Short Final: The Knave – Luke Brummer

Logline

A young male ballet dancer struggles to fight against an intense knee injury while attempting to land a career defining role and get noticed by The American Ballet Theater.

Act 1

Elliot (18), is a charismatic talented teenage male ballet dancer with dreams of dancing with the American Ballet Theater. However he is struggling with a serious case of tendonitis in his left knee. He performs a variation with his made up rival, the only other male in the class, Max (19).

Even though Elliot’s performance is stronger he receives notes from his strict instructor Miss Heart (54). These notes cause extreme pain on his injury which he has to hide, but he can’t hide it from his best friend in the class Sakura (18). Elliot retapes his new struggling to hide his pain but is optimistic hoping to get his dream role in the spring ballet of Alice in Wonderland. A role that will hopefully help him reach his goal of ABT.

Act 2

Elliot auditions for Miss Heart and Stephen Mills the head choreographer. He performs a variation from swan lake effortlessly, hitting every move with flawless precision ignoring that pain in his knee has never been worse. As he finishes the piece his knee gives out and he collapses, his dreams disappearing before his eyes.

Act 3

Elliot returns to class ready to pretend that he can still dance but Miss Heart stops him. She shares her concerns for him continuing to dance revealing that she herself ignored an injury and was forced to end her career early. Hse also reveals that even though she is hard on Elliot it is from a place of love and a belief in his talent as a dancer. As Elliot prepares to sit out and watch class, taking the time to rest and heal he has a sweet and genuine interaction with Max ending the long time rivalry Elliot has made up in his head.

Character Bios

Elliot (18) a good looking, friendly Ballerio is a high level student at the Ballet Academy of Austin (Ballet Austin). He is just short of 6 foot, with golden blonde hair and deep brown eyes, physically perfect except for a case of tendonitis in his left knee that simply won’t stop getting worse. He is gay yet doesn’t have time to date due to his hectic schedule balancing senior year of high school and 10+ hours of dance each week. His main goal is to skip college and begin as an apprentice at the American Ballet Theatre like his hero Misty Copeland who like him came from very little and through talent and scholarships made it to be a principal dancer at ABT, all he needs to get that main role as the Knave of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland so that ABT will notice him and give him a chance. All that stands in his way is his own body, his injury only made worse by his teacher Ms. Heart.

Max (19) is the only other boy in Elliot’s class. He is roughly 5 foot 8, with dark hair and features. He has piercing judgmental blue eyes and takes great pride in his appearance, believing he is the most attractive person in every room. Elliot’s greatest rival yet it’s all in Elliot’s head. His dream is to go to Julliard and then become a backup dancer for pop stars like Ariana Grande. He has recently discovered he is bisexual through his growing crush on Elliot who seems to hate
him which only makes Max want him more. Max is outgoing and loves meeting people, he is not the smartest as he spends more time flirting and messing around with friends than studying. He is a talented dancer yet not as talented as Elliot.

Miss Heart (54) is the head instructor for the Austin Ballet Academy. She has a tall wiry frame and a blonde artificial blunt bob hair cut. She wears all black modest athletic clothing daily. While she is originally from New York she trained for most of her teenage years with the Royal Ballet in London. She was extremely successful and talented performing her professional career at the New York City Ballet until she was 26 when she tore her ACL ending her performing career. Due to her training she is a tough strict teacher however it is all from a place of love and a want to create the strongest most skilled dancers. She is disciplined in her life and follows strict routines throughout her day. She is married to the head choreographer at Ballet Austin Louis Heart meaning dance consumes her entire life and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sakura (18) is Elliot’s classmate and best friend. She is lively and outgoing, with huge curly hair that is constantly getting away from her and refuses to be tamed much like her. She is an incredible dancer however once going to college she wants to attend NYU to study fashion with a minor in journalism. She met Elliot on the first day of their level 1 ballet class and they have been inseparable ever since. She is never asleep, always wanting to be doing something, dancing, school, going out, somehow she manages to do it all and never be tired. Even without putting effort into her appearance she always looks cool and beautiful. She is a ride or die friend and will never leave someone hanging when they’re in trouble yet and at the same time is always staring at things and typically the reason people are in trouble. She is the only person who has figured out that Max likes Elliot and is determined to set them up, so that her and her girlfriend
Maya are not the only other gay couple she knows.

Beat Sheet

Elliot prepares to perform a variation for the class next to Max.
Elliot is given notes by Miss Heart while hiding the extreme pain he’s in.
Elliot retapes his knee in the locker room while crying.
The spring ballet is announced as Alice in Wonderland, Elliot wants the role of the Knave to hopefully get into the American Ballet Theater.
Elliot prepares for the audition and tells Sakura that his knee is in a lot of pain.
Elliot performs his audition and right at the end his knee gives out and he collapses.
Elliot comes back to class and is stopped by Miss Heart.
Miss Heart tells Elliot to sit out and rest.
She reveals her own injury that caused her career to end and tells Elliot that he is a brilliant dancer and she has high hopes for him.
Elliot agrees to sit out and rest for the sake of his career.
Elliot finds out Max got the part and they share a sweet moment to crush any rivalry.