Katharine Miller
Mermaids in the hot tub, superheroes at the breakfast buffet, ninjas in the tiki lounge — it's just another average weekend at the Belle Royale Palm Vista Plaza Conference Resort and Suites in Orlando, Florida. The hotel is bustling with tacky tourists, wacky cosplayers, and hacky entertainers dealing with misunderstandings, magical mishaps, and mistaken identities. Nothing is what you expect here and everybody's defying conventions.Defying Conventions is a series of comic stage vignettes all set in the fictional Belle Royale Palm Vista Plaza Conference Resort and Suites of Orlando. Taking place over the course of one summer day, family secrets are spilled during breakfast, a conman puts his heist in jeopardy, cosplayers are subjected to witchcraft, a hypnotist wreaks havoc on ordinary tourists, and two strangers bond over 'The Girl From Ipanema.'Ten 10-minute comedies, one hotel, and an assortment of colourful characters.In The Front Desk, senior tourist-cum-receptionist Stella impresses hotel manager Van with her deft abilities to field odd queries and requests from hotel guests.Family Reunion brings mother Janet together with her two adult daughters Linda and Carla for reminiscences and surprising reveals that challenge the family dynamic.Ward and Theresa, a visiting couple from Ohio are stuck in Escape Room, hoping that a session with the slick-and-sleazy Eddie, the in-house hotel hypnotist can help.The elevator and a plot to foil a tech billionaire are Going Down as Derek struggles to play his role in the big heist.Tyffyni maintains her professionalism at the hotel information desk in Attractions as tourists Priscilla-Grace and Barry get into a dust-up while making plans.In Curse of the Kigurumi, three cosplayers return from a convention after one of their friends has an enchanted encounter with a witch. Can they break the spell or will he be a sock monkey forever?Agnes is a Tourist Trapped, stuck entertaining hotel guests by playing piano in cocktail lounges and lamenting the realities of living near the happiest place on Earth.There is No Context when Mark recognizes Ben from... a popular Internet meme?Souvenirs aren't all that Beverly and Keith are trying to escape with and Hannah, the hotel's detective is determined to find out why.Desconhecido finds Linda and Derek in the hotel lounge after a long day dealing with the fall out of their earlier experiences. An unlikely romance blossoms over cocktails and bossa nova. 3