Surrounded by the bright fluorescent lights of Golden Valley High School’s cafeteria, Reina, played by Layla Sanders (11, YPAS), begins her monologue. Dressed in a plaid flannel shirt and baggy blue jeans, accessorized with her flowy black hair, Reina announces Golden Valley’s most important event, prom.
It seems to be all the school and students have to talk about. What to wear, how to prepare and who to bring? These questions encircle the main character, nearly throwing her into an agitated spiral, until her sidekicks enter the scene. Trent, played by Charley Ignatow (12, YPAS), and Steph, played by Nadia Linton (11, YPAS), calm Reina down. This is an experience many students can relate to. The actors were able to bring an authenticity to the anxiety of these major highschool milestones.
D-d-d-d-ding! The lunch bell rings and students fill the cafeteria. The room feels smaller, inviting the audience to compare the loud lunchroom to their own experiences. Suddenly, a young teenage boy carrying a sign corners a female student, asking her to go to prom. Cheered on by the hoots, howls, and hollers of the boy’s friends, the female student stares awkwardly at the boy, then nervously looks around the increasingly loud room for support, though none was given. In a split second (though the intensity of the situation made it feel longer), the female student subtly replies, “yes.”
Instead of celebrating together, the teenage boy jumps with his friends, ignoring the subject of their elation. The female student, on the other hand, looks embarrassed – the type of embarrassment that you feel when someone is laughing at you, not with you.
Reina faces the crowd, criticizing the all too common Golden Valley promposals that lack sincerity and provoke a hyper-masculine culture where teenage boys find a prom date not by choice, but by necessity.
As students depart the cafeteria for their classes, Reina is left with Em, played by Andy Wallace (11, YPAS), who has a romantic interest in the lead. The silence of the room invokes an ironic environment. How could a room be so robust with chatter and laughter, then seconds later, hear the sound of a pin dropping? This creates the perfect framework for humor. Em shyly greets Reina. The audience erupts in laughter, not because what Em said was funny, but because of the sheer awkward silence of the situation.
As the play progresses, the status quo is challenged as the female students begin standing up for their worth. The frustrated teenage girls reject their prom offers, shifting the gender roles. Female students are no longer accepting the half-felt and forceful invitations, they’re staunchly declining – sending the male beggars into a frenzy of anxiety and envy.
Reina and her friends excitedly await Golden Valley’s most important event, but Reina can’t keep her mind off of Em. She feels so connected to them. They’re so genuine. So romantic. So relaxed. Unfortunately, Trent does not feel the same way about Em that Reina does. Trent and Reina fiercely argue. In the moment of moving past the need for a stereotypical prom date, why is Reina so caught up in Em’s feelings for her?
As Reina navigates the happy medium between friendships and romantic relationships, the play comes to an end. This duality is zoomed out, forcing the audience to reflect on something much larger. Societal pressure versus personal feelings, gender stereotypes versus modern relationships, academic life versus social life are all themes seamlessly interwoven in this story. Sanders’ acting in particular showcases the balance between these themes. High schoolers handle these things everyday, whether at football games, on dates, doing homework or attending parties.
While touching on serious topics, the play was undeniably comical and I found myself laughing because of how relatable the story was. Although the title of this play is “This is Not a Teen Movie,” I couldn’t help but feel as if it is a teen movie, summarizing four years of life into 70 minutes.
The students’ captivating performance turns an original play, written by Ms. Jane Jones (Theater), into a must-see production. Performances began Sept. 19, and end on Saturday, Sept. 21. To buy tickets, visit the YPAS website.
