Small Block - Act One

It's Homecoming Weekend in North Texas, 1994. Fourteen-year-old P is barely holding it together, shaving a single whisker in the bathroom mirror, writing a note he almost can't take back, and dialing his best friend Kev before a Zippo flame turns fear into momentum.

At school, P's movie-trivia fluency sabotages Kev in a "battle of the sexes" quiz, earning heat from Kev and former best friend Bex. After class, the band - P, Kev, and Dizzy - argues Pantera vs. Korn, then mainlines '90s VHS nostalgia with Ace Ventura and The Crow.

Then the impossible slides by in stainless steel: a DeLorean. Its driver, "Miss World," knows her metal, quotes regrets, and won't take three teens on a joyride yet. She'll be back tomorrow at 11 A.M.

Under Friday-night lights, P pulls down a highlight-reel TD in a scrappy eighth-grade pickup game while Dizzy's hustling block saves the play. Back in the stands, P's parents pitch football and fitting in. P keeps tugging his shirt straight and his purple beanie low, but the question won't leave him alone: who is he allowed to be, especially if the words for it don't exist here?

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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