May 2005
Guns and Roses
New Know Theatre production searches drastic childhood angst
By Michael Kellerman
QCF Magazine columnist
There are some memories we would like to forget. When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold brutally murdered thirteen of their classmates at Columbine High School, the world was confronted with a stark reality: it could happen anywhere.
Recently a student in Bemidji, Minn., reminded us again. Seeking revenge against his harassers, 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandparents, a teacher, a security guard, five students and, finally, himself. Yet again, Americans were bombarded with the horrific details of a student gone mad. Many of us were left wondering how such violent acts can continue to happen. Are the parents to blame? Does violence in the media drive some children to insanity?
Since May 5th, Cincinnati’s edgy theater group, The Know Theatre Tribe, has seeked to examine these dark and tragic realities of school violence in our country. Their upcoming production of Jane Martin’s “Good Boys” explores the pain and isolation two fathers face in the wake of a Columbine-like school shooting.
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“Here is a great script just begging to be staged in the Queen City,” says director Christopher Guthrie. “The dialog is gritty and truthful, and the characters undergo significant strife and human drama.”
After the introverted, white teenage gunman, Ethan Erskine, opens fire at his high school, killing fellow students and himself, his father, James, finds himself unemployed and without a wife. While sitting on a park bench, James is approached by minister Thomas Thurman.
Thomas is the father of Marcus Thurman, a once-popular black athlete who lost his life through the barrel of adversary Ethan’s gun. After losing his ability to preach, Thomas decides to search for Ethan’s father to give his son’s death some meaning.
Finally, during this intentional encounter in a Florida park, Thomas engages James in a casual conversation that eventually turns dark. Filled with themes ranging from anger to guilt and from racism to forgiveness, the encounter between the two men explores past memories and questions the correlation between parenting and school violence. |
Through this play The Know Theatre Tribe seeks to open a dialogue about such tragic events.
“Now more than ever, it’s time to sit down and take a hard look at our culture,” says producer Jay Kalagayan.
Guthrie agrees. “We, as a society, must ask, ‘Why are our children doing these things?’”
Growing up as a latchkey kid himself, Guthrie understands the children in this play.
“A great deal of my and all my teenage friends’ parenting was done by a Sega
Master system and a television,” says Guthrie. “Pop culture and the pop news were my uncles and aunts, leaving outdated and institutionalized religion to be my outdated
grandparents who still seem sort of sweet in an old-fashioned, out of touch
way.”
Still, while this play touches upon these influences in children’s lives, it is more about how such tragic events affect others. This is a story about two men lost in crisis and needing a way out, two men overcoming their differences and learning to forgive and live again.
“Good Boys” runs May 5 – May 28 at Gabriel’s Corner, 1425 Sycamore St. Call 513.300.KNOW for showtimes, tickets and further information.
Michael Kellerman writes “Search for Culture in Cincinnati” in each edition of QCF Magazine. The column is honest and raw, geared to the young, vital exploration of the drinks, dining, people, sexual orientation, and arts in the city---to name a few things.
Contact Information
· michaelk@queencityforum.com
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