Winter 2021

I majored in psychology back in Korea. As part of the course work, students took many psychological tests. While these tests were intriguing, the outcomes were most striking as the resulting data revealed that me and my classmates all had degrees of “abnormality” in one category or another.

We students took to referring to each other as “crazy” which quickly became the inside joke.

This experience and the idea that “we are all crazy” opened me up to the myriad expressions of what it is to be human. Although not always a success, it has served as a foundation for connecting with people at their most vulnerable and has given me a sense of contributing to humanity in a manner that is mutually beneficial.

Krazy Beautiful is my way of communicating this with the world.

Our protagonist, Kristen is a recreated composite of certain friends and family members — aspects of myself acting as a glue —who appear to be afflicted with some form of mental condition.

The original concept for the script arose from the discovery that my grandmother had died in isolation under mysterious circumstances. It was a taboo subject. But over the years, as I dug for the truth – a picture eventually emerged that led me to conclude that she must have been mentally ill and that the family abandoned her.

Kristen is on a similar trajectory. Living in 21st century New York, diagnosed with schizophrenia, she’s cautious but actively seeks and finds support when she strikes up a series of unusual connections, first with a young man named Erik, a psychic dude Psy, and an artist Vik.  Erik’s curious and inquiring nature leads Kristen to slowly reveal her invisible companions while, Psy and Vik’s extraordinary perceptions and understanding of the world jar Kristen into questioning her own ingrained beliefs about herself.

This guides Kristen to realize that she could be something more than just the limited definition imposed upon her by the medical establishment.

These connections serve as a catalyst for her to go into a deeper place within herself and see her relationship with her mother whom she named Madame D for denial, for what it truly was.

She’s been carrying this water.

Now her emotional release starts with a trickle, one drop after another. Little is big in her world.

If an audience is willing to tune into the guarded heart of this young person, you will notice the presence of a running stream.

Subtle yet clear -

So Young Yang