Here's what I knew about Star Wars: Rogue One when I walked into the Riverview cinema Friday night: "It's the story of how the Rebel Alliance gets the plans for the Death Star that Princess Leia sends to Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope." As someone who has seen most the Star Wars movies, and enjoys them for the fun, thrilling, cultural touchstones they are, that was good enough for me. 

True to Star Wars form, Rogue One delivered on the action, thrills and nifty space gadgets and weapons. More to my pleasure, it picked up where last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens left off (sort of, because The Force Awakens is actually set decades after the action of Rogue One) with the presence of a strong female lead character. In this case, it's Jyn Erso, played by Felicity Jones, who I have to admit is one of the actresses whose name I know but couldn't pick out of a lineup to save my life. Jyn is the daughter of Galen Erso, the Death Star's lead architect, albeit one with a conscience - he designs the Death Star with that one small but fatal flaw which always makes me think of this scene from Family Guy.  

Jyn is conscripted by the Rebel Alliance to help track down her father, whom she hasn't seen since she was a child, She and a rag-tag, RACIALLY DIVERSE band of Rebels, Imperial defectors, and two mercenaries (whose presence on this mission is interesting but never really justified to my satisfaction) set off across the Galaxy to obtain the Death Star plans so that a dude who's currently shooting womp rats and drinking blue milk on Tatooine can eventually destroy it. Like any good hero, Jyn is somewhat reluctant at first, but comes around to the importance of what she must do. She trades barbs with K-2SO, a reprogammed Imperial droid who gets the film's best lines, and is voiced by the guy who played Pastor Veal on Arrested Development. She's good with a blaster. She is devastated when her father dies. She is angry when she finds out that fellow Rebel Cassian Andor was actually sent on the mission to kill her father, but eventually forgives him so that they can get those Death Star plans. She does not moon over Cassian, or any of the other men she's surrounded by in the Millennium Falcon 2.0, or whatever the ship they're flying on is called, nor do they moon over her. She is a bad bitch who has to get shit done to save the Galaxy, and she does not have time to try and hook up with any of you dudes, thank you very much. When she does need assistance from Cassian, it's not because she's a damsel in distress, but because sometimes, when you're fighting the evil Galactic Empire, it's just better to have backup, regardless of your gender.

And when the Death Star plans are finally in Princess Leia's hands (thanks, technology!) and everything has gone to shit because the Empire is still evil and the Death Star is operational enough to nuke cities if not planets...Jyn and Cassian still do not kiss. Sure, there are a few moments of heavy breathing and lingering looks when you think they might, but...nope. No romance here, folks, just camaraderie, trust and friendship built over the course of an exceedingly dangerous mission, and that's how it's going to remain until they meet their fiery end on a Scarif beach. The irony, of course, is that, to me at least, impending untimely annihilation is the best excuse for a completely gratuitious random make-out session. What have you got to lose? I can think of a million worse ways to shuffle off the mortal coil than in the comforting embrace of a warm body, pregnancy or disease isn't a concern, and you don't have to have that awkward "So, what are we now?" conversation the next morning.

But I see what you're doing, Rogue One, and I respect it. It's undeniably refreshing to watch a movie about strong, determined women and men working together to accomplish a dangerous, important goal without anyone trying to bone anyone else. I know Rogue One is a standalone film, and we won't see these characters again, but there are more Star Wars movies coming down the pike, and it would be great if they continue to follow in Rogue One's footsteps. A new hope, indeed.

​-Kristen M. Scatton 

Last weekend marked the closing of the show Good Kids: Playing With Music, which was directed by myself and part of ReVamp's Education outreach. This performance was co-produced by Cincinnati Actor's Studio & Academy, a process-based high school training program in Cincinnati, Ohio where I teach movement and physical acting techniques. This production was based on the play by Naomi Iizuka. The play itself is influenced by the Steubenville High School rape case in 2012, where a group of high school students, including football players, sexually assaulted an incapacitated girl and documented the acts on social media.

“Something happened to Chloe after that party last Saturday night. Something she says she can't remember. Something everybody is talking about. Set in a contemporary Midwestern high school, inundated with social media, smartphones and YouTube – "Good Kids: Playing with Music" explores a sexual encounter gone wrong and its very public aftermath. Who's telling the truth? Whose version of the story do you believe? And what does that say about you? With the addition of pop music throughout this script, this devised musical challenges the audience to examine what creates these toxic attitudes we have today surrounding gender roles, female sexuality and sexual assault.” 

As I looked into each moment of this play, a theme that kept coming up was the influence of pop culture. The world we surround ourselves with has power over us. The music, the movies, the commercials. So I decided to explore pop music, produced after 2000, to explore what songs add to the desire to stand up for your community and fight for one another versus songs that divide, isolate and insult. Songs include “Blurred Lines,” “Brave,” and “Who You Are,” to name a few. There were about eleven songs overall added into the script, and with only a piano to accompany the vocals, the audience was able to listen to each song's lyrics. This way they could start to comprehend what exactly we are supporting when we start to bob our head along without thinking.

Between toxic masculinity, women acting against one another, influence of social media, ignorance of entitlement, lack of responsibility and the surrounding pop culture, we begin to see how each and every one of us needs to take charge. After each show we had a talk back with the executive director of the Center for Family Solutions to discuss 'how can we come together as a community to fight against sexual assault?' After all, it is on us to stand up for the victims and create a world where all people can feel safe, protected and welcomed. It's through honest education and positive communication that we can create actual good kids in the world.

It was invigorating to be part of such a powerful discussion and production. It was also inspiring to have the students come in each night and share their own story and how this show had been influencing them. For instance, one of the guys in the cast is a junior at an all-boys jesuit high school and he told me that earlier in the week one of his friends had sent his a graphic video. He told me that not only did he ask his friend not to send it to him, but asked him to stop sending it around to anyone. And also looked into consent where the video, and people involved, were concerned. He said he was nervous to speak out to his friend, but he had learned that was the best way to help others.

Each of the students started to see that sexual assault and rape is not just done by a stranger in an alleyway, but something that affects most people at some point in their life. Not only did they start to understand this, they each started to speak up against assault. This is why we do what we do. We create theatre that can promote conversation and change surrounding social issues. And if we can influence the younger generation while we do it, then we can guarantee a better world that the one with which we started.

-- Erin Carr