Welcome to Script Insights! Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a playwright? In this series, you get a rare and exciting opportunity to hear directly from the authors themselves. Each article offers personal insights from the playwright, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process, character motivations, and thematic explorations that bring their scripts to life.

Below, you’ll find a downloadable blog post offering valuable insights directly from the author of Mick and Beth Rule the School. The downloaded PDF also includes supplemental classroom activities to help you connect the play’s themes and characters with your students.

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Revenge 101 by Nancy Kissam

Reinventing Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s tough. I mean, I’m sure he was a tough dude, withstanding plagues as well as produce catapulted at him by disgruntled audiences. But reading Shakespeare can be tough. In high school, I immediately fell in love with Macbeth. Witches, ghosts, revenge, murder. I was in. All in.

But that’s not often the case with high school students and Shakespeare, which is why I wrote Mick & Beth Rule the School. It was not just my love for Macbeth, but also my desire to write a play based on one of the Bard’s best tragedies, set in a world in which teenagers can relate: High School.

Mick, with the help of his twin sister Beth seek revenge against any student who bullies them or stands in their way to power: being Class President. Under Beth’s influence, Mick, who is meek and mild at the beginning, gradually becomes more and more power hungry after Izzy’s (school Goth/Wiccan) premonition that he’ll become Class VP. Beth believes Mick deserves more, so they devise a plan to get rid of the current President Stacey Duncan to make way for Mick. Mick suspects that his best friend Banks is onto him, so he gets rid of him as well, taking advantage of Banks’ lethal lemon allergy.

Not even Izzy and Beth can stop Mick, who is going off the rails until his former best friend Duffy steps in, revealing an unexpected twist. Despite Mick’s trail of carnage, all is well in the end.

Shakespeare’s Themes

True to the original play, Mick & Beth Rule the School contains the same dark themes – witches, ghosts, revenge, and murder. Unlike Macbeth, Mick & Beth takes a darkly comic approach to murder, suicide, bullying, and alcohol abuse which makes it palatable—but still resonates with teenagers today.

For example, Mick is bullied. It’s evident in the way the football player Deck berates him and the way Stacey Duncan condescends to him. We get a sense that this has been going on for quite some time. But it’s on the twins’ birthdays where they decide to do something about it.

Also, when it’s revealed that Beth killed herself a year earlier on her birthday, it’s also discovered that it was the result of bullying. Not only is it shocking news to the audience but to Mick who has been in denial for a large part of the play. And then, we get to see in real time his anguish at the news.

As far as murder, in today’s world, we unfortunately witness the country’s school shootings, and how it’s often a result of bullying. This goes hand in hand with Mick’s desire for power and revenge: he’ll stop at nothing—even murder his best friend—if it means maintaining power.

Performance Suggestions

It’s important to keep things as easy as possible for you and your production team. Remember this is a dark comedy and campy elements will only keep the production light and fun, so here are some suggestions:

• Right at the start, the witches establish the tone of the play when attempting to conjure the dead. Izzy is seriously committed to Witchery, whereas Cherimoya and Fig are more-or-less along for the ride.
• Cherimoya “Chair” brings her hilarious comedic relief during the conjuring ceremony when she suggests using her hamster’s hairs instead of “hair of a Finney Rat.” She also has trouble pronouncing Izzy’s “given mystic epithet, ”Virago Brimstonia Conflagoron.” So, it would be great to cast someone with excellent comic timing.
• Banks, too, needs to be delightful. He’s a fun-loving best friend who seeks attention in a joyful way.
• Stacey Duncan is a power-hungry leader whose comic timing and snarky attitude need to be mean-spirited, yet comical.
• Izzy’s premonitions should be fun, but also a bit nightmarish (lighting changes help).
• The cars can be made from papier mâché and attached to the actors – overalls style. This is especially amusing when Banks is pursued by Mike and Jason in the woods.
• Stacey Duncan’s mermaid costume needs to be absolutely ridiculous. Think shiny sequined blue. She should shuffle on stage while wearing it.
• It’s comical when Banks shows up as the dead bartender during the “Summer in December” dance, but Mick’s unhinged reaction needs to be very real.
• Rosie Lynn, Donald, Malcom and Duffy are a “Scooby Gang.” It needs to be evident that they’ve become friends, seeking the same goal: destroy Mick.
• Act 2 is darker than Act 1, but we get a break from the tension in moments like Ms. Hecky in 2.7 where she momentarily “possesses” Izzy. Both actors playing Ms. Hecky and Izzy can have a lot of fun with this scene.
• Unlike Lady Macbeth’s tormented “Out damned spot” scene, Beth has a scene with a fish puppet that needs to be both hilarious and crazy. The fish being hilarious, and Beth being crazy.
• Beth’s death is revealed in split stage, with Beth laying on figurative train tracks, while Duffy reveals the truth to Mick. This scene should not be funny but still carry the weight of Mick’s torment.