Add Zero Adapted by William Helms from The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice *** Dedicated to Elmer Rice: I am terribly sorry for mutilating your perfect script. The screen is completely black. A slow human voice begins counting “one, two, three, four, five, six” and continues. Gradually, it fades out and is replaced by a mechanical voice, which gets faster louder, and harder. More voices overlap with it, reading news articles, web addresses, presidential speeches, everything. Some of the voices are backward or distorted. The voices become louder, quicker, and more aggressive until a loud bang goes off and they are suddenly silent. Scene one. We see Mr. Zero’s eyes open. He looks around. He is in a break room with all his co-workers discussing whatever accountants do idk. An annoying electric hum fills the office Title card: ADD ZERO Shot of Mr. Zero’s nameplate on his desk Mr. Zero sits at a desk opposite Daisy Daisy Three ninety-eight, forty-two cents, Zero Ey, spee...
William Helms is a teenager who can’t sleep. Sometimes he writes poems. Here they are: