Producing the first ever NJ All State Show has been an honor. As artists in an educational setting, we typically work with the same group of teachers and students with whom we share our limited community and experiences. Being able to learn, grow, and produce art with students and teachers from districts across the state is a terrific opportunity. We hope that others will turn this into a tradition moving forward so that many more kids and teachers are able to enjoy this incredible opportunity.

As we approached this project, we wanted to choose a play that spoke to our students, that would give them a chance to produce something they couldn’t typically do in school, and that would allow them to explore a new style of theatre. 

Girls Like That by Evan Placey addresses issues of gender, sexual harassment, and bullying in our digital world that we unfortunately face every day. Let’s be honest -- at some point or another, we are ALL boys and girls like that. We judge others. We spread rumors. We comment on or forward a post. We hit that like or dislike button. We pass judgement. Yes, the internet and social media provide endless new ways to bully and shame others. But they also provide infinite opportunities for understanding and growth. Because of these platforms, the #MeToo movement exists. In the world of the play, Scarlett is able to learn the history of feminism and the roles of women in her own family through the wealth of knowledge the internet provides.

Evan Placey explains:

For me it’s a play about a lot more than just sexting. It’s about the messages young people are absorbing from an early age, the pressures of being part of a group, and … how inaction is sometimes as violent as action … Behind the writing was a question I had: why were young women using the same misogynistic language and tools that men use to oppress women in order to oppress each other? Why are young women calling each other ‘sluts’? … The real problem is a society that judges young women for any form of sexual expression on the one hand, and pressures them to be sexual on the other. The real problem is how we react when we see that photo. The problem is us, not the sender or the photo.

Scarlett is not the only victim in this play. And we can choose to be the problem or the solution.

In our digital world, how we use these resources matter. How we use language matters. We can choose to become informed and to understand others or to stay ignorant and continue to judge others. What choice will you make?