Playwright’s Note
I remember the day I started writing EVOLUTION. In 2019, I was walking to class with my very close friend Soph Sawyer, who would later go on to direct Eckerd’s production of Hedwig. After telling them about my feelings on my time in High School and how I was ashamed of who I am, they responded with, “man, that’s something straight out of a movie” (knowing Soph, it was probably said with more pizzaz). That night I outlined a play titled “To Be A Trition”, a play that took place at Eckerd about a man struggling with his past identity (pretty on the nose, right?). Later that week, I shelved the project out of complete disinterest.
Jumping to March 2020 I was sent back to my hometown of Meredith, New Hampshire. Just like almost every single person on earth, the early COVID outbreak absolutely broke me. Being back in the same town where all the terrible behavior originated, caused me to begin an existential crisis. However, I did find a saving grace in all of that, being my realization that I wanted to be a play/film writer. Because of that, and one sad night playing on my Macbook, I found my old outline of “To Be A Trition” and I began writing it to find a way to comprehend who I was. “To Be A Trition”, would turn into “Leaked Footage”, then finally EVOLUTION.
The story of EVOLUTION follows a group of boys, who in unique ways, are not very good people. Even the most “kind and sacred” of the group has some not very good qualities to them. They grew up in a community that allows for bigoted behavior, and later on, come to terms in their own way on how to be better. They learn that change is dynamic, and not straightforward. And at the end of the play, they all have to make a choice as to how they change. During this entire process, I hope to have begun the process of changing to hopefully become a good person.
I want to say that I am very happy with the current state of EVOLUTION, and I thank you all for taking time out of your lives to step into a world that, although could make you feel uncomfortable, will help you come to terms with something in your own life.
I want to give thanks to my parents: Laurie and Fred Reed, for their loving support in not only this play but my goal of wanting to become better. To my girlfriend Mia Knapp: for being in comfort/support mode this past month. To Kathleen Hill and Christine Chiasson: for being the reason I went to pursue theatre/film and to create a space for me to find myself as a young adult. To Jaydie Halperin, for being the only person I knew in High School that I’m happy to still call a friend. To my Franklin Footlight friends, for bringing in a sappy 17-year-old Ryan into their loving community. To the “Geek Squad”: for being some of the best friends I could ever ask for. Lastly to all of my other friends here at Eckerd, for accepting me for who I am.
“Because there's more to life than the bad shit. The
good stuff keeps us happy.” Ky in EVOLUTION.
