Short Synopsis of "Rush to Judgment" Play

The Trial of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
Barry K. Weinhold

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS
To copy this text is an infringement of the federal copyright law as it is to perform this play without proper purchase of the play. The author, Barry K. Weinhold, controls all rights. On all programs and advertising the author's name must appear as well as the following notice: "Produced by special arrangement with Barry K. Weinhold of Swannanoa, North Carolina

PUBLISHED BY
The Kindness Campaign
117 Lady Slipper Trail
Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778
© 2000 by Barry K. Weinhold

"This play is dedicated to those who lost their lives in this tragedy, to those who lost their innocence and to those who are still asking the question, 'Why?'" - Barry K. Weinhold

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This play is designed to help the audience look more closely at the effects of "the culture of violence" on our nation's young people and schools by focusing on the Columbine tragedy. The premise for the play is that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold did not commit suicide after shooting all their classmates, but were captured and put on trial. The play is a courtroom drama where the testimony and cross-examination of the key witnesses brings out the possible causes of this tragedy. The audience then gets to be the jury and has to sort out the real causes of this tragedy. They are asked to fill out their ballot and turn it in before they leave the theater. The results can then be tallied to stimulate group discussion as a follow-up to the play.

There is something for everyone. Was this tragedy caused by the long time effects of bullying and harassment of the killers, the negative school climate that put down anyone who was different, the busy teachers and administrators who failed to notice the problem, the busy parents who ignored the warning signs, the law enforcement officials who failed to investigate a death threat a year earlier, the Internet where people can vent their hatred with no consequences, the easy access to guns and bombs, the violent video games that teach kids to kill, the violent and death-oriented music and movies that show a total disregard for human life, psychotropic drugs that can cause psychotic reactions, or was it just two boys who turned violent?

The play is based entirely on known facts. All events described in the play are as they happened. It is a theatrical compilation of historical facts, newspaper and magazine articles, published official reports and interviews with people who lived through the disaster. All the characters in the play are either actual persons or represent groups of people who were involved in this tragedy. In some cases, the characters "speak for themselves" with all their lines coming directly from their own words quoted in the public record. Of course, the names of the characters have been changed and they are meant to represent those who would have likely been asked to testify if a trial like this had happened.

PLAYWRIGHT'S NOTES
This docu-drama can be produced as written or modified to highlight some of the specific elements of the culture of violence that impact the lives of the members of the audience. Caution must be used not to add things to the play that are not true or did not happen. Two problems I see might cause some casting problems. First, most of the roles are adult roles requiring the actors to act grown-up. Second, it is a courtroom drama requiring the actors to maintain formal courtroom decorum and follow the rules and rituals of the court. I'd suggest that the actors do some research on courtroom behavior by attending some actual trials, if possible, or by viewing videos of movies or television shows that are courtroom dramas. Court TV is another way for them to learn about courtroom behavior.

CAST OF CHARACTERS
The Hon. Sandra Barnes is the Judge - A black woman dressed in a black robe whose role is to keep order in the courtroom. She is firm and business-like. She is in charge and let's everyone know it.
Mr. Frank Cummings, is the Bailiff - A man who is big and tough looking to show authority. He is dressed in a court officer uniform.
Ms. Sally Quinn is the Court Recorder - A shy, unobtrusive woman dressed in a suit, whose only role will be to repeat testimony twice in the play when asked by the judge or one of the attorneys.
Mr. Howard Thomas and Mr. Bill Daly are the Prosecuting Attorneys - The older one is the district attorney, Mr. Thomas. The other one, Mr. Daly, is younger and is his assistant. They are both dressed in suits.

Mr. James Young and Ms. Anita Potter are the Defense Attorneys - an older man and a younger woman. The man, Mr. Young, and the woman, Ms. Potter, are each dressed in suits.
Eric Harris & Dylan Klebold are the Defendants - Two white males. Eric Harris is short (about 5' 8'') and Dylan Klebold is tall (about 6' 2''). They are dressed in suits and ties.

John Q. Public is the Narrator - a male dressed in a suit and tie with a very good speaking voice. In the fist scene, he will do a monologue, talking to the audience/jury in order to set the stage for the play. He will also address the audience/jury at the end of the play when the audience/jury has to reach a verdict and will appear between each scene to set the stage for the next scene.

ACT ONE: Witnesses for the Prosecution:
Dr. Susan Williams is a psychologist - a female dressed in a professional looking outfit. She will testify that they were mixed up but not crazy.
Mr. Art Runkel is the Sheriff - a male dressed in a police or sheriffs uniform. He will defend the way the sheriff's office responded to the crime. He will also testify that his investigation showed the clear thinking and pre-meditation and planning of the killers.

Ms. Judy Brown is a teacher at Columbine High School - Harris and Klebold's creative writing teacher. She will explain what happened when she did attempt to reach out to Eric Harris.
Sarah Jones is a black female student at Columbine who was in the library during the shooting. This student will testify to the actual words uttered by the killers while they were shooting the students.

ACT TWO: Witnesses for the Defense:
Doug Smith, is a Student-Athlete - A 255-lb. tackle on the football team dressed in a football jersey. He will testify to how and why this clique of athletes picked on these students.
Dr. Max Brand is a psychiatrist - a male who is dressed in a business suit and tie. He testifies that there were potentially lethal side effects of Luvox, the drug that Eric Harris was prescribed to take for his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Dr. Betty Wilborn is a psychologist who specializes in the effects of trauma/sociological influences on mental health. She interviewed both boys, their families and teachers and will testify on the impact of bullying, disenchantment, subcultures, violent music, movies and video games, and the lack of parental involvement.

Mr. Stan Johnson is the principal of Columbine High School - A male dressed in a suit and tie. He will defend his role at the school and testify as to what has been changed at the school since the tragedy.

ACT ONE, SCENE ONE
THE PROLOGUE
Scene #1: Prologue with John Q. Public, the Narrator, who sets the stage for the play. He stands in front of a darkened stage and gives the main premise of the play, sets some of the procedures to be followed and gives instructions to the audience/jury. (Each person in the audience has a ballot for voting at the end of the play.) This ballot also asks members of the jury to provide some information about themselves (gender; age; and occupation, if an adult) and poses some questions for them to respond to when they vote and turn in their ballots. They will be told that the results of the balloting will be tallied and made public immediately following the play or as soon as possible after the play (may also put the results on a web site and keep a tally over time). Each scene will begin with the swearing-in of the witness.

John Q. Public, Narrator
There are certain events in our lives that leave their mark on each of us as individuals and as a whole nation. The Columbine school massacre was one of them. How many of you know where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news about the Columbine shootings? Even though have been other school shootings, this one galvanized the fears of many people and sent shock waves rippling through this country and around the world.

It was partly where the massacre happened and why it happened that scared people so much. Littleton, Colorado seemed to be the least likely place for this kind of thing to happen. Even after all the investigations, there still does not seem to be any easy answers to the question: Why did this happen?

Unfortunately, most of the responses to the tragedy have only led to shortsighted, reactive solutions rather than to carefully planned long-term prevention programs.

The real tragedy of Columbine is not just about two violent kids seeking glory. It is also about the adults who would rather scapegoat, sugarcoat and avoided looking at what they could have done to prevent this from happening rather than confronting the reality of the conditions that led to this tragedy.

This play will explore the many still unanswered questions of why this tragedy happened and why it happened at Columbine High School. You, the audience, will act as the jury. You will want to listen carefully to all the testimony and the cross-examination of the key witnesses so that you can determine the guilt or innocence of these young men.

The basic premise of the play is that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold did not die in the shootings, but are captured and put on trial. The prosecuting attorneys will try to prove behind a shadow of a doubt that these boys were sane when they planned and committed these crimes. The defense attorneys will try to prove that all the various social and psychological pressures and traumas these two boys had to deal with caused them to go insane and that they no longer knew right from wrong when they committed this massacre.

You have a ballot on which you can record your verdict at the end of the play. There is also a checklist for you to fill out indicating which points from the defense or prosecution influenced your decision the most. These will be collected and the results will be tabulated and posted as soon as possible.

Virtually all the facts and information presented in this play came from the extensive public records available through the media and the Report of the Investigation released by the Jefferson County Sheriff's office. There has been so much written about this tragedy that it is hard to sort out the important information from the less important information. The author of this play has sifted through it and has organized it in such a way that you can deepen your understanding of what really happened, how it happened and why it happened.

Most of the characters in this play are fictional, representing groups of people who would likely be called as witnesses; if this case had gone trial. Two of the witnesses, however, are portrayed as real identifiable people: The Sheriff of Jefferson County and the Principal of Columbine High School. All of the testimony given by these two witnesses was drawn from public statements they made to the news media. 

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold are also represented as characters in the play, but they are not called to testify and have no speaking role in the play. You will only hear the testimony of 8 key witnesses, four for the prosecution and four for the defense. Your have to assume that there were other witnesses called, but the collective testimony of these 8 witnesses is key to deciding this case.

Some might say, 'Why dig up this awful tragedy again? It is painful for everyone involved. Can't we just forget about it and move on?' To this I say that this play can promote a deeper understanding of the conditions that contributed to this tragedy to make sure that nothing like it ever happens again. It is worth revisiting the pain if it helps us recognize the culture of violence that contributed to it: guns, bullying, and hidden anger in our schools, communities and families. George Santanya once said, 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'

Dylan Klebold's parents recently sent a letter of apology to the families of all the students and the teacher who were killed by their son. I would like to read one part of that letter. They wrote: "We are convinced that the only way to truly honor all of the victims of this and other related tragedies is to move clearly and methodically toward an understanding of why they occur, so that we may try to prevent this kind of madness from ever happening again. It is our intention to work for this end, believing that answers are probably within reach, but that they will not be simple. We envision a time when circumstances will allow us to join with those who share our desire to understand."

This play is dedicated to those who lost their lives in this tragedy, to those who lost their innocence and to those who are still asking the question, 'Why?' If you are one of those people who are still asking this question, perhaps the next two hours will help you find some meaningful answers to it.

Now we will begin with the opening arguments in this case. They are spoken to the jury by both the lead Prosecuting Attorney and the lead Defense Attorney. The Prosecuting Attorney speaks first.
(The Narrator walks off to his right, the lights come up and the action begins)