******CYBERNETIC SPOILERS!******
Recently, at WonderCon 2026 I saw a panel for a trans-themed sci-fi short film called “Long Away,” which sees a young trans woman named Victoria (Griffin Kelly) from the year 2050 using a janky, rented time-travel wristwatch to return to the year 2025 in order to (briefly) meet the comic books-loving dad (Justin Lawrence Barnes) she barely knew. The movie kept its focus on capturing a precious moment between father and daughter, rather than paradoxical technobabble. The short was a passion project from the spousal writing/directing team of Tilly Bridges and Susan Bridges (Star Trek comics writers, “Star Trek: Prodigy” advisors), and was coproduced/crafted by Dr. Erin Macdonald (science adviser for Star Trek, scientist, screenwriter) and Jessie Earl (aka YouTuber “Jessie Gender,” and screenwriter/director).
L-R: Actors/writers/directors/producers Kelly Griffin, Susan Bridges, Tilly Bridges, Justin Lawrence Barnes, Jessie Gender and Erin Macdonald, at a panel for their short film “Long Away.”
The film intrigued me not because I’m trans. I’m not, nor would I pretend to speak to anyone’s trans life experience. I was intrigued because I enjoyed the core story of an adult child reconnecting with the lost father she barely knew. The semi-autobiographical trans element simply gives the film greater personal perspective to the familiar ‘meeting parents via time travel’ story. The film’s two leads, Griffin Kelly and Justin Lawrence Barnes, share a surprising father-daughter chemistry together, too. After the film, the panelists also discussed their latest project; a live theatrical script reading of as yet un-filmed TV-pilot written by the Bridges called “Robo Waitress Assassins”…
“Robo Waitress Assassins”
Based on the Tillys’ as-yet-unrealized TV pilot, “Robo Waitress Assassins” is a witty, moving trans-themed sci-fi story seeking to be realized in a TV show, comic book, or other visual medium someday. It debuted April 5th as a live onstage script reading by the cast and creators. Currently, it exists as a YouTube video streamed from that live event with no visual effects, sets, or tricky camera moves; this is a story told almost entirely through voice, gestures, minimal costuming, a bit of lighting, and what’s on the printed page. I’m keeping this review shorter than usual, since this is more a work-in-progress than a polished final product. I’m also linking the YouTube video in its entirety at the bottom of this column.
With cowriter Tilly Bridges narrating, the two titular Robo-waitress assassins are trans woman Harper (Griffin Kelly) and her lover Annika (Jacks McLaughlin). Other actors, in multiple roles, include Ari Villalon as older waitress/rival Kylie; Olabisi Kovabel as the diner’s chef, a police investigator, and the “Holo-Face” ads, and Kacy Boccumini as doomed patron ‘Dickhead,’ a police investigator, and a ‘Corporate’ suit (Corporate being this story’s oppressive central power). Cowriter Susan Bridges also appears as an icy Corporate representative.
The story sees characters forced into predestined servitude (“desties”) living under a crushingly oppressive system. Even the word ‘waitress’ (an anachronism these days) reinforces the conscripted roles these characters are forced to live in the greater servitude of an all-powerful, deeply manipulative “Corporate” (the main villain of this piece). It’s an even bleaker capitalism-unchained future than we have right now (if that’s possible). In the story’s main diner setting, cybernetically-augmented waitresses will either serve dinner or reduce a targeted patron to a puddle of goo with laser-emitting arms on behalf of Corporate. Contract murder is perfectly legal in this universe, though an augment’s freedom of choice and movement is strictly controlled by unseen behavioral barriers within their ‘authorized’ zones.
That these robo-waitresses also function as Terminator-like contract killers only reinforces their grim servitude. The story’s climax sees Harper desperate to save Annika and stop Corporate, but she is betrayed by friendly rival Kylie before discovering that her own gender transitioning was brokered by her mother and paid for by Corporate in exchange for her becoming a bionic assassin. Harper is ‘free’ to be a woman, but at the cost of her will, and even her humanity–a Faustian bargain to serve her Corporate overlords. Despite the dire “Metropolis”/“Blade Runner” vibe, it’s all woven within an audience-friendly tapestry of sass and gallows humor.
Watching the pilot script read by a live cast reminded me of old radio plays (Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre, CBS Mystery Theater), of which I’m a huge fan, as they allowed the audience’s imagination to fill in the gaps–with a game cast giving it that extra oomph. Lead performer Griffin Kelly (“Long Away”) as Harper was in character for the entire read. Jacks McLaughlin was also very memorable as Harper’s fellow cyborg-assassin lover, Annika. Also enjoyed Olabisi Kovabel’s wonderfully inopportune hologram ads, and Kacy Boccumini as ‘Dickhead,’ among other characters.
Watching the cast and creators in this live-reading is like seeing the nuts-and-bolts of theater coming together; it’s a unique piece of entertainment.
The Video
Clink on the link to purchase streaming tickts; it supports the art and artists.
Online tickets are still available to stream this video ($15), and are valid two weeks after purchase. The roughly hour-long show begins around the 17:00 minute mark (I’ve yet to see a livestream that started exactly as scheduled). There’s also an audio snafu shortly after the stream begins, and it lasts for a couple of minutes, but the reading isn’t too compromised by it. The performance also includes a window for hearing-impaired translation. Please view this work-in-progress with hearts and minds open, and enjoy.
