KCU Pitchfest Showcase 2025 (Top 50)

Shadow Play

Over the blistering Midwestern summer before 8th grade, three longtime friends discover a fissure growing in their friend group as one of them, Claire, begins to pull away. While trying to channel her negative feelings about the deaths of her parents and her own self-esteem issues, Claire unwittingly manifests a phantom of her shadow self… and agrees to trade places with it. As friends Valerie and Elliot try to mend the rift in their friendship they begin to notice strange things happening around Claire and stage a paranormal intervention. As Claire is about to find out, though, the only way out of this mess is through confronting her inner demons head-on and ending the cycle of abuse before her phantom takes over her life for good.

My Why:

It’s easy to cheer for a protagonist in a story when they’re making all the right decisions, but—what happens when they’re not?

My goal is to create a story that can help guide kids into introspection and self compassion, especially those who struggle with emotional regulation and navigating their teenage years as a whole. My hope is to tackle topics like abuse and neglect (and their lingering effects) in a way that’s more approachable for kids and, through horror, helps make their internal struggles a little less scary.