January 2026 Challenge: Open Channel
Theme: Open Transmission Monologue
Inspiration: Sci-fi communications, isolation, ambiguity, first contact
Tone: Flexible, mysterious, restrained, emotionally open-ended
Voice: Gender-neutral
Script
Open Channel
This is an open channel message.
If anyone’s receiving this, just confirm you’re there.
I don’t need a full response. A signal is enough.
Things aren’t exactly going according to plan.
That’s not an emergency.
Not yet.
I was instructed to check in at this point.
I did.
On time.
If you’re hearing this, then the relay still works.
I wasn’t sure it would.
Which means this channel isn’t as empty as I was led to believe.
That… changes a few things.
There are procedures for what happens next.
Predefined ones.
I’m deciding how closely I want to follow them.
If you’re listening, you should know.
This message wasn’t meant to go out like this.
But now that it has…
I’d rather not pretend I didn’t notice.
I’ll repeat the coordinates after the tone.
You don’t have to respond right away.
(Pause)
Yeah.
I’ll wait.
Notes from the Mob
January kicked off the year with a deceptively simple challenge: One voice, one transmission, and infinite interpretation. So much so, we had multiple submissions from a few folks! Every performer received the same script, but the identity behind the signal was completely open. Some leaned into corporate tension, others into loneliness, unease, quiet defiance, or emotional collapse.
Because the mic remained live the entire time, actors focused heavily on pacing, breath control, and internal storytelling. Small pauses, subtle inflection shifts, and emotional restraint carried more weight than volume or effects.
The result was a fascinating range of performances that proved how much story can live inside a single uninterrupted voice.
