First Day Back – Super Awesome
“First Day Back” tackles the complex situation a school and its students face when one of the students takes their life due to bullying. Rob Salerno, creator/performer, delivers the thoughts and feelings of the teacher who started a safe space after school and the six teenagers who came to reflect.
Salerno also introduces us to Ollie. Ollie approached his first day of high school with the hope that this year if he was just himself, gay, a hopeful pop-singer and fashion lover, he would be accepted and maybe even popular. Alas despite the recent support online for bullied gay teens and TV shows like “Glee” Ollie still decides to take his own life.
“First Day Back” is a thoughtful and tender review of the key issues around bullying and homophobia: who has the power in schools and families when someone is being bullied, who is responsible when someone is at risk for suicide, what does it takes to feel safe at school, and what it means to be an adult. This is perhaps best exemplified by one of the teenagers who states that if what Ollie experienced as a teenager was happening to an adult it would be assault, harassment, libel and slander and yet the school did nothing. I found this to be an incredibility moving piece of work. Salerno’s character transitions are well executed; with a slight change of costume and often clever staging, I was seamlessly taken from character to character. Whether he was portraying the class president or a football player, Salerno gave each character the due they deserved and I was transported back to my time as a teenager and the challenges I faced trying to understand the transition to adulthood and the responsibilities that lay within.
As a queer woman and avid audience member of live performance and film, I have seen a lot of takes on these topics and I want to thank Rob for this piece of work. Rob’s performance is courageous and his writing wise as he delivers many sides to the complex issues of homophobia and bullying and does so without drawing any conclusions. I laughed and I cried and I left hopeful that, although at a painstakingly slow pace, things are changing.