Hello (20 pages in PDF format) by Rick Hansberry

Interesting what you can find in used bookstores – and often there’s a reason it’s there.

The genre “drama”; as a classification, it tends to be simplistic. Because underneath that ever-so-wide umbrella are a multitude of shades and layers. Thriller dramas: dealing with mysteries, plot turns… the penultimate ticking clock. Sociopolitical dramas: shedding their unforgiving light on society’s often violent conflicts. Emotional crisis dramas: focusing on the impact of fate’s cruel slings and arrows – and the pain that inevitably results. Then there are Introspective dramas – examining the quirky details of Life. Hello belongs in this last category. A gentle, quiet indie script – offering a wry commentary on modern romance…

Young woman Lexi is looking for love. Her best friend is Will – a plugged in young guy, embroiled in a long-distance relationship himself. As the script opens, Lexi’s dragging Will into a used video/bookstore (the absolute last place he’d want to be.) And the last place a relationship might be kindled. But as Will flees to the store next door, Lexi reaches for a book. And finds herself face to face with Chase. A chance encounter. Is it fate?

It’s the perfect “meeting of souls”. But can it survive the cold light of reality? At first, Lexi and Chase’s relationship seems perfect. Until she senses a sea-change in his mood. Along with underlying character traits, not evident upon first meeting. Assisted by ever-supportive Chase, Lexi examines the dynamics of her new relationship. Different personalities. Different lives. A union perhaps not meant to be.

Let’s face it. Everyone’s been there. What can a girl do when faced with a relationship that clicked, then clacked? Can one ever expect a happy ending from a used bookstore called the Second Time Around? Or escape the impulses that make us love who and what we do?

Though firmly set in modern day, Hello reads like a remake of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” – enacted by the cast of Friends. Rest assured, that’s a compliment. Each character an actor’s dream role – endowed with depth and vitality. The dialog’s smart; oozing subtext like beer at a frat party.

In the hands of the right director, Hello has lots of indie potential. A short, eminantly affordable drama that awaits the proper quirky touch.

Budget: Very affordable. A handful of characters, and easily obtainable settings.

About the writer: Rick Hansberry has written/produced several short films, including the SAG Foundation award-winning “Branches.” He teaches screenwriting seminars and workshops in the Central Pennsylvania area and is presently available for hire for new story ideas, rewrites and adaptations. He can be reached at djrickhansberry – AT – msn, (cell phone 717-682-8618) and IMDB credits.

About the reviewer: Michael O’Farrell is a mathematician who worked on the Space Shuttle Program and now writes fiction.

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