Violet

"Violet" is the story of a girl named Beige.
Beige lives in Beigetown. She has beige eyes and beige hair; she wears only beige clothes.
Beige's world is composed of plywood, porches, and bathrooms. All beige.
Amidst the tedium, Beige's brain boils with one burning quest. So you understand, I'll relay the tale....
Once upon a time, many generations ago, Joe Pabst's great-great-great grandfather was a small boy growing up in Beigetown. Possessing traits which would be apparent in his descendants even in 2017, the little boy was very bright and curious. Very talented. He wanted to sing and act and dance. But- all these things were forbidden in Beigetown. Stifled all through his teen years, he married and had a daughter. Resigned to conform to the norm, he named her Beige. One day, as our young man gloomily contemplated his murky future in the murky waters of the crik, a small leaflet washed ashore. Ever vigilant in his fight against litter, he fished it out. Crumpled it in his fist. As rivulets of beige water ran down his wrist and wet the hem of his beige shirt, he became curious. Flattening out the crumpled leaflet he read: "Stage Makeup Tutorial! Next Tuesday! Next Town Over!"
Well. Nothing could stop him. Pulling all strings to conceal his true purpose, he sneaks away the next week to attend the workshop. Wonder of wonders! The theatricality! The vibrant colors! He floats home newly possessed of some small hope for the future and of a small bruise palette he has secreted away as a memento of what he is sure will prove to be the greatest night he will ever live to see.
Thinking the thrill of that one night could get him through the rest of his years, the young man quickly realizes that is not the case. Now that he's seen a glimmer of the colors life has to offer, he craves more. One night, while his missus is out buying material for the kid's waffle and pancake Halloween costumes, he calls Beige to his side. There, guided by candlelight- he shares his discovery with his daughter. The vivid red gash he creates across her face could have won a Ratcock. The moment is bittersweet, however, for in sharing his passion with his daughter- he sees her eyes come alive. He sees the color excite her the same way it excites him. He wonders if this moment of joy will be worth the lifetime of deprivation that is sure to follow for his little girl. He cleans her face and sends her to bed, not knowing the odyssey he has set in motion.
Ten years later.
Beige is bored. Despite the fact that a band has moved to town and is squatting in the middle of Main Street, the only thing in life that provides her any amusement at all is the inexplicable Magical Potty Portal just to the right of the town saloon. Nothing much else to do in life, she found herself one afternoon zoned out staring at the ladies bathroom door. She was jolted out of her trance, however, when moments after a lady entered what she knew to be the one stall chamber, a man emerged. Now- Beige was all for gender neutral restrooms but this seemed peculiar. She took to watching this Potty Portal every afternoon for two hours after school. Oh, the things she saw. People entered never to be seen again. Men routinely changed into women and vice versa. Most alarmingly, one time Scott Melton went in and came back out two minutes later as Josh Marin and Katrinah Carol-Lewis. Beige worked up the nerve to ask Josh and Katrinah for their autographs because they really are very talented, but failed to muster the balls to ask them what had happened to them in the bathroom. Perhaps she didn't really want to know. Perhaps having the Magical Potty Portal Mystery exist kept her from being so bored she couldn't stand it. Bored and frustrated by the memory of that beautiful bright red stage makeup scar her father had given her years ago. Oh, how she longed for color.
Suddenly, the Magical Potty Portal expels.......Matt Polson. Beige glances over. He's got a cute face and quite a wingspan. Perhaps he's interesting.....but no. No no. He's wearing khaki. Blander than beige, if that's possible. Things go from bad to worse when her good buddy Josh- who often regales her with tales of his time in a far away land called Richmond selling novelty popsicles and wearing many-colored sunglasses and tank tops- takes a shine to Matt Polson and starts wearing khaki as well. Yawn. He hardly pays attention to her anymore, preferring instead to pass the time participating in lively pop trios about his card-playing prowess and having extremely close face-to-face conversations with his new best friend Matt.
O.M.GEEEEEEEEEE. WHAT in the dickens is Beige going to do? All at once she has an idea. No- it's too crazy.....but maybe......no. It couldn't possibly work......could it? She decides to try.
Gathering the town just downstage of the saloon facade, Beige makes her announcement. She tells the townspeople she knows this is radical, but she suspects some of them might be pining for a bit of excitement as well, and, if that's indeed the case.....would they be willing to join her in- what could very well prove the most exhilarating activity the town has ever seen: (drumroll, here- lucky there's a band).............. Arranging All The Furniture On Main Street Into A Variety Of Differently Shaped Buses?!??!?
The town is dubious as a whole. Katrinah goes back to her book. Forrest replaces some wayward tendrils in his elegant low bun. But then Eric Williams- always a beacon of positivity- leaps to his feet and announces that he thinks it's a great idea and not only that- he happens to be the proud owner of a bus driver costume which he'd be happy to contribute. Scott Melton chimes in with the news that he figures he and Eric wear just about the same size and could take turns playing the bus driver if necessary! Eyes brimming with murky tears, Beige announces the plan is a go!
For the next few weeks, the town is bustling with a sense of love and community never before experienced! Everyone contributes porch chairs and benches. Their fanciest beige bus-riding costumes. The posse of orchestral squatters refuses to move, which throws a minor kink in things, but after they agree to play some lively travelling music, all is forgiven. And oh, the buses they arrange. First- the world's widest bus. Only 1.5 rows! Next, a slight variation on the world's widest bus (because the first was such a hit), followed by a sideways facing bus (with 6-7 rows!), and finally- following a town meeting which ran into the wee hours to ascertain and responsibly acknowledge all the potential risks involved- a BACKWARD FACING BUS.
Adrenaline abounds. Everyone brims with excitement and creativity. The future is looking bright! That is until Josh, having lost one too many times to Matt Polson in poker, decides to renew his friendship with Beige. He starts horning his way back into her life. Sneaky and underhanded- only thinking of himself- he starts to pull Beige away from the bus project that has brought meaning to her life and united the community. He starts doing shady things- like secretly rearranging two of the chairs in the latest bus configuration to face away from the others just so he and Beige can talk privately. He goes so far as to haul a bed out into the middle of the bus staging area to attempt a seduction. Entranced by the vivid colors in the blue quilt Josh has clearly smuggled into Beigetown from the aforementioned land of popsicles and sunglasses, Beige agrees to spend some time on the bed one night while the rest of the town is on their Equity break. Before Josh can enact his lustful plan, however, Matt Polson- who has been privately seething in the Potty Portal because Josh got way more solo time in the card-playing pop trio earlier- decides he's had enough and foils Josh's lascivious plot by emerging full steam from the Potty Portal and leaping up onto the bed, where he proceeds to simultaneously out-gyrate Josh and secure Beige's affections for himself.
The evening ends, as you may expect, badly. Enchanting blue quilt now soiled with dirt- beige dirt- from Matt's beige shoes, it holds no appeal. The pair of khaki boy belters have lost their appeal as well, due to immature bratty behavior and overly-ostentatious lounging on porch railings. Even the townspeople have deserted her- disappearing one by one into the Potty Portal after they see her attention has been pulled away from the bus project. Even a last ditch attempt of a staged church revival starring that boy from 5th Wall's "Carrie- the Musical" in a sweater vest does nothing to reunite the town.
All seems lost. Sad and disoriented now that everyone has reclaimed their donated patio furniture, Beige finds herself one night delivering some truly brilliant acting and feeling a glimmer of hope- until she realizes she's delivering said acting from the back of the house and no one can see her except for Audra. And probably Chase, who is running lights and doing a really solid job of hacking up a kidney every time the cast arrives at a quietly emotional moment onstage.
This is really the last straw. Beige can think of no other hope. She is turning to exit when- wait. From the corner of one beige eye- what is that she sees? She rubs her beige eye with her beige sleeve. For a moment she thought she saw it- that blessed and beautiful red she remembers from her dreams! Could it be? Could it.....YES! It's Robyn O'Neill! Coming into town from upstage right of the squatters dressed in her costume from Swift Creek Mill's "Pete & Keely!" Gloriously vivid red emanates from her entire being! Her hair, the hair under her hair.....oh, blessed day! And no one dares to question Robyn O'Neill.
And thusly, unity, color, and hope returned to Beigetown. Returned to stay.*

*The Magical Potty Portal remains unexplained.