Written by Elisha Frazer
Graphic by Chris Mayers
This weekend at the Mondanaro Theater, SCAD’s student-run theater production club, 3rd Act, performed the abstract docudrama “Columbinus.” Written by P.J. Paparelli and Stephen Karam, this telling story put the audience on a timeline leading up to the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado, and revealed its everlasting effects on the community.
Capturing the dark tones in adolescence’s many shades, the first half of the story starts off with a six-person ensemble performing the daily ritual of students preparing for school like a spoken musical of everyday high school occurrences.
This then progresses into the phase all can relate to: people covering themselves with the items, clothes, thoughts and people they identify themselves with in school. While some characters like the disrespectful jock (Kasey O’ Barr) or the preppy blond (Samantha Binkerd) found a clique within the pack, we also see outcasts like Dylan Klebold (Glenn Obrero) and Eric Harris (Ian Mather).
Paparelli and Karam’s realistic dialogue intricately weaved together original content and quotes from those affected by the shooting. You can’t help but relate to thoughts like “Who is the real me?” or being confronted about your future by a counselor and wondering, “Why do we have to know where we are going?” Then hearing the real emergency phone calls from the kids hiding for their lives from the gunmen awaiting help only pulled the audience in deeper to the reality of the situation. It was utterly impacting.
There was nothing more jarring then the silence whizzing through the theater as the audience watched Dylan and Eric, two boys who called themselves the “victims in the war,” preparing the guns and bombs and setting up the camera to document their plan. Mather captures Eric’s struggle with aggression so well that his episodes were practically unpredictable. Obrero’s interpretation of the soft-spoken yet ill-tempered Dylan was best portrayed when other actors talked along with Obrero to amplify the boy’s dark thoughts. While they may have been off on timing at some points, the delivery still managed to leave the audience tearful and cringing.
The set design and lighting additionally supported the story’s progression. Upstage was a solitary chalkboard that displayed quotes from the real students and the messages exchanged between Dylan and Eric. The projection was a bit too translucent to see clearly, but the use was inventive regardless. As the scenes unveiled the rippling events, the lighting practically posed as a moving camera, guiding us well through the telling of the story. The small venue’s challenges were rarely a problem in conveying this play’s message.
In the conclusion of the play, members of the ensemble wrote the names of the victims in orange on the chalkboard, paying tribute to those affected by the Columbine shooting. After the play, the head of SCAD security made an appearance to talk more informatively about the security procedures put in place to protect the students at SCAD. Although it has been almost 15 years since the event, the realities of Columbine still left people in immense shock and sympathy toward what had happened. The members of 3rd Act successfully told a story in perfect timing with America’s situation, shedding light on the unruly violence that threatens schools and communities to this day.
