Jesseca Kusher

Over the course of the past week I have been working hard on the 5th, and now 6th editions of my thesis script. The comments from our class group were very helpful as I realized that my main character, Kath, was a very passive protagonist.

That said, as some people offered me pushback against how clear her character is written, I realized that her character is very fleshed out for me. Unlike the others she clearly transitions through the five stages of grief. From denial to anger, depression, bargaining, and acceptance. At some point during my conversations with people I was asked to consider making each of my characters a personification of one of those five stages of grief. To me this feels too much like Pixar’s “Inside Out–” but to the benefit of “Inside Out” all of the characters are very clear. But no, that feels much too flat to me. I can’t bring myself to shove each of my characters in a box like that. Perhaps I’m too emotionally attached.

No, instead, I’ve been focusing on making my character’s decisions very external. If there was one thing that I learned from Masen and Jacqueleen’s film it’s that our actors really can’t handle subliminal subtext. It’s a mess. I’m also trying to write toward my actor’s quirks as that is overall an easier to direct film. If you can’t cast from an enormous pool, you’ve got to make that pool work for you. That said, I am so excited to work with this group fo actors. Beyond them, we also have a really awesome team and I have so much faith in these collaborators. I am excited to make a project we can all really be proud of.

I have found, in my struggles, that the “flashcard” method is supremely helpful for outlining a script. Even further, however, I believe that you really must pump yourself up. In order to get excited about making difficult character decisions I have turned to Korean Pop music and the most recent Taylor Swift album (in which she is a real badass, let me tell you). It’s really the little things that help you get through the day and feel comfortable writing about death.