Miss Katelyn’s Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable by Elena Belyea

Montreal, Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland. Welcome to class 3B at Saint Joseph’s Elementary School. Your teacher, Miss Katelyn, knows the world is a dangerous place and her life-saving lesson is about to begin. As the gun control debate rages and teenagers take to the streets in protest, Miss Katelyn’s Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable is a timely exploration of panic, prevention, and paranoia in a post-truth world, as a well-intentioned school teacher conducts an unsanctioned presentation on how to survive a school shooting.

Little Bear Jaws Theatre, Downstage Theatre, Clagary, AB, Edmonton Fringe’s Studio Theatre, Edmonton, AB and Wells’ Sunset Theatre. 2018

Director

Written and performed by ELENA BELYEA
Directed by EMMA TIBALDO
Production/Stage Management and Sound Design by TORI MORRISON
Production Design by ALISON YANOTA
Dramaturgical support by IRIS TURCOTT, TORI MORRISON, EMMA TIBALDO, JON LACHLAN STEWART

“Earns its transformation from laughs to tears as it sinks its teeth into weighty subject matter. By the end, Belyea has made us laugh, terrified us, and tugged at our heartstrings. An A+ show!” - Vue Weekly

" ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ -- On the last day of school, Miss Katelyn (Elena Belyea) decides to teach Class 3B (the audience) about safety. After attendance is called, our jittery, impassioned teacher launches into today’s lesson: how to survive a school shooting. ... Unlike so many other dark comedies at the Fringe, this show earns its transformation from laughs to tears as it sinks its teeth into weighty subject matter. ... An A+ show!" - Vue Weekly

"Finally, there’s Miss Katelyn’s Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable, an initially amusing, finally genuinely disturbing take on the phenomenon of school shootings. The first two rows of the audience are assigned class name tags and solicitously advised by teacher Miss Katelyn (played by the show’s creator, Elena Belyea) on the best ways to outwit a rampaging gunman. Not surprisingly, Miss Katelyn turns out to be a powder keg of neuroses herself, and we, her little charges, gradually realize where the real danger lies ... There’s no denying this show’s sincerity or gut-wrenching power.” - Montreal Gazette.

"Playwright and performer Elena Belyea manages to poke fun at the darkest of subjects, providing a general meditation on surviving the inevitable, whether it’s a shooting or whatever life brings you.” - Cult Montreal
“Miss Katelyn’s Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable is one of the most engaging plays I’ve seen. ... You can’t help but buy into this world that Elena has created and active engagement of the audience is one of the most interesting parts of the show.” - After The Houselights

Lawrence Philomene