A/N: None of these songs or characters belong to me. Undertale and all its characters and music belong to Toby Fox and all the lyrics belong to Man on the Internet. Please check out the youtube musical on Man on the Internets channel, a lot of hard work and talent went into these lyrics and they deserve recognition. Should any of the content creators wish for me to take down this work then I will comply without question. This is a piece of fan work.
Now that all the disclaimer-y stuff is out of the way, I was listening to the music and I decided I wanted to try writing the stage directions to an Undertale play. This is a work of curiosity and if anyone has any advice on writing in this format I would be happy to hear it! I hope you enjoy reading this work as much as I have enjoyed writing it!
The orchestra tuning fades out and the curtain draws back to reveal a dark stage – the stage is empty and only a large black screen is present. A projector behind the screen starts to whirr quietly and an image of a Boss Monster and a human standing beside each other appears, providing the only light on the stage thus far.
A woman walks out into front center stage and faces the audience, the light from the screen casting a shadow and obscuring her face. She straightens up and looks into the audience as she begins to sing in time with the orchestra.
Song: Start Menu
Storyteller:
(Sung)
Sit down child
Do not quail
With peace and love
We will prevail
If you climb
Along this trail
You will hear
The Undertale
As she sings, two groups of people appear. One group from each side of the stage. Everyone is obscured by shadow and only their silhouettes are visible. They stand behind and on either side of the Storyteller. One group appears oddly shaped, bearing ears, horns and round figures not found on humans. The other group appears a normal group of humans, dressed in tunics and carrying various weapons.
Storyteller:
(Spoken directly to the audience)
Hush now little ones
I have a story for you
A story about men…
And monsters.
The screen behind the actor's changes – two sides of a war, the monsters and the humans facing each other.
(Song: Once upon a time)
All Chorus:
(Slow and sorrowful, in time with the music.)
Long ago
Men and beasts
Ruled the earth
And had their feasts
Then one day
Came a war
Blood was spilt
As ne'er before
Human Chorus:
(Accusatory, they brandish their weapons at the monsters)
No monster
Will know love
No monster belongs
In the world above
The screen changes once more, the humans stand above a terrified mass of monsters, condemning them to their existence underground.
Seal them
Underground
Let this barrier
Surround
The music stop abruptly and the Storyteller speaks again. Start menu plays again.
Storyteller:
(Spoken)
The humans, filled with determination
Won the war
And sealed the monsters
Deep below Mount Ebbott
Creating a barrier
Only a human soul could pass
The human chorus, still brandishing their weapons, slowly moves off stage and the monster chorus grows larger as they move towards the center of the stage. Out of sight, behind the monster chorus, a few actors spread yellow flowers around the floor to obscure a soft landing area – most likely a pad or a mattress.
Monster Chorus:
(Solemn and hopeless)
Many years
Many tears
We live on
Despite our fears
There's no chance
We could have won
Now we'll never
See the sun
Stones instead
Of stars above
We've lost hopes
And dreams and love
Angels cry
From on high
Will they free us
Or will we die?
No new friends
Come around
That's our life
Here underground
While on high
Sits our king
Listen you might
Hear him sing
The image on the screen changes once more and shows Mount Ebbott from a distance as ASGORE begins to play. Asgore stands above the screen with his back to the audience, his cape obscuring his figure and his horns visible above his collar. The Monster Chorus turns to listen to him.
Asgore:
(Sad and slow with an exceptionally low voice)
So much blood
So much pain
Just to see
The sun again
One day soon
Freedom shall ring
So proclaims
The Mountain King
Asgore disappears from sight and the Monster Chorus turns around as the latter half of Once Upon a Time begins to play and the screen shifts once again – a child in a striped shirt climbs towards the opening of a cave.
Monster Chorus:
(More upbeat, almost hopeful)
Now the years have flown by
A child climbs on high
Will they return from the mountain
Or will they surely die?
The child on the screen faces a great chasm in the cave, their back to the audience.
A tale of the underground
Tonight we sing
A tale of fallen children
And mountain kings
The child's foot is shown tripping over a root and they fall down the chasm.
Sit down children (Fallen Child)
Do not quail
Hopes and dreams (And Mountain Kings)
Will win this tale
The child is shown face down on the ground, the Monster Chorus slowly backs off on either side off the stage, disappearing into the wings as the screen starts to fade out and a light shines down from above. The bed of golden flowers is illuminated and a few white columns are rolled into place on either side of the flowers.
If you climb
Along this trail
You will hear
The Undertale
Sit down children
Do not quail
Hopes and dreams
Will sure prevail
If you climb
Along this trail
You will hear
The Undertale
The music fades out and a child falls from above the stage down onto the bed hidden by the flowers, bouncing once and scattering a few flowers. They do not make a single sound and lay still.
