Premise

There once was a boy who was scared of his bed,

For sleep, he believed, would wind up with him dead.
The Poem
There once was a boy who was scared of his bed,
For sleep, he believed, would wind up with him dead.
Mother and father said, Theres nothing to fear,
As his door they shut tight, saying Go to sleep, dear

But the boy, he knew better. The boy was aware

that his bed was a monster and his room was its lair.
So night after night, and despite ma and pas prattle
The boy and his bed waged their ongoing battle.

First out go the lights, next, a sickening motion

As the boys wall-to-wall carpet becomes deep like the ocean
Where somewhere below in all that fathomless dark
His bed circles slowly like a ravenous shark.

So still must the boy be - he cant lose his head.

Or lose it he will between the jaws of his bed
Its down there, he knows it and its coming up fast!
So high up on the wardrobe he climbs like a mast.

The boys eyes are so heavy, and yet sleep he must never
For his bed never rests in its dreadful endeavour.
And now like tendrils its sheets they encircle his tummy
So as to wrap the boy up and wrap him tight as a mummy.

Stuck fast like a bug, and his bonds getting tighter

He sees the bed creep toward him, not a shark now, a spider!
But the boy cant escape! He gives a blood-curdling scream!
Oh, but darling his mum says. Its just a bad dream!

The boy tells them No! He cries, For me sleep is fatal

For my bed is a monster with appetites hateful!
His mother and father look on with despair
Thinking poor little chap, and stroking his hair.

So they gave the boy pills the doctor said two

With warm milk before bed and hell sleep the night through.
But come the next morning they found their boy gone.
Thats the thing about grown-ups. They get these things wrong.
 The Narrator

Marlon Davis
The smooth millennial voice that can meet
your professional needs with a friendly touch!

About Marlon:
Hello! Im a jazz singer and recent college grad who is
happy to apply my skillset to your needs. Ive complet-
ed coursework on Voice and Audio Production at Berklee
College of Music and am capable of delivering reads that
are commanding but calm. Experience has taught me that
my voice is uniquely suited for professional, instructional,
self-development, non-fiction, and guy-next-door/friendly
narrations.

It was very important for me that I found the right voice to

narrate my poem and I knew when I heard Marlon that he
was the man for the job. Marlon worked really hard to bring
my story to life while it was very early on in its production.
He was quick to respond to all of my feedback and it was
a joy to colloborate with someone who understood what I
wanted.
The Story
The Bedroom
The bedroom exists in many different forms, it acts as a gateway to a variety of realms,
each with their own challenges. The ordinary room distorts to the will of the
monstrous bed, shifting between a vast ocean to a foggy cavern, every change in the
environment acts as another trial the boy has to overcome.

The bedroom is filled with furniture that isnt particularly child friendly, I wanted the
room to feel alien to the boy as if it was dangerous from the start. For example, the
enormous bed that overshadows the boy, even in its normal form the bed feels
threatening. During the design stages I drew influence from 1950s gothic rooms, this
helped me to create an unwelcoming room that suggests the boy doesnt belong there.
First out go the lights, next, a sickening motion
As the boys wall-to-wall carpet becomes deep like the ocean
Where somewhere below in all that fathomless dark
His bed circles slowly like a ravenous shark.
The Boy
The Boy is a brave, sleep deprived young hero who has to fight for
his life every night. As his room changes and shifts the boy is quick
to react, finding solutions to the problems that are
presented throughout the night. He has endured this cycle for
countless nights and when we join him in the story his tiredness
may get the better of him.

Early on in the design stage it was clear that the Boy needed to be
likeable, I wanted the audience to look at him and feel sympathy.
His constant battle leaves him with bags under his eyes and a worn
out expression, he hopes that if he can beat the monster he will be
able to sleep again.

Modelling this cartoony character was a very enjoyable process,

it was decided that to retain the look of Boy, he would need a flat
textured face. His rig required that he was very stretchy which
posed many challenges.
The Monster
The Monster is a shapeshifting bed, it changes its structure
to adapt to its environment. This bed morphs to a
terrifying shark so that it has advantage whilst in water and
once on land the shark becomes a deadly spider with sharp
springs for teeth. The Monster has the ability to transform
the environment, to change its form and to wrap things up
with its blanket arms. It has one goal, he wants to consume
the Boy that he has been hunting for countless nights.

The Monster is only revealed very briefly in the story, most

of the time it is out of sight, causing havoc through other
means. This meant that its design needed to be impactful,
the reveal had to be creepy. With this is mind I tried to craft
a very demonic monster, using bed springs as sharp teeth
and glowing red eyes that burn through the dark.
Stuck fast like a bug, and his bonds getting tighter
He sees the bed creep toward him, not a shark now, a spider!
But the boy cant escape! He gives a blood-curdling scream!
Oh, but darling his mum says. Its just a bad dream!
The Parents
The Boys Parents believe they are doing the right thing, they dont
believe in the stories that their son tells them Oh, but darling Its just a
bad dream!. This makes them appear very distant to the Boy, they reject
his words and look for ways in which they can help him sleep. To the Boy,
the Parents also look like villians, as they cant accept what he tells them.

To make the Parents feel distant and to reinforce the idea that the Boy
is small compared to his environment, it was decided that the audience
would only see them from the waist down. They tower over their son and
it makes them hard characters to connect with.
The boy tells them No! He cries, For me sleep is fatal
For my bed is a monster with appetites hateful!
His mother and father look on with despair
Thinking poor little chap, and stroking his hair.