Top Billing story
Barry Blye, a struggling actor with a dull and drab appearance, is fired by his agent, dumped by his girlfriend, and evicted from his apartment. Desperate for work, Barry attempts to receive the lead role in a strange production of Hamlet, but is turned down by director Nelson Haliwell, who instead gives the part to his handsome rival, Winton Robbins. In a rage, Barry kills Winton to get the part, only to discover that he's actually to, in a literal sense, play the part of the long-deceased Yorick. Directed by: Todd Holland. Story by: Myles Berkowitz.
12 total · 1 choice · 7 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| acting | choice | The story concerned two actors arguing about acting and then getting out-acted by escaped lunatics. |
| facing financial ruin | major | Barry was out of a job, couldn't pay his bills, got evicted from his flat and lost his measly possessions. |
| lookism in society | major | According to Barry, he should not be judged and dismissed because of his commonplace appearance, because his acting skills were sublime. |
| loser character | major | Barry was explicitly described as a loser character. He had no job, was evicted from his flat, lost his girlfriend. |
| male-male rivalry | major | Barry and Winton had a longstanding rivalry. In the story there were competing for "top billing" in a strange production of Hamlet. Winton was successful and did not need the lowly Hamlet role, but decided to take it form Barry anyway to "prove a point", as it were. |
| mental illness | major | It is unclear what the little actor group of mental patients suffered from in the end, but it was clear that it was not for nothing they had been locked up in a psychiatric institution for the criminally insane. |
| murder | major | The struggling actor Barry strangled Winton with a rope after Winton won the audition for an important role in a strange production of Hamlet. It turns out that the little theater group wanted to slaughter Barry for his skull and nothing else. The mental patients killed all the worked at the home for the criminally insane where they were incarcerated. |
| struggling artist character | major | Barry was an unsuccessful actor with little to look forward to in the way of a future career in the industry. He a total loser. |
| agent and client | minor | Barry was dropped by his agent. |
| boyfriend and girlfriend | minor | Barry was dumped by his girlfriend. |