Some things in life are so scary that they seem better left unsaid. It’s far easier to think about the happy, light topics that don’t require deep reflection. However, regardless of how horrible or difficult it may be, shedding light on some of such issues is incredibly important. Now more than ever, one of those topics is the increasing amount of school shootings happening each year, especially in America. 

“Bury The Rest” is a play by Skye Robinson Hills about a 17-year-old girl who died in a school shooting. The play follows her family as they cope with her loss and explores their differing views on gun restriction laws. Oak Park River Forest High School’s very own Studio 200 put on “Bury The Rest” on Nov. 13, 14 and 15. 

The play was directed by senior William Cote, who explained, “I read… over 50 plays when I was trying to find a play, and it was just like the emotional reaction after my first read through. The subject matter is pretty relevant to my life and stuff that is going on in our country.”

The play was first read for an audience in 2019 as part of the Seabury Quinn Jr. Playwrights Festival. It received another staged reading the next year at the American College Theater Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Whether or not students have lived through real school shootings, the issue is still prevalent in the world and in students’ lives. The topic presents itself every time you put on your ID, get stopped by a security guard, carry a hall pass or have to unlock the door to let your classmate back into the classroom. It’s shown by all the precautions we take for granted because we haven’t experienced the need for them yet, and in the knowledge that we’ve all by now imagined what would happen if we do need them one day. 

As Cote said, “We’ve all become very desensitized to gun violence because it’s happened so much. I think this show is really good because it humanizes the entire process and draws more attention to how this affects human lives.” 

Studio 200’s production aimed to bring awareness to a topic that is so often reported that it has almost become an abstract concept. We as students and U.S. citizens see shootings mostly as statistics and headlines, but not as real people and real places. Showing a play in which characters grapple with the loss of a teenage girl who was not just a name, but a daughter, a sister, a friend, etc., is important because it humanizes the real impact of school shootings as well as the loss it delivers to real families and real loved ones all over the country and honestly the world.

Studio 200 has put on many performances that address more serious issues, much like “Bury The Rest” does. George Maychruk, an OPRF senior who played the role of Colin, said, “They [Studio 200] do a lot of deep topics for their shows, and they handle them very well. They’re very mature and they get the job done.” 

At OPRF the student body has many theater programs and several annual productions so that students get a chance to either partake in or witness all sorts of different shows and events. Studio 200 allows students to have an active role in creating them as well as performing in them. 

Studio 200 productions can provide an opportunity for students who may have less experience to get involved. As Margot Schneider, a freshman who played the role of Lucy, explained, “I first wanted to do ‘Bury the Rest’ because William, our director, told me about it during our summer musical, ‘Grease.’ He let me know about the show and that he was directing it and encouraged me to audition.” 

Schneider’s role as Lucy, the daughter who died in a shooting, is pivotal to the story.  Her story illustrates that shootings aren’t just more data for statistics, or news stories to take up the open slot before the weather, but real schools and real children’s lives being taken. “Bury The Rest” is an excellent way to bring this matter up, and whether the characters are for or against gun restriction laws, they still are forced to deal with the same grief and to acknowledge the tragedy of extreme situations like school shootings, just like students and families today do constantly.