From the moment I heard about the performance, I knew it would be incredible. Whether its effects were to open eyes in the audience, to start conversations, or to inform the general public, this performance of Good Kids was absolute perfection.
On Thursday evening at 7:30, I entered the Arthur Miller Theatre on North Campus. From the moment I walked in, the energy was high! Music blasting, audience members chit-chatting, and a table for the Expect Respect campaign was lively with volunteers and plenty of available information.
The lights dimmed and your stereotypical high school students filed onto the stage. There was a group of football players, a clique of catty girls, and various other essential members to the student body. But an important addition to the cast, was the girl sitting in the wheelchair on the side of the stage. She played an important role, not only as a narrator of the story, but also as a catalyst in the operation of opening up the public’s eyes about the Steubenville Rape Case of 2011.
A little background information: Good Kids is a play written by Naomi Iizuka, which is a sort of reenactment of a case of rape that occurred a summers back in a small town in Ohio. This town showered praise on their football team, but what would they do when criticisms fall upon them after a night of drunken tweets, photos, video, and sexual assault. This piece focuses on the role that technology and social media played in the case, how quickly words spread, and the stereotypes that people hold for women.
The scenes changed quickly and smoothly, from introductions to the member of each group down to the party scene at Amber’s house.
Amber was the head of the catty clique, and with parents absent for a weekend, she knew she had opportunity to throw a party. She invited some football players and friends, but her number one rule was this- no randoms. But Kylie, the new girl in Mustang country, brought her cousin Chloe and a friend from a school across the river. The party, filled with drinking and dancing, quickly transitioned from a fun environment to a dangerous situation. The football players left the party with Chloe, who was soon unconscious, and took her to a house where they sexually assaulted her without consent. On top of this act, they took pictures and video, along with live tweeting.
This play addressed, along with many other issues, the language used against women. What is a man called when he enjoys casual sex? A man. But what is a woman called? A slut. Good Kids dove into language that our generation uses daily to describe each other.
While the scenes progressed, showing all the possibilities of he said/she said game that went on for years in the Steubenville case, the theatre was charged with real, raw emotion. Everything from the emotional struggle and confusion to the trials and tribulations that the victim faced at school and on all mediums of social media. Also while infiltrating the scenes with the occasional aside from the narrator, this play provided the perspectives of parents, school officials, other students, and the victim. This was key in allowing the audience to understand the entire situation. The part of the performance that really broke me down was when the victim, Chloe, was kneeling on stage, head in hands, while audio from the video of her rape played over the sound system (the audio was not actually pulled from the real video, but the cast recorded their own audio based on quotes from Twitter and the video posted to YouTube).
With fantastic lighting and even some choreographed dancing, the cast and crew really pulled through an amazing performance. Completely eye-opening and chilling. I was left speechless by the incredible performance by the cast. The scenery was simple, yet sufficient. And the script itself was flawless.
After the performance, the director, Gillian Eaton, offered a “talk back” for the audience and cast. This “talk back” gave the audience an opportunity to ask student performers and volunteers from the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) questions about the play and sexual assault. The students and volunteers were extremely patient through many questions that were filled with emotion and curiosity. But my personal favorite quote on consent from the talk back was from Blair Prince, who played the role of Daphne (Chloe’s friend):
“My silence is not permission. My smile is not permission. My permission is permission.”
As said earlier, I absolutely loved this performance. The passion that the actors and actresses put into this show was unbelievable. I would highly recommend attending one of the remaining performances of Good Kids and staying for the talk back Q&A session.
