SCHOOL ME A Written Creative Work submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Fine Arts Playwriting by Ramon S. Jackson San Francisco, California May 2018 Copyright by Ramon Shawntez Jackson 2011 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read School Me by Ramon Shawntez Jackson, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts: Playwriting at San Francisco State University. Roy Co )oy Au/D. Professd Creative Writing Michelle Carter, Au.D. Professor of Creative Writing SCHOOL ME RAMON SHAWNTEZ JACKSON San Francisco, California 2018 “School Me”: A play on words and worlds Michelle Carter and Roy Conboy (Mentors), Department of Creative Writing “School Me” is a hyper-realistic creative work that seeks to initiate conversation surrounding academic, vocabularies of communication, and the pedagogy of inclusive access for all. The setting - an Ethics 101 class full of local community college students (Laney College, Oakland.); their quest - to escape the never ending war-zones the live in for a fresh start an legal money. Their shared obstacle; an extremely detached professor, and a city on the verge of annihilation because of another murdered young black male. When will enough be enough? What are the keys to freedom? Can any of them last through the semester to graduate? Who has the vocabularies of access? This play was written as a commentary on the advanced education system and some of the short-comings I noticed as I encountered these characters. The story is based on real people, and some very real life circumstances. Names have been changed to protect innocent and guilty alike; although, no judgements are made, or conveyed in the natured of this piece. I sought to let the truth of the character’s existences speak for themselves without any judgement from me as a writer; allowing room for the audience to confer with their own complicated feelings surrounding the less fortunate, or urban lower-class. I certify that the Abstract is a correct representation of the content of this written creative work. PREFACE AND/OR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you Father Universe, Master of meaning, God, for this journey and the destination, yet unknown. To Mom and Dad, Mrs. B. A. & Mr. Raymond L. Jackson, for letting me spill our stuff on the floor and me getting dirty in it. Dad, it was a Spirit thing, thanks for the time and attention. Grandmas, Leola Jackson & Annie Pear Moore, there will be no stronger cornerstones in my foundation than yours. It is your courage in my veins, thank you. To Kasey, Tiana, Ty-Tre, Ciara, thank you for putting up with all of me, there is no greater anything, than siblings. To my counsel of advisors personal and academic: Michelle Carter, Truong Tran, Anne Galjur, Misty Williams, Wesley McAfee, Ms. Marion Martin, Bishop Walter L. Hawkins, Edwin Hawkins, Judy Juanita, Jackie Graves, Roy Conboy and Regan Pruitt, Michael Torres, Parish Sampson, Shotgun, Compo Santo, City of Refuge, UCC and the YAF Foundation. Thx. School Me! by R. Shawntez Jackson © 2011 -R. Shawntez Jackson [email protected] 2737 Harold St. # 5 Oakland, Ca. 94602 510-301-9916 2 School Me ©2011 II Act / Poetic Dramedy /13 Actors (6M/6F/1T) Multi-Ethnic “Education is the key to freedom.” In a city like Oakland, these words are the only hope for the millions of students too short to play pro ball, or the 10 of millions who can’t rap; but education isn’t cheap, and for these 9 Junior College students (Laney College), trying to get out of the hood; in less than 24 hours, it will cost them more than they ever nightmared. Production Notes: This production is a transcendent journey between the physical worlds of these students verses their inner aspirational monologues. Theses shifts will be represented by MOOD within the stage directions accompanied by the desired emotional cue for artistic, lighting, & sound direction choices. 3 Characters: ^PROFESSOR HEAD (On-Screen) - Uneasy/ Detached, Professor with a past, 40 - 50’s M, White & F, Black (Live) - Aware/ Secure, Professor with a past, 35 - 50’s T (M/F), Black or Mixed Race STUDENT/ - Pissed off, Male, early 20 - 30’s REPORTER 2 NIKO/ROBBER - Sexy, well built, flirtatious user with an exotic edge, JUDGE 4 Male, 20’s - 30’s, SARAH/ REPORTER 1 - Hustler, quick with the lip, sharp with her tongue JUDGE 6 Female, Late teens PAMELA/ - Obese - Big girl with a chip on her shoulder & a heart of JUDGE 5 gold, protector, Female, mid 20’s ANGEL/ - Militant, enlightened/ awake, determined JUDGE 7 African American, Male, Late teens - Early 20’s *GWEN/ - Bubbly expectant hood girl, Female, 20’s JUDGE 3 JONATHAN Scorned and succumbing, bright but naive, Male 22 LAWRENCE/ Guarded & lonely, Gay, Male 20’s JUDGE 2 MAY LING/ Sensitive/ collected, Observant, Asian, Female, 20’s REPORTER 3/ JUDGE 1 Dr. NEWBOOTY Cagey, Female, mid-late 40's *Notes: Professor Head to be played by at least two actors, one male & one female, (you can have as many as you’d like, working as a chorus) whose images and voices will be interchanged for PROFESSOR HEAD during the performance on-screen at the director’s discretion. Onstage the actor will be played by 40 & up older Black Trans. Jonathan is on the spectrum. Gwen’s mother was on crack while pregnant with her. 4 ACT I Scene 1 A classroom The class is dimly lit. Desks arranged in an open v formation from the front o f the room. A large combination chalkboard & dry-erase board is on the wall behind a big desk with a globe on it. A clock is off to the upper left and an extra-large flag hangs from the wall to the upper right. There are posters o f Astronaut Neil Armstrong on the moon; Diana Ross & the Supremes, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jesus on the cross and Oscar Grant hangs on the wall stage right. All the students are present in class, in varying states of interest and/or disinterest o f the film. Song Ain’t nobody’s Fault but Mine by Nina Simone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iILzubTCrvcA A montage of photos intermingled and projected on a large screen at the head of the class, showing history offamilies in front of deplorable housing, students studying in school, learning and achieving vs. images o f violence, protest, black panthers, and images o f internment camps and veterans o f war. In the middle o f the song the audience should see images of triumph and achievement in more current times, jazz music, performers, dancing, the cotton club, pop culture icons. In the ending refrain of the song, there should be images o f lynching’s from historical archives opposed with current images of black deaths, images o f holocaust deaths and bodies, images o f slavery abuse, abused bodies, and the final image should be o f the earth after nuclear destruction. Lights comes up on stage and in-house, lights flicker on and off and a giant head appears on the screen, opens its eyes, clears its throat and begins the class, as a female. *All the students monologues should be cast to the audience as if they were the head o f the class (PROFESSOR HEAD). PROFESSOR HEAD (Female) (Nervous and uneasy) Ummmm... Hello! Oh, ahhha, welcome, everyone. This is Ethics 101, just in case you are in the wrong class. I can’t see the room very well but all your syllabi and handouts should be on the table at the front of the class. Please take one of everything before you leave; for no- Interrupting PAMELA -There’s nothing on that table! 5 PROFESSOR HEAD Really? (Under their breath with a huff) So much for that TA. (Louder) Well in any case I will make sure that your handouts will be available for you by the next class. I am your educational facilitator for this semester; Professor Head. Snickering and laughter from the class. I need to take roll so please raise your hand when your name is called. At that time you can let me know if you have a preferred pronoun, your desired gender ...and what the hell else am I supposed to say? Oh yeah, I am a mandated reporter ... so if you tell me that you were raped or beaten or experience violence or something...I have to tell, so umm. Yeah. There’s at least one on campus counselor left, so I advise you go make time with her if you need help. That’s out the way, so.. .back to the role, yeah. If your name is not called, you are not enrolled in the class. If you are not currently enrolled in the class you will need to leave the class immediately. If there are any available spaces in the class as determined by the computer, please go to the admissions office and enroll there. Until which time you can return with an enrollment permission number, you should not return... Grumbles and mumbles from the class. GWEN (While rubbing her nearly 7 month old belly) D-AAAAAMN you’re rude! A few potential students shake their heads, get up and walk out the class grumbling. STUDENT Fuck this man; there ain't no open classes on this campus! Every class is full already. You know they limiting the number of classes a semester now, and keep letting all those professors go on “sabbatical.” How am I supposed to finish school if I can't get a class? One muthafuckin’ class, (pleading) com’on, I need this class to graduate this year.