TITLE: After the Cut (House Lights Malfunction) [Intro – Spoken, New MC / Usher Voice] Welcome. Please remain seated. What you’re about to see is not part of tonight’s program. That said— the house insists. [Music – Soft, warped lounge piano, looping slightly off] --- [Verse 1 – Montage Begins] Curtain rises— but the stage is wrong. Someone bows where the floor once yawned. Applause loops, hands clap late, a body leans back— misses fate— then falls again, and again, and again. [Whispered aside] Wasn’t this over? --- [Chorus 1 – Hallucination Hook] We already saw this— didn’t we? Same smile, same cue, different gravity. Hold your breath, count it slow— the room remembers what you don’t know. --- [Verse 2 – Revue Bleeds In] Backstage—no, the floor. Costumes breathing, five encores more. Someone says, “One more run,” but the song restarts before it’s done. A spotlight swings like it’s drunk on time, hits three people, misses the rhyme. [Audience murmur – half-sung] Is this part of it? --- [Chorus 2 – Revue Bleed] We already clapped— too soon. Same band, same song, no exit tune. Costumes change, faces blur— every ending happens twice first. --- [Bridge – Spell Error Exposed] Smile— but nobody said “Cut.” The house waited. The house rushed. Now time stutters like a bad tape, chewing applause, spitting mistakes. --- [Verse 3 – Cliff Bleeds In] Spotlight swings— now we’re outside. Velvet turns into open sky. A heel slips, a joke lands, laughter echoes without a man. Someone waves mid-descent, like they forgot how falling went. --- [Glitch – Quick, Wrong] [A note sustains] [A scream cuts] [Applause continues] --- [Chorus 3 – Montage Collapse] We already left— why’re we here? Same last line, new chandelier. Stand still. Sit tight. The show keeps ending every night. --- [Break – Distorted Lounge Count] One— two— no, wait— three— --- [Verse 4 – Audience Contamination] Front row swears they’ve seen this dream. Back row hums the in-between. Someone smells smoke. Someone’s wet. Someone swears they bowed already. [Spoken, nervous laugh] I think the spell’s still running. --- [Final Chorus – Acceptance] Smile— even if it’s wrong. Clap— even when it’s gone. If you don’t move, it might reset. If you do— the house remembers it. --- [Outro – House Voice, Gentle] Thank you for attending. Please collect your belongings. If you experience dizziness, déjà vu, or the sensation that you’ve died before— tell an usher. We’ll seat you accordingly. --- [Tag – Very Soft, Almost Kind] The next show will feel more familiar. Encore?
