Vampire Conservatory.

How the season unfolds

Each beat scaffolds into a real scene + shot when you start the project. Edit, rearrange, or drop any of them as you write.

1. S0101
   The Acceptance Letter

   Anneliese receives the Hawthorn scholarship. Full ride. One condition: classes are after sundown. Her parents sign without reading the fine print.

   Cliffhanger

   The seal is a wax bat. The signature is the same as one in her grandmother's diary.

   mansion ballroom1 cast
2. S0202
   First Night Class

   Anneliese plays her audition piece in front of seven other students. None of them blink the whole time. The professor smiles for the first time in eighty years.

   Cliffhanger

   Professor Caran says: 'You play it the way your grandmother did. We had hoped.'

   opera house grand2 cast
3. S0303
   The Library Floor

   Anneliese discovers the library has no morning shift. Books are checked out at 2 AM. The student next to her has been here since 1894.

   Cliffhanger

   The student introduces herself. 'I was in the photo with your grandmother. She left without graduating.'

   ancient library2 cast
4. S0404
   The Choir Room

   Anneliese is invited to sing in the conservatory choir. Her voice mixes with theirs. She hears herself harmonize with someone two octaves below human range.

   Cliffhanger

   After the rehearsal she finds her dorm mirror is empty of her reflection.

   ballet rehearsal studio2 cast
5. S0505
   The Cemetery

   Anneliese visits the conservatory cemetery. Seven gravestones. Seven students. All the dates are graduation dates.

   Cliffhanger

   Her grandmother's grave is here too. Empty. Dug up from the inside.

   graveyard fog1 cast
6. S0606
   The Blood Witch

   Anneliese sneaks into town and finds the only person who left Hawthorn alive — a witch who graduated and then ran. She still doesn't age.

   Cliffhanger

   The witch tells her: 'They don't ask. They let you decide. The choice happens at graduation.'

   moonlit cliffs2 cast
7. S0707
   The Choice

   Spring recital. Anneliese plays her grandmother's piece. The professor offers her the bite at the bow's final note.

   Cliffhanger

   She finishes the piece. She does not offer her wrist. She offers her hand instead.

   opera house grand2 cast
8. S0808
   Graduation

   Anneliese accepts her diploma in dawn light. The professor cannot follow her past the threshold. The other students wave from the windows.

   Cliffhanger

   Outside the gates: a violin case waits with her grandmother's name on it. She picks it up and walks toward the morning.

   mansion ballroom1 cast