AHS drama troupe bites off tough topic for fall play

To say the least, the Athens High School Drama Club has chosen a highly sensitive topic for its fall production this school year at the high school.

"œBang Bang You're Dead" was written by William Mastrosimone in response to many school shootings, especially the incident at Thurston High School in Springfield, Ore., in 1998. The play is largely based around those events, and the main character, Josh, is based on Kipland Kinkel, the student who killed two and wounded 25 others in the mass shooting (along with his own mother and father earlier that day).

In "Bang Bang You're Dead," Josh kills five students at his school and both of his parents.

"Bang Bang You're Dead" will be performed tonight through Saturday night at 7:30 and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the high school.

The play, which is a 40- to 50-minute one-act, focuses on the character of Josh, who has recently been incarcerated for his horrendous actions. While in his jail cell, he is confronted by physical manifestations of the people whom he has killed, asking him why he (or anyone) would do something so terrible.

"Bang Bang You're Dead" approaches the question of "why?" from two different angles, according to a news release. The first thing the show does is attempt to diminish bullying in school, since that's part of what causes these teenagers to react so violently. These are already-weak individuals who are pushed to their breaking points and snap. The second thing the show does, the release said, is attempt to inform those few vulnerable individuals who may be in the audience that they should not snap and shoot up their school. The consequences will have to be dealt with. As one of the characters in the show tells Josh, "You'll have us in your head until you're dead."

After the show, according to the release, the audience will have the opportunity to engage in a moderated discussion with the characters in the show. The actors will be on stage in character accepting questions from the audience. This session will be moderated by Kathleen Kutsko, a licensed professional counselor, the release said. (We incorrectly identified Kutsko as a psychologist in the original story.)

The play is free of charge, though donations will be accepted, and 100 percent of those proceeds will be donated to the D.A.R.E. Program of Athens County.

The director of the play is Beth Horton, a longtime music and drama instructor/adviser at Alexander High School. She also serves as drama director at Athens High School, where the play will be presented.