TRUE COLORS - Will this friendship stand the test of time?

True Colors is the short film version of my coming-of-age TV series, THE BABYGIRL SHOW based on my first autobiographical solo play. It takes place New Jersey suburb just outside of New York City in 1985 when hip hop ruled the New York tri-state area while pop music ruled MTV airwaves nationwide. Rap music taled about as if was a fad.

This was also a time when rap music which KRS-ONE coined, "The Black CNN" ruled and my peers were obsessed with walking, dancing, and dressing "F-R-E-S-H". All of this took place while Reaganomics and the crack epidemic were rampant along with apartheid in South Africa, police brutality, and women starting to work outside the house, like my mother.

True Colors introduces SUMMER and her often abrasive bestie, FATIMA, and their shared quest for popularity, which revolves around getting invited into the popular New York girl DEE's clique. The unexpected outcome of their quest is when Fatima receives the coveted invite, and Summer does not putting their long-time friendship in jeopardy.

The open-ended last scene questions where Fatima's loyalty and Summer wondering if they will indeed by Best Friends Forever -- or not.

The main characters SUMMER and FATIMA have been besties for life and when we meet them they are plotting on getting accepted into the popular New York girl DEE's clique by any means necessary.

The film offers a smidgen of the entire series, a fusion of Wonder Years meets This Is Us with a twist. Unlike most coming-of-age stories this one features a lead with older parents, as she navigates her adolescence. She is also being bullied and living with the inevitable death of her old, retired father and his unpredictable mood swings. So while her peers are mostly carefree she is facing the idea of mortality every day -- in her own household.

Once completed, True Colors will give me a strong visual tool to pitch the show to TV executives. Themes include: bullying, addiction, mortality, abandonment, and the journey to loving oneself unconditionally. Telling this story is bigger than me. The play resonated with all ages, especially adolescents who face more obstacles than my generation ever did, with the proliferation of social media and its negative effects on young people's self-esteem which far too often has led to suicide.

When I was growing up, the media's influence was limited to magazines that could be put down and limited TV channels. Today, social media is 24/7 and hard to escape, even for mature and responsible adults. Due to my work with young people one-on-one, I've witnessed firsthand the damage of the mainstream media. These experiences have fueled me to get this story to a larger audience than the stage allows. Until the show is picked up with a multiple-season order, True Colors will be serve as a conversation starter in classrooms and campuses nationwide.