Acts: 2
7 M, 3 F
Mature themes, language, violent scenes
Catastrophe is often the result of a stream of interlinked events, each required to bring the event to culmination. The play covers two critical days in the life of a high school student. Bullying pushes him to take action, although this ends with his changing his method of retaliation, and the dire consequences of this.
I wrote this play in the early part of 2012, shortly after the Newton shooting. It emerged from my wondering what could possibly make someone take a gun to a school and randomly start shooting students. A little research quickly demonstrated that school shootings are far more prevalent than many believe, and the majority (~87%) can be tied to one cause.
Excerpt
Cast
Jack Marshall syndicated talk show host, 40s
Kevin Danforth journalist emeritus, 70s, distinguished
Ellen Smith Tim’s mother, mid-30s
Mark Smith Tim’s stepfather, 40
Tim Caldwell high school student, physically small
Kerrie McDougall Gavin’s girlfriend, high school student
Gavin Kennedy alpha bully, high school student, physically imposing
John Kent Gavin’s best friend, high school student
Jessica Hardy Tim’s girlfriend, high school student
Mr. Evers science teacher, 45
Setting
The play is set in the present. There are five main locations for the play:
- A television studio
- The kitchen of the Caldwell-Smith home
- The schoolyard
- Evers’ office
- The hallway outside Mr. Evers’ classroom
Doug Rutherford 