This article covers sexual assault as portrayed in a campus theater production.

On Sunday, April 21, my friends and I made the trek to Russell House under Middletown’s endless gray sky to see two of the student-written plays produced by Spike Tape this semester. Taking refuge from the biting wind inside the historic venue, I settled into the front row to begin the first of my two adventures that night: “Prestidigitation,” written and directed by Phoebe Levitsky ’26.

“Prestidigitation” centers around a tight-knit group of high school students as they forge new connections with one another; strengthen old ones; grapple with their feelings about the changes they will face upon the completion of their senior year; and, of course, play Dungeons and Dragons.

I have to confess: I have never played Dungeons and Dragons before. As a matter of fact, the sum of my knowledge about the role-playing tabletop game comes from watching “Stranger Things” (2016). So, I had no expectations for how gameplay would be represented in “Prestidigitation.” 

When the characters began a new campaign toward the end of the show’s first scene, I found myself leaning forward in my seat as Oliver (Derin Helbling ’27)—the group’s wise-cracking yet warm dungeon master—eloquently narrated the start of the group’s grand quest, seamlessly drawing me into a world of magic and mythical creatures for the first time.

Once the campaign had started, and in every subsequent gameplay scene, the overhead lighting in the first-floor lounge dimmed and was replaced by jewel-toned lights that shone from the table around which the actors were gathered. Each of their faces was illuminated in soft light that shifted from green to blue to purple and back throughout the scenes. The table lighting was supplemented by string lights placed on a whiteboard that served as the backdrop for all the scenes.

The opening scene also introduced the audience to Juliet (Hannah Gorevic ’27), a talented, thoughtful songwriter, and her witty, cynical best friend Will (Leo Marin ’27), who describes the pair as “technically cousins, but basically the creepy twins from ‘The Shining.’” Rounding out the outstanding cast are Iza Konings ’26 and Lauren Schweitzer ’27, who play Edith and Sofia, respectively. While Konings’ bold, bubbly Edith is a staple of the group, Sofia is the effervescent, worldly newcomer who has found community among the other teens after moving away from fast-paced New York City with her dad. 

As the plot progressed, I watched as the young characters confronted their feelings about their futures, themselves, and each other. My heart trembled and ached as Juliet worked up the courage to reveal her crush on Edith, only to be told that her feelings were not reciprocated. 

By the end of the hour-long show, I found myself reflecting on that same period at the end of my own senior year in high school, when I had committed to the University but still had a couple of months left to enjoy time with my friends, imagine what college might look like, and study for my dreaded IB exams. I fondly remember that unique moment, standing on the precipice of my future, excited to go ahead but afraid to abandon everything I knew. As the show drew to a close, Oliver’s words perfectly encapsulated the sentiment on my mind.

“You can only go forward,” Oliver says. “You can never go back, no matter what you left behind…. This is what it feels like growing up.”

After a raucous round of applause, I left my seat and transitioned into the Millet Room to see “Scouts,” filled with a sense of nostalgia and, admittedly, a bit teary-eyed.

Written by Susie Nakash ’26 and directed by Molly Volker ’26, “Scouts” focuses on a troop of tween Girl Scouts as they navigate their friendships; discuss the sophisticated, if incomplete, ideas of sex and relationships that they’ve inherited from their parents and pop culture; and face up to the scariest process of girlhood: puberty. 

The show begins with a bright, synchronized recital of a Scout code by all five members of the troop. Throughout the first half of the show, the girls candidly give their opinions on questions of love, sex, and puberty, usually posed by the curious Jodi (Priya Devavaram ’26). The troop’s precocious, self-appointed leader, Marley (Sadie Goldstein ’24), holds court, generally allowing the other girls to give their input, but making sure she has the last word since she “knows a lot about this stuff.” The humor of Marley’s self-confident quips, aided by Goldstein’s subtle physical comedy, was compounded by the strange, hilarious ramblings of Willa (Hannah Sodickson ’26) and the staunch beliefs that the devout, strong-willed Bailey (Sage Saling ’26) never hesitates to share.

A rift forms within the troop due to a tragic event. Marley is sexually assaulted by a boy that her younger sister, Jen (Emily Hammond ’27), has a crush on, and the rumor mill starts turning. Before Marley has the chance to tell her side of the story, or even to process the traumatic experience, her friends have agreed to give her the cold shoulder in retribution for her perceived slight against her sister.

The show serves as a poignant critique of a patriarchal society that encourages young women to use their sexuality to gain attention from men, and which then ostracizes them if they do so, as well as a culture of gossip and shame that pits women against one another. While the show deftly handles the sensitive subject, it is balanced with strong comedic elements. The play ends with a tender moment in which Willa extends an olive branch to Marley.

Nakash shared her motive behind producing the show this semester.

“I began writing ‘Scouts’ at the beginning of last year for a playwriting assignment that I never handed in,” Nakash said. “The next semester, however, I saw a Spike Tape production of ‘Dance Nation,’ and felt really inspired by the comedic tone of the show, [which] catapulted me into writing ‘Scouts’ in its entirety. I finished the whole thing in under two weeks, and I felt ready to share it with the community.”

“Scouts” and “Prestidigitation” are both layered, emotional explorations of the pains of moving from childhood into adult life, transporting me back to points in my own development as I gained the independence, knowledge, and life skills that have made me the person I am today. I can’t think of a better way to spend my Sunday evening.

Sulan Bailey can be reached at sabailey@wesleyan.edu.