Play: 'The Why'

Students in the THEA 350 play production class will present the tragicomedy "The Why" about a teenager school shooter. A second performance will begin at 6 p.m. Feb. 9.

This weekly student seminar group works under faculty supervision to produce an annual studio theatre production. Students collaborate on every aspect of the production process, culminating in the public performance. Students in the class choose a title, design, direct, and produce a show. "The Why" will be directed by junior Jonathan Quigley.

Playscripts description: "The central story concerns Robert, an American teenager guilty of murdering three of his classmates in what has come to be referred to as a school shooting. Spliced among the dramatic exchanges between Robert and his assigned social worker, a parade of fantastical stereotypes storms in and out, creating a dichotomy between moments of hilarity and sorrow. Confronted by disturbingly accurate exaggerations of the tabloid-like modern media, the audience is made to laugh, and then question that laughter."