https://www.sagaftra.org/sf-nc-conservatory-screenplay-reading-cali-vs-oceanlights
Jul 14, 2025 - 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM PDT
This event will be held in person.
Where: 350 Sansome Street, Ste 840, San Francisco, CA 94104
Join us for the next table read performance in our San Francisco-Northern California Local Conservatory Screenplay Reading Series: CALI VS. THE OCEANLIGHTS by Mac Malabuyo
SYNOPSIS: CALI OCEAN is a galactically famous pop star. The night before her big concert, she meets with LORPHEN, a former bandmate who left music to pursue medicine. Lorphen is always accompanied by STIMMY, her surgical robot from her days as a doctor, before she was stripped of her medical license and forced to earn a living as an adjunct professor.
The trio are kidnapped by KURANDI, a woman with exceptional combat skills, and are taken aboard her starship, the LIL’BOTTOM.
By threatening harm to Lorphen, Kurandi coerces Cali to rob a bank and shoot a teller in the process. With security forces in pursuit, Kurandi whisks Cali back to the ship. Deftly flying the Lil’Bottom, Kurandi fights off air security forces and maneuvers out of danger.
Cali is distraught over shooting an innocent person. Kurandi shows her prisoners a newsfeed exposing Cali as the perpetrator of a robbery and attempted murder. The population is reacting in shock, quickly dismissing Cali as just another dumb, selfish celebrity.
Kurandi flies the Lil’Bottom to the planet Bolav II. She lands the ship at the commune of the OCEANLIGHTS, a Cali fan club that lives on a large estate and approaches cult-like fervor. The OceanLights are led by MR. BLARCK, a seemingly respectable business mogul. Kurandi releases her three prisoners to the OceanLights.
Mr. Blarck makes several creepy advances towards Cali, informing her that she belongs to the OceanLights now, and she will be performing nightly for them, or they’ll hand her to the authorities to face punishment for her crimes.
Blarck also betrays Kurandi and imprisons her, along with Lorphen and Stimmy. He destroys the Lil’Bottom as well. Cali, on the other hand, is given luxuries and relative freedom to move about the estate and visit the prisoners. Setting aside their initial hostilities, Cali, Lorphen, Stimmy, and Kurandi secretly plan their escape.
With Lorphen using her medical knowledge, Kurandi employing her combat skills, and Stimmy using his technical abilities, Cali successfully stages her own death and pins it on Mr. Blarck. Blarck is arrested and disgraced in front of the entire galaxy, while the companions escape the compound.
Sometime later, the companions reminisce on their success. They acknowledge that when they decided to work together, good things happened and it even was a little fun. With a newly-stolen starship, the companions fly off to their next adventure.
BIO: Mac Malabuyo’s short fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous literary magazines, with Yellow Chair Review nominating his work for the Pushcart Prize in 2015. His first feature-length screenplay, Cali vs. the OceanLights, won Best Sci-Fi Screenplay at the 2024 Los Angeles Movie and Music Video Awards, and Best Action Screenplay at the 2024 Chicago Script Awards, among other honors. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Davis. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and children.
RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP.
https://www.sagaftra.org/sf-nc-conservatory-screenplay-reading-cali-vs-oceanlights
This event is only open to active SAG-AFTRA members in good standing (paid through Oct. 31, 2025). No guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome.
ADA requests may be included on your RSVP form below. Please note that ADA requests must be received 72 hours before the start of the event.
https://www.sagaftra.org/sf-nc-conservatory-screenplay-reading-cali-vs-oceanlights
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