{"id":94190,"date":"2021-06-09T22:24:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T03:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=94190"},"modified":"2023-02-01T14:46:03","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T19:46:03","slug":"finding-the-muse-in-graceland","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2021\/finding-the-muse-in-graceland\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding the Muse in Graceland"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin magazine-block-editorial-leadin is-style-side-by-side has-media has-wider has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-secondary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"700\" height=\"500\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2021\/08\/CFA-Magazine_Muse_Bonnie-Discepolo_Thumbnail_700x500.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Actor Katie Beth West starring as 10-year-old Grace\/Elvis in GraceLand\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/08\/CFA-Magazine_Muse_Bonnie-Discepolo_Thumbnail_700x500.jpg 700w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/08\/CFA-Magazine_Muse_Bonnie-Discepolo_Thumbnail_700x500-636x454.jpg 636w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Photo by Alex Harris<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Theatre<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFinding the Muse in Graceland\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Elvis inspires\u00a0Bonnie Discepolo\u2019s (\u201903) short film about gender identity<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar magazine-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">June 9, 2021<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/authors\/taylor-mendoza\/\">Taylor Mendoza<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><strong>In the trailer<\/strong>&nbsp;for the short film&nbsp;<em>GraceLand<\/em>, a young child stands over a bathroom sink and determinedly snips off chunks of their hair. They plaster down what remains with a slick of dark shoe polish. Grace\u2019s mom thinks her child is just another cute 10-year-old girl; Grace knows different. They believe they are the reincarnation of rock \u2019n\u2019 roll legend Elvis Presley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bonniediscepolo.com\/\">Bonnie Discepolo (\u201903), the cowriter and director of the film<\/a>, says the idea for Grace came to them fully formed. \u201cIt was as if this boy just walked into my consciousness and was right there, fully realized, and saying, \u2018They think I\u2019m a girl, but actually, I\u2019m a boy and I\u2019m Elvis.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>GraceLand<\/em>, which was released in August 2020, stars Katie Beth West as 10-year-old Grace\/Elvis and&nbsp;<em>Pitch Perfect<\/em>\u2019s Anna Camp as their mother, Prissy. The film focuses on Prissy\u2019s struggle to accept that Grace identifies as the King of Rock \u2019n\u2019 Roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>GraceLand<\/em>&nbsp;is close to Discepolo\u2019s heart. They grew up in South Carolina, where they participated in theater as a child with Camp and actress Monique Coleman, who plays a teacher in the film. They received a South Carolina Film Commission Indie Grant to shoot the film in Charleston. \u201cGrowing up in the South, it felt very personal to be misunderstood and misidentified,\u201d Discepolo says. \u201cI was interested in rewriting what it would look like if the parents and the teachers, the authority figures, went on the emotional journey to do the changing, if the child was able to just say, \u2018This is who I am.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Discepolo thought of the film\u2019s premise while they were working on filmmaker Robert Rodriguez\u2019s television series&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.elreynetwork.com\/shows\/originals\/rebel-without-a-crew\"><em>Rebel Without a Crew<\/em><\/a>. As part of the series, they were among five filmmakers tasked with making a film in 14 days with a $7,000 budget. They were in the middle of shooting a particularly gory scene when, Discepolo says, \u201cI just thought, \u2018Gosh, that was really dark. The next movie I do, I want to bring joy into the world.\u2019 And immediately, little Elvis walked into my mind\u2019s eye.\u201d From that kernel of an idea, the rest of the film emerged.&nbsp;<em>GraceLand<\/em>&nbsp;took about a year and a half to finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So why Elvis? \u201cI thought, \u2018What if a trans child showed up and wasn\u2019t just saying that they\u2019re a boy, but also that they were the reincarnation of a music icon that is revered specifically by the people who are not accepting?\u2019\u201d Discepolo says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After wrapping up&nbsp;<em>GraceLand<\/em>, Discepolo has been juggling a few projects. They are hoping to get back into acting and have been writing a film about the first female cosmonaut. Discepolo is also collaborating with&nbsp;<em>GraceLand&nbsp;<\/em>cowriter Trevor Munson on a feature-length version of the film. \u201cThe pandemic has given me time to write, so I\u2019m focusing on what I can do, so that when we get out of quarantine, I have material to film.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<section class=\"wp-block-editorial-collection-billboard magazine-block-editorial-collection-billboard\">\n\n\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-intro-title\">This Series<\/h3>\n\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-article\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"collection-billboard-media\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"collection-navigation-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"615\" height=\"410\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2021\/01\/Thumbnail-Muse.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"CFA magazine DeCotis Muse\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/01\/Thumbnail-Muse.jpg 615w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/01\/Thumbnail-Muse-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/01\/Thumbnail-Muse-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-media-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2020\/muse-maria-decotis\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-media-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>Turning a Press Briefing Into a Hit Video<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"collection-billboard-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-small-title\">Also in<\/h4>\n\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/collections\/muse\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>Muse<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"collection-billboard-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">August 9, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2023\/muse-eldad-tsabary-sound-design\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Finding a Home in Electroacoustic Music<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">May 24, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2023\/anthony-r-green-social-justice-artist\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Social Justice Music<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">October 11, 2022<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2022\/julian-shapiro-barnum-recess-therapy\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Heading to the Playground for Some Recess Therapy<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/collections\/muse\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>Series home<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/article>\n\n\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the trailer&nbsp;for the short film&nbsp;GraceLand, a young child stands over a bathroom sink and determinedly snips off chunks of their hair. They plaster down what remains with a slick of dark shoe polish. Grace\u2019s mom thinks her child is just another cute 10-year-old girl; Grace knows different. They believe they are the reincarnation of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6310,"featured_media":80795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[],"bu-publication":[191],"magazine-article-category":[372,378],"magazine-topic":[365],"news-article-category":[],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[383],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/94190"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94190"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/94190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95396,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/94190\/revisions\/95396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94190"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=94190"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=94190"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=94190"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=94190"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=94190"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=94190"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=94190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}