MISS KATELYN'S GRADE THREES PREPARE FOR THE INEVITABLE
Winner of the 2015 Montreal Fringe Award for Best English Production and Best English New Text.
1 actor. Run time of approximately 75 minutes.
ABOUT THE SHOW
"You see, boys and girls... bad things happen to good people all the time. So, it’s our job to make sure we’re as prepared as possible for the innumerable threats that can and will come our way. And not just prepared prepared. Miss Katelyn prepared."
Montreal, Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland. Welcome to class 3B at Saint Joseph’s Elementary School. Your teacher, Miss Katelyn, knows the world is a dangerous place and her life-saving lesson is about to begin. As the gun control debate rages and teenagers take to the streets in protest, Miss Katelyn’s Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable is a timely exploration of panic, prevention, and paranoia in a post-truth world, as a well intentioned school teacher conducts an unsanctioned presentation on how to survive a school shooting.
Production History
Miss Katelyn’s Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable has had three productions, produced by Tiny Bear Jaws and Surreal So Real Theatre.
The French version of the script, translated by Olivier Sylvestre, was also published in 2019 and is available for purchase.
*
2018 Touring Production produced by Tiny Bear Jaws.
Ran as part of Downstage’s 2017-2018 season, the Fringe Theatre’s 2018 curated Spotlight series, and the Sunset Theatre’s 2017-2018 season.
CREATIVE TEAM
Written and performed by Elena Belyea
Directed by Emma Tibaldo
Production/Stage Management and Sound Design by Tori Morrison
Production Design by Alison Yanota
Dramaturgical support by Iris Turcott, Tori Morrison, Emma Tibaldo, Jon Lachlan Stewart
Original direction by Jon Lachlan Stewart
*
2019 Touring Production produced by Surreal So Real Theatre. Premiered in Montreal as part of Theatre Prospero’s 2019 season) with runs in Quebec City (as part of the 2019 Carrefour Festival, and as part of Edmonton’s l’Unitheatre 2019-2020 season).
Texte Elene Belyea
Assistance à la mise en scène Amanda Goldberg
Avec Alice Pascual
Décor Cédric Lord
Éclairages et accessoires Zoe Roux
Traduction Olivier Sylvestre
Production Théâtre Surreal SoReal
*
2015 Premiere Production produced by Tiny Bear Jaws. Ran as part of the 2015 Montreal Fringe Festival, 2015 Edmonton Fringe Festival, 2016 Wildside Festival, and 2016 Chinook Festival).
CREATIVE TEAM
Written and performed by Elena Belyea
Directed by Jon Lachlan Stewart
Stage Managed by Bruce Lambie
Sound Design by Jon Lachlan Stewart
Producing support from Thomas Barnet
Dramaturgical support by Iris Turcott and Jon Lachlan Stewart
Selected Press
" ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ -- On the last day of school, Miss Katelyn (Elena Belyea) decides to teach Class 3B (the audience) about safety. After attendance is called, our jittery, impassioned teacher launches into today’s lesson: how to survive a school shooting. ... Unlike so many other dark comedies at the Fringe, this show earns its transformation from laughs to tears as it sinks its teeth into weighty subject matter. ... An A+ show!" - Vue Weekly | Publication no longer exists.
"Finally, there’s Miss Katelyn’s Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable, an initially amusing, finally genuinely disturbing take on the phenomenon of school shootings. The first two rows of the audience are assigned class name tags and solicitously advised by teacher Miss Katelyn (played by the show’s creator, Elena Belyea) on the best ways to outwit a rampaging gunman. ... There’s no denying this show’s sincerity or gut-wrenching power.” - Montreal Gazette | Full review here.
"Playwright and performer Elena Belyea manages to poke fun at the darkest of subjects, providing a general meditation on surviving the inevitable, whether it’s a shooting or whatever life brings you.” - Cult Montreal | Full review here.
“Miss Katelyn’s Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable is one of the most engaging plays I’ve seen. ... You can’t help but buy into this world that Elena has created and active engagement of the audience is one of the most interesting parts of the show.” - After The Houselights | Full review here.
“Voici une proposition théâtrale audacieuse, singulière, criante d’actualité, poignante, ingénieuse, comique et sans fausse note. … La pièce d’Elena Belyea, traduite par Olivier Sylvestre, s’avère extrêmement bien construite. ” - La Bible Urbaine | Full review here.
“Une comédie noire, grinçante à souhait, un solo qui cristallise ingénieusement le régime de terreur qui prend chaque jour un peu plus d’emprise sur nos vies.” - Le Devoir | Full review here.
“Texte admirablement construit et structuré.” - Huffpost | Full review here.
Archival photos by Mike Tan. Promotional photos by Laurence Philomene.