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'If we are going to tell stories, we need to tell the stories of these women'

Parental discretion is advised for the play 'Good Kids', which deals with sexual assault
SooToday Staff
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NEWS RELEASE

LAKE SUPERIOR
STATE UNIVERSITY

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SAULT STE. MARIE, MICH. - The Lake Superior State University Theatre will be presenting Naomi Iizuka’s 2014 play Good Kids at the LSSU Arts Center Tuesday, Oct. 24 through Saturday, Oct. 28. The play is the product of a program created by Big Ten universities to support the work of women playwrights through the yearly commission of a play to be performed by the university theatre departments. 

Spencer Christensen, professor, director, and producer at Lake State, discussed the importance of this project, as a high percentage of participants in collegiate theatre programs across the nation are in fact women, a trend that is represented in Lake State’s own theatre program. “If we are going to tell stories, we need to tell the stories of these women,” said Christensen.

Good Kids is based on the contentious true story of the Steubenville Case, a 2012 tragedy in which members of the Mustangs high school football team sexually assaulted a teenage girl on numerous levels at an alcohol-fueled house party. The event was documented on several forms of social media.

"The play is basically these 12 kids reliving the night,” Christensen said. “It's their memory of it, who’s at fault, and how it’s going to affect them for the rest of their life.”

Considering the subject matter of this play, parental discretion is advised for pre-teen children. Each performance will feature a pre-show discussion at 6 p.m. pertaining to the issues presented in the play.

Following the Wednesday and Friday performances, a conversation will follow with a post-show panel. A representative from the university Title IX program will be present during each performance should audience members have any questions or concerns.  

The play begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, with the Saturday play starting at 2 p.m. Admission is free and the performance is 75 minutes with no intermission.

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