←Recommendations of Closing Doors

John Minigan does a wonderful job of reminding us that policy and moral actions aren't always aligned. The situation feels urgently real.

A powerful, urgent play that highlights how schools being forced to consider gun violence burdens them with decisions no human should ever have to make. Minigan offers nuance to an often over-simplified issue, doing a good job of emotionally investing the audience without getting unnecessarily graphic.

I am blown away by this play. This is a timely, urgent, necessary play and I’m happy to see how many productions it’s had. In its taut ten minutes Minigan’s skillful play puts us right in the room with these two characters, both educators in an elementary school, making their situation feel so real and showing us the emotional complexities and painful ramifications of school-shooter drills, something many of us will never have to experience. I hope CLOSING DOORS sees many more productions.

This piece is as important as it is dynamic. As a person with many friends and family members who are elementary educators, I found the plight of these characters and their situation distressingly realistic. So incredibly well written.

This piece was very active. Both characters had strong wants that opposed each other and they both went about getting their want in varying ways that kept the reader on their toes. Very nicely done.

Because it is so well-written, so believable, and so timely, CLOSING DOORS Is absolutely maddening, which I believe is John Minagan’s intention. That elementary schools need active shooter drills is maddening. That the protocols are so rigid that traumatizing a student is an acceptable outcome is maddening. Like zero tolerance policies that are actually zero compassion. Ok, I need to settle down after reading this. It’s brilliant. I hope it gets even more people worked up.

This continues to be a heart-wrenchingly timely piece not just for its subject matter, but thanks to the vivid, dynamic workplace relationship Minigan portrays with brisk dialogue raising necessary, uncomfortable question after question.

I enjoyed this play because it had a lot of tension and active conflict. The dialogue was also very impactful and made it feel like we can really understand, in a sense, where both the characters are coming from.

This play raises a question as to what is morally right, putting our human instincts to the test. Beautifully written and personable.

I couldn't help but have a seething hatred towards Valerie with her 'policy and procedures' attitude, that is how real John has made the two characters in this incredibly powerful piece. The idea that two people have to debate what happened and how Sandra acted speaks volumes of our society. If you are looking for a powerful production that offers an emotional rollercoaster following what is a terrifying event in anyone's life then this is the piece for you and it offers a wonderful opportunity for two female performers to play characters that are amazingly real and brilliantly constructed.