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Birthrite, a screenplay Based on a true story, BIRTHRITE is the compelling
tale of a woman’s search for identity, a journey from discovery
to despair to triumph. Haunted by dreams of a female stranger and
beset with infertility, Jesse, (27, willful, edgy and vulnerable)
is driven to search for her birth mother, but her search leads to
an unexpected and bizarre series of coincidences and twists. (103
pages) The year is 1959. The film opens with a montage of
three scenes intercut: the labor of Collie, (Jesse’s birth
mother, 20), the hasty courtship of Collie and Sam (birth father,
23) and the signing of papers in a New York adoption agency six
months prior to the birth of Jesse. Enter Ruby and Sol, a loving
Jewish couple in their mid-thirties trying desperately to conceive
a child. They adopt Jesse. Twenty-seven years later, Jesse and husband
David (33) are also trying to have a baby. A stranger is in the
way. She invades Jesse’s dreams and leads her into a bright
white room with an empty crib. Jesse is driven to search for her
birth mother. The journey is filled with quirky and surreal characters
that guide her to her destiny. As she narrows her search, Jesse’s
internal voice and emotional state intensify. Finally, Jesse is
reunited with Collie in the office of the adoption agency where
the story opens 27 years earlier. But there’s an unexpected
guest, Sam. This event triggers a unique series of coincidences,
(the two families have more than Jesse in common) that create conflict
amongst Jesse, Sol and David. The revived skeletons instigate break-ups,
break-downs and rebirth. Strong female leads, Jesse, 27 and Collie, (20’s and 52) in this character driven and highly visual piece. A woman’s search for self through motherhood versus infertility, nature versus nurture. Compelling manipulation of time and space. Rich settings. Interesting character and action parallels drawn amongst all three couples. Expect an evocative transformation of Jesse. "Promising writing." American Playhouse |
