Open Forum

On whether to address the topic at all - absolutely, especially since its being requested by your students.

1. When we were considering a "difficult" play (about genocide in Sudan), our District Arts Director suggested sending the script to a few parents and community leaders for feedback before committing. Having the folks who might object be on board before you begin is great - that way you're not worrying "what if someone complains?"

2. Involve students in selecting the play -  they will get an opportunity to see how the topic can be dealt with in a number of ways, and its a great way to discuss matching audience with message. You may even decide that devising your own script is the way to go.

3. Transparency and approaching it as a community project from the get go helps. Reach out to local community groups that can enhance the discussion for your cast and audience, find out ways you can help them. Get your press releases out and get coverage on the local morning shows. Its amazing how much less offensive a piece becomes when its getting the school good press. :)

 Re: Scripts

Columbinus is powerful, but know that the author does not allow any script changes, and its loaded with F-bombs and other mature/sexual language.

Bang Bang You're Dead doesn't charge Royalties if a school is producing it (yay)

Like someone above, I thought First Person Shooter was pretty powerful, and very accessible script. Doesn't focus on the shooter but on the victims (if I'm remembering the right piece)

Something you may not have considered: Heathers, the Musical, High School Edition. The changes made for the high school version bring the piece into the "acceptable" range - though it is definitely still edgy! But the show is such a powerful piece about peer pressure and bullying and just how freaking complicated it is to be a teenager. I was really surprised by how much I ended up loving the show when we did it. When performed in a high school, by high schoolers, the show becomes ... sincere, rather than the sardonic parody of teen life that is the adult version.

That said, so many of the "shooter" plays I've read feel like violence porn, and I feel like we're at a place where we *KNOW* that bullying can lead to violence, that I'm just not satisfied by what the scripts are offering. I want to know how we can be better. I want a script that models making tough choices that are the RIGHT choices.

...but maybe that wouldn't make an exciting enough play.

Good luck. Keep us updated.

If you can wait to pick something for another month or so, I may have another one to look at. I won't be focusing on the shooter, or indeed, even putting him on stage.

I've written on a number of sensitive topics over the years, particularly bullying and teen suicide, and it's often a question of preparing the audience/community for that discussion. That could mean some kind of outreach collab with your counselors prior to the show, and/or a post-show discussion with trained professionals afterward.

When it comes to school shootings, though, while I wrote a play about this back in the late 1990s, my own thinking on the subject has evolved. So many of these recent shootings haven't been about kids who are responding to being bullied, but rather--and there are some interesting articles about it--about a kind of toxic masculinity and kids with a huge sense of entitlement (i.e. white privilege) and a real lack of coping/socialization skills. I'm not sure if we've caught up to that cultural shift yet as playwrights, but hopefully we're getting there.

The bottom line is that kids asking to do a show about school shootings are probably doing so because they need to talk about it; theatre has the potential to be a safe space for them to work through and process some of these issues. That's much better than the alternative, which is sweeping it under the rug--though I realize many of the adults would probably prefer to do that. In any case, if you can find the right play, I recommend doing it.

Cheers,
Jonathan

On whether to address the topic at all - absolutely, especially since its being requested by your students.

1. When we were considering a "difficult" play (about genocide in Sudan), our District Arts Director suggested sending the script to a few parents and community leaders for feedback before committing. Having the folks who might object be on board before you begin is great - that way you're not worrying "what if someone complains?"

2. Involve students in selecting the play -  they will get an opportunity to see how the topic can be dealt with in a number of ways, and its a great way to discuss matching audience with message. You may even decide that devising your own script is the way to go.

3. Transparency and approaching it as a community project from the get go helps. Reach out to local community groups that can enhance the discussion for your cast and audience, find out ways you can help them. Get your press releases out and get coverage on the local morning shows. Its amazing how much less offensive a piece becomes when its getting the school good press. :)

 Re: Scripts

Columbinus is powerful, but know that the author does not allow any script changes, and its loaded with F-bombs and other mature/sexual language.

Bang Bang You're Dead doesn't charge Royalties if a school is producing it (yay)

Like someone above, I thought First Person Shooter was pretty powerful, and very accessible script. Doesn't focus on the shooter but on the victims (if I'm remembering the right piece)

Something you may not have considered: Heathers, the Musical, High School Edition. The changes made for the high school version bring the piece into the "acceptable" range - though it is definitely still edgy! But the show is such a powerful piece about peer pressure and bullying and just how freaking complicated it is to be a teenager. I was really surprised by how much I ended up loving the show when we did it. When performed in a high school, by high schoolers, the show becomes ... sincere, rather than the sardonic parody of teen life that is the adult version.

That said, so many of the "shooter" plays I've read feel like violence porn, and I feel like we're at a place where we *KNOW* that bullying can lead to violence, that I'm just not satisfied by what the scripts are offering. I want to know how we can be better. I want a script that models making tough choices that are the RIGHT choices.

...but maybe that wouldn't make an exciting enough play.

Good luck. Keep us updated.

Our students like to tackle challenging work so we produced "Bang Bang You're Dead" a number of years ago, more as a social services project than a theatre event.  We worked closely with our Guidance Counselors to be sure students were well supported throughout the production.  Per the requirements of Mr. Mastrosimone, each production was followed by a discussion period, which proved to be a powerful and valuable experience for the participants as well as the audience.  The participants had a number of other students approach them to say it had changed their life! Through our Guidance Dept. we were invited to perform the play at Guidance directed events at several other schools.  I recommend only doing this in close collaboration with and support from your administration, Guidance and parents.