Little William — An Ontological Theatre Adventure

E P I S O D E 1

"Red Rocket and the Great Sprocket Disaster"

In which a sprocket breaks and engineering takes over.

WHOOOOSH!

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. A Tuesday. William "Red Rocket" himself hits the homemade ramp at full speed. The Rocket — his BMX, his best machine — catches air. Boots watches from the lawn. He is concerned. He is always concerned.

THE DIAGNOSIS

William holds the broken sprocket to the light. His face is VERY serious. Professional. A mechanic assessing damage.

HNNNF

(Boots snorts in sympathy)

William asleep next to Chomper the 3D printer

2:47 AM. Chomper hums through the darkness, building something magnificent. William sleeps beside it, helmet still on. Boots snores at his feet. The room smells like hot PLA filament and ambition.

THE NEW SPROCKET

Morning. William holds up the new sprocket triumphantly. It's beautiful. Too beautiful. Made of bright orange filament. It practically glows.

BOOTS: "SNRKT?"

(He does not trust it. Boots has good instincts.)

WHOOOOSH!

THE LAUNCH. William hits the ramp and goes MUCH higher than expected.
The new sprocket doesn't just work. It overperforms.

MEANWHILE, IN THE KITCHEN

WHITNEY: *sips coffee* *watches son orbit yard at dangerous speed* "Mm."

Her expression: calm. Not her first Tuesday.

THE PURSUIT

Boots the pug, wearing his little cape, attempts to chase The Rocket. His little legs vs. a 3D-printed supercharged BMX. The math is not in his favor.

PFFT!

(He gives up after 11 feet. Sits down. Snorts at the distance.)

FaceTime with Uncle Scott and Uncle Oliver

UNCLE OLIVER: "WILLIAM! HOW HIGH DID YOU GO?!"

UNCLE SCOTT: "Did you use the titanium setting on the slicer?!"

FaceTime. Uncle Scott and Uncle Oliver, both on their feet in their LA apartment, cheering. William waves from his bike, still moving. Whitney is in the corner of the frame. Her expression says "why are you encouraging this."

E P I S O D E 2

"Boots vs. PDS"

In which a pug attends school. Against all rules.

William arrives at PDS with suspicious backpack

PRESBYTERIAN DAY SCHOOL. Memphis morning. William walks in with his backpack. His expression is too innocent. The backpack moves. Slightly. Whitney specifically said no. Whitney is not here.

THE PRESENTATION

William at the front with Chomper (he carried it in somehow). His presentation: "3D PRINTING AND ITS APPLICATIONS." His classmates are TRANSFIXED. William has the energy of a TED talk speaker who is also 7.

EXHIBIT A, B, AND C

🗼 A perfectly 3D-printed replica of the Eiffel Tower
📱 A custom phone stand with his name engraved
🐾 A TINY PUG HELMET

The class erupts. The tiny pug helmet gets a standing ovation.

MEANWHILE

The backpack on William's chair.
A small orange-tipped snout visible at the zipper.
One wrinkled eye watching.

BOOTS: "...snrkt"

HNNNF!

THE SNORT HEARD ROUND PDS. Boots erupts from the backpack like a furry, wrinkled cannonball. The class LOSES IT. Twenty-two second graders and one pug in a cape. This was not in the lesson plan.

THE TEACHER

She has been a teacher for 22 years. She has seen everything. She was not ready for this.

😐

THE CO-PRESENTER

Boots, now free, wearing his little cape, sits at the front of the classroom. He has somehow become part of the presentation.

WILLIAM: "And this is Boots. He is my research partner."

PFFT.

(Boots snorts in agreement)

MOM HAS ARRIVED

Whitney arrives to collect Boots. She is holding a sheet of paper that is clearly a permission slip she definitely should have received. She looks at her son. Her son looks at her. Boots snorts.

BOOTS: "PFFT."

She is not angry. She is impressed. She will never admit this.

E P I S O D E 3

"The Uncles Arrive"

(Memphis Is Not Prepared)

UNCLES!

MEMPHIS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. The automatic doors open and there they are: Uncle Oliver in his leather jacket, already mid-gesture, telling a story about the flight. Uncle Scott, looking like he just walked off a movie set, already thinking about what he's going to cook. William SPRINTS. Boots waddles at full pug-speed. (Not very fast.)

THE GIFTS

Scott hands William the filament pack — 20 colors in a rainbow. William's face is the face of someone who has seen God.

🎸 New BMX grips (from Oliver) · 📕 A cookbook (from Scott) · William doesn't care about the cookbook. Boots eats the cookbook.

THE STORYTELLER

Oliver tells a story at the dinner table. His hands are doing something. Everyone is leaning in. Whitney is laughing against her will.

OLIVER: "—and THEN the director says—"

(Boots is under the table. Hoping for scraps. He will get scraps.)

CHEF MODE: ACTIVATED

Scott in the kitchen — FULL CHEF MODE. Memphis kitchen, cast iron pans, something extraordinary happening on the stove. He's explaining the technique to William who is paying CLOSE attention, because William pays close attention to things he finds interesting.

SCOTT: "The secret is you let the butter get just past brown. Watch."

THE BMX TEST

Oliver pushes William down a long Memphis street. The Rocket hits full speed. Oak trees blur past. Boots gives chase, immediately falls behind, sits down in the street, snorts at the distance.

HNNNF.

(Boots has accepted his limitations. He has not accepted them gracefully.)

Night. The four of them — William, Whitney, Scott, Oliver — sitting on the front porch. Memphis evening. Fireflies everywhere. Boots asleep across William's feet, snoring softly. The adults are talking about nothing important and everything that matters. William is already asleep too, BMX helmet still on his head. This is a family.

LATER THAT NIGHT

Close-up on Chomper the 3D printer — humming through the night — printing something new. Made with the 20-color filament. We see just enough to know it's going to be amazing.

[HUMMMMMMMM]

Epic finale — William soars with rainbow filament trail

WHOOOOOOSH!

Final panel. Full Spider-Verse splash. William on The Rocket, mid-air, auburn-red hair flying, all 20 colors of filament wrapped around him like a comet tail. Boots in his cape, leaping (slightly). Whitney watching, smiling, phone out — she's recording this. Uncle Scott and Uncle Oliver are IN the background, cheering. Memphis skyline, golden hour. This is a family. This is everything.