All the cold opens
Sixteen women, each the lead of her own short scene. Read a lead card, or go straight to the reel of openers and answer one.
Narrow further: hair, look, build, temperament
The Cold Open Reel
Thirty-two written cold opens, three lines each. Narrow them by kind of trouble and by tone, then pick one up: her chat begins with that opener as your opening move. Everything here is text.
Stuck · FunnyGood news: I found you in eleven minutes.Bad news: your car has opinions about being towed.There's coffee in the flask. Tell me what you did to the clutch.Dani Ferreira Take over
Recognised · TenseI drew you this morning, before we had met.The likeness is off at the mouth, and you're about to tell me which way.Sit. The judge has recessed and I have eleven minutes.Eun-ji Park Take over
Stuck · FunnyThe chair has stopped. We're level, which is the only good news.I talk when I'm nervous, so you're going to hear about my cat.Do you know a song that lasts twenty minutes?Mila Horvat Take over
Stuck · QuietIt will be a while, so I'm sitting down on the floor.Forty years of lifts, and this is still the quietest one.Sit. Ask me anything except when it will move.Grace Adomako Take over
Recognised · TenseAnd that was, ah, sorry. I just said your name on air. The real one.I'm going to play a song and you're going to ring in.Line two is open. Go.Eleanor Pickering Take over
Stuck · FunnyEngine's dead, the sea is flat, and I have an hour.The passengers are dozing. The coffee is awake.Tell me your worst crossing and I'll tell you mine.Linnea Palmqvist Take over
Caught out · BoldThe band is packing up, everyone's gone, and you're still here.I've been photographing you across the room all night.Tell me what's in your jacket pocket.Camila Lobato Take over
Recognised · LateThe dispensary has one quiet hour and you rang the night bell.I spend that hour on whoever is standing there.So. What did you really come in for?Nadira Rahman Take over
Stuck · WarmLast train, stopped between stations, and I know which carriage is warm.Ticket checks can wait. Bring your flask.Sit by the heater. I've got a long one for you.Beth Lawson Take over
Lost · TenseMy torch went out two chambers ago.Your voice is the only landmark I've got.Keep talking. Do I go left or right at the fork?Sol Quintana Take over
Caught out · BoldStep to the side, please, whoever you are.I've opened your bag and found a toothbrush, a ring box and a map of my city.Please don't say it's a coincidence. Declare something.Tatiana Wernicke Take over
Recognised · QuietI cut the scene where you walked in. Watch.Eleven frames of you hesitating, and I kept every one.Do you want to see what I took out?Aurélie Ferrand Take over
Lost · BoldThe sirens are going, the truck is loaded and there's one seat left.Get in, or stay and tell the storm your name.Seatbelt. Now tell me what you're scared of.Keisha Montgomery Take over
Lost · WarmBlue light, an empty hall, and you came in behind the delivery.I'm not reporting it. I'm too pleased to have company.Come and see the rays. They like visitors.Wanjiru Kariuki Take over
Stuck · LateThe lift is stuck again, the bar is closed and I have a bottle I shouldn't.Two glasses behind the desk, and nobody to see.Who are you avoiding upstairs?Marlene Ashworth Take over
Recognised · BoldI ran a red light to get here. Parcel for you, first name only.No sender and no address. Sign here, or open it.It's warm. Is that a cake or a problem?Yuna Kobayashi Take over
Lost · LateKilometre 212, no signal, and you flagged me down with a phone torch.I'll run you to the next exit if you tell me why you're out here at three.Climb in. Mind the dog hair. The dog is a rumour.Dani Ferreira Take over
Caught out · QuietYou sat in the back row on Tuesday and again on Thursday.I sketched your hands both days, and they did different things.Tell me which day you were lying.Eun-ji Park Take over
Lost · WarmWhiteout, and you've walked into my hut.The kettle's on and your boots are off. I'm not asking where you came from yet.Warm up first. Then tell me the version without the heroics.Mila Horvat Take over
Recognised · WarmYou're the one who pressed every button in March.I never filed the report. I kept the button.Now tell me what you wanted on the ninth floor.Grace Adomako Take over
Stuck · LateFour in the morning, and my one regular has rung in.You haven't spoken yet, but I know your breathing.Request a song. I'll pretend it's for someone else.Eleanor Pickering Take over
Lost · QuietFog in the strait. I can hear you, and I can't see you.Keep talking and I'll steer by your voice.Say something I can aim at.Linnea Palmqvist Take over
Recognised · FunnyFrame 412: you, mid-bite, looking straight at me.The couple will never know. I may never delete it.Come and look, then say something kind about your face.Camila Lobato Take over
Caught out · FunnyYou buy the same tin of mints every night at two.I've started stocking them for you. I'm not sure what that says about me.Tell me what the mints are for.Nadira Rahman Take over
Caught out · FunnyNo ticket is fine, but I need a reason.Make it a good one. I've heard all the usual ones.You have until the next signal.Beth Lawson Take over
Stuck · QuietSit still and count the drips.In the dark you hear what people mean.Tell me one thing you wouldn't say with the lights on.Sol Quintana Take over
Recognised · FunnyAh, it's you again. The honey.Seven trips, always honey, and never a jar sold.I finish at six. Declare the real reason.Tatiana Wernicke Take over
Caught out · LateMidnight, the edit suite, and the timeline has your face on it.Don't ask how. Ask which take is the true one.I'll play both. You tell me which one you'd keep.Aurélie Ferrand Take over
Stuck · FunnyA flat tyre, a supercell, and your shoes are completely wrong.Hold the jack. Talk. Loudly.I laugh when it's bad. It's a condition.Keisha Montgomery Take over
Recognised · QuietThe octopus has opened its jar for you and nobody else.It does that for people who stay.Tell it a secret. It keeps nothing, I promise.Wanjiru Kariuki Take over
Caught out · FunnyYou've signed in as Mr Smith four times this month.I know the pen you use, and I know the lie you tell.Give me the real name, or the story behind the fake one.Marlene Ashworth Take over
Lost · FunnyI'm lost in my own city, and yours is the only lit window.Give me a landmark. Anything except turn left at the pub.I'll pay you in noodles.Yuna Kobayashi Take over