Midnight Stories from Orlando Florida presented The One Who Calls at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. On a public access broadcast called Sightings, Shawn (Bre Wells), a ufologist fielded calls late into the night from believers. She was jaded having heard everything before but firmly believed that UFOs do exist. For her the evidence was overwhelming.
She was used to getting calls from quacks who claimed to see something, but it was easily explained away. Many members of the audience were actually callers. When they called into the show, they would stand up. This was a fun way to make the audience feel like they were also part of the rural community of callers.
One frantic call stood out from the others and that sighting lead to a series of sightings that grew closer to the broadcasting site. A hysteria set in. It of course reminded me of the hysteria that resulted when Orson Wells broadcast The War of the Worlds on the eve of Halloween just before WWII in 1938.
One very creepy call had static and heavy breathing. Could this be ET himself? Shawns research into UFOs was highly researched but the scientific community ignored her findings. This evening might finally offer validation. Lights flickered and for a moment the hairs stood up on the back of my neck.
After a rural hick confessed that he made the sighting up, a female caller who had never called in before offered reassurances. She then drove to the station to speak with Shawn in person. Believing in UFOs has a lot to do with wanting to believe we are not alone in the universe. The female visitor strongly believed in Shawn’s talent and findings. In the end what we all need is human connection and a feeling of being part of a community. Weather that community is interstellar or a tiny rural town, we all want to feel connected.