The morning after Homecoming week hits different. P wakes up at Dizzy’s house pretending everything is fine, even though nothing is fine. The letter from St. John’s is in his pocket like a weight. The DeLorean didn’t show. The note he wrote is still in his head.
Outside, Kev and Dizzy shoot hoops like the world is normal. P pretends right along with them. The kind of pretending every kid knows too well. Then real life barges in, and the moment they were waiting for disappears before it even starts.
At the video store, things get even tighter. Bex is behind the counter. Kev is cracking jokes that cut deeper than he realizes. P is trying to disappear inside a ruined shirt and a smile that doesn’t fit anymore.
He escapes to the back room, plays a fighting game, and chooses the one character who feels closest to the person he can’t say out loud. For a second, he can breathe. Then everything and everyone he’s avoiding walks right in.
Act Two is where the mask slips. Where jokes stop being jokes. Where P realizes he can’t keep pretending forever.
SMALL BLOCK is a feature screenplay by Ashley Lauren, performed live and mixed like a feature film for your ears. From the award-winning team at TABLE READ / Manifest Media Productions.
Content Advisory: This episode contains suicidal ideation, transphobic and homophobic language, and minor fatphobic language, used intentionally to serve the story and its period portrayal.
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Cast (Full Feature):
P - Levi Dafferner
Kev - Kosi Eguchi
Bex - Piper Kingston
Dizzy - Deryck Hak
Miss World - Lydia Tinsley
Dad - Adam Pilver
Mrs. D - Gemma Kyle
Mom - Leah Zhang
Britt - Eric Miller
Tiff / Martha - Avery Norris
Mr. Welch / Kev's Dad - Eddie Aguirre
Dan / Zach - Aidan Dick
Jack - Kellen Rose
James - Michael Amir Nash
Rob - Jack Murphy
Janet / Video Store Clerk - Sabrina Ariss
Narrator - Paula Tiso
Written by Ashley Lauren
Produced by Jack Levy, Mark Knell, and Shaan Sharma for TABLE READ / Manifest Media
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