It’s a boy-meets-girl story, but that description barely scratches the surface of this charming short film adapted from Riding Lessons, a 10-minute play by Longwood creative writing professor Dr. Brett Hursey.
Ten minutes seems an impossibly scant amount of time, but in Hursey’s hands it’s enough to grab an audience, make them smile, develop authentic characters and effectively tell an engaging story that sneaks in a serious message.
And that’s exactly why Riding Lessons was chosen in a national search to be adapted to film as part of the 2025 fundraiser for Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU), a New York-based nonprofit organization that provides a wide array of resources for theater professionals.
The fundraiser, known as TRUSpeak, adapts short plays into films with the help of well-known Broadway, television and film actors, producers, directors and cinematographers who volunteer their time and talent. Supporters have the exclusive opportunity to virtually view the developed films.
“It was very competitive. I’m still amazed that I was selected,” said Hursey, whose play was one of only four chosen for the fundraiser. What’s next for Riding Lessons and the other adapted films is submission to various film festivals over the coming year.
Hursey couldn’t be happier with the final film and is overwhelmed with the caliber of the creative team that brought it to life. For example, Sky Lakota-Lynch, who plays Clark, the “boy” in the story, is currently starring on Broadway in the musical adaptation of The Outsiders, which earned him a Tony Award nomination. Elizabeth Teeter, who plays Edie, the “girl” Clark meets, has recently appeared on Broadway in Beetlejuice and currently stars in Heathers the Musical Off-Broadway. Another central character in the story is a clown who is portrayed by real-life clown Dick Monday, whose credits include not only the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus but also television and film work.
We just had truly amazing actors, a tremendously talented and sensitive director, and an incredible cinematographer and producers.
Dr. Brett Hursey, professor of creative writing
“We just had truly amazing actors, a tremendously talented and sensitive director, and an incredible cinematographer and producers,” said Hursey. “The total budget was $2,000. It’s astonishing we could make that film for so little money.”
Instrumental in guiding the creative journey of making the film was TRUSpeak Executive Producer Janel C. Scarborough—both in the process of selecting the plays and in working with Hursey on changes needed to adapt Riding Lessons to film, which included changing the setting to New York City and adjusting the time of year from winter in the script to shooting on location in the summer. She also helped with revising the play so that it worked as well on screen as it did on the stage.
“Janel was very clever about it,” said Hursey, who is looking forward to sharing with his Longwood students everything he learned in the experience of adapting his play to film. “In the play the clown has a lot of sight gags. In the film version, we had to be careful about how much of that we used so that it didn’t dominate. I’m especially hoping I’ll get to work with Janel on a theatre project at some point in the future.”
In turn, Scarborough gives Hursey’s work—and particularly Riding Lessons—glowing reviews.
Brett’s writing is so succinct that it really lends itself very nicely to being adapted for film.
Janel C. Scarborough, TRUSpeak executive producer
“Brett’s writing is so succinct that it really lends itself very nicely to being adapted for film,” said Scarborough, who is also a Broadway investor, artistic advisor and script developer. She added that Riding Lessons perfectly fulfilled the requirements for inclusion in TRUSpeak.
“The call for TRUSpeak submissions is specifically for socially relevant pieces. A lot of submissions are very heavy, which is great, but I’m always looking for something that can do that in a lighter way. That’s really the lane Riding Lessons is in—saying something important but in a lighter way. I think Brett really has a gift for subliminally giving people a message without preaching to them,” she said.
And exactly what was that message? Hursey explains: “It’s that the pain and heartache people carry with them often is invisible to others—and it is so impactful when someone else can see that pain. The clown represents the pain and heartache Clark experienced in the past. Clark walks in carrying his past, and he happens to sit down next to one of the few people who understands it. The turn in the story is when Clark finds out Edie has experienced as much or more pain than he has.
“When you meet someone who can actually see and understand what you’ve been through, that’s a gift that can be life-changing,” said Hursey. “It’s almost magical.”