Politics and ethics take center stage when a teacher faces a moral dilemma in “Play It Straight.”
The play is running through Aug. 9 at Theatre on the Ridge in Paradise.
Director Jeff Dickinson says the production explores the difficult choices educators face when mandates and personal ethics collide.
“It's a love letter to teachers,” Dickinson said.
Written by Sacramento playwrights Richard Winters, Kerri Yund, and Gary Wright, the play was inspired by Winters' own experiences in the classroom, along with Yund, who was one of his students and helped to develop some of the characters in the play.
Mr. Ross is the central figure, a drama teacher in a red state.
“He doesn't always play by the rules,” Dickinson said. “He inspires chaos with his students in a good way, as a way to nurture their creativity.”
The high school where he is facing a district mandate that would require administrators to out a gay student to their conservative parents.
“It's a real deft exploration of the horror that so many young people are facing in LGBTQ+ communities, and the violence and the hatred,” Dickinson said.
Dickinson, who is also a retired drama teacher, said he understands the struggle of following the rules and doing what feels right morally.
“The control or the lack of control that we have in the classroom when we are trying to, as teachers, when we're trying to help these kids,” Dickinson said.
His hope is educators will come see the play because it the often undervalued role they play in society.
“I know full well that teachers do not get the love and support that they deserve,” Dickinson said.
Dickinson notes that while the subject matter is heavy, the play also explores creativity and forbidden love.
He hopes audiences leave the theater questioning the systems around them while also reflecting on the importance of compassion.
“The stage that we've set for ourselves is very complex,” Dickinson said, “it's really easy to get lost and to get beaten down, and I think that we just need to be kinder to each other and make more of an effort.”
