By Katie Cravey | HPU theatre will be performing, “The Bottle Tree” by Beth Kander at 7:30 p.m. Friday – Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday at the HPU Theatre.
“The Bottle Tree” is about years after a tragic school shooting of East High Maple. The show revolves around Alley Mason, who is the little sister of the school shooter. Though the school shooting was years ago, everyone is still traumatized and is trying to cope while living their life. As time unfolds, Alley must wrestle with forgiveness and moving forward years after her brother’s crime.
“I fell in love with this show after reading the first three pages,” said Deejay Moses about why she chose to direct this show.
“It’s a beautiful story of life. One of my favorite things about it is that it’s funny. It has its serious moments, but overall, it’s a comedic, beautiful, gritty story about picking up the pieces of your life and trying to make them fit,” said Moses.
“The Bottle Tree” paints a window into the lives of a family of a mass-shooter. The production shows the audience the authentic struggle with guilt, heartbreak, and forgiveness.
“This show expresses every layer of human emotion and portrays real life people who are struggling with conflicts that are not always easy to talk about,” said Sara Heinrichs who is taking on the lead role of Alley Mason.
“This show has personally changed my perspective as it asks and answers the hard-hitting questions,” said Heinrichs.
Although the plays story is surrounded by the violent crime of gun violence, “something really important to note about this show is that it gives absolutely no glory to the shooting or the act itself,” said Moses.
“We, as a society, tend to try to avoid things that make us uncomfortable. Luckily, we have theatre, that creates a safe space for us to discuss and see real world problems,” said Moses.
“This isn’t an anti-gun or pro-gun show, it gives both perspectives, leaving the audience a chance to make their own conclusions and answer their own questions,” said Moses.
“The Bottle Tree” is a powerful play and is relevant to Americas tragedies involving gun violence. The issues that the play addresses is something many people apart of the production are passionate about because they have witnessed the pain of gun violence.
“Being a part of The Bottle Tree means a lot to me. I’m originally from North Carolina, and in April of this year The University of North Carolina Charlotte, had a school shooting,” said Kimmy Bogart.
“Many students there I grew up with and it was heartbreaking seeing news stories of my friends crying as they were being escorted off campus. This show is meant to bring to light the real issues of school shootings,” said Bogart.
Similar to Bogart, Moses had a similar experience with a tragic school shooting.
“I grew up near Itasca, and I remember the day of their school shooting like it was yesterday. I have cried and mourned for students, faculty, and families who have lost their lives all over the country because of this” said Moses.
Shootings are a relevant issue in today’s society. As communities usually mourn with the victims and the families, they are not the ones having to pick up the still broken pieces years later. This production teaches the audience that past trauma will always be a part of them.
“The show is extremely powerful, but it has to be handled very gently,” said Taylor Davis about the message of the show.
“The story can either touch people and get them thinking, or it can shun people away and step on people’s toes. The way we did it, I believe, was in a tasteful way, but we still carry out the story with a strong enough force that people won’t be able to forget it” said Davis.
“The Bottle Tree” is a show that will stick with the audience and get people to start thinking about hard topics. However, the script also made the HPU students start thinking about the show’s relevant issues.
“The bottle tree is an amazing message about how a traumatic event can impact so many people in different ways. Playing a counselor has taught me how to cope with the characters impacted by the shooting and tell them that, I’m here if you need me,” said Jake Bowren.
“The Bottle Tree” is a student-produced production from directing, set design, light, and sound. They have had less than three weeks to make the script into a production.
“This is a great script, but it’s really the students who have been working so hard on this that make this show so good. It has been a pleasure to lead during this,” said Moses.
Come support HPU theatre and all their hard work this weekend at the HPU Theatre. Tickets will be sold at the door and are $5 for student and $8 for adults.