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| THE STORY There is an awkward girl living in the Ida B. Wells housing projects on the southside of Chicago. Her aunt was just killed, her mother incarcerated for drug use, her father a virtual stranger to her, her housing project scheduled to be torn down and her affections towards a not so awkward boy will eventually shape the woman she will become. Her story was inspired by the following story told by Tori Amos: “Adolescence and audiences kind of go together because I remember playing this song when I was 12 for this boy. I’ve written this song for this boy and everyone knew in the school about it. And he threatened to beat me up if I played it. It was going to be in front of the whole school. You know assemblies. His name was John. Well, you know, I had braces and pigtails and he was dating the girl… Sylvia, you know, 14 and should be… you know, on the front of a ship, you know one of those… and, the point is… I sat there wetting my pants. I mean my knees were water. He was sitting right there withall his cute friends. And, you know, what are you going to do?! You’re 12 years old, you have a crush on somebody, and you really want to say, “You know buddy! In 15 years I’m not going to have braces anymore! And I’m not going to have my knees like water! And I might be an interesting person! Andyou know you shouldn’t be so mean to me!” But adolescence is that time when, I think it can be the cruelest place on earth. It can really be heartless. And I played that song. And uh, everybody knew what was going on. Needless to say he didn’t beat me up. And he came up to me and said, “That was really better than I thought it was going to be.” And I haven’t heard from him since. So, I think about that sometimes when I have to go play out in front of an audience and I go, “But my knees are weak and they’re full of water!” The interviewer asks, “Do ever play that song these days in front of an audience? Would you ever play that song these days in front of an audience?” (Politely, flatly) "No. No." |
| Screenplay available upon request. Ten page sample available below with applicable password This work has been copyrighted with the Library of Congress and registered with the Writer's Guild of America, East. (c) Breeze Vincinz. All rights reserved. |
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