When an openly gay high school student is propositioned online by someone who turns out to be his school’s drama teacher, the student has got to decide how to handle the situation, and quickly. With the help of a terribly theatrical girlfriend and an intrepid reporter from the school paper, they launch their plan in Stephen Karam’s Speech & Debate, which is being produced by the SUNY Brockport Department of Theatre and Music Studies. The play opens on Friday, February 25, at 7:30 p.m., in the Tower Fine Arts Center Mainstage Theatre, 180 Holley Street, Brockport.
Along with trying to decide what to do about the teacher’s online presence, one of the students is working on a musical version of The Crucible that somehow features a singing Abraham Lincoln and the journalist who is fighting censorship may end up being part of the story itself. Add those plot threads together and you’ve got an intriguing comedy that is as au courant as the travails of some recent legislators who have ended up in hot water.
A comedy? Indeed. Danny Hoskins, who is directing the production, enjoys “a good dark comedy – one that isn’t afraid to dig into those disturbing or taboo subjects and shine a light on them by finding the uncomfortable or obvious humor within them… For me, the best humor comes when we are shocked or surprised. Speech & Debate does this time and time again with the brash and brazen choices made by the three main characters. The wit and comedy come from their honest, unfiltered reactions and assessments of just how messed up high school really is.” While the play is light and funny, Hoskins feels there are serious underpinnings, such as how the main trio come to “question the hypocrisy that comes from teaching young people to think for themselves but then stifling their expression when it comes to subjects that adults don’t want them to discuss.”
When considering what audiences should take away from the play, Hoskins reflected on what he cherishes about the theatre, which is “that it’s a place where we can always learn something new about ourselves, our community, our friends, family, enemies, and loved ones. It’s a place to challenge our ideals, to have uncomfortable conversations, to rattle cages and to champion new viewpoints. With Speech & Debate, I hope people walk away with a deeper understanding of how to see who people really are, a greater sense of empathy to each other’s needs, and a way to open their hearts and minds just a little wider than they were before, to make space for each of us to be our true, genuine selves.”
Performances of Speech & Debate will take place on February 25, 26, March 3, 4, and 5, at 7:30 p.m. There is also a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, February 27, which will be ASL interpreted. Tickets are $17/general, $12/seniors, alumni, faculty and staff, and $9/students. Tickets may be purchased online at fineartstix.brockport.edu, by phone at 395-2787, or at the Tower Fine Arts Center Box Office, 180 Holley Street, Brockport.
SUNY Brockport’s up-to-date COVID-19 prevention guidelines can be found at the ticketing website, the Fine Arts Series Facebook page, and at brockport.edu/coronavirus. Compliance with campus protocols is required in order to attend any of our performances or events.
More information about the Fine Arts Series at SUNY Brockport can be found at www.brockport.edu/academics/fine_arts or on Facebook.
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