YOU'RE NEXT
By Jon Dorf
You're Next received its first full production at Lyman High School as part of the International Thespian Festival. It has a cast of two male performers, and it's probably best suited for high school performers and audiences, though its subject, bullying, is relevant to many ages. It even made it into the curriculum at John F. Ross CVI (a high school) in Guelph, Ontario, where the supervising teacher reported that "It was the favourite of four plays studied for almost two-thirds of the kids." It runs 15-20 minutes.
You're Next can either stand alone or play with Ticking and Play's End as part of the Gunplay trilogy, chronicling a day in the life of the Doe Family and their relationship with guns.
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"It was an amazing journey working on Gunplay. We took this trilogy all the way to the State level of competition and learned something new with every performance. This piece offers many educational opportunities without preaching the dangers of guns."--Michelle Backel, Faculty Director, Lyman High School (Longwood, FL) |

Jay (Michael Strong) shows Peter (Blake Elmquist) how his little brother fires a gun out of the window. Photos are from a made-for-video production at The Haverford School.
JAY, still dripping water from being thrown in the shower again by the school bully, huddles with his best friend, PETER, in a room just off the locker room. Peter has brought a gun and wants Jay to use it on the bully. When Jay hesitates, Peter first tries to reason with him, then questions his courage and even his sexuality. But Jay holds firmson of a gun salesman, he hates gunsand it finally becomes clear that it is Peter who needs help; the bully has told Peter that he’s next on his list, and he doesn't know what to do.

Peter tries to lend Jay his jacket in return for Jay taking the gun.