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Miami-based playwright Gina Montet’s world-premiere play, “Dangerous Instruments,” is a riveting story of what leads to a Code Red–that violent school incident that rocks a community, making its audience confront what started this titanic national epidemic.
[As published in WPB Magazine.]
Code Red. Nothing triggers a school community more than the deafening sound of a panic alarm code. School shooting incidents in America have become a serious social issue, having a devastating impact on individuals, families, and communities. Until now, no other play has traced back the steps to the mental illness, fear, frustration, and challenges of a broken system that leads to a school’s Code Red.
In Gina Montet’s world premiere of “Dangerous Instruments,” we see what happens before that tragic point of no return – that event that leaves lasting psychological consequences for students, parents, and educators. In a recent interview, Montet talks about how her life changed after she entered her play in Palm Beach Dramaworks’ Perlberg Festivals of New Plays in 2023.
As a parent and teacher, she “wanted to bring a different perspective, including the frustration on both sides of the story. That moment when parents have to fight for their kids with people who aren’t necessarily the enemy, but who, for whatever reason, aren’t able to do what you need them to do,” she says.
Directed by Margaret M. Ledford, “Dangerous Instruments’” act opener takes place at a South Florida school, which appears to be a regular parent/teacher/principal meeting. Laura Hammond, played beautifully by Savannah Faye, is a single mother who has been called to the principal’s office to discuss her son, a bright but difficult four-year-old who is exhibiting high levels of antisocial behavior. She is also a career woman, stylish, and strong-willed, but saddled with the responsibility of raising her energetic son on her own.
Paul (Matt Stabile), the school principal, is in a simple room with a bookshelf filled with “how-to” books for any bad behavior a child may exhibit, which parents can use to control that behavior. But Laura has read almost every single one, she tells Paul. There’s equal parts familiarity, tension, and chemistry between them. We later learn that the two used to date back in college, but she left him for the man who would ultimately become her husband and her son’s father—a man with a hidden dark side.
Paul tries to convince her that her son is better off at a different school that can better meet his needs. Laura is not convinced but doesn’t have any other choice or resources to dispute the matter. So, she takes her son to another school, and then another one.
The show continually treats Laura’s meetings with principals and heads of school as a way to advance time and develop the story. With every encounter, her demeanor changes. This can be observed in a significant shift in wardrobe and lifestyle. Laura transitions from formal, professional attire, which likely signifies a career focus, to a much more casual, less polished look that suggests a shift in priorities, with an emphasis on motherhood and a work-from-home job to spend more time with her son.
The change in hair, from a styled professional look to a loose bun, further emphasizes the shift in personal priorities, not to mention the frustration she’s feeling as she faces her son’s challenges, displayed in a series of experiences with anxiety and other undiagnosed issues like autism spectrum and other disorders.
Quickly, “Dangerous Instruments” appears to take a more serious tone when Laura finds her son’s journals, which are a dark reflection of his tormented mind. Laura sees the names of her son’s targets: students, teachers, and even her own on those pages. He has become a dangerous instrument, but who’s there to stop him?
He is now 13, and his present school’s headmaster, Dr. Pat Robinson (Bruce Linser), has had enough. Parents, teachers, and students want him expelled. Laura is pressed to sign on the dotted line, which sends him on a spiral of emotions, fears, and darkness.
This rushes through dramatic beats that lead to a mother’s worst nightmare—a police officer knocking on her door late one night. Her son was found at the park, panicking and cutting himself. A call for attention. A call for help. But no one is listening, only his mom. The system fails again, and she is left with only one choice: to save her son. But at what cost?
As the play comes to a close, it is Laura who calls the last but heroic shot. She takes us closer to the violence in schools and the Code Red alarm, and we, the audience, are left with a sad story. It is curious that, particularly in today’s political environment, the play loops back to the onset of one child’s mental disorder and the reality of America’s broken social system. It is easy to give evil a name, but what happened before one of his violent rages went through his veins? What signs did he show?
The complexity of school violence is brought to light in “Dangerous Instruments,” where the solutions or cures to mental disorders and the causes of destructive behaviors are sometimes kept out of reach from those who need them.
Montet, who sees herself as a storyteller rather than a crusader, still conveys a clear message to parents and educators through her characters: “See your own story in mine.”
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‘Dangerous Instruments’ runs approximately one hour and 25 minutes with no intermission. The world premiere will be performed until June 1. To purchase tickets, visit www.palmbeachdramaworks.org or call the box office at (561) 514-4042, ext. 2. PBDW is located at 201 Clematis Street in West Palm Beach.