DEAR J tells the story of an evangelist
named James Jamisin (played by Joseph A. Halsey) who must
cope with the unexpected death of his agnostic girlfriend: Paige (Maya Serhan). His torment revolves
around the existential life-after-death question of her eternal destiny. To sort things out, James
admits himself into a psychiatric institute, where he replays a make-believe trial over and over in his
mind.
Dr. Frolick (played by Allison Lane) is the rookie psychologist at the institute, replacing James’ former
psychologist. As Frolick seeks to unravel the clues to her
patient’s predicament, the Director of the Institute,
Dr. Donovin (played by Carson Grant), seems bent on shipping James to another institution. Donovin begins to
resent the seeming attraction between the doctor and her new patient.
As Frolick counsels James, she soon learns that everyone in his imaginary courtroom has a real-life
counterpart at the institute. Dr. Donovin has become the prosecuting lawyer, whom James has renamed Dubious.
She, herself, serves as James’ defense lawyer.
The Trial is presided over by a no-nonsense imaginary Judge (played by Karen Lynn Gorney) and is animated
by an array of off-the-wall characters, like the trailer-park rednecks, Avie and Davie; an over-confident
German Professor Boltmaniac; the quirky French post-modernist, Mother Parrot and her clumsy sidekick, Fumbles;
and last but not least, the arrogant Scotsman, Philosopher David Hume. James pits their hostile testimonies
against the witness of his hero, the literary scholar and apologist C.S. Lewis.
Frolick soon realizes that James doesn't really belong at the institute, but that he’s just stuck in an
emotional pit. She is now certain that his path to release lies in his still unopened letter from his dead
girlfriend, Paige. This is the letter Paige wrote just before her death and which James carries with him
everywhere he goes. All the while, James cannot bring himself to open the letter for fear of the rejection
and doom he imagines he will find in its still unread pages.
During one counseling session, Frolick gets too close to James and finds herself unsure of how to handle
his intellectual intensity. Caught between her heart and her career, she takes a leave of absence. When Dr.
Donovin takes over her sessions with James, Donovin’s alter ego, Dubious,
attempts to trap James in a mind-game of devil’s
advocate. The only person James is now willing to trust is the janitor, Staples (played by Patrick Mitchell).
Although not a trained professional, Staples possesses uncommon wisdom. It is in the safety of Staples’
persona that James is finally able to challenge of the validity of his own beliefs. The question is, will
James summon the courage to open the letter in order to pursue life and love beyond the walls of his asylum?
>>
DEAR J tells the story of an evangelist James Jamisin (played by Joseph A. Halsey)
who has committed himself to a mental asylum. He is trying to cope with the unexpected death of
his agnostic girlfriend: Paige (played by Maya Serhan).
