CHARLES BILLINGSLEE III (50s) - CEO of Brobdingnagian Synthetics; an arrogant,
high powered magnate with the persona of a car salesman who does
not understand the word ‘NO.’ 

WINSTON BILLINGSLEE (20s) - Charles’ nephew and VP; a naive, enthusiastic
lackey who wants to please. 

Note: the pronunciation of Brobdingnagian:

braab·dig·na·gee·uh 

Also note, all hand props and set pieces are 
executed in mime with the exception of two 
giant plastic bags. 

At Rise:  

Two giant plastic bags lay on an imaginary 
platform, 15x15 square feet. The bags move. 

Two men dressed in rumpled suits crawl out
of the bags. Dazed. They look around. 

BILLINGSLEE 
What the hell? Winston, where are we? 

WINSTON 
Sir, I have no idea? 

BILLINGSLEE 
Looks like a dump. 

WINSTON 
Yes sir, seems to be. Trash as far as the eye can see. 

BILLINGSLEE 
I’ll wait here. You go and find us a way out of here. 

WINSTON 
Sir, you want me to walk through all that crap? I don’t even know which direction to head. There’s nothing
out there. No road. Not even a path.

BILLINGSLEE 
(paces the small platform) 
I don’t know how we got here. Inefficiency, perhaps. Intrigue and sabotage, no doubt. I suspect we were kidnapped.

WINSTON 
Yes! That’s it! The last thing I remember is the banquet. You had just given your inspirational speech
about the future expansion of Brobdingnagian Synthetics.

BILLINGSLEE/WINSTON
(chant a hand-jive-like cheer) 
Braab-dig-na-gee-uh! 

BILLINGSLEE 
So, Winston, if you expect to remain vice president, you need to do your part. Get out there. Get your snakeskin
Guccis dirty for Brobdingnagian. 
(another hand-jive cheer) 
Get us some transportation. Time to put on your hero hat and save your CEO.

Winston nods. Walks to the edge of the 
platform, salutes, and steps off. He sinks. 

WINSTON 
(thrashes in slow motions, surfaces 
between each word) 
Help! Water! I can’t swim! 

Billingslee moves to the edge of the platform 
and manages to pull Winston back onto the 
platform.

Winston lies on his side catching his breath.

WINSTON
(licks his lips and points to the water) 
Saltwater!
(crawling to his feet) 
That’s salt water! We’re in the fricking ocean! The Isle of Plastica! 

BILLINGSLEE
(looks around) 
You don’t say. Hmmm. The Pacific?

WINSTON
(nods) 
I read that the Isle of Plastica is the size of Texas. It can be seen from outer space. Bigger than the Great Wall
of China. 

BILLINGSLEE 
That’s phenomenal. To think BS helped to make all this. 

WINSTON 
Sir, has it occurred to you that we have no food or water? 

BILLINGSLEE 
I believe that this platform is a helicopter pad. Our kidnappers put us here. They won’t let us starve or die of thirst. 

WINSTON 
You are right, sir. Brilliant. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Ransom money. That’s what this is all about. As soon as corporate office pays their asking price, all this will be over.
So, let’s make the most of this situation. Look around you. What does this chaos say to you? Tell me what you think? 

WINSTON
(struggles to answer) 
Too much of a good thing can be a problem?

Billingslee nods in agreement. He begins pacing. 

BILLINGSLEE 
‘Where there’s a problem; there’s an opportunity.’ Are you with me, Winston? 

WINSTON 
I’m trying, sir. But what about plastic getting into the food chain? 

BILLINGSLEE
Are you looking? Do you see any dead birds? Do you see any turtles in plastic wrap?
(Winston shakes his head ‘no’) 
Ignore the gossip from the animal lovers. Do you see... potential? 

WINSTON 
I can’t think right now. I need some water. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Forget about water. Straighten up. Tell yourself that water is on the way. Use this time to think about what we can do
here. Look at this mess! Don’t you have any ideas? 

WINSTON 
I’m trying, Uncle Chuck. 

BILLINGSLEE 
What have I told you about calling me uncle? 

WINSTON 
Sorry. I’m so thirsty I can’t think. Maybe it’s the fumes. 

BILLINGSLEE 
I smell it. 
(inhales deeply) 
Think about this stench as the odor of opportunity. Look around you. Suck it all up. Think about what we’ve done
and what we need to do. This mess is our creation. We are responsible. Let’s turn this mess into an opportunity.
Do you see opportunity? 

WINSTON 
I’m trying, sir. I’m really trying. The smell is really nauseating. My ears are buzzing. I think I’m going to faint.

The humming sound of a small engine. 

BILLINGSLEE 
I hear buzzing too.
(he looks around and overhead) 
I see it. It’s a drone. Ha! I told you they wouldn’t let us die. Food and drink.

The two men watch the drone circle overhead
and land at their feet.

Winston opens a hatch and unpacks some water
and guzzles. Billingslee sees a letter. Plucks it
out and opens it. 

BILLINGSLEE 
I wonder how much we’re worth. I know how much I’m worth. 
(reading) 
To Charles Billingslee III. In order for you to be recycled back into society, we demand that you recognize and apologize for the damage that you have done to our earth. 

Second, we demand restitution: a statement that includes a plan for the dismantling of the Isle of Plastica. We demand that you give us your solemn promise and your word of honor... bla... bla...bla. 
(agitated, he waves the letter) 
Wouldn’t you know it. It’s those Green jerks! 

WINSTON 
They hate us! They blame us for everything. 

BILLINGSLEE 
I would rather deal with kidnappers. They are more reasonable. 

WINSTON 
Why us? We aren’t the only ones. There’s an entire industry out there making plastic. 
(points to the platform) 
They need a bigger platform. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Think positive. It’s a backdoor compliment. You have to admit, we are the leader in the plastics industry. I feel honored that they have chosen us to solve the problem. They want to use Brobdingnagian to make a statement. 

BILLINGSLEE/WINSTON 
(Billingslee hand-jives with enthusiasm;
Winston without enthusiasm) 
Braab-dig-na-gee-uh! 

WINSTON 
They’re going to let us rot here in our own garbage. We are heads on a spike!

Billingslee checks the drone and pulls out a
sandwich. He tosses it to Winston. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Eat something. Calm down. Think opportunity.

Winston nods and wolfs down his sandwich.
Billingslee returns to the drone and pulls out a
pad of paper and a pen. 

BILLINGSLEE 
A true gift from heaven. Pen and paper. I guess this is supposed to be our surrender document. Our confession of shame. 
(mimes the head in the noose pose) 
Our admission of violating the earth.

Winston finishes his sandwich and licks his
fingers. He looks at his arms. He looks up at the
sky, shading his eyes from the sun.

WINSTON 
I’m turning red, Sir. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Would you stop letting personal concerns interfere with corporate matters? Where is your fealty? What comes first? Your stomach? Your freckles? Brobdingnagian Synthetics?

Billingslee starts another Brobdingnagian chant,
then stops when he realizes that Winston is not
participating. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Where is your vice presidential zeal? 

WINSTON 
Sir, it’s getting hot and it’s still morning. 

BILLINGSLEE
(disappointed in his protege) 
Winston! Learn how to ignore the obvious.

Billingslee hands the notepad and pen to
Winston.

BILLINGSLEE 
We... I have a plan. Start writing. 

WINSTON 
What? I’m not a secretary. 

BILLINGSLEE 
You are now. You will be whatever I need you to be. At this moment you are my secretary. 

WINSTON 
I haven’t taken notes for years. 

BILLINGSLEE 
I haven’t written in years. I only dictate. 

WINSTON 
Yes sir, I’ll do my best. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Good man. Just what I want to hear. 

BILLINGSLEE 
(struts around the platform) 
My dear green friends. I admit that plastics have made a mess. I regret to say that I am partially responsible. May I remind you that before BS it was all about the trees. Before plastic there was paper. You must not forget that before the era of plastic, millions of magnificent trees were sacrificed for single use paper containers and packaging. I admit that plastic is not perfect. We all know that plastic, unlike paper, is not biodegradable. It clutters our roadsides, clogs our rivers, fills our lakes and oceans. Plastic particles enter the food chain, causing starvation in animals and cancer in humans. 
(waits for Winston to catch up ) 
Therefore, I pledge to lead the industry in a new direction. We, Brobdingnagian Synthetics...

Billingslee and Winston perform their routine
with enthusiasm and impressive movements. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Where was I? 

WINSTON 
...new direction. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Yes. Yes. New direction. Therefore, we vow to use all our resources to rectify this massive environmental disaster. You have my word as CEO. Moreover, we will enlist and demand that other companies in the industry work with us for the removal of plastic trash from the ocean, eliminate of single use plastic, and lastly, to provide money toward scientific research.

Billingslee stops, sighs, wipes his brow, and
smiles.  

WINSTON 
That was inspiring. Hey, you’re right. I don’t feel the heat or my thirst. I feel reborn. I feel a sense of purpose. I am Superman ready to save the Earth. From this day forward I am a part of the reclamation of our planet. We are not the perpetrator. We’re the savior. 

Winston does an amazing one man cheer. 

Brobdingnagian! 

BILLINGSLEE 
Let me sign our historic document. My hands have been slapped. Time to get to work.

Winston holds the pad and Billingslee signs. 

BILLINGSLEE 
It’s a new chapter. A great opportunity. Winston, keep the extra paper. Work notes.

Winston separates blank pages from the written
pages on the notepad. He ceremoniously hands
the document to Billingslee who delivers the
document into a compartment on the drone.
He presses the button.

The sound of the drone humming. Both men
watch the drone lift off and fly away. 

BILLINGSLEE 
I assume we will see a helicopter in a couple of hours. 

WINSTON 
Well done, sir. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Thank you, Winston. Like you, I’m invigorated. Let’s keep working. So much to do. Are you with me? 

WINSTON
(pen in hand) 
Yes sir. Let’s do it! 

BILLINGSLEE 
Number one. Buy a ship... a used aircraft carrier. Two, outfit our ship into a recycling factory. We’ll park it right here beside this platform. Our ship will dredge up plastic and recycle it into giant blocks of foam. 

WINSTON 
I don’t understand, sir. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Wait for the big picture. Now then, I want a new research facility built to house a new team of scientists. They will be researching the effects of plastic in the human body. Next, what number are we on? 

WINSTON 
(trying to keep up) 
Number four, sir. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Four, I want a new team of lawyers, experts in international law. Five, I want our team of lobbyists tripled. Six, I want you to assemble the best team of investigative reporters that the world has ever seen. Get them their own building. Seven, I want three social workers. Eight, call your mother, and tell her I need her to design a flag. 

WINSTON 
A flag sir? 

BILLINGSLEE 
Don’t you see the big picture? 

WINSTON 
Sorry, sir, no. I don’t. 

BILLINGSLEE 
The Isle of Plastica! We are forming a new country. Perhaps a continent. 

WINSTON 
What? 

BILLINGSLEE 
This wasteland will be our country. Our home. Our headquarters. 

WINSTON 
I don’t understand. How can we live here? 

BILLINGSLEE 
Plastic foam. Can’t you see it? Giant floating blocks of foam that connect together into a gargantuan floating continent. Our social workers will import desperate families from landfills found around the world. They will be our workers and citizens. We will take recycled plastic and build little plastic houses filled with plastic furniture. 

WINSTON 
How will they eat, sir? 

BILLINGSLEE 
Hydroponic gardens. Lots of plastic tubes. What we can’t grow we will import on plastic barges. 

WINSTON 
What about our headquarters? Will it be plastic? 

BILLINGSLEE 
Absolutely not. Number nine, find us the biggest yacht in the world. Now where was I? Yes, yes. Lawyers. Our lawyers will write our constitution and represent us at the United Nations. Our scientists will prove that ingested plastic is not toxic.

Winston stops writing. 

BILLINGSLEE 
Our team of lobbyists will guide world leaders into our court. Our investigative reporters will tell the world how we reshaped the world and saved our oceans.

Winston walks to the edge of the platform and
looks down. He throws the notes into the water.
Winston jumps into the water.

In slow motion Winston drowns as Billingslee rambles on.

BILLINGSLEE 
As a sovereign nation we are free from American law. Our economy will be plastic, not gold, not the dollar. Our new nation will rewrite the laws of nature and redraft the laws of physics. We will rewrite history. It will be the era of plastic. 
(looks at the audience) 
So, Winston. Do you see the big picture?