Backstage (2016) s02e24 Episode Script

In Your Eyes

[Beckett.]
Previously on Backstage - Guys! - You okay? I'm the lead.
If you're the lead, then I'm your understudy.
[Carly.]
I guess that's what I get for falling asleep in my audition.
[Carly.]
Beckett Bradstreet is Helsweel's son? Mom, enough! My teacher's at home and now my mother's always gonna be around at school.
I can work on that.
You and Kit are kinda perfect for each other.
No, no, no.
She's my best friend.
End of story.
Sure, Jax.
Just friends.
I think I have feelings for Kit.
[birds chirping.]
[techno music playing.]
[yawns.]
[keyboard clacking.]
I haven't spoken to Kit since the whole flower incident, and, uh I'm not avoiding her or anything.
No.
[stammers.]
It's just, there hasn't really been that much time, I guess.
[cell phone beeping.]
Maybe I'm avoiding her a little bit.
[techno music continues playing.]
Okay, fine.
I can't stop thinking about her.
[Kit.]
Jax.
- [sighs.]
- Jax.
Jax.
[upbeat music playing.]
Jax! Kit, you're real.
Yeah, I'm real.
And so are my text messages.
How'd you know I was here? - I called your mom.
- You called my mom? Because you weren't answering my texts.
Oh, I've been busy.
Like, leaving flowers on my porch? What? No.
What's this? You, fumbling around on my porch with flowers.
[scoffs.]
My parents installed a security camera over the summer.
No way, that's not me.
I'm way taller than that guy.
You looked right into the camera.
[chuckles.]
So, what's up? You do this, and then just stop responding to your best friend's text messages? Come on.
This is your moment.
Tell her how you feel.
[whispers.]
I like you.
You what? I like you, okay? I like you.
["Spark" playing.]
My eyes are open but I cannot see And I'm up and walking Still feels like a dream Until our eyes adjust I guess We're only feeling in the darkness Oh, oh, oh - We just need a spark - Oh, oh - To light up the dark - Oh, oh I can feel you with me I can feel you with me - We just need a spark - Oh, oh - To light up the dark - Oh, oh I can feel you with me I can feel you with me We just need a spark [classical music playing.]
I've seen statues with more inspired footwork, Mr.
Bradstreet.
Normally, this is where I talk back to my mom, but we're at school, not home.
So I'm the student, she's the teacher.
Thank you, Ms.
Helsweel.
I'll work on that.
[whispers.]
Yes.
Now that we're all warmed up, some more than others, it's time for your Season's project pitches.
Miss Cristinziano, since you're our lead, you can start us off, please.
["Four Seasons: Spring" playing.]
Are you okay over there? Yeah, I think so.
I'm just worried.
Helsweel hasn't been impressed with me lately.
So, me messing up this pitch isn't an option.
- You aren't? - Worried? Not me.
My choreo's feeling solid.
She's gonna love it.
[breathes out.]
If I could erase that from my memory, I would.
On second thought, there's always room for improvement.
Yes? - We were wondering if we could be excused.
- We? - Excused? - To work on our choreography.
Our choreography? [sighs.]
[stammers.]
We have some ideas, it's just we need a little more time.
We don't wanna pitch you anything less than perfection.
I see.
- Be back by third period.
- [Beckett.]
We will.
And, Mr.
Bradstreet, it better be perfect.
[door opening.]
[upbeat music playing.]
Where have you been? You're late.
What are you talking about? I'm, like, five minutes early.
Kit was here this morning.
She knows.
Well, that's amazing.
I'm so happy for you two.
- Actually, it - What did you do? Me? No, nothing.
I didn't I was honest with her and she just ran away.
Did I mess everything up? Well, maybe she just was late for class or something.
- Does she take the bus now? - No, I don't think that's it.
[sighs.]
What if I just lost my best friend? Dude, hello? Right here.
Okay, you know what I mean.
What should I do? Oh, I usually go to Bianca for this sort of thing.
Oh, Bianca, my ex-girlfriend.
That's your advice? What kind of best friend are you? - [sighs.]
- You know what? I'm gonna give you the same advice you once gave me.
Okay, you're gonna need to be a bit more specific.
- I've given you a ton of advice.
- Come up with a grand gesture.
Something that really wins her over.
But I already did a grand gesture, DJ Diamondmind.
What does that have to do with anything? Kit's a completely different person.
He's right.
She is.
A totally different person.
Thanks, man.
Great advice.
[snickers.]
[upbeat music playing.]
- Hi! - Didn't think you were gonna make it.
Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for anything.
I was at Mr.
Patel's seminar last year, it was amazing.
[school bell ringing.]
Matteo's taking this too? Hey.
That was stone cold.
Unfortunately, Mr.
Patel couldn't make it today, but he asked that I step in for the day.
He's leading the seminar.
[scoffs.]
Should be interesting.
Mm-hm.
So interesting.
[hip-hop music playing.]
What's the matter? I thought we were doing good.
My mom doesn't Ms.
Helsweel doesn't do good.
It needs to be great.
[Beckett.]
We're not there yet.
Helsweel is being crazy picky today.
Careless footwork, unmotivated contact, lacking story - Want me to go on? - [thuds.]
I get it.
[sighs.]
The point is, if we wanna blow Helsweel away, we have to show her something she's never seen before.
Since when is Beckett Bradstreet the overachieving type? - I'm trying something new.
- And what's that? Not being a total doof to my mom.
All the time.
[sighs.]
Okay, then let's impress her.
But how do we impress the most unimpressible person in the world? Don't look at me.
Well, what would she do? You know, she told me this story once.
When she was trying to get into the National Ballet her audition piece wasn't there.
I know that feeling.
She kept rehearsing but she knew it wasn't good enough to stand out.
She was too inside of it.
And then it hit her.
She needed an audience.
- For her audition? - To make it better.
She needed reactions to feel out what worked and what didn't.
So, what did she do? She went to the park, she put on a free show, and then the next day, she nailed her audition.
I'm sorry.
Helsweel dancing in a park? - I don't believe it.
- Believe it.
She wasn't always the Helsweel you know.
[bag zips.]
So we need an audience, huh? Like who? V, Sasha and Jenna? - Not the most objective bunch.
- Come on.
I've got an idea.
[upbeat music playing.]
What is art without inspiration? And where do we find it? Throughout history, many of the most famous artists found their inspiration in the presence of another.
A muse.
The Pearl Earring by Vermeer.
The Picnic by Monet.
The Thinker by Rodin.
- Pardon me, Mr.
Forester.
- [Matteo.]
Yes, Miss Maslany? Did you know that Rodin met his muse, Camille Claudel, while filling in for an instructor at an art school in Paris? Why, yes.
I did know that.
[retches.]
Rodin's sculpture, The Kiss, which was commissioned in 1886, is maybe the best example of Claudel inspiring him as a muse.
The Kiss was actually commissioned in 1888.
And isn't it kind of insulting to label Claudel as just a muse? Well, sure.
But that's not exactly what I was saying.
She was a genius.
One of the first female sculptors to really make an impact on the medium.
- Thank you, Miss Maslany.
- Take The Age of Maturity, for instance.
You can actually see her fighting against the rules.
That's great.
With this particular piece People talk about that sculpture as a metaphor for man abandoning his youth.
But it wasn't.
It was Camille telling the world how much it hurt to break up with her boyfriend.
That pain was in her art, and you can see it.
The passion, the inspiration Since you know so much about this subject, maybe you should be up here leading this seminar.
Oh, I Well, are you sure? [Julie sighs.]
By all means.
Okay, then.
Thank you? - This is where we find our audience.
- Seriously? It's pretty easy to tell whether we're bad or not.
See? Not a fan.
Let's see what you got.
[hip-hop music playing.]
[woman.]
Whoa! [woman 2.]
Wow.
- [woman 1.]
Yeah.
- [woman 2.]
Whoa! [man.]
Whoa! [crowd cheering and applauding.]
That was awesome.
Can't wait to show it to Helsweel.
[woman.]
Great! What? Hope you two have a good reason for being off school grounds in the middle of the day.
Here we go Oh, yeah What? What? What? Here we go What's the minimum amount of people you need for a flash mob? Flash mob? Yeah.
Between dance and music students, I could maybe get 20 people.
Is that enough? [sighs.]
I think you might be getting carried away.
Why don't you get Kit a cool toque or something? A toque? Really? I need you to think big with me here, okay? A big toque.
Okay, I'm seeing a big reveal at the end of the flash mob, and it's me, holding another bouquet of flowers, only this time I actually give them to her.
What do you think? - I think it's super cheesy, man.
- Cheesy? It's romantic.
Oh, who am I kidding? You're right.
Maybe I should just keep it simple.
I'll send her a text.
Next week.
Send her a text now.
[stammers.]
I don't think that now is a good time.
You know, I I just wanna be present in the moment.
And I'm just very busy right now.
We have class after this.
I I have this sandwich to eat right now, so next week is better.
As the best friend in this situation, I know what I need to do.
Wait! No, no, no, no, no.
What are you doing? [phone clicking.]
- There, done.
- No! What have you done? Oh, wait.
She's replying.
Wait, never mind.
She's not replying.
- She is replying.
- Just give her a second.
Just wait.
She's not replying.
[sighs.]
Oh, I messed this up.
After Claudel and Rodin's breakup, she went through a downward spiral.
She had enough.
She destroyed her art.
She threw everything away.
We don't know for sure, but maybe it hurt too much to look at it.
All the work probably reminded her of him.
You know, I'm wondering why Mr.
Patel didn't ask you to lead this seminar.
[Matteo.]
I can tell you why.
It's because she's too busy being a dance student to make time for art.
- What's that supposed to mean? - You know exactly what it means.
Why don't we take a quick break? - What was that? - What was what? Are you upset that I took over your seminar? - You invited me to.
- I'm not upset about that.
And I was kinda just joking when I suggested that you take over.
Oh, so if you're not upset about that, what is it? Seeing you up there so passionate about Claudel's story is just [sighs.]
You're talking about a talented artist who threw everything away and you're doing the same thing.
You're throwing away art by wasting time with dance.
Wasting time? Dance is my shot at Juilliard.
Last I checked, that's not a waste of anybody's time.
- But is that what you really want? - Yes, it is.
And if you want this seminar back, it's all yours.
[sighs.]
What was that all about? Matteo being the worst, as usual.
He may be the worst, but he's kinda got a point.
Raisin? [indistinct chattering.]
I just need her to hear my side and she'll understand.
She's going to destroy us.
What were you thinking? - Just let me explain - I allowed you to leave class to focus on your work, not busk on street corners.
But we did do the work.
Just let us show you.
I thought I could trust you.
Obviously, I should have known better.
Let it go.
- But she's wrong.
She can trust me, she - Beckett! Let it go.
You know what? You're right.
I will let it go.
- I need to get out of here.
- Beckett! [groans.]
And as Henri Matisse once said, "Creativity takes courage.
" And if I can add to that, have the courage to be inspired.
Thank you guys for being here today.
[school bell ringing.]
[indistinct chattering.]
- That was really great.
- Thanks.
- Listen, about earlier - Yeah, it's cool.
You don't need to apologize.
I wasn't going to.
What you said, I didn't like the way you said it, but you also maybe had a point.
I do miss the art world a little.
Happy to hear that.
So I guess the question is, what are you gonna do about it? I'm not sure.
I made the decision to pursue dance.
I have to stick with it.
- You still don't get it.
- Get what? Do you know how hard it is going to this school having to measure up to the great Julie Maslany? That's what frustrates me.
Seeing you walk away from your talent.
Art is a choice.
If you choose it, then you'll find the time.
Dance doesn't give me much time for anything except for blisters.
Then let me be your way back in.
Rodin was a channel for Claudel.
- What are you getting at? - I'm working on a painting concept, but I haven't found a true inspiration yet.
Work with me on it.
You'll be my muse, and I'll be yours.
Okay.
Let's do it.
Yes! I ship it, guys.
I totally ship it.
[both chuckle.]
Maybe Kit just needs time, or space, or something.
- Yeah, I guess - [snare drum beating.]
[snare drum beating.]
Do you mind letting me by? What's your malfunction, Duke? Is there a drum convention I wasn't made aware of? [drums continue beating.]
[crowd cheering.]
[soft music playing.]
You know, this might mess everything up.
I hope so.
[chuckles.]
[snare drums beating.]
I just can't believe it.
We're supposed to be in this better place and then she doesn't even hear me out.
It's like she was never gonna trust me, anyway.
Maybe she's had a chance to cool down by now.
- You should try talking to her again.
- You wanna talk to her for me? Yeah, right.
[door opening.]
[indistinct chattering.]
- What's going on? - [door closing.]
There's something wrong with Helsweel.
- What? What are you talking about? - I don't know.
She was complaining about her eyes and not being able to see.
It was really scary.
Durani took her to the hospital.
[Mr.
Park.]
Beckett! Come on.
- [Beckett.]
Where is she? - [Mr.
Park.]
I'll take you to her.
[door opening.]
[drums beating.]

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