Lockdown
by Eric Mansfield
During a school shooting, a guidance counselor, history teacher, PTA president, senior class officer and football coach take cover together. While trying to stay quiet, most of the group believes they know which student must be shooting. But when that student enters the office to hide with them, the group is forced to back up their suspicions about the teen they think they know. Under constant fear of a gunman, maybe even hiding among them, the group must own not only own their prejudices but also the deep secrets each has connected to gun violence.
- Cast Size: 2M 4W
- Running Tine: 90+ minutes
- Royalty Rate: $75 per performance
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About the Playwright
Eric Mansfield is a professional playwright and Emmy Award-Winning TV journalist based in Ohio, and he is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild and United States Veterans Arts Alliance (USVAA). Eric received the “Best New Play by a Local Playwright” Award in 2021 from the Cleveland Critics Circle for his military love story, LOVE IN RESERVE, which debuted as an Equity production at Rubber City Theatre in Akron, OH. He was also named the recipient of the 2022 Arts Alive Award for the Emerging Artist by Summit Artspace in Akron, Ohio. Recent premieres include WHITESVILLE at the Akron Civic Theatre, THE CONFESSION at Cleveland Convergence Continuum, THE BOARD at Salem State University, and WITNESSES TO THE EXECUTION at SUNY-Brockport. www.ericmansfieldwrites.com.
Thoughtful writing about the horrible reality of school shooting is necessary. In this excellent example, shots–we think–ring out and five panicky people take refuge in an office: three staff, a student, and a parent. As they debate school policy and their own course of action, they are all too willing to speculate on the shooter’s identity based on one student’s appearance and perceived attitudes. Then they discover that student hiding in a closet. It turns out neither he nor any of the others are what they first seemed. An insightful and important play.
Review Lockdown.