This story follows the life of Alex, a gay teenager who can't put who he is into words. What he really wants to do is just live his life as it unfolds, unfortunately he is growing up with a father that is verbally as well as physically abusive. Everyone in Alex's house fears his father and Alex is trying to figure out how to maneuver life in the same house with someone who he believes hates him. His saving grace is that at school he has found his tribe, the people that make him feel safe and accepted for who he is and his personality and all of the great things that he brings to the table. In a defining moment Alex has designed a jacket for his costuming class that is going to be used in the spring musical. He models it for his mother and sister but when his father sees it, he tears it off of him and rips it into pieces. Heartbroken Alex grabs those pieces and leaves the home walking in the rain and is picked up by an unexpected classmate. It is this night that Alex has the tragic experience that forces him to shift the way in which he lives his life. He had a decision to make, he could either live in the confusion and sadness of what had happened to him or he could figure out how to free himself. For the next two years Alex spends his energy focusing on himself and how he can better himself for the future. It is through this focus and the support of his mother, sister and his tribe that he gains the strength to tell his father exactly how he has negatively affected his life and announce to him that he is gay. In the aftermath Alex is transformed into the most amazing version of himself who he is destined to always be.
Tribes
(Scene opens with Alexander or “Alex” as everyone calls him, is a Black, eighteen-year-old gay man and stands in front of a mirror properly fitting a crown on his head. He is giggling at what he sees. The moment should feel like it is the first time he has ever seen himself like this while also adding in a splash of “Diva” into the mix for clarity.)
(As the announcer) And… the moment we have all been waiting for… this year’s Willerton High School Homecoming King is… none other than the Diva himself, the man with the plan, the most so no need to boast, Mr. Alex Farrell. (He is crowned, takes his beauty queen walk waving at the audience, holding back tears, he’s eating it up and the audience sees so much joy within him. Beat. He stops, scans the room looking for someone that he… doesn’t see. He sadly takes the crown off, puts it back on his table and addresses the audience.)
I umm, always wanted to be the prom king or homecoming king or for someone to just recognize me for the fabulousness that is, me. (smiles) My personality and my jokes are what my therapist calls my defense mechanism. My ability to smile in front of people even though my soul is crying. My ability to strut the runway in front of my peers while at the same time wishing I could run out of my own skin, those are the things that I have chosen to hide from everyone, I guess until now. The first thing my therapist asked me was, “Alex, how did we get here? How did you get here to this time and place in your life where you feel like the only person you can trust is me- a complete stranger?”