Every year, I sit down to write down these notes and I do my best to distill something significant and meaningful from the show. What surprises lie just beneath the surface of the action? What is the playwright calling us to examine, to learn, to do? How does the production help us to grow emotionally or intellectually?
I struggled, though, to pull anything meaningful or significant out of this show. The script of Homework Eats Dog, I must admit, has very little depth. It is made up entirely of caricatures: a cartoonishly terrible teacher (whose absolutely reprehensible classroom behavior and policies make me cringe every day), students who go to truly absurd lengths to avoid their work, and a premise that belongs in a sitcom more than on Broadway. And yet, from our very first read-through, it had us hooked.
So rather than try to force the production to be something it’s not, we decided to lean into the absurdity. Everything got just a little bit weirder, just a little bit more ridiculous. The actors embraced the campiness of their characters, complete with over-the-top melodrama and slapstick physicality that had us all giggling and guffawing every day. We decided to just have fun with it! Because not all theatre needs to have a deep meaning or weighty lesson. Sometimes, theatre can be there just to make us laugh.
And sometimes, that’s enough.
Leo Mahler
Director
SETTING
A particularly terrible science teacher's particularly terrible classroom.
The cast and crew would like to give special thanks to...
- Ms. Wulfman, who designed our beautiful posters!
- the amazing MS Drama Mamas: Liz DeFilippo, Kathleen DeMarco, and Meghan Rosow!
- our fantastic parents and families, who supported us and made all this possible!
