A recurring fact at all film award ceremonies is that movies live or die by their scripts. Even the most star-studded studio productions can flounder and sink if the basic premise is clunky, the characters flat, or the dialogue trite. The recent writers’ strike, which has brought production to a halt in the US, offers further proof of the power of the written word in the filmmaking process. Before all else – there is the script.
Writing, it is said, is rewriting. Like any artform, screenwriting is a process of refining, re-working, honing one’s ideas until they are expressed in the most fluid way possible.
Intercut is an evening geared precisely to this endeavour. York’s screenwriting students will provide excerpts from original scripts, each 5 to 10 minutes in length. Come hear the work of eight exciting new screenwriting voices performed by talented actors, and be part of the stimulating audience feedback session at the end. Intercut takes place on Thursday, Feb 7 in the Winters Senior Common Room, 021 Winters College, from 7-9pm.
The scripts to be performed are:
“There We Lied” by Kerry-Anne Saouter (right): Two young school boys, Hassan and Daiki, accidentally injure a pigeon. Panicked, they bring the dying bird to Hassan’s garage. As their discomfort grows, the event drags them into a deeper reflection about their life and, more importantly, about the true nature of their relationship.
- “Save the Future” by Adriana Andrei: With her amnesiac cousin as her role model, a woman decides that the only way to fully experience the present is to break all ties with the past.
- “Salvation Army” by Ran Lewin: Abby and Jo stand in line at the Salvation Army, wanting to do good, without really getting involved. The items they donate reveal their characters and test their friendship.
- “The Portrait Sessions” by Tori Larsen: Keziah is fed up with Noel’s constant absence and Noel is embarrassed that Keziah has unearthed his collection of distressing war photos. It is at this point that both realize they are no longer willing to conceal their dissatisfaction with one another.
- “Minor Expectations” by Stephanie Law: Angela shows up, unexpected, at her dead sister’s ex-boyfriend’s house to pick up her sister’s belongings. Neither is willing to acknowledge the
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sexual tension. Angela learns that a friend may have betrayed her sister.
- “Love” by Inga Dievulyte (right): A man believes the only thing that keeps him from getting back his first and, maybe, his only love is his wedding ring. A teenage boy keeps ending up in the same relationship no matter how many dates he has for the night. A businesswoman who can not stop smiling when talking to her colleague. Their stories are different but they are the same or, to put it in one of the character’s words, “this…love…this…whatever it is, is sick!”
“The Big Show” by Nicole Saltz (right): After breaking up with her live-in boyfriend, Rita Kowolski, 18, has to move back home. Shortly thereafter, her bulimic mother accidentally overfeeds and kills her beloved pet fish, Vincent. It’s the last straw for Rita, who, as a final effort to win against her parents, commits to helping her younger brother, Marty, begin his gender transition.
- “A Room Full of Elephants” by Alex McKinnon: The story is of a family spiraling downwards due to their various unspoken problems. Sandra, the eldest daughter, has thus far been steadfastly refusing to confront her stubbornly stoic father, Walter. But after her youngest brother Barry overdoses on older brother Emmitt’s pills, she rushes to the hospital, where she meets the rest of her family.
Admission is free. Refreshment will be provided.
Intercut is sponsored by Winters College and York University’s Department of Film, in association with the Department of Theatre.