Document Type
Master's Thesis
Graduation Year
May 2020
Emphasis
Emphasis in Creative Writing or Applied Music
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program Name
Humanities
Program Director
Judy Halebsky, PhD
First Reader
Joan Baranow, PhD
Second Reader
Thomas Burke, MA
Abstract
'Bernadette: A Screenplay' is the first half of a feature-length comedy-drama road movie that centers on the relationship between Bernadette - an introverted IT professional in her late twenties - and her elderly father. When Bernadette makes a big change in her life by quitting the job that she has come to hate, she decides to take the trip of a lifetime by traveling across America. She also decides to take her father, who is on the verge of moving into a care home, with her. What follows is an exploration of their relationship, their facing up to long-hidden grief over the death of Bernadette's some years before, and Bernadette's quest to discover what she wants to do with her life.