Allegra School's Summer Theater to Stage "Bang, Bang, You're Dead"

As part of its summer theater 2013 workshop season, The Allegra School of Music and Arts is proud to present a production of Bang Bang, You’re Dead, written by William Mastrisimone. This Emmy Award-winning play has been widely performed around the country, and has been adapted into a 2004 movie produced by Showtime.  Allegra has gained the rights to produce the revised edition of this thought-provoking play which deals with the corrosive and tragic consequences of bullying and violence in American schools, specifically portraying the aftermath of a deadly school shooting. All Proceeds will be donated to local charities. The production will be staged on July 19 and 21.

Bang Bang, You’re Dead provides a unique opportunity to explore difficult topics that urgently need to be addressed before they appear on the front page of our local newspapers. We know that violence is preventable. Although this production was planned well in advance of the Newtown massacre, Allegra is now even more committed to the decision in to be a part of the conversation on school violence. We want to be a part of the dialog about school violence and want to help address these matters in a healthy and productive way. We want to use the arts in a way that matters.

Violence is something you often look away from until you have to look at it directly. Kids are on the front lines of this violence. We have seen that young people in our community want to be a constructive part of a conversation around a subject which directly affects their lives. Bang Bang, You’re Dead is multidimensional in that it pays tribute to the lives of so many children. Their lives are funny and full of wit. Youth is full of ambition, humor whimsy, and resilience. The play incorporates all of those wonderful qualities to balance the heaviness of the story. We believe that the experience of this play will be uplifting for both the participants and audience. The play will feature a moderated audience “talk-back” with the cast and crew following the performance.

Allegra has received an outpouring of interest from youth participants about staging this production. As we continue to cast the show, we are proud to give teenagers with all levels of acting experience an opportunity to use their talents in such an important play. Teenagers interested in participating in this summer workshop can find more information on our website at allegrasma.com.

All proceeds from this production will go to the Jonah Johnson Youth Scholarship Fund, a Hillsborough 501 c (3) non-profit organization dedicated to educational outreach for anti-violence initiatives, and BoroSafe, a Hillsborough educational organization dedicated to suicide prevention.