Lost in Chess

The fictional documentary is set in New York City and follows a middle aged woman named Karyl. She is known as “creepy Karyl” in the lower east side of Manhattan. Karyl got her nickname by visiting Washington Square Park almost every day to watch the chess players. It has been recently discovered that Karyl is the same age as the ex-world Champion Chess player from 20 years ago. However, the ex chess champion had a severe mental breakdown and has been missing for almost 18 years. This fictional documentary investigates this theory.

This fictional documentary was made for my Time class. I was partnered with Min Jee Park. Our assignment was to make a fictional documentary that also had a labyrinth element to it. I did all of the acting as “creepy Karyl.” I wanted her to tell her fake story in an emotional way. I wanted to show that she felt uncomfortable talking about chess or her meltdown through my body language and facial expressions. I also wanted to show that she was content with her life of solitude. There was not much of an ending besides the fact that Karyl is content with the life she lives even though it is not as grand as it once was. I wrote a few notes and had many discussions with Min Jee about I wanted her character to be. Other than that, I improvised all of my lines and movements.

Lost in Chess << Click the link to see the full fictional documentary: Lost in Chess.