Written by Evan Linder
Conceived by Mary Hollis Inboden
Directed by Benno Nelson
World Premiere in Chicago, 2011 with The New Colony
CAST: Sarah Gitenstein, Mary Hollis Inboden, Wes, Needham, Whit Nelson, Nicole Pellegrino, Michael Peters, 

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“The New Colony’s fantastic docudrama about survivors of a playground shooting in Jonesboro…The Warriors wasn’t just good theater. The New Colony’s stubborn refusal to sensationalize tragedy felt very nearly groundbreaking…” – Memphis Flyer

“Critic’s Pick! Evan Linder writes an honest and touching drama based upon company member Mary Hollis Inboden’s attempt to reconnect with her fellow school shooting survivors. It’s insightful to see how people live on and find different ways of coping following a horrific event.” – Windy City Times

★★★  “The show nimbly avoids any suggestion of mawkishness while remaining emotionally true.” – Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune

“Praise should be given to playwright Evan Linder who took Inboden’s concept and shaped it into an inspired piece of theatre, avoiding over-sentimentality or exploitation. You feel you know these people…As my friend said leaving the show last night: ‘This is why I do theatre.'” – Chicago Theatre Addict

2013 Staged Readings raised over $4000 for the Sandy Hook Fund in Newtown, CT:

Victory Gardens Theatre (Chicago) directed by Kimberly Senior

Playhouse on the Square (Memphis)

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Collegiate Productions:
University of Dayton (October 2013) & Rhodes College (February 2014)

At 12 years old, Chicago actress Mary Hollis Inboden survived the Westside Middle School massacre, one of the most shocking events of the 90s. But who writes history when nobody’s the victor? In an honest and irreverent homecoming that mixes fact, fiction, identity, and history, Mary Hollis recruits an ensemble of her former classmates to help capture their stories, not of the tragic event that unites them, but of the daily battles and triumphs that define their present.

Mary Hollis and I are indebted to the Westside Warriors who took the time to be interviewed and share their stories with us. Their memories, hopes and fears are all throughout this script.  -Evan

Photos by Anne Petersen