So you want me to talk about Reggie?
No.
You're why we're here.
Ugh. I wish we had asked her about Reggie.
- We'll have to find someone to... - Cheers.
Troy. Cheers, y'all, clank-clank!
Miss Bernadette was drunk in rehearsals, right?
Wasted. With all the shit she said?
It took everything I had to deal with her.
Did that nigga Troy say, "It took everything he had"?
Al!
- We had you down... - I know. We talked last week.
But people who don't change their Discush links are asking to be bombed.
That's not reasonable.
I've secretly been here for a while, with my camera and mic off.
That makes it weirder, actually.
I told you I'd hit you after we were done.
But you said it in a way that meant you didn't want to.
Plus, I need your notes on the new CasaBLACKKKa key art.
You have Al making the art?
- No. - Not yet.
Let me get that screen share so I can show you what I mocked up.
- I already have a poster. - Now you have a better one.
- Does yours have vaginas in it? - All of my art does! I'm...
Wait, let me just hit this screen record, though.
Al, are you real, or have you replaced yourself
with a virtual AI that's slightly more restrained?
It's me. It's daytime.
I'm stuck in my house and I've been drinking,
and I'm here to correct Troy's lies,
just like I was there for you all senior year.
And y'all barely put me in y'all's books!
They're Lionel's books.
If I hadn't stepped in, our Varsity Show would have been Julie Taymor's Roots.
Minstrelsy was America's first popular culture!
They've been offering us singing and dancing
as the means of our liberation since the plantation!
Of course the Varsity Show would be held in Beckford Hall,
named after a slave owner!
- Was the protest on the group cal? - Did you even check?
- Thing's buggy as hell. - It wasn't.
I want you involved, Al, but first, you need to quit that show.
- And abandon my friends? - Already did that.
Nigga, who are you? Where'd you come from?
Why'd you start talking after years of silence?
Yo. I'm trying to be your inside man.
I'd prefer a man who was standing outside, beside me.
But do you.
Minstrelsy isn't dead!
End the cakewalking now!
And... we're here.
Baby, this isn't a restaurant.
This is a cab. You said we were going somewhere nice.
Brooke, do you actually call your lovers "baby"?
What I call my lovers is not safe for work.
Bring some truth from your own Black self. Hmm?
Call him... "king."
This is somewhere nice.
Thanks to my meal card, I can get us a bunch of meals for free.
Thanks, Obama.
Yes, that's what I'm talking about. See, people?
All right, proceed.
Joelle, that's your line.
Sorry. Want some pizza? It's only got a bit of my hair in it.
Joelle, don't offer them pizza!
Offer some chitlins that you put your whole foot in. Hmm?
And "hair"?
No, no. What about "weave"?
Come on, people, make these work for you.
Okay. Lionel's been working on writing some new sketches.
- Why don't we try one of those? - No, no.
We will continue with the classic vault scenes
that have served as the foundation of the Varsity Show for the last two decades.
But, people, you have got to bring your authentic selves to the material.
Why didn't you tell me?
I can do a pass and get her to look at them.
She loves me.
Oh, uh...
Of course. Sure.
Okay, listen up.
Two decades ago, Ron Dudley performed this exact scene,
but he swapped out "pizza" for "bratwurst,"
and we knew he was going to be a star.
Instead of law school, he went on to book a two-episode arc
on 3rd Rock from the Sun as Mailman.
- Wow. - Well, that's all the time we have.
Tomorrow, maybe we'll get more than one scene up.
Good night, Miss Bernadette.
Learn your lines.
This is a disaster.
We are weeks away from winter break, and we have nothing.
One thing's for sure, Miss Bernadette and Miss Bernadette alone
is the real problem.
We agreed that Miss Bernadette and Michael had to go. Are you bailing?
I'm not bailing, just thinking out loud,
wondering what's a real issue and what's a minor annoyance.
Stomach cancer, real issue. Stomach pain?
Could be an early sign of stomach cancer.
Niggas, I got your solution.
Jesus, Al! You can't just sneak up on people.
I've been standing here for a minute, so...
What's your deal with Black AF? Are you friends with them?
See, what had happened was,
I joined this Latinx group last year and everyone thought:
"Whoa, we're gonna see this new side of Al."
But then I realized being biracial cut both ways.
Couldn't relate to the new experiences of my new Latinx friends like I'd hoped,
so I've been favoring the characters I've invested in for the last three years.
By "characters," I mean my eclectic group of friends, you guys.
But Black AF thinks I'm a traitor, or at least Iesha does,
and what's-his-face who never talked before, but...
This is a really long story.
Can you tell Iesha to stop protesting?
Oh, absolutely not.
I have zero power over her.
But I can help with Miss Bernadette, though.
How?
...sexual if you don't feel it between your thighs.
Mr. President...
Open our borders and...
But you think, 'cause my skin be dark, we different?
I told y'all I could do things.
This is a thing, right?
Yeah, it's a thing.
I know it is.
Ooh.
He's got that Obama look in his eyes.
Al... make sure Sam's at rehearsal tomorrow.
- I'm gonna go talk to Miss Bernadette. - On it.
Sam!
- What's up, Jo? - What?
Troy requests your presence at rehearsal tomorrow.
The show that I'm documenting? I'll be there.
Damn, don't shoot the messenger.
Sorry, I'm almost done, I promise.
All good.
What's up?
Oh, shit, I forgot to text you!
- I've got a Comparative Lit study at 8. - Oh, man.
- How are the updates on Rose Umbrella? - Good.
We made it anonymous, but that's caused some bugs in the interface,
- so I'll hit it tomorrow. - Should I push back our dinner?
No, it shouldn't take long. Let's keep dinner.
- Okay. - Is this couple talk?
- Should I leave before this gets explicit? - I don't know.
Maybe.
All right, text me what happens on Big House. Love you, bye!
Oh, wait.
- Bye. - Have a good session.
I already have...
Are you gonna watch this right now?
She said to text her what happened.
Hey!
Who took my prize?
Who took my prize?!
Damn.
Yes, Johnny Knoxville trapped in Channing Tatum's body must go.
Are there any smarter game moves?
Yes!
Am I putting a target on my back by going for Taggart next?
I don't know. But I gotta keep pushing.
That's real, man.
What Coco said, I feel that. I really do.
You know, like, being so much in my head, lately, like...
it's a lot.
Fine, fine.
Reggie, what's up?
So...
So I was supposed to reach out to Night Fort
once I wrapped the Rose Umbrella app for Michael.
I could launch it tomorrow, but there's not a part of me that wants to finish.
Reginald Green doesn't want to play video games for a living?
I know. I keep finding myself redoing Michael's user interface,
like over and over and over.
Let me see this app.
Hmm.
"Rose Umbrella." Okay.
Yes, safer sex work.
Yo, I've seen it help folks, so I want to do more things like that,
because, to me, that's as good as getting a check.
But I feel like I'm pushing Night Fort away.
Maybe you are.
Maybe you should.
Sometimes this doc feels like a giant commercial for the Varsity Show.
Shouldn't I be out there with Iesha?
Or tracking down the administration's political motivations?
But you not.
Sometimes I wonder...
are we just addicted to the struggle?
What if this doc could be as simple as...
celebrating Black people doing dope shit?
What if you just need to go get the bag
and claim some more power in this world before you go and try to save it?
Uh...
Thanks for the talk.
Later.
Nothing makes you feel more welcome than an abrupt exit.
- I thought we were taking the night off. - We are.
I just, you know, wanted to
check in on you and your thesis,
see if you wanted any eyes on it.
I... I also finished my rewrite.
You want my notes on the film I don't want you making?
I want the best filmmaker I've met to give me her honest take,
because it'll make me better.
And I'll try and do the same for you,
but my thoughts will only mostly be praise and half as good.
Let me see it.
- I'll Dropbox you my thesis. - Cool.
- All right. - It's thick.
"He looks at the toast and realizes that this is more than bread.
This is holy bread.
The bread of life."
Yeah, you don't have to read it right now.
You know, maybe over some drinks.
I love you.
You're welcome.
No, yeah. Let's leave the thrill of Al's intricate act of deception
to focus on Jungle Fever 17.
It was pertinent information.
You were talking about how important it was for me to film, and I...
She's Black, he's white. Whatever will they do?
Uh-uh. It was more complicated...
So the next day, the fruits of my labor came to fruition
by blossoming... as fruits.
- Hey, girl. - Hey.
Sorry for leaving Reggie with you. He stay for too long?
- Girl, it's all good. We started fucking. - Oh, too soon. Mm-mm.
It was actually okay.
Until Gabe showed up.
Hmm. Letting that Iesha chick get in your head, huh?
Hmm.
Just making sure you brought your camera.
Yep. I brought my camera to the documentary that I am filming.
Good. Very good.
- Yo, Sam. - I got my camera, nigga, damn!
Stay killing the mailman, not getting y'all's mail.
All right, gather around, children. Gather around.
- Iesha and Black AF posted the clip. - A birdie told me it's time
we address the elephant in the room.
I've been protecting you from something,
but I have been assured that you guys can handle this.
The theater is a safe space.
A safe space to do unsafe things.
What's happening?
Miss Bernadette's about to drop some knowledge on us.
When I did this piece, the Winchester Bugle called it daring.
They said, "We may never see anything like this again."
Well, they were wrong.
Here is a piece from August Wilson's
best-known gender fuck impersonator, June.
And it's called We Be the Same.
You think 'cause my skin be dark, we different?
'Cause my skin be dark, you think I'm your lesser?
Yeah, well, that ain't right.
My skin be dark 'cause I am powerful.
- My skin be dark 'cause I am beautiful. - Okay.
- I don't cosign this. No. - And yet...
we be the same.
Perhaps you weren't ready.
I assumed this show was for us and by us,
but after a lengthy meeting with the dean,
I realized that this show is for you and by you.
My actions yesterday were... out of line.
But I just, uh...
I just want to make one thing very clear.
I am not a racist.
No, I once spent 36 steamy hours with Nipsey Russell
that did more for race relations than anyone in this room, so...
What Miss Bernadette is trying to say
is that she's no longer gonna be the director for the Varsity Show.
Um, until we find another director, Troy will be in charge.
All right, let's go.
- Lionel's in charge till I get back. - Babe, you got this.
So, what we about to do now, Lionel?
- Don't nobody got time. I have classes. - Babe.
- I have things to do... - Babe, tell them.
And there's...
Let's see what we can do with those vault scenes.
I says, my dark skin is beautiful.
My dark skin...
- What were you thinking? - Oh, the injustice.
At least give me a ride to the bus.
I wanted to reach out and show you we're making changes.
How you feel about the show, that's how I feel about the show.
That's why I've taken measures to make sure Miss Bernadette's fired.
- I can't believe y'all tried to play me. - Iesha, how are you...?
Al gave me the code.
- Al! - He posted it online.
Look, I've been stuck in the house, smoking sativa, so I have opinions.
I'll scramble the code so no one else can come in or listen in on us.
I was waiting to see if y'all planned on interviewing me.
- And now we have no choice. - Oh, I can go.
No. We wanna hear what you have to say.
You need to get BSU involved in my protest.
Black AF and I are not enough to stop the administration
and their puppet, Troy, from doing the Varsity Show.
- Okay, it's not that easy. - Why not?
Because most of BSU supports the Varsity Show.
Just because I'm president doesn't mean I can boss them around.
No, but you can lead them.
Look, I'm with you, okay?
Varsity Show in Beckford is fucked, Black cast or not.
But I can't exactly protest my girlfriend's show.
You and Sam are exactly the same.
How you stand by someone who does everything opposite of what you stand for,
I'll never know.
Fuck.
What?
This is cluttered-looking, right?
Oh. This is the-sex worker app.
You know about that?
There's a Reddit that tracks all the Black coders at the Ivies.
- You don't have a graphic designer? - You can tell?
Only because graphic design is my minor.
It's good, but the spacing on some of this text...
May I?
Uh, sure.
I didn't just come here to protest the system.
I came to rebuild it.
One code and well-aligned margin at a time.
It looks... cleaner.
Duh, I'm the shit.
You're still not happy.
Does it...?
Does it do enough?
Considering how damaging SESTA/FOSTA is,
this app is going to protect so many sex workers.
That's a win, Reggie.
Yeah, but is it a big enough win?
Big enough?
For who?
You wanna go blow off some steam?
Wow.
This place is really committed to the gun-range theme.
They serve wings here?
Reggie, this is a gun range.
What?
It helps to take the thing that scares you back.
It helps.
Yo, I don't know what they say about me in the Reddit,
- but you don't know what you're talking... - I grew up in Ferguson.
I watched my brother get beaten by cops at the protests.
I was tear-gassed before I started junior high.
It helps.
Come on, everyone has a first time.
First time in reality, but in Night Fort, I'm a skilled marksman.
This ain't no video game.
Let me show you.
They want you for a job, right? The Night Fort people?
Yeah. As soon as I wrap up Rose Umbrella.
I see.
Shit.
Do they always stare?
Since there's two of us, they've doubled their efforts.
A nigga was feeling good, then they find a way to knock it out you.
Knock them back.
Better than the virtual version?
I felt that shit.
Yeah, letting yourself feel your anger gives you clarity.
That's why they try to forbid our expression of it.
Well, anger only gets us so far.
Suppressing it gets us nowhere.
I'm not suppressing anything.
Why you think I play so much Night Fort?
- Why hasn't it helped? - Helped what?
There's nothing wrong with me.
Yeah, you seem fine.
♪ Well, it's a wonder men can eat at all ♪
♪ When things are big That should be small ♪
♪ Who can tell what magic spells? We'll be doing for us ♪
♪ And I'm giving all my love To this world ♪
♪ Only to be told ♪
♪ I can't see I can't breathe ♪
♪ No more will we be ♪
♪ And nothing's gonna change The way we live ♪
♪ 'Cause we can always take But never give ♪
♪ And now that things are changin' For the worse ♪
♪ See, whoa It's a crazy world we're livin' in ♪
♪ And I just can't see That half of us immersed in sin ♪
♪ Is all we have to give these ♪
♪ Future's made of virtual insanity now ♪
♪ Always seem to Be governed by this love we have ♪
♪ For useless, twisting Of our new technology ♪
♪ Oh, now there is no sound ♪
♪ For we all live underground ♪
- Okay. - Ha, ha!
Hey.
Ugh. I wish there was a way to track folks like that out in the world.
Here, I'm gonna get us some more.
I wish there was a way to track folks like that out in the world.
Do not take the bait.
That's a very good fake, but it's fake.
I worshiped you!
Woke or Not Woke?
It started as a tech problem. Maybe there's a tech solution.
♪ Is all we have to give ♪
♪ These futures ♪
♪ Made of virtual insanity ♪
♪ Now always seem to ♪
♪ Be governed by this love we have... ♪
You were making him great. It wasn't the other way around.
♪ ...of our new technology ♪
♪ Oh, now there's no sound ♪
♪ For we all live underground ♪
You know what?
Fuck Night Fort.
Fuck all the money.
What's the point of the shit we doing if it isn't changing some shit?
Uh, I thought you were gonna start Night Fort
as soon as you finish Rose Umbrella.
What if we expanded the app to not just sex workers, but to Black people,
as a way to, like, signal to each other whether a space is safe or not?
Keep records of the incidents that happened there.
Holy shit, and it be user-driven as well, like a Yelp for bad white people.
Mm-hm.
- Or a modern Green Book. - Mm.
Clarity.
That's how he came up with New Green Book?
Hey... BRB.
- Is she good? - Probably bored,
since the story's been hijacked to be about you and fucking Reggie.
Nigga, this started with me telling a story that you interrupted.
She seems bothered. No one else brought up New Green Book?
It's not like we could talk to Reggie.
Look, I didn't wanna say this, because she definitely would never,
but we unpack a lot doing these interviews.
That means... digging up things we may not be ready to face,
and we haven't unpacked all of that year for her yet.
Well, looks like you murdered someone with my script.
It's in a good place.
There's some pages where you just wrote "bad."
Well, I could see how you worked very hard
to make sure that it's not a complete piece of shit.
I need your help, Sam.
Why don't you hang around campus over winter break?
You can come to set. I could really use your eye.
And then maybe I can help out with the doc.
Did you...? Did you watch it?
Yeah, it's beautifully shot.
Yikes.
I just...
It needs a character at its center.
Okay? That's it.
You know, Troy just... He's so cagey in all the footage, you know?
You need to follow someone, like, you know, Iesha. You know?
She's... interesting, vocal.
I am definitely not doing that.
Because of what she said?
Yeah. All right, fine, but you need someone.
You need someone for us to root for.
If you got that, I think you can take this from a student short to, like, a feature.
A really good feature.
You're mad I didn't say your script is perfect.
I'm sorry I'm not in love with your propaganda piece.
Why are you mad at me, again?
Is it because I gave you the space that you asked for,
or because I gave you the notes that you asked for?
Because I'm having such a hard time keeping up these days.
You wanted notes.
You pushed your script on me.
And now you want me to give up my winter break for your movie.
These are more examples of you wanting things
without considering how they hurt others.
Shit.
I'm an asshole.
Sorry, my food came.
It's all good. I get it now.
Um, where were we?
Ooh, you in a mood.
Bitch, I am a mood.
Okay. Well, I'm gonna warm up
and not let this energy affect my vocal cords. Okay?
Love you.
I know a lot of you guys are wondering what's next for the Varsity Show,
and we have an answer.
Lionel?
- Oh. Um... - Mm-hm.
So...
I was gonna hand out some new sketches that I wrote,
- but I read them, and they were... - Bad?
Well, I just wondered...
what if, like, everyone was doing this instead of me?
Hmm. Passing the buck? Sounds like Lionel.
Well, I just...
Your lives should be informing this, right?
What if rehearsals became a space for us to share our stories,
what's going on in our lives?
But how do we get a show out of that?
It's the Chorus Line approach.
Each of us brings our own stories and then we transform it into a piece.
Or at least that's how I would do it, if I was in charge.
Yes. Yes, what Brooke said. Sans the power grab.
You guys, bring your stories...
your passions, your hopes
and fears for this year.
And then we can turn those into scenes and numbers,
and make them right for this time period.
Things that students were fighting for in the '90s,
we're still fighting for today.
And since we didn't inform you of this,
we figured you could take today off and come back after break ready to go.
Wait a minute. So this could have been an e-mail,
and I could have continued studying?
We wanted to let you guys know that this show is in good hands.
- Enjoy winter break. - Peace.
Bye, girl.
Real producer move, guys.
Empower everyone while we write the show ourselves.
I like.
We could probably get the whole thing done in Houston, right, babe?
- Actually, I need to... - Bye, guys.
...talk to you.
You need to handle that.
I told you I'm on top of it.
Did you catch me being a total fuck-up over there?
I'll try to cut around it.
Hey.
- You okay? - Yeah.
No.
All this work to do on my doc, and... Gabe gave me a good note.
I hated it because it's true,
and he covered it in this attempt to get me to work with him over break.
My only alternative is vacationing with my mom,
but all that'll be is her asking me what's up with Gabe
while she searches for paleo alternatives to holiday food.
Where's she going on vacation?
Shaggy's "It Wasn't Sea" cruise.
It's a cruise with Shaggy and Sisqó
and horny older women going from Florida to Puerto Rico.
- That's how new diseases are invented. - Hmm.
I need to get some fresh air so I can get shit done.
I'm taking Michael home to Houston for the holiday, which would be great,
but I have to fire him.
Why don't you let me come?
I can be a friend and support you through it.
I thought you said you had no time for your doc.
Yeah, but I need space to go through my footage and find a good story.
Maybe I do that in Houston.
Hmm.
Okay. That sounds nice.
Sam and Lionel in Houston.
Wow.
What is up with those two?
- Sure seems like something was up. - Sure do.
I've said my piece on Reggie,
and I don't know, it's feeling like maybe I should go.
Thought this would be more of a hang. I'll see y'all later, okay?
Wow.
Really?
Um, Troy.
Sorry, that's my screensaver. Y'all weren't talking to me, so...
Speaking of which, sounds like y'all got a lot to work through.