A drama feature-length script
Logline
A psychologist convenes a unique support group of creative people from which to draw material for his doctoral dissertation — which becomes a transformative experience for all, especially himself.
Synopsis
Alonso Quixano, a doctoral candidate, has hit upon a theme for his dissertation. The title: “Case Study: Psychological Analysis of Varied Individuals with Creative Aspirations Through Support Group Treatment.” Or, as his subjects dub it — “a dreamers support group.” Alonso seeks to understand dreamers in all creative areas and to understand the creative urge, and how it drives individuals from varied disciplines and walks of life.
His subjects: Billy, an aging hippie musician; Don, a handsome, headstrong actor; John, a middle-aged ex-athlete, career derailed by injuries; Mary, an artist, caught between her aspirations and her responsibilities to her family; Cheryl, a fashion designer, brimming with energy and ideas; Mitty, a dancer, young, dynamic, and fidgety; Sandra, a solemn inventor; and Antonia, a model, beautiful, quiet, an enigma.
Alonso puts questions to them covering all aspects of their quest — how they got started, how they keep going, how they deal with failure, and so forth. As the sessions progress, the members come together in friendships and butt heads. Don and John are oil and water, and their seething rancor nearly spills over into deadly violence. John, a security guard, pulls his gun, but Alonso manages to defuse the tension and
forge a kind of understanding between them.
Antonia slowly opens up, revealing the professional burdens she carries, which have driven her to drugs. She collapses, and winds up hospitalized. Her breakdown makes the news, torpedoing her career. Her troubles serve to highlight the difficulties that all the members of the group have, in some form or other. Ultimately, Alonso reveals the pact he made with his wife. After attempting to become a writer and
experiencing setbacks, he and his wife made a pinky swear — if his self-published novel didn’t sell, he’d quit writing and find a “real job” as a psychologist. Alonso comes to realize that what started out as an uncomfortable accommodation has evolved into a better understanding of not only the creative urge in general, but of himself in particular.
In the end, the members of his group, undaunted by their setbacks, help each other creatively and financially. Don gets an acting job, so he disappears from the group. Mary decides to give up art and all its stresses and focus on her family. Her affinity for John, despite raising eyebrows, turns out to be an innocent friendship and results in a new job for him, coaching basketball at the school where she works.
He can impart his knowledge to the next generation. Billy and Mitty decide to work up a show combining their talents. Even Antonia offers her assistance to Cheryl.
As the group departs, Cheryl suggests that Alonso turn the experience into a book instead of a dissertation. And so, as the Dreamers Support Group ends, Alonso’s dream begins anew.