CURLS (FORMERLY CALLED HOMECOMING DEADLINE) Written by Michelle DeGrace Story by Roxy Peykamian and Michelle DeGrace Draft 1 1/27/17
UNCSA LOGO The sound of a cappella Riverdance tapping. INT. LIVING ROOM - EVENING On the TV, Irish Dancers stand in a line on stage in a Lord of the Dance style. CAITLIN (8), an African American girl with naturally curly hair, sits criss-cross applesauce right in front of the TV. She is in awe, amused and excited by the rhythmic thunder coming from the screen. She looks back at the couch behind her, smiling with puppydog eyes. INT. DANCE SCHOOL - NEXT DAY Caitlin pokes her head into a classroom, mouth agape. Dancers spring up-and-down with bouncy, curly wigs and colorful, sparkly dresses, each unique and intricately designed. Caitlin looks back at her parent standing by the front desk. She sees a flyer on the coffee table and picks it up. INT. DANCE SCHOOL - NEXT WEEK Ghillies are laced up and bow-tied onto feet. Dressed in athletic attire, Caitlin steps into the empty classroom. She jumps around, trying to mimic the Irish Dancing she d seen. THUD-THUD, THUD-Y THUD. A group of fair-skinned GIRLS (8) walk into the class and are immediately appalled by Caitlin and her appearance. They cross their arms and MARCH towards her. When Caitlin sees them, she is immediately terrified. She shies back and crouches in a corner. The girls stand over her and point fingers, pick at Caitlin s unruly hair, and nudge at her feet. The TEACHER (22) walks into the room, and the girls scatter. LATER
2. The teacher stands at the front of the room, in front of the large mirrored wall. All the girls are in a row, following the teacher s moves. Their arms are glued to their sides. Caitlin lags behind and does not follow the proper form. She can t keep balance and leaves her arms in the air out to the sides. Teacher makes a larger jump. Students follow, and Caitlin slips and falls. She looks up at the other girls, who look down on her with smirks. Through the mirror, the teacher waves for her to get up. INT. LIVING ROOM - EVENING Caitlin shuffles her feet into the house, plopping her dance bag to the side. The shoes fall out with a CLATTER. She plops in front of the television and flips through the channels. Riverdance comes on. She HUFFS a sigh and changes the channel: monotonous newscaster sounding like a Charlie Brown adult and talking about the upcoming local Feis, celtic history program, an ad for new sparkly Poodle Socks and shoe buckles, more Riverdance... She turns off the television and gets up. INT. GARAGE - MOMENTS LATER Caitlin jumps rope. She does a double-jump rope trick. She does another, but her feet land turned out, one in front of another. As she jumps rope, her feet switch placement. She jumps higher. Then her jump becomes more complex and she does a Butterfly. Realizing what she s doing, she becomes alarmed, shaking her head and dropping her arms. Caitlin throws down the jump rope and falls to sit on the ground-- CUT TO:
3. INT. DINING ROOM She shlumps into her seat at the dinner table. The Irish Dance School flyer glides onto her plate. She picks it up. She looks up and smiles slightly at her DAD (40), a fairskinned man wearing green. Dad sets an little old wooden chest onto the table and opens it. Inside, there are pictures of an old woman. One picture shows the woman as a little girl, wearing an Irish Dance uniform and a headband, embroidered with Celtic knots. Caitlin picks up the picture and smiles. Dad lifts out of the chest the headband from the picture and holds it out for Caitlin to see. Caitlin gasps, reaching out for the headband. After a moment with it, she looks back at the Irish Dance School flyer on the table. With a little jump, she tosses everything on the table and skips to her dance bag, carrying it off down the hall. MONTAGE: Garage - Caitlin practices her soft shoe reel across the open floor. Dance School - Caitlin works to keep up with the class. She stumbles, and after a wild dance to catch her balance, the other girls laugh at her. The teacher, concerned, pulls her aside for one-on-one review of the dance. Living Room - Caitlin peels away her wrinkled up poodle socks off her shins. Her Dad helps her use sock glue to adjust the sock on her shin. Garage - Caitlin practices a hard shoe treble reel, some uncrisp SHUFFLES and off-beat steps. Living Room - Caitlin twirls around the room in her own sparkly dress with her Dad. She starts trying to teach her Dad a dance steps. He awkwardly follows along. Dance School - The Teacher works with Caitlin, going through each step in the dance. The other girls dominate the rest of the floor with confidence, a few snicker at Caitlin. The Teacher puts a hand on her shoulder. With an encouraging smile, he has her dance without him. She nails a few consecutive steps with precision. The teacher applauds.
4. Dining Room - Caitlin sits at the dinner table with her father, eating potatoes. She is bopping in her seat. Under the table, her feet jump around as she practices her steps. Living Room - Caitlin tries on her full wig in a mirror. She tucks in her natural curls. She beams, excited. Her Dad, less enthusiastic but happy for her, smiles and sets her headpiece in place. END MONTAGE INT. FEIS - DRESSING ROOM - DAY Girls attach number cards to their sparkly dresses. They put on lipstick and blush. They stuff bobby pins into their hair, pinning it close to their heads. Caitlin tries to pin down her curls, but they keep bouncing back out. She turns to another girl, but the girl gets pulled away by the others. Left alone in the dressing room, Caitlin stares at her wig. She looks at the other girls lighter hair-colored wigs. She reaches for one and sets it on her head. She pulls the blonde curls closer to her face, in a breathtaking awe. Suddenly, the wig is snatched away. One of her classmates stands over her, holding the wig. GIRL You won t ever look like us, and you won t ever dance like us! She clutches her wig close and storms of the dressing room. In the doorway, the teacher stands in utter shock. He watches as Caitlin rushes to put her wig on and pin it down. INT. FEIS - STAGE - MOMENTS LATER Caitlin stands in ready position upstage center, taking a deep breath and smiling for the judges. Silence. The music starts. Caitlin dances around the stage, making gorgeous leaps and jumps. Her wig bounces.
5. She points her feet with perfect execution. Her wig slides down. Her natural curls push out. She spins. Her wig flies off. She forces a bigger smile. In the wings, a few girls shake their heads. Some whisper to each other and laugh. Caitlin takes notice of her peers just as she sets herself up for a big jump. In the launch, she slips and FUMBLES onto the floor. She sits on the floor out of breath. She looks at the judges, to her wig on ground, and to her peers in the wings just before dashing off stage. INT. FEIS - DRESSING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER With a tear-streaked face and running makeup, Caitlin yanks bobby-pins out of her hair. She pulls at her curls. Her teacher steps in, pulling out a few untidy bobby pins. he lifts the wig behind her, about to set it back on her head, but instead sets it aside on the counter. Caitlin watches her teacher as he lightly combs through the curls and gently scrunches them up into neat locks. She helps. Fluffing up her curls, she smiles. Her teacher offers her the headpiece she was wearing. Caitlin looks down at her bag where the old headband from the wooden chest sits. INT. FEIS - STAGE - MOMENTS LATER Caitlin takes her position on stage, smiling in her eyes. She wears the old headband. The music starts, and she begins with a thunderous STAMP. SHUFFLE AND STEP, TOE, HEEL... Her moves are crisp and clear.
6. She heaves breaths, but oozes enthusiasm. Her natural curls bounce and fly. When the dance ends, she takes her bow.