Drama-Comedy Feature
At Quaker camp in 2001, a closeted transgender boy vies for a youth leadership position against a sanctimonious homeschooler who’s hiding her own gay identity.
This coming-of-age dramedy is inspired by my evangelical Quaker upbringing – a paradoxical religion with roots in both social justice and Christian fundamentalism. Think Love, Simon meets Saved!
“A compelling, unique, and heartwarming coming-of-age story that perfectly captures the essence of teens discovering their sexuality under the pressures of expectations.”
- WeScreenplay Diverse Voices reader
Me (horizontal) and my fellow Quaker Youth at Northwest Youth Yearly Meeting, Summer 2000
The Story
Vi is a closeted trans boy at Quaker camp. He hasn’t undergone any transitional therapies or come out to his friends, and thus, like a starfish, no one can tell his true gender from the outside. But when his crush Olivia nominates him to be the next youth leader, he’s thrust into the crosshairs of puritanical Mallory, who desperately wants that position for herself.
Mallory believes Vi is a lesbian, and the church has a clear policy against gays in leadership. Mal should know….she’s secretly in love with wild & wonderful Angelica. When Mallory incorrectly outs Vi as gay, he has to choose between coming out as trans before he’s ready, or being exiled from the only spiritual home he’s ever had.
Through camp shenanigans, bonfire epiphanies, forest trysts and a mud-slinging Capture the Flag climax, Vi finds the courage to embrace his truth even at the cost of his faith community. In doing so, he discovers that, just as a starfish can drop a limb and have it regenerate, sometimes breaking away the only way to be born again.