HEARD
A MULITMEDIA PLAY
by Chele Gutek
Image from For the Love of Gabe
STORY OVERVIEW
A 16 year old non-speaking autistic boy, desperate to convey knowledge that will severely affect his mother's well-being, starts a telepathic connection with his new S2C spelling teacher in hopes that she can convey the information for him, but when the teacher finally shares his message, it forces his mother to address the question “Why did he reach out to her and not me?”
THEME - HEARD is a story about struggling to be heard and learning to listen.
STORY SYNOPSIS
JD, a 16 year old non-speaking autistic boy, knows a secret that will severely affect his mother's well-being but he can't tell her. JD has dyspraxia (difficulty performing coordinated movements) and his body won't cooperate enough for him to speak.
JD’s mom, Ellison, is desperate to connect with her son so she enrolls him in a new program for autistic individuals where JD meets Alexy, a S2C spelling teacher.
JD becomes more and more agitated as he nears the point of no return to convey the information to his mother. He MUST convey his message so JD begins communicating telepathically to Alexy. At first Alexy denies it, thinking she's making it all up in her head, but eventually she accepts his communications as truth when he reveals something about her brother that only Alexy would know.
JD tells Alexy what he needs to convey to his mother but Alexy is afraid to tell Ellison that they've been communicating for fear of being fired, having her accreditations revoked, and being thought of as crazy. JD becomes more and more adamant that she must tell his mother and finally Alexy shares his message.
But Ellison has her own crisis when she not only has to face the information given, but also confronts the question "why did my son choose to speak to his teacher instead of me?"
Finally JD conveys through Alexy that his mother has been too frazzled and stressed to hear him. He convinces her to slow down and see what's really important, and ultlimately she begins to "hear" not only her child, but her own thoughts and needs.
CHARACTER PROFILES
JD (John Daniel) Shepard - A non-speaking 16 year old autistic teenager. No one thinks he is "in there" but he most definitely is. Trapped in his own body due to apraxia, he struggles to be heard. To overcome this he develops the ability to read people’s minds and telepathically speak.
Ellison Shepard - A single mom who works hard to pay the bills and give JD everything he needs. Struggles with the fact that JD seems to be able to communicate easier with Alexy and is jealous of her for that.
Alexy Schulman - A new S2C spelling teacher just out of college. Went into S2C because her brother was autistic and she saw how much it helped him. JD begins "speaking" telepathically to her and she’s afraid to tell anyone lest they think her crazy and she loses her job and the connection she’s built with JD.
Images from For the Love of Gabe
AUDIENCE IMPACT
The goal of this project is threefold.
First, to open people’s minds to autistic people and help them realize that they are indeed “in there”, and that they have a vibrant inner life that needs to be heard.
Second, to open people’s minds to the fact that there are many unexplainable things within our existence that are happening and have the potential to happen if one takes the time to slow down and see them.
Third, that slowing down and not getting so caught up in all the stress of we encounter might actually be what’s needed to hear one’s own needs and to move more easily through life.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
I would like to involve the autistic community in the creation of this play by speaking to as many non-speakers as possible and having an autistic person play JD.
In addition, I want to hire local actor for the lead parts, local crew to create the short film portions, and use local groups to market the play.
The ultimate goal will be to travel the play and perform it in other locations so that the word gets out far and wide and therefore will create a positive impact in other communities as well.
STAGING AND AESTHETICS
The stage will consist of two sides:
Stage left is a large screen to project short pieces of video that express what’s happening outside of the classroom.
Stage right is the S2C classroom where JD and Alexy learn and communicate. It will have rear screens in the same plane as the large stage left screen, but two additional layers of sharks tooth that can be projected onto with visual symbolism when JD is communicating telepathically to express the greater depth the universe has that he can access.
These layered projections will be accompanied by surround sound to further enhance the richness, vibrance, and expansiveness of communicating in a larger realm.
Example of layered projections when JD is telepathically communicating.
Example of short film projection to further the story outside of the classroom setting.
EQUIPMENT NEEDS
STAGE NEEDS
3 Projectors
Sharks tooth or Hologauze fabric
Projectable screens - either wood or framed fabric
Classroom props such as blackboard, table and chairs, spelling board
Program such as Resolume to create and manage projections
Additional speakers for surround effect
SHORT FILM NEEDS
Camera & Lenses
Lighting
Props
Small film crew
Shooting Locations (including permits)
Editing
Sound
WORKING BUDGET
STAGE PORTION
Costumes
Crew
Marketing
Miscellaneous
Props
Stage Sound & Lighting
Venue
—————————
Contingency 10%
TOTAL STAGE COST
$200
$13,400
$700
$670
$450
$2100
$4020
————
$21,540
$2154
$23,694
SHORT FILM PORTION
Actors
Crew
Equipment Rental
Locations
Miscellaneous
Props, Set Dressing, Costume
Sound
—————————
Contingency 10%
TOTAL STAGE COST
$2400
$9600
$4850
$1200
$1900
$700
$2950
————
$23,600
$2360
$25,960
TOTAL OVERALL BUDGET: $49.654
POTENTIAL PARTNERS
Arts Complex Denver
Phamaly Theatre Group
CoCreate
Firefly Autism
Telepathy Tapes
Colorado Autism Society
Simon Shackleton
ADDITIONAL FUNDING
Additional funding will be sought from:
Sponsors and local partners
Grants
Film funding programs
Local theatre companies who may want to put on future productions of the play