←Recommendations of Closing Doors

This piece was so powerful, compelling, and really struck a major chord with me. I see and can understand both arguments from the characters, but am heartbroken over how one's duty to protecting and saving a child physically and emotionally even during a drill was being reprimanded. It goes to show the society we live in and how prevalent those situations are where teachers are continuing to put themselves on the line for the sake of children. It was beautifully written to show the complexity of this reoccurring issue

Love the deontology and the dynamic relationship between the two faculty members

I loved this piece! I remember having an intense fear of being out and about during an active shooter situation because it happened to me during a drill. It also hits hard because my brother is a middle school theatre teacher and I couldn't bare to lose him. But I know he would feel horrible if a student got hurt instead of him. It brings up conflicting emotions, which I'm sure was the intent.

Having worked many years as a substitute teacher, I have been in the classroom during drills and once even during an actual lockdown, as well as being placed on front door duty many times (and having second-guessed a decision or two) – the ethical and moral debate between the protagonists feels very real; very much the sort of "what-if" one ponders at the end of a bad day.

This play was a fascinating read, and as someone who grew up with constant active shooter drills, it really struck a chord with me. It offers up a discussion about the trauma that both students and educators go through as a result of the way that the American public education system has chosen to handle the threat of active shooters. It explores the notion of responsibility for the safety of children in American schools from the perspective of both the teachers who are actively on the front lines of these situations and the administrators who create the policies surrounding them.

Incredibly compelling piece and commentary on our country's massive failure to our schools and children and our response to it. As an aspiring future educator, I was left asking myself many questions I hadn't thought to ask before.

I feel a connection to this play. As someone who went through these drills, it feels like something I can relate to, and it becomes more prevalent daily. The call-out against protocol and not making decisions is a powerful and beautiful critique of how bureaucratic society has made schools—forcing them to no longer be about the children but the administration.

Seriously, amazing job and thank you for writing this.

Extremely topical

It's no wonder Closing Doors has had so many productions and awards. It's one of the best short plays I ever read. Taut, timely, crackling dialogue, a sadly relatable situation, this is the best type of theatre. Audiences will be arguing over what the last line meant, and what they'd do in the situation. As a teacher I'm so grateful playwright John Minigan has committed to paper what we deal with every day in a chaotic and careless world.

In the UK our schools have fire drills, in Japan they have earthquake drills, it's sad to believe that there are such things as active shooter drills in any school. This desperate short play by Minigan looks at the conflict which must arise in such situations, where surely there are occasions where there is no right or wrong thing to do. Do you follow the rules or stand my your morals, a tough conflict well tackled. Excellent.