columbinus

Raven Theatre continues its Silver Anniversary Season with the Chicago premiere of the United States Theatre Project’s columbinus, written by Stephen Karam and PJ Paparelli, recently appointed the new Artistic Director of American Theatre Company.  Multiple Jeff Citation and After Dark Award winner Greg Kolack directs. 

Artists with the United States Theatre Project conducted exhaustive interviews and research in order to create this two-part piece which first sets up a fictional but realistic world of adolescence that could be anywhere in America, and then morphs into the factual events leading directly to the school shootings at Columbine.   columbinus asks more than just, ‘Why?’ but perhaps more importantly, ‘Why do people treat each other the way we do?’  Reminiscent of Moisés Kaufman’s The Laramie Project, columbinus is a fascinating and heartbreaking examination of human behavior.

Writer PJ Paparelli says in his introduction to the script, “I desperately wanted to create theatre events that would examine the major human events that impact our culture… columbinus is not a play; it is a theatrical discussion.”

Director Greg Kolack adds, “columbinus is an extraordinary play that not only examines the Columbine tragedy, but also explores the youth of today and the pressures they all face.  It asks questions but leaves it up to the audience to answer them -- if there even are answers. It is a rare play that can actually change the lives of the people who experience it.”

Kolack recently spent four days in Colorado, where he visited Columbine High School and spoke with survivors, including some who knew the killers personally.  He also spoke with a student who spent four hours with a wounded teacher, who later died in the tragedy, as they waited for help within earshot of the shootings and trauma in the library.  The director came away with several hours of taped conversation which has been given to the cast of columbinus.  He notes, “To walk around the school… to see the cafeteria and the spot where the library was… it is difficult to believe such a tragedy took place in this very normal school and community.”

columbinus opens Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark, with performances running through March 15. For more information and tickets visit www.raventheatre.com or call 773-338-2177.

Half Price Tickets are also available for this show by clicking here