Project History

Beginnings...

The project is the definition of the word, collaboration. Two actors, a director, a playwright, and an author/sociologist have created the current draft. After three months of intense research on the actual events surrounding the shootings, the project spent four months of case study and fieldwork with adolescents all across the country. Sharing with adolescents in suburbs of Atlanta, Baltimore, Washington, New York, and Littleton, itself, the characters in the piece have been shaped directly from the conversations and imaginations of actual adolescents. In March, the project team traveled to Littleton to speak with survivors, current Columbine students, community leaders, parents, and spent three days working with students in Arapahoe High School, a neighboring school to Columbine. The project completed two workshops at the North Carolina School of the Arts in December 2002 and in March 2003. Arena Stage in Washington, DC, hosted the first public reading in April 2003 as a part of their In The Works Festival (which included new plays of Christopher Durang and Beth Henley). The Kennedy Center presented a stage workshop of the piece in September 2003 in their Prelude Festival. In February 2004, USTP traveled to Denver to present a similar workshop at the Curious Theatre Company. The Co-World Premiere was at Roundhouse Theatre in Washington, DC in March 2005 and at Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska in May 2005.

Ongoing Timeline...

July 2002
The original members of United States Theatre Project meet in Washington, D.C. and decide to write a piece on school shootings.

Aug 2002
First visit to Littleton, CO.

Nov 2002-Dec 2003
Writing team conducts interviews with teenagers in Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, and Colorado.

Dec 2002
The first workshop occurs at North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC.

Dec 2002
Second visit to Littleton; meets with Brooks Brown, best friend of Dylan Klebold.

Feb 2003
The second workshop occurs at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

Mar 2003
Writing team makes third visit to Littleton and conducts workshops at local high schools.

Sep 2003
The third workshop occurs at The Kennedy Center.

Feb 2004
The fourth workshop occurs at Curious Theatre in Denver, coinciding with a public release of all of the Columbine evidence. Survivors, parents, and Columbine students attend.

Apr 2004
The fifth visit to Littleton for the fifth anniversary of the shootings.

Mar 2005
columbinus has its world premiere at Round House Theatre in Silver Spring, MD (Jerry Whiddon, Producing Artistic Director; Ira J. Hillman Managing Director)
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May 2005
Co-World Premiere continues at Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, AK (PJ Paparelli, Artistic Director; Jeffrey Herrman, Producing Director).

Jun 2005
Performed at TCG Conference in Seattle; tours Alaska.

Sep 2005
The fifth workshop occurs at Perseverance Theatre.

Nov 2005
The sixth workshop occurs at NYTW.

Jan 2006
Nominated for 5 Helen Hayes Awards including Outstanding Production, Director, and Actor (Karl Miller), and the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play; won Outstanding Sound Design.

May 2006
NY Premiere at NYTW.