“SHOWIN’ Up BLACK”, Written by Jeanne Madison
Synopsis

On the eve of their daughter’s cotillion, Louis and Claire Hopegoode, an affluent African American couple, see their plans for the perfect debutante ball collide with a Black Lives Matter protest. Claire insists that her influential husband have the protest moved. Louis, a prominent attorney, has secretly agreed to represent the police officers who killed the black youth at the center of the protest.

Their daughter, Evvie, a budding activist at an elite Boston boarding school, has a crush on Kwan, a protest organizer. Kwan, from a low-income background, has beat the odds and is a student at MIT. When the pair arrive at Evvie’s home, Louis and Kwan strike up a heated discussion of contradicting views about the best path to race equality. They end in a draw.

After the ball, Evvie is rousted by the police, and the Hopegoodes come face-to-face with a reality they thought they had escaped. Kwan and Louis get into a physical altercation over whose fault it was. Kwan is arrested shortly after leaving the Hopegoode’s home. Evvie implores her father to get him released, which he ultimately does through his connections.

Kwan and Evvie reunite in Boston, where Kwan relates his awe at Louis’ political influence. He determines to build his organization with the financial support of his white classmates. He and Evvie exit to march for police accountability. End of Play.