On Wednesday, April 16 at 9:45 a.m., the University of Maine at Presque Isle's own theater group, University Players, performed a dramatic reading of William Mastrosimone's play Bang Bang You're Dead as part of University Day.

The play is about a teenage boy named Josh who is now in jail because he shot and killed several students at his high school, as well as his parents. As he lies awaiting his fate, Josh is forced by apparitions of his victims to retrace the events leading up to the massacre. The question is if Josh will truly realize what he has done to the victims, their families, and ultimately himself.

Among the cast is Ryan McCluskey who plays Michael, a young boy who inadvertently crosses Josh by dating the latter boy's former girlfriend and is ultimately put to death for it.

"It shows that it's not just in the big city schools, it could happen anywhere. Any body could be the killer, or anybody could be one of the victims," said McCluskey.

Aha Blume is a member of the general chorus, the actors and actresses who fill in the general characters which further the plot.

"There's a lot of the roles that sort of flash back to the events leading up to where Josh is now," said Blume. "So these are all the sort of the different people in the flashbacks that are just explaining the back-story."

Through flashbacks it is shown that Josh started out innocent, if a little spoiled. His fondness for guns stems back from a past hunting trip between the youth and his grandfather.

"He killed a buck in the forest," said McCluskey, "and at first he regretted it. But then his grandfather said he was gonna' be a man by the end of the day."

"A lot of the script is basically about the reason why the main character shot everyone," said Jessica Mayne, a fellow cast-member. "He was sick and tired of being picked on by people at school, all the rumors about him and nasty relationships with the kids. It really can ruin a person's life, rumors and how people treat other people, whether it be to show-off for their friends or to hide their own feelings."

Peer-pressure, however, is not the only stepping stone to Josh's downfall. At home he is denied very little and is rewarded if he puts up a long childish debate over something he wants. It comes as no surprise how badly he takes the breakup with his girlfriend, or how angry he becomes when he sees somebody else has her. Though with the bullying Josh endures, maybe just feels all the more alone. But Josh will soon learn that these were not reasons worth committing murder.

"I think it has a good message," said Blume. "Because we're also aiming it to teenagers, it's really telling them that every action has a consequence."

The role of young Josh is played by Brandon Marquis.

"It's a controversial role," said Marquis, "obviously with a lot of the shooting that's been going on across the nation. But I do think it's nice to be able to shed some light on the subject and help bring it to the forefront, because a lot of people just don't like to think about some of these subjects."

Cast and crew of the production want their audience to leave with something to consider by the end.

"Hopefully a deeper knowledge of the results of school shootings," said McCluskey, "and the deep pain that they can cause to the victims and the shooters alike."