Day 6 Assignments

[Marie Wilson]

Marie’s Transformational Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is that this is intense and requires serious thought. I have written up ideas here, yet, I’m not sure just where they fit into the structure of my screenplay. I learned that sometimes you just have to ride it out on faith alone (at least until the next lesson where hopefully puzzle pieces fall into place).

1. Tell us your Transformational Logline.

A Hollywood actress’ sentence for disorderly conduct is to help a community theatre put on their Christmas play. When a talented trans woman auditions, she casts her in the lead role, bringing out and overcoming the town’s bigotry.

The transformational journey listed in my logline is: overcoming the town’s bigotry.

2. Tell us who the main character will be:

Change Agent: Emoke

Transformational Character(s): Kay, townsfolk

3. List out your Mini-Movie structure, (or whatever structure you’ve chosen) for your story.

MM #1: P1-15: Call to Adventure

The court order to direct the drama club Christmas play. (Kay is in denial that she’s been court ordered to do this and thinks she’ll just slip out of it somehow, like paying her way out of other jams.)

old ways: self involved

challenges: ordered by a higher authority that doesn’t recognize her fame nor her fortune.

weaknesses: she’s acting like a child – privileged and whiny

MM#2: P15-30: TP: Locked In

The Judge auditions for the play. If he gets cast by Eunice, whom Kay has handed her duty over to, then he will observe that Kay is not fulfilling his court order of directing the play. Kay decides she must take control of the casting process so that she can exclude the Judge from the play and also not give Eunice a part, since she finds Eunice to be a toxic person.

But the stage manager says that not casting the Judge and/or Eunice would have dire consequences – the two of them are staples in the Yuletide show, they rep Christmas itself to the Haywood townsfolk, who would rise up with pitchforks if they were not included in the show.

Kay is trapped (or locked).

(Here she realizes that if she is forced to cast the judge and Eunice then she will do other casting as she sees fit – that’s when she calls on Emoke; or Emoke has auditioned and now Kay is bold enough to cast her.)

old ways: festering resentment against her high school teacher Eunice Crupp

challenges: has to co-operate with the teacher, respect the Judge

weaknesses: she’d rather just bask in the adoration for her mediocre TV show

MM #3: P30 – 45: Standard ways fail

Kay tries to play along as if she’s fulfilling the court order; she will just do a good acting job of pretending to direct or even care about the production (which she doesn’t).

When that can’t work out (because the Judge is in play) then she makes a plea to her agent Schultzy to help get her out of this jam. Schultzy consults a lawyer who says that Kay’s best recourse is to suck it up, do the few months penance, and put it behind her. Schultzy reminds her that the press coverage will be even worse if Kay tries to wriggle out of helping her hometown with their beloved Christmas play, and that carry through with it can be spun to make Kay look really good.

old ways: relying on her privilege to get her out of jams

challenges: to direct a play with amateurs and former neighbours that she abhors

weaknesses: she has no real substance, just a manipulative approach to life

MM #4 – Pages 45 — 60 – Plan Backfires:

The bigger plan: she take the reins due to the Judge auditioning. She is fuelled in this by her hatred of Eunice (who has to be cast) so she decides to run the show just to spite Eunice and her mother and the whole town

She casts Emoke and this is the “goes horribly wrong”; Eunice has tremendous influence in the town and she doesn’t like this casting choice so takes it out on Kay’s mother (who was previously Eunice’s friend) by putting a social freeze on her. This tips the mom into a mental breakdown.

The revolt against Kay signals the “vital info she lacked about the forces of antagonism against her”. The vital info she discovers is that the kind people of this town are bigots way beyond what she might have suspected.

old ways: doing things out of hatred or spite (the “I’ll show you!” method)

challenges: getting past the town’s bigotry

weaknesses: obedience and reliance on her mom

MM #5: Pages 60-75 – The decision to change.

So Kay has been doing all that casting business that upsets everyone from a selfish motive, determined to show the townsfolk who gave her a hard time growing up that she’s better than they are. She’s not considering the real people involved, primarily Emoke. It seems as if Kay has just cast her to play devils advocate. Emoke may even accuse her of tokenism. She has a glimmering of understanding, as she retreats to lick her wounds, that her motives are wrong.

old ways: doing things to show people she’s good and worthy

challenges: her own ally Emoke even sees through this motive

weaknesses: not considering others

MM #6 – Pages 75–90 – The ultimate failure.

Kay goes back to LA – something about being there has her understand her self-involved approach, hits her hard, things people say at her party – realization of what she’s done to people, using them, Emoke in particular. She realizes she really likes these folks who have been working on the play.

So she goes back and hatches the new plan – meeting with the Judge and Eunice and Emoke. But: “very nearly destroyed by it” – the upshot of this meeting is that Eunice goes to the press and says horrible things about Kay and what she’s doing to their beloved Christmas play.

As a result Kay is called in to the town council, given ultimatums. And then comes the “revelation” – this is when she gets celebrity LGBTQ community to put on a Christmas fair and sell the play.

old ways: back to the adored party girl and TV star

challenges: realizes she can’t leave the cast in the lurch like this

weaknesses: wants to sink into the comfort of an LA lifestyle: partying, brunching

MM #7 – Pages 90 – 105 – Apparent victory.

The fair is a huge success, Kay has new furvor, and has turned the tables on Eunice and her posse. Victory as they go back into rehearsals without Eunice and with more support of the townspeople.

Tables turn one more time…

old ways: Kay is still working from a resentment angle

challenges: Getting the play mounted now that several people have quit

weaknesses: wanting approval

MM #8 – Pages 105 –120 – New status quo.

Eunice’s last attempt to defeat her is aggressively picketing the play. Kay has to put down that attempt by having Harry and other helpers coral the protesters (there are only about four at this point) and let the audience go into the theatre for opening night.

The successful opening night is the wrap up to the story; a new revelation is that Kay will return each winter to stage the Christmas play. Also that Eunice tells the picketers to go home and hug their children and grandchildren (this must be understood as her acceptance of new ways.)

Wrap up any subplots: <i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Sandra & <i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Wesley both see the light re their friend Eunice. In finally rejecting her and all she stands for, they emerge as freer creative beings, able to help with the play.

Kay moves into a new world which is a deeper, truer and richer, with people she really cares about and vice versa; from here she can take on better parts than her TV princess role, and she can help with her hometown’s Christmas play every year and make it something as special as this one turned out to be.

old ways: acting from a place of self-serving

challenges: the show must go on

weaknesses: Scared of her future with the amateur theatre group.

4. Go back through and make sure you’ve covered each the following:

– The Transformational Journey listed in your logline – I think so.

– The Three Gradients – these are: emotional (yes); action (yes); and the Challenge/Weakness Gradient (yes)

– It is sequenced in Escalating Challenges – yes, I think I have escalating challenges.

[Maria Collis]

Hi Marie,

I think you have a really strong story here. I know this wasn’t part of the assignment (so it might be in your treatment already), but I would like to see Emoke take a more active role in Kay’s transformation. Also, I’m not quite there yet believing in Eunice’s rehabilitation. Maybe seeing the play strikes a personal chord with her somehow? What is her hidden hurt/vulnerability? Anyway, great work!

Maria

[Kathleen Gamble]

Kathleen’s Transformational Structure

Transformational Logline: The insecure daughter of a mistress joins forces with her unwilling siblings to save the family business from a hostile take over.

Change Agent: Mia Stone

Transformational Character: Cassaundra Jenkins

Emotional Gradient: Desired change for Transformational Character.