"Anonymous" by Anonymous

Friday November 6, 2009

I've always had a problem with high school "problem plays." You know, those oh-so-serious dramas that warn students against the dangers of peer-pressure, tobacco, and driving without a seat-belt. It's not that I'm in favor of daring freshmen to puff on cigars while speeding down the freeway unbuckled. It's just that some plays can be too preachy for their own good.

That's why I'm always pleased to discover "problem plays" that approach the high school experience from a different perspective. Theatrefolk's one-act Anonymous (appropriately written by an anonymous playwright) succeeds in recreating the anxiety of being the new kid in class. The characters are essentially archetypes; they are given intentionally vague names such as "ME" and "SHE." At times they speak directly to the audience, and during other scenes the characters speak in unison, like a modern day Greek chorus.

Anonymous got a nice little write-up today on Wade Bradford's great Plays/Drama Blog. Preachy is never a good approach to an issue play, and he really hits the mark on his analysis.