. In his haste
he catches a glimpse of his reflection and realizes how crazy he
looks. He’s about to stop trying to rip it off when he hears a
gasp. He turns to see Harper standing in the doorway which he
mistakenly left ajar.
Jack’s vision continues to distort and the world around him
begins flickering between the fantasy world and reality. The
magic mirror for instance flicks between a t.v. and a mirror.
Harper flickers between her human self and harp person self. The
Giants castle flickers between it and his apartment. Jack falls
to the ground. Harper calls out for him. Jack passes out.

All Is Lost:
Jack wakes up in the center of his apartment. Harper hovers over
him, tears fill her eyes. Harper asks him why he broke his
promise. Jack is confused how he is seeing her in the real world
and tries to apologize saying that he had to steal one more
thing from the Giant. Just then, Giovanni rushes in the door
apologizing for Jack and thanking her for calling him. Giovanni
hovers over him with his arms crossed and interrogates him about
how he really keeps getting money since he hasn’t been going to
his gigs. Jack mentions something about stealing the golden
goose and eggs from the Giant but it’s mostly incoherent
gibberish. Harper confesses that she’s actually just their
neighbor and that she felt sorry for him so she played along
with the drug induced fantasies every time he climbed onto her
balcony from the fire escape. Harper explains how she helped him
pawn some of his old games and things but the mattress was the
last straw.

Giovanni goes sheet white putting the pieces together. He runs

into his room and returns grabbing Jack by the collar, shaking
him ferociously screaming at him for stealing his stuff and
asking Jack where his mattress is.

Harper gasps putting the pieces together as well. She panics

saying she thought he was pawning his own things. Giovanni
throws Jack against the wall and furiously yells that the
mattress was where he was hiding Jack’s rent money for
safekeeping and that now Jack had accidentally lost thousands of
dollars more than he got. Giovanni tells him he’s leaving. Jack
looks to Harper for help but she shakes her head in disgust and
offers to help Giovanni pack since it’s partially her fault.
Giovanni looks at Jack with hatred filled eyes and wishes him
luck on paying both their rent because he is not the one on the
lease.

Dark Night of the Soul:

All of Giovanni’s remaining things are gone and Jack is alone.
He falls to his knees and hangs his head suffocated by the
silent and empty apartment.
Jack, flashes back to moments within the fairytale land butnow
looking at it with the new lens of reality instead of his
hallucinated version of reality. He cringes in embarrassment
seeing Harper awkwardly play along while he climbs the fire
escape like it’s a beanstalk, tricks the Giant which he realizes
is just Giovanni, and plays his bard “gigs” on the street.

Jack attempts to knock on Harper's door but she never answers.

Jack begins to pawn all his belongings, even his own mattress,
only to quickly realize that it will not be enough to pay for
rent. Upon returning to the house he finds an eviction notice on
the door. He goes inside and lies in the middle of the floor
cycling between sleeping and staring at the packet of magic
beans.

Suddenly, his phone rings. He answers and it’s his Mother. His
eyes fill with tears and he breaks down on the phone with her.
She promises to help him.

(Act 3)
Break Into Act 3:
Jack types on a computer at his new “real” job that his parents
helped him get. Still short on rent money he also works the
graveyard shift at a convenience store. Days pass and Jack
spends all of his time working while his new guitar gathers dust
in the corner of the nearly empty apartment.

After the end of a long shift, Jack picks up his guitar. He

dusts and polishes it, and replaces the broken string, tears
running down his face

Jack walks out of a shop blaring loud music with a dejected

look. He slowly opens up a yellow envelope filled with cash and
sighs and counts it. Inside he finds the $20 bill with Harper’s
message on it. He tapes it to the wall in his apartment.

Jack meets up with the landlord who immediately snatches the

envelope out of his hands, yells at him about paying the rent on
time. Jack apologizes profusely and goes back into the
apartment.

Finale:
One day, there’s a knock on the door. Jack opens it to see
Harper. He immediately apologizes but she dismisses it saying
that he was struggling and she wishes she’d helped more and
apologizes as well. Harper spots the $20 on the wall and is
surprised he kept it. Jack laughs and said he honestly was
hoping it would help him with his dream. She asks him if he’s
been writing more music, and he says no and that it's actually
for luck with his new dream. They both share a meaningful moment
of silence.

She breaks the silence and says the reason she stopped by is
that she had the song he wrote for her in her head but couldn’t
remember the words and was hoping he could play it for her
again. He tells her he won’t be able to play the song because he
had to sell his guitar to pay rent. Harper is shocked that he’d
go that far to pay his rent but is impressed that he’s been
getting it together.

She suddenly has an idea and runs to her apartment and comes
back with his old guitar covered in stickers. She explains that
she saw it in the trash and couldn’t bear to leave it so she
took it home and has been trying to learn. She tells him she’s
not very good though and she accidentally broke one of the
strings.

Jack takes it and stares at it silently for a moment. Harper

asks if she’s allowed in but he just silently moves aside to let
her pass. Jack looks in a drawer for a replacement string.

In the drawer he finds the last of the “magic beans.” He stares

at them for a moment. Harper’s voice gets more and more distant
as his vision starts to blur. Sweat rolls down his forehead as
he slowly reaches for the packet. He grasps it in his hands
tightly, squeezing it firmly. A hand snaps him back to reality
and Harper yelling in his ear becomes audible.

He looks up at Harper and regains his composure. In anger he

throws the rest of the “magic beans” down the garbage disposal
and runs it.

Harper asks if he’s okay but Jack says no, but that he will be.
He finishes replacing the string and starts to play the song he
wrote for her. A smile slowly creeps up on both of their faces.

Final Image:
Harper begins to sing the words and he stops awestruck by her
beautiful passion-filled voice. Harper shyly says she’s never
had the courage to sing in front of anyone before. She asks if
he can teach her the song. He hands her the guitar in response.
She protests a bit, claiming she doesn't really know how to do
it. He guides her though the process. She places her fingers as
instructed and strums a chord, shocking herself.

Jack laughs and says, “I think we might’ve stumbled upon a

potential new dream for you.” She coyly disagrees saying, “I was
trying to tell you before I found a dream.” They both hold a
longing gaze and share a kiss. Jack and her laugh and then he
continues to teach her.

The end!