Directors Notes:
Hello and welcome to the Titan Players production of “Mean Girls”. At the beginning of this school year this particular show was not even on my radar. When it became available, we resolved to switch to this newer and decidedly edgier show (remember last year our production was “The Little Mermaid”). Of course I was familiar with the movie because when it came out I had two daughters who were eleven and twelve years old. By the time it came out on DVD (probably at Blockbuster, Remember Blockbuster?) they were infatuated with it and by the time we bought our own copy they could recite the entire movie, line for line. Pretty scary. I was not as familiar with the musical but after looking at the script and listening to the show it definitely retains its humor, style and above all its “realness”.
The sense of its “realness” is perhaps most important to me as I have stood in the Tuscarora halls for many years and been amazed at how well the different groups in “Mean Girls” are represented. When we received materials for the show there was a letter from Tina Fey, some excerpts of which are below.
“When I wrote the movie in 2003, I set out to write truthfully and with humor about relational aggression among girls. I hoped that if we could recognize this behavior in ourselves, and laugh about it, it would be easier to stop doing it. Spoiler alert: I did not fix the world! Relational aggression is still around. And it’s not just among girls. We see it everywhere from the highest branches of government to the preschool playground. But I still believe this story can help us cope through humor, and also now through singing… Creating the high school version of this show, we felt it was important to help you perform the version of Mean Girls that best suits your community. So instead of a pre-edited script, you will receive the unedited Broadway version, accompanied by some approved changes, which address moments in the original show that teachers have identified as potentially challenging for some schools… We’re not asking you to recreate the Broadway version of the show; rather, we want you to create the best version for your school while embracing an inclusive and diverse approach to casting”
While we have advertised our production as “PG13” I want to stress that it is exactly that. I have changed very little of the Broadway script in the belief that it makes the characters stronger and more real, something that is both difficult and necessary for theater students to grow. Although there are some new combinations of words and phrases in the script, for those who haven’t spent time in a high school recently, I can assure you I (and other teachers) have heard all of these words on at least a semi-regular basis. It is my hope that you will recall the story (perhaps from whenever you first saw the movie), enjoy (or despise) the characters, laugh at times and feel decidedly uncomfortable at others. Above all, a large number of students (actors, technicians, stage managers, pit players, production team) have worked hard to present this piece of theater; please let them know you appreciate their efforts.
Peace
- Mean Girls announcement during tech week of our fall play https://youtu.be/LRGQvaZhdu0
