Steven Alexander

The Upcoming Film in Development.

"Wasteland"

by Steven Alexander.

He had everything against him but his talent. A Young man with magical hands, KEVIN DICKSON grew up poor in a Bronx neighborhood where piano lessons, not to mention pianos, were in short supply. But at age 12, he discovered classical music and a prodigious talent for playing it.

By age 15, he had played student performances at Carnegie Hall, Columbia University, and the New York Botanical Garden. He performed so beautifully that he silenced and shamed those who judged him by his baggy jeans, his wild hair, and his dark skin. Kevin was raw. His playing had a power, a passion, that portended greatness. In school he lacked discipline; at the piano, however, he could sit for seven hours straight. Through music he escaped troubles at home, trouble at school; he made sense of a world that seemed profoundly unfair. He had been born into a hard life, and in his teens, when his mother sickened and died, it only got harder. Kevin had a spark that prompted Steve, a music teacher to remark his belief in God. "How else do you explain a wellspring of beauty out of such barren terrain?" His talent, Steven exclaimed, would be enough to save him from drugs, violence and the hopelessness that suck young black males in like a black hole. Kevin believed too. Music, he said, would be his way out of the hood.

At some point, Kevin stopped believing. Most of the plague in the 80’s -- AIDS, homelessness, drugs, violence -- came home to roost, like crows in Kevin’s life. He became itinerant, bouncing from borough to borough like a pinball. A tragic figure who soon sealed his fate at age 17 selling drugs on a desolate street corner in Staten Island. Before midnight he was dead of a gunshot wound in the head.

Kevin fell through the cracks. For a parentless child, being loved by everyone could not compensate for family. If anyone should have made it, it should be Kevin. His destiny proved otherwise. Born in the chaotic early 80’s when disco was making a dramatic exit and New York’s financial crisis was at it’s peak, one might only assume what his chances were. Kevin’s father absent. His mother, AUDREY, had a hard life, a stew of poverty, abuse, teen motherhood, aborted education, drugs, and eventually AIDS.

Audrey, Kevin, and his two sisters TATIANNA and JACKIE lived in a basement apartment in Fort Apache, a notorious South Bronx neighborhood. Poor and unstable, Tatianna, Kevin’s older sister moved out of the neighborhood. An action that left an indelible impact on Kevin. Seeing his family disintegrate was too much to bare. His behaviour told a story -- In third grade, he was in special education. By sixth grade, he was frustrated, fighting and on the verge of expulsion. STEVE D’AMATO, a wheelchair bound Vietnam-veteran took special interest in Kevin. Steve saw what no one else saw -- Kevin’s gift. Against his better judgment, Steve went to bat for Kevin by offering him a spot in his sixth grade music class.

Surrounded by bright and motivated students, Kevin settled in and settled down. Over time Kevin became a double rainbow. Two sides of Kevin began to reveal itself. One frustrated, disruptive and distracted; the other focused, engaged, well behaved. Which one emerged seemed to depend on whether he felt loved or understood.

In D’Amato’s class, Kevin demonstrated precocious esthetic intelligence. He awed a Whitney museum curator with his observation about art during a class field trip. When the class learned the basics of music, he elaborated on the simple tunes and became a regular at the class keyboard. Impressed by Kevin’s progress, D’Amato sort to decertify Kevin as a special-ed student; the Board of Education rejected his plea. Another blow to Kevin, who went on to intermediate school and back to his frustration and fights. Not giving up on Kevin, D’Amato persisted. Making every conceivable effort to talk to Kevin’s mother. His mother by all accounts, tried both in her life and Kevin’s. She furthered her own education, taught him manners, she even bought him a Casio piano for Christmas. Kevin taught himself to play classical music on the Casio, and played incessantly. It drove everyone crazy.

Taking the initiative, D’Amato introduced Kevin to WALTER BRISBANE, an old timer who had been responsible for launching the careers of the finest classical pianists in the world. Impressed by Kevin’s taciturn, self taught and his playing remarkable pieces by ear, Walter soon took to Kevin. He taught Kevin, and took him to concerts and to Films about music. They talked about German composers whose biographies Kevin had memorized. Kevin’s absorption was total. He borrowed books of Music from the Lincoln Center library. He composed, imitating the works of Bach and Beethoven; he would improvise on the piano, then write in pen scratching out changes like Beethoven, whom he worshipped. Kevin identified with the strength and defiance embodied in his music. Kevin fashioned himself as Beethoven reincarnated. Kevin would play until the doors were locked at night. If he could not practice everyday, he did not want to practice at all. He did not want to reveal himself to his public until he was perfect. Kevin was the type to wear praise uncomfortably, it made him rather uneasy. He drew the admiration of his peers who aspired to his dry wits, cool appearance, and his ever changing hair styles, the latest in Hip-Hop fashions and above all, his talent.

When Kevin played, he blotted out the world, but away from the piano, the blotting became trickier. Home was chaotic, not least because Audrey had contracted HIV. His Mother was dying in front of his eyes. Two days shy of his 15th birthday, Audrey died. Kevin blamed himself. He had had an argument with her the day before. The flame was out, Kevin had lost interest and given up hope. Steve D’Amato, along with Walter Brisbane managed to convince Kevin to audition for, and enroll at LaGuardia School for Music, Art, and the Performing Arts. He was accepted musically, but not academically: his school record was littered with failures and absences. Letters were written by Steve and Walter appealing for an exception to no avail. Kevin was victimized by a society that narrowly defined intelligence. LaGuardia maintained that unless Kevin brought up his grades the answer was no. Dissappointments draped around Kevin like a direction-less fog. Kevin couldn’t comprehend why LaGuardia would not accept him. He knew he was talented. Academics was not going to save him, music was. "Beethoven left school at 11," Kevin exclaimed angrily to Walter Brisbane over dinner at their favorite hang out in Chinatown.

Following the death of Audrey, Jackie, Kevin’s kid sister, went to live with an aunt Anna. Anna, who had problems of her own, refused to take Kevin in. A limbo ensued thrusting Kevin into life on the streets. Steve D’Amato took temporary custody of Kevin; a decision who would soon come to regret. Kevin continued playing but his world was disintegrating. In school, his concentration diminished. Unimpressed by Kevin’s commitment to academics, and coupled with Kevin’s lying and stealing, Steve had his breaking point. Finally asking Kevin to find another place. Kevin couldn’t go to Anna. She had been evicted. Kevin and Jackie ended up in a homeless shelter, an experience that furthered Kevin’s alienation from the world.

Walter Brisbane took pity on Kevin, introducing him to a foster family CAMILLE AKEJU and her husband DANTE. Being into the arts themselves, Camille and Dante took Kevin in with open hearts. Camille gave Kevin a job at "Smoke", a jazz club she and Dante owned. Once in a while Kevin would sit in at a jam session when Dante performed. Kevin made an impression on Dante with knowledge of improvised chord changes. Before long Kevin became a staple in the band by becoming the youngest Jazz pianist on the New York jazz club scene. Kevin, now 16 seemed uncertain about his music career. He started spending less time at home and more time on the streets. He never showed up for rehearsals and when he did, he would show up late. When questioned, Kevin would get in to tirades with Dante. Kevin’s role models began to transform from Beethoven and Bach to Drug dealers and Pimps. He was making dizzying shifts among the worlds with different languages and survival skills. Once he got some money and bought a gold tooth. Kevin’s life was taking a detour. A detour Dante and Camille couldn’t tolerate.

Kevin was back on the streets, riding the subway at night and reading at Barnes and Noble by day. With Winter bitting he would make numerous attempts at breaking into Camille and Dante’s basement. Finally Kevin moved in with Flex, a cousin in Staten Island. Kevin found a soulmate in Flex a 19 year old hustler. Both were devotees of Wu-Tang-Clan, a hip - hop group that exploded on to the scene from the Park Hills housing projects in the Port Richmond section of Staten Island. Kevin and Flex would hang out at Wu Wear, the groups Staten Island clothing store. Kevin would listen to violin laced sounds of the Wu-Tang-Clan. Kevin’s new dream was to be a rap star but he wanted to rap over classical music that he would compose.

Flex was arrested and sent jail. Kevin, feeling abandoned started hanging out with Malik, a notorious druggy and drug dealer known by the Police. Malik was so slippery the Police couldn't pin anything on him. Kevin and Malik spent their days rhyming, talking to girls, and smoking crack. Kevin was soon arrested for drug possession. Out on bail, Kevin stepped of bus, into a middle of a fight involving Malik. Malik was shot and wounded. A rival drug gang had it in for the both of them. Kevin was forced to lay low pending his trial. Two weeks later Kevin was shot in the legs as he rode his bike in the neighborhood. A week later, Kevin was jailed for missing a court date for gun possession. Meanwhile Walter and Steve made frantic attempts at reconciling with him. Two days later Kevin made a trip to Chinatown. Walter had managed to convince him the streets was not his game. He later confided in Steve that he hated being around violent criminals -- all he wanted, he said, was to make music.

Steve arranged with Walter to give him another shot. A week later, Kevin found himself playing Lincoln Center. Kevin played Bach’s prelude in F minor in a distinctive style that had the crowd in an emotional uproar. Kevin was back. With the help of Steve and Walter a few more gigs were arranged. Kevin made peace with Dante and Camille, occasionally showing up at the club and playing. Kevin was blossoming, surpassing his previous accomplishments on the piano. He spent most his spare time composing, spending time with his sisters and helping Camille and Dante at the club.

Kevin got a call minutes before a scheduled concert that featured prodigies from across the world. A call, had it come a few minutes later Kevin would be alive. Early that day over breakfast, Jackie teased Kevin if he was scared of dying. Kevin jokingly said "no" because then he said, "I would be with mommy"

After receiving the phone call, Kevin hopped on the subway to Staten Island. He was pronounced dead later that evening. No arrests were made. Kevin was two days shy of his 17th birthday.