Open Forum

 View Only

  • 1.  Scripts dealing with school shootings

    Posted 05-11-2018 10:49
    Well, hello.

    I'm about to start researching scripts that speak to the subject of school shootings.  Before I delve into this work, I would love to hear if there are any titles that any of you have produced, and any details about your experience with it.  

    Many thanks!

    Eric McNaughton

    ------------------------------
    Eric McNaughton
    Theatre Director
    Marist School
    AtlantaGA
    mcnaughtone@marist.com
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Scripts dealing with school shootings

    Posted 05-11-2018 10:57
    Does it need to deal with an actual shooting or simply the subject matter and/or lockdown's? You might look at Play the Hand That's Dealt by Claudia Haas or Lockdown by Douglas Craven. Pleayscripts has both of them. If you want one that deals with the aftermath, and you're allowed to do it (my admin said no), Bang Bang You're Dead by William Mastrosimone is a great choice.

    ------------------------------
    Shira Schwartz
    Chandler Unified School District
    Chandler AZ
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Scripts dealing with school shootings

    Posted 05-12-2018 21:06
    We did Bang! Bang! You're Dead! eons ago.  Everyone found it a meaningful experience since each cast is allowed to personalize the script.  We gave numerous performances to classes at our home school as well as middle schools along with one performance for the community.  No weapons are used and the ketchup used for blood washes out!  The show is royalty free; the only drawback, if there is one, is that tickets cannot be sold.  However, the positive publicity garnered as well as the general good will from administrators made it worth it.

    ------------------------------
    Marilynn Zeljeznjak
    Blacksburg VA
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Scripts dealing with school shootings

    Posted 05-12-2018 22:13
    The Bottle Treeby Beth Kander is phenomenal. My troupe competed with it this year, actually picking it before the sudden escalation in the frequency of school shootings. It talks about school shootings without depicting the actual event.

    ------------------------------
    Kaitlyn Fowler
    President, Troupe 4909
    Mississippi Thespian Officer
    Jackson
    Mississippi
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Scripts dealing with school shootings

    Posted 05-13-2018 18:45
    It might be interesting to have students that would like to write short plays on the subject do.   Depending on how many come in, you can judge which ones are done or the students can judge or both.  This also add the element of play writing to your students experience.  This is a major subject of students today, or their subject.  

    Have a nephew that just graduated University today from one of the major screen writing Universities.  He started out in High School where he kept on winning school play writing contests.  It is a good thing to do to flush out those student writers.

    ------------------------------
    [Stanley Allan] [Sherman] [Custom theater mask making, Commedia dell'Arte masks & workshops. NYC winter holiday workshops and summer workshops]
    [Mask Maker, Commedia dell'Arte expert, Teacher, Mime, Movement, Actor, Director, performer, producer of workshops and shows.]
    [Mask Arts Company www.maskart.com]
    [New York] [NY][stanley@maskarts.com[212-255-2882][il-dottore@commediau.com][New York][NY][Roving Classical Commedia University* (*totally unaccredited) ]
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Scripts dealing with school shootings

    Posted 05-14-2018 07:07
    I would recommend "The Warriors." It deals with survivors from the Westside school shooting and was written with the help of one of the survivors, Mary Hollis Imboden who is an actress now and has appeared on many shows. It's a powerful one act.

    ------------------------------
    Danielle Kelley
    Theatre Teacher
    Jonesboro AR
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Scripts dealing with school shootings

    Posted 05-14-2018 10:03

    Just finished reading Including Shooter by Nicholas C. Pappas  (playscripts.com) and The Amish Project by Jessica Dickey (Samuel French).  Both fictional but based on real events.  The Amish Project is much more poetical in its vision and staging.   Including Shooter is pretty raw and can really some nerves.  Because of content and language this is not likely to be produced at conservative schools.  It shows the shooter and the victims from many points of view.  

     

    There are several titles out there.  Good luck in your search.

     

     

     

    May all your theatre seats be filled,

    Kelly M. Thomas

    Department of Theatre

    Dr. Ralph H. Poteet High School

    3300 Poteet Drive

    Mesquite, Texas 75150

    972-882-5300

    Kthomas@mesquiteisd.org

     

     




    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Scripts dealing with school shootings

    Posted 05-14-2018 10:30
    We did a set of one acts back to back Lockdown and then Bang, Bang You're Dead.  I brought this up to the principal and talked him through the set design and my reasoning behind it, he was completely game for this!  We did both shows seating the audience onstage with us in a thrust configuration.  I then built an 8ft tall black walls that surrounded the audience on those 3 sides (mainly to prevent falling off into the pit or wandering into the wings) but also for a sense of claustrophobia and the ability to "not escape" - just like the characters.  

    I had the local police dept come in to speak to the kids and they could ask any questions they had, we even used a jumpsuit from the prison for BBYD.  We had the counselors available during tech week in case the kids got overwhelmed and it really became a school wide effort to share a story and share something that should be talked about.  We did not use prop guns - it was very minimalistic and the guns were pantomimed.  We would up selling out each night and adding in performances.

    At the end of both shows we had the students bring out a candle and set it up as a memorial around the coffin set piece from BBYD and left that up for the audience to take in.  Each candle had a name of a school that has fallen victim to a shooting and how many lost their lives.  It was a very moving and very poignant moment.  We had Q/A moments after our Friday performance which was open to our Jr High students that was really neat seeing the kids take the info from the counselors and cops and pull forth the research they did as well to form a full fledged evening of shows.

    ------------------------------
    Kimberly Wibbenmeyer
    Sullivan MO
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Scripts dealing with school shootings

    Posted 05-15-2018 08:19
    I did not see it but a local company just did a play called COLUMBINUS and I understand that it was very powerful.

    Here is a link.

    https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/columbinus

    ------------------------------
    Mark A. Zimmerman,

    Theatre Director
    Akron School for the Arts
    Firestone Community Learning Center
    470 Castle Blvd
    Akron, Ohio 44313

    Troupe 5570

    mzimmerm@apslearn.org
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Scripts dealing with school shootings

    Posted 05-15-2018 09:24
    I have read and seen Columbinus (a college production), and felt the performance was very powerful.  It is more about the events leading up to the Columbine shooting, and it is a great psychological character study of high schoolers. 
    It might be what you are looking <g class="gr_ gr_264 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="264" data-gr-id="264">for,</g> because while it gives no answers, it explores the questions we all ask in the wake of a school shooting.

    ------------------------------
    Janette Clark
    Drama Teacher
    Minneapolis KS
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


Related Content