Awareness Film Festival - The Breakout: A Rock Opera
A high school nerd, with the help of some misfits, goes on a daring quest to rescue the girl he loves from a mental hospital.
Interview with Writer Chris Edgar
Watch The Breakout: A Rock Opera on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Back in high school, I (writer Chris Edgar) was friends with a bunch of misfit kids who were in what was called the “self-contained” program — they took classes separately from the general student body and got extra supervision because they were seen as dangerous to themselves or others. I hung out with them because they did nerdy things I liked, such as playing Dungeons & Dragons and doing theater. Every day, a teacher, sometimes accompanied by a guard, would come to gather them from the table we’d sit at in the cafeteria and take them to class. Sometimes I’d also hear about these kids being hospitalized for various reasons.
The self-contained program always struck me as kind of prison-like, and I remember wondering what would happen if the self-contained kids joined together and rebelled against the school. That, and conversations with my Mom — who’s a clinical psychologist and has worked with lots of kids who cut and were hospitalized because they were seen as a suicide risk — inspired me to pick this subject to write about. And I made it a musical because I’m a musical theatre nerd.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
To put it most simply, it’s got rockin’ tunes (it’s a musical) and a super-talented cast, and it’s definitely a unique moviegoing experience. And if you look beneath the rebellious kids rocking out, I think you’ll find it’s pretty thought-provoking, raising questions like what mental illness and sanity really mean, whether all the drugging and hospitalization of teens that goes on in our country is a good idea, and what it means to develop an identity as a young adult. Because I’m a musical theatre nerd, I would compare it to shows like Next to Normal and Spring Awakening, but if you are less musical theatre-nerdy, you could think of it as a darker, grittier Glee.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Although much of The Breakout is based on my personal experiences in high school and I was admittedly odd back then, I think most of us had the experience of feeling alienated and maybe even a bit insane as teenagers, and I think anyone who had that kind of experience will find this film relatable. The film also touches on a number of social issues, including the mental health establishment’s interaction with teens, the increasingly common phenomenon of teenage self-harm (cutting), and the increasing similarity between schools and prisons.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
At first, The Breakout was presented as a stage musical in San Francisco. Seeing the show get performed made clear to me that The Breakout was capable of speaking to a much larger audience than what we could cram into the 99-seat black box we performed it in. Because I had some experience working on webseries (TV series for the web), I had the idea of presenting the show in that format, and I reached out to Jenn Page, the director of The Breakout, who had directed musical films. She convinced me that we might as well try presenting the piece as a feature film — after all, if it got traction at film festivals, that could help us work out an arrangement to create a TV series based on the piece.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I’ve been blown away by the reactions from the audiences who have seen the film at festivals. The story of The Breakout runs through a lot of events in a fairly short period of time, as musicals often do, and I was worried that the audience might get lost or confused because of that, but people kept coming up to me and telling me not only that they loved the music but also that they could see themselves in some of our angst-ridden teen characters, which is the most gratifying part of this project.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Definitely — I had some doubts about adapting a stage musical to film when the musical hadn’t already been a worldwide phenomenon like, say, Rent or Mamma Mia. That was one reason why I wrote the film as a 42-minute series to be presented in episodes of a few minutes each, as opposed to a 90-minute, typical feature-length film — I wasn’t sure whether all the music and singing would hold the audience’s attention for an hour and a half. But now I wish I’d done it as a feature based on the feedback I’ve received, and I’m writing another full-length movie musical now!
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We would love to connect with people who may be interested in, or knowledgeable about, presenting The Breakout as an episodic TV show — we want the chance to do more with the concept and characters, and we think an unvarnished look at adolescence with musical theatre elements (perhaps a Glee meets Freaks and Geeks) would be an exciting new addition to the TV landscape.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
It would be great to have conversations with TV executives, whether for network or digital platforms, about the possibility of presenting a TV series based on The Breakout’s concept and characters, and discuss the materials we’ve put together to pitch the show.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
When I was in high school, I thought of myself mostly as a passive receiver of information, and didn’t understand the extent of my power to create and to affect the world around me. I probably could have been writing musicals back then too, if I’d fully understood what I was capable of. Albert, the protagonist of The Breakout, by taking matters into his own hands to rescue the girl he loves from a psychiatric hospital, comes to understand his ability to control his own destiny, and it would be awesome if The Breakout can help teenagers — and adults, for that matter — grasp that they can do the same.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Hmm, one question I would like to ask people who saw the film would be whether it resonated with their high school experience and the way they saw kids being treated (or perhaps were treated themselves) by the mental health establishment.
Would you like to add anything else?
Seeing The Breakout in a theater is definitely the ideal way to take it in – the energy in the audience during the screenings we’ve had has been really powerful – and I hope you’ll come rock out with us at Awareness Festival or one of our later screenings!
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
The filmmakers have prepared scripts and pitch materials for several feature films and TV series, and are exploring funding and development opportunities.
Interview: September 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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The Breakout: A Rock Opera
A high school nerd, with the help of some misfits, goes on a daring quest to rescue the girl he loves from a mental hospital.
Length: 42 mins.
Director: Jenn Page
Producer: David A. Hoffman
Writer: Chris Edgar
About the writer, director and producer:
Director Jenn Page has directed and produced feature films, branded series, music videos, live stage shows, and a TV talk show.
Writer and composer Chris Edgar has written music for film, theater, TV, digital series, commercials and more.
A 15-year veteran of the entertainment industry, producer Dave Hoffman has over 100 credits on feature films, television shows, commercials, interviews, industrials, and music videos.
Key cast:
Andre Darnell Myers as Albert
Emma Farabee as Scara
Nathan Harrington as Jake
Tara Bianco as Rat
James Hansen as Rory
Leah McKendrick as Ms. Fancher
Geno Segers as Mr. Rizzo
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Producers who may be interested in developing an episodic TV show based on The Breakout’s concept and characters, and investors in feature film projects we’ve developed.
Funders: Self-funding / private investors
Release date: June 2016