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BANG, BANG YOU’RE DEAD PROVOKES EMOTIONS AND RESPONSE
By Amy Wheeler
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y., Dec. 6 --- As the boy in the orange jumpsuit fell to his knees and the lights on him faded out, the audience was silent, deep in their own thoughts.
The Marist College Council on Theater Arts (MCCTA) performance of Bang, Bang You’re Dead, a play written by William Masterosimone, provoked numerous emotions and questions from the audience
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Written after the Springfield, Ore. school shooting in 1998, in which a boy murdered his parents, two classmates, and injured 25 others, Bang, Bang You’re Dead approached the issue of school shootings from the mind of the shooter, Josh, who was played by junior Jeff Hogan.
MCCTA was prepared to deal with this predicted onslaught of questions. They chose to conduct a question and answer session following the show in order to help the audience deal with the events that the play depicted.
Freshmen cast member Chris Steber explained why this question and answer session was necessary.
“What's so important about Bang, Bang You're Dead is that the audience is caught in the middle of a shooting, and they're able to make a connection to the characters, and to the very horrors of a school shooting,” he said. “The playwright, in short, wants the audience to be so moved that they're going to stand up and say, ‘This must never happen again, and we must do all in our power to stop these kinds of tragedies from happening.’”
During the question and answer session on Friday night, one young boy bravely raised his hand and said, “When you die, is it forever?” Joanna Stein, a senior cast member called this the “most poignant question” they received.
“The fact that someone that young grasped the whole concept was amazing,” Stein said. “He was figuring out the permanence of Josh’s actions, he was dealing with the line between make-believe and real life. He was realizing the affect one person can have on so many. It was so simple, but exactly the message we wanted to convey.”
Steber agreed saying, “I think all of our hearts were broken. That boy hit the point of the play right on the head.”
In his biography in the program, senior director Mark Heftler said, he “couldn’t have chosen a more powerful piece to go out with.” In his opinion, theater can have many forms, and can, in the case of Bang, Bang You’re Dead, be a vehicle for change, and a way of education.
Steber felt as though this had been accomplished.
“It's incredibly rewarding to hear reactions from audience members, people saying how intense the show was, how moving it was,” he said. “We know we've done our job when they say that to us. I hope that they've learned a lesson or two in the process.”
Heftler agreed, saying in the program, he “hopes, sincerely, that each and every audience member is able to take something strong and meaningful away from this piece.”
The play took on a new meaning for this area last week. According to Alice Hunt of the Poughkeepsie Journal, a Columbine-like plot to attack the school on April 20, 2010 was uncovered at Arlington High School, (13 miles from Marist College). That date would have coincided with the 11th anniversary of the Columbine shootings.
“That really hit way too close to home for my comfort, and I realized just how important it is that we put on this play,” said Steber, who, as a freshman in college remained close to the high school environment of the play.
The play did not only have an effect on the audience, but on the actors as well.
“Bang, Bang was definitely one of the most fulfilling plays I've performed in because it was one of the first plays I've ever done that has had such a bold and moving message,” freshmen cast member Stephanie McDonald explained.
Sophomore cast member Mindy Reed agreed.
“This was very fulfilling and it was very emotional for me,” she said. “I actually cried during the performances because it was so powerful to see the audience and how they are responding to what we are saying. Also, getting to change lines and saying, ‘I'll never be married in a white dress, tell my parents I love them again,’ meant a lot to me.”
Steber felt that the playwright was trying to accomplish many things with the writing of this play.
“He wanted us to stop and think for a minute,” he said. “Think about what effect we may have on school violence. Think about how we may fuel it, even in the smallest way. Think about how children should be raised. He also wanted us to realize just how real these shootings are, and how they are so devastating. The students who die in the play say, ‘The bullet that killed me pierced my parent's heart.’ These school shootings affect everyone in some way.”
Reed added, “I think the playwright was just trying to personalize the school shooting scenario and was trying to show more than what the media portrays a school shooting to be.”
Sophomore cast member Matt Pagliaro agreed and added, “I certainly think the playwright was trying to get his audiences to think not only about school shootings, but about bullying, parenting, and society as a whole. There wasn't just one factor that led to Josh's decision to kill his parents and classmates, there were several, and they all needed to be addressed.”
The actors also had goals for what they wanted to audience to take away from the performance, Stein, a senior cast member said.
“I hope that the show accomplishes awareness, and not just on the part of kids who go to school, but on administrators and parents,” she said. “Be aware, pay attention.”