Help Bring The Second Best School Shooting to the Stage!

Help Us Bring “The Second Best School Shooting” to the Stage!

How do you process surviving a school shooting...when yours is the one no one cares about?

In The Second Best School Shooting, two best friends, Ava and Parker, grapple with the aftermath of a tragedy that’s quickly overshadowed by a deadlier, more sensational shooting across town. While the other students are given platforms, attention, and a chance to become national voices, Ava and Parker are left behind - angry, confused, and determined to matter, too. What unfolds is a darkly funny, deeply human exploration of grief, fame, and the warped media cycle we’re all trapped inside.

We’re thrilled to bring a workshop production of this powerful new play to life at Atwater Village Theatre in Los Angeles for three performances only:

3269 Casitas Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90039

This production is fully independently produced, and we need your help to cover:

Every dollar helps us make this story possible and helps give voice to a generation raised in the shadow of violence, media spectacle, and survival.

⭐️ Meet the Team:

Written by Alice Stanley Jr.

Directed by Simon J.O. Martin

Ava: Katharine Means

Parker: Stacia Marcum

Produced by Quinn O'Connor

Stage Manager: Casey Collaso

Lighting Designer: Erica Ammerman

Scenic Designer: Jo Siri

Sound & Graphic Designer: Mori Wexler

⭐️ Why This Play Matters

The Second Best School Shooting doesn’t look away. It’s an honest, funny, and disturbing examination of what happens when the world only makes space for certain kinds of grief - and what the rest of us are supposed to do with our silence.

If you believe in the power of independent theater, in centering new voices, and in making space for messy, uncomfortable truths, please consider donating and sharing this campaign.

️️And if you’re in LA, we’d love to see you in the audience! Purchase your tickets here: The Second Best School Shooting

Thank you for supporting this story.

—The Cast & Crew of The Second Best School Shooting