EP 302: ”CLOSING DOORS” by John Minigan

00:00 - INTRO

01:08 - "CLOSING DOORS" by John Minigan

SCRIPT: CLOSING DOORS

CHARACTERS

SANDRA...         30s. Any race or ethnicity. A fourth grade teacher.

VALERIE...        30s. Any race or ethnicity. An elementary school assistant principal.

SETTING

Valerie’s office in an American elementary school.

SCHOOLHOUSE AMBIENCE – CHILDREN CHATTER, ETC.

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

CHAIR SQUEAKS.

SANDRA:          
You’re looking at it the wrong way.

VALERIE:         
I’m not. There are procedures in place.

SANDRA:          
I know there are procedures.

VALERIE:         
And teachers have to follow the procedures.

SANDRA:          
Every other drill, I did exactly what—

VALERIE:         
We’re talking about yesterday.

SANDRA:          
The other drills were announced in advance.

VALERIE:         
Sandy—

SANDRA:          
I know, but Solomon was in the bathroom when it started.

VALERIE:         
It doesn’t matter where he was.

SANDRA:          
It matters. Just because a kid has to go to the bathroom—

VALERIE:         
The door has to stay closed until the drill is over.

SANDRA:          
Every other time, I kept the kids in the classroom because I knew it was coming. You used to do the same thing. You kept the kids in the classroom so when—

VALERIE:         
We have to have surprise drills, too. They’re more realistic.

SANDRA:          
Realistic.

VALERIE:         
The rest of your class thought you were opening the door to let the shooter in.

SANDRA:          
I figured it had to be a drill, and Solomon was standing in—

VALERIE:         
Officer Harmon could have walked right in and—

SANDRA:          
He didn’t walk in. I let Solomon back in and I closed the door.

VALERIE:         
Once you lock the door, it stays that way until Richard gives the all-clear. That’s the protocol. What you need to do is write a letter of apology so Richard can let the parents know—

MUSIC: “MEMORY HOLE”

SANDRA:          
You didn’t see his face. He was knocking on the door, trying to turn the handle. I took the paper off the glass and there he was, looking up at me. Crying. He knew it was up to me to let him in or leave him out there. What’s the protocol for that? Cover the glass again and go shelter in place with the rest of the class?

VALERIE:         
This is why you put the paper on the glass.

SANDRA:          
So the shooter can’t see in, I under—

VALERIE:         
So you can’t see out. We put the rules in place—

SANDRA:          
Because the research says we’ll save more lives that way.

VALERIE:         
No.

SANDRA:          
No?

VALERIE:         
We put the rules in place so you don’t have to decide, if a student is in the hall, whether you open the door or not, because that choice has been made for you.

SANDRA:          
By you?

VALERIE:         
Not by me.

SANDRA:          
By Richard?

VALERIE:         
The principal, the school committee, the superintendent, working with—

SANDY:           
Then why am I talking to you this morning, not him?

VALERIE:         
You’re not talking to Richard because he’s spending his morning on the phone with a lot of angry parents. Parents whose children told them you opened the door for the shooter.

SANDY:           
Then he can explain to them—

VALERIE:         
It was all over the parent Facebook group last night. He had thirteen emails and I don’t know how many voice-messages by the time he got to school, so believe me: You don’t want to be talking to Richard this morning. You’re talking to me because I told him I would handle this as a matter between friends.

SANDRA:          
I see. (PAUSE.) Thank you for doing that.

VALERIE:         
Of course. I know yesterday must have been hard.

SANDRA:          
It was.

VALERIE:         
I’m glad to be able to help you through this. It’s a simple ask. You get Richard your apology, he’ll send an email out to the community—

SANDRA:          
That’s not a simple ask. I’m not sorry for letting—

VALERIE:         
He needs to assure the parents that—

SANDRA:          
I’m not going to lie.

VALERIE:         
Don’t think of it as a lie.

SANDRA:          
How should I think of it?

VALERIE:         
These parents send their kids to us five days a week; they need to know we’re doing everything we can to keep them safe.

SANDRA:          
I do.

VALERIE:         
No, you took a risk that—

SANDRA:          
Val, every Tuesday morning, when Marilou is in doing music with the kids, I sit out at the desk, by the front door. “Front desk duty.”

VALERIE:         
I know.

SANDRA:          
To keep the kids “safe.” That’s what we say, right? We’re doing all we can to keep them safe. You used to be more upset about that than I was. You had the union file a complaint.

VALERIE:         
I see the purpose of it now.

SANDRA:          
Now that you’re out of the classroom and in the Assistant Principal’s Office, you see the purpose of making teachers sitting ducks in case a shooter walks in.

VALERIE:         
You’re not a sitting duck.

SANDRA:          
To “slow the shooter down.”

VALERIE:         
After Sandy Hook, schools have to…

SANDRA:          
“Have to” what?

VALERIE:         
Parents feel better knowing a staff member will be the first encounter.

SANDRA:         
“First Victim.”

VALERIE:         
No one’s going to be a victim. Schools are still among the safest places you can—

SANDRA:          
If we’re so safe, why am I sitting at the front door every Tuesday morning?

VALERIE:         
It’s “theater.”

SANDRA:          
“Theater”?

VALERIE:         
It makes the parents feel better. To know we’re taking action.

SANDRA:          
So this is your new job. Bullshitting parents so they feel like school is a safe place.

VALERIE:         
It is safe. We’re just reinforcing, for—

SANDRA:          
It wasn’t safe for Solomon. He heard Officer Harmon coming down the hall, shouting, “You’re dead now. Lie on the floor and don’t move.” He would have been one of the bodies. How does he get over that? He’s ten years old. How does he come back into my room after the drill, open a book, take out a pencil, and trust me enough to—

VALERIE:         
How do the rest of your students trust you if they see you open the door when there’s a shooter in the hall?

SANDRA:          
I’ll explain it to them. I’ll tell them, “Now you know what I will do if you’re in danger. You know I’m going to protect you, no matter what.” I will go into my classroom right now and explain it to them.

VALERIE:         
Sandy, we’re here to figure out whether or not you get to go back to your classroom.

SANDRA:          
You’re going to fire me? “Between friends”?

VALERIE:         
I’m not going to fire you. (PAUSE.) Richard is suggesting administrative leave.

SANDRA:          
Suspension.

VALERIE:         
If you don’t apologize. Suspension with pay.

SANDRA:          
Oh, that’s generous. Is it going to go on my permanent record?

VALERIE:         
This is not something to joke about.

SANDRA:          
No kidding. How do you feel about this?

VALERIE:         
I think there’s an easy solution: Send Richard a letter, an email, apologizing for—

SANDRA:          
I know what you think, Val. I asked how you feel.

VALERIE:         
That’s not what matters today.

SANDRA:          
This is how you “handle this” as a friend?

VALERIE:         
I’m telling you how to keep your job.

SANDRA:          
It’s my job to make sure Solomon doesn’t have the worst day of his life. Isn’t that your job, too?

VALERIE:         
An assistant principal has to think about all the students.

SANDRA:          
Was it worth it? The new job, the office? The raise?

VALERIE:         
You applied for it, too, Sandy.

SANDRA:          
It looks like they hired the right person.

VALERIE:         
It looks like they did.

SANDRA:          
What if it was Chloe?

VALERIE:         
Let’s not—

SANDRA:          
No, you’re Chloe’s Godmother because I thought, if anything ever happened to Mark and me, you’d be the best person to protect her. To raise her. So, what if you were in the classroom yesterday, and Chloe got locked out—

VALERIE:         
I’m not going to argue hypothetical situations—

SANDRA:          
Then let’s talk about Solomon, because it wasn’t hypothetical for him. He heard footsteps. He heard a man running through the hallway with a gun, telling kids, “You’re dead now. Lie on the floor.” He didn’t know it was a squirt gun. He didn’t know it was a drill. So, I’m sorry Richard has to follow up on some voicemails this morning, but that’s not trauma, that’s his job. And if you think I did something wrong—

VALERIE:         
Let’s try to stay focused on what happened—

SANDRA:          
If it was Chloe trying to get in—

VALERIE:         
Sandy—

SANDRA:          
No, if you think it’d be better to keep the door closed, then I made a mistake asking you to be her Godmother.

VALERIE:         
Let’s not say things that—

SANDRA:          
And maybe it’s a good thing you and Steven don’t have any of your own.

SILENCE.

SANDRA STANDS.

HER FOOTSTEPS TOWARD DOOR.

I’m sorry, Val. I apologize for that.

SILENCE.

I just wish I understood what happened to you.

VALERIE:         
What if Chloe had been in the classroom? In your classroom? Would you open the door?

SANDRA:          
…

VALERIE:         
You see? We have rules so you won’t have to make that decision. You need to tell Richard you’re sorry you didn’t follow the protocol.

SANDRA:          
So parents will stop calling.

VALERIE:         
So you can stay in the classroom. If we don’t follow the rules, we have chaos.

SANDRA:          
This is chaos.

VALERIE:         
I’m afraid that’s the world we live in, Sandra.

SANDRA:          
And sometimes, the best thing we can do is let a kid come in from that world and be safe.

SILENCE.

My kids are probably done with gym. What do you want me to do: go back and finish the unit on the Constitution or clean out my desk?

VALERIE:         
I have to talk to Richard. My hands are tied.

SANDRA:          
Nobody’s hands are tied, Val. So, you and Richard need to figure out whether to take your friend out of the classroom for trying to protect a little boy. And to answer your question: Yes. If Chloe was in the classroom? Yes, I would let Solomon in.

SANDRA OPENS THE DOOR.

For what it’s worth, I’m going to leave the door open on my way out.

SANDRA FOOTSTEPS AS SHE EXITS.

VALERIE PICKS UP THE PHONE AND DIALS EXTENSION.

VALERIE:         
Hi, Richard, it’s Valerie. Yeah, I did. She just left.

END OF PLAY

08:38 - Interview with playwright John Minigan