The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

SBCC play “Good Kids” explores aftermath of sexual assaults

The Channels Art Pages | STAFF REVIEW
Courtesy+Art
The Theatre Group at Santa Barbara City College
Courtesy Art

“Good Kids” is an eye-opening student-produced play that tells a story about modern-day teenage rape culture.

With alcohol, partying, and young adults experimenting with new things, it was no surprise that the high school party would stir up conflict.

The play touches on a very important issue in society that isn’t always addressed. Chloe, a high school student who was raped, is forced to deal with the repercussions of that night and the nasty rumors spread by her peers.

The opening scene gets right to the point. The students are arguing about whether Chloe was actually raped and whose fault it was. It was frustrating having to watch so many people that were against her when she was the victim of a sex crime that she had no control over.

Story continues below advertisement

Chloe wakes up nearly naked in a random basement that she says smells like cigarettes and beer. I can only imagine how awful that would be.

She sees a video posted on YouTube in which three guys make sexual jokes and rape a girl, leaving Chloe devastated when she realizes it was her.

Selina Murdy, playing the part of Chloe, did a wonderful job displaying the emotional damage that she feels because of the events that she wishes would just disappear.

The characters continuously reminded the audience that raping someone has a life-long impact on the victim and the people involved. I didn’t expect to leave the play feeling so astonished, it made me realize that these scenarios could and do really happen.

The play feels a bit unrealistic, because it seems rare that a group of high school football players would get away with gang-raping a girl and that the entire school would say she is to blame, but unfortunately these things do happen. It was hard to watch.

It requires a very mature audience to attend this performance because of the excessive cursing and the acting out of two men taking pictures while they invade an unconscious young girl.

Overall, the actors did well showing the importance of sex crimes and how serious this issue is. The play is a continuous he-said, she-said game where the high school kids involved try to cover up a night that they thought would be forgotten but instead becomes the talk of the whole high school.

The play “Good Kids” will continue to run through Nov. 21 at the Jurkowitz Theatre on West Campus.

More to Discover