10/21/2026
**Grants in Action**
Theatre preps SBRHS students to see 'To Kill a Mockingbird'
By GEORGE AUSTIN
SOMERSET - The director of education for the Huntington Theatre in Boston came to Somerset Berkley Regional High School yesterday to do a pre-performance workshop with students who will be attending the "To Kill a Mockingbird" play on Oct. 27.
Meg O'Brien went over the history of the time period when the play is set in the 1930s, the racial injustice issues that are part of the story and how the court system works with the students. She said the play covers prejudice, bias and corruption.
Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing and A Few Good Men, adapted "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the stage. In the play, when upstanding lawyer Atticus Finch seeks justice for a wrongfully accused man, he is tested by the limits of his virtue and the uneasy work of forgiveness in a world ruptured in two. Atticus, a lawyer in 1930s Alabama, defends Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of ra**ng a white woman, while his children Scout and Jem witness the moral and social challenges of their community.
O'Brien talked to the students in the SBRHS class about how the character of Finch took the case because he believes in the law and the justice system and could prove Robinson's innocence beyond a reasonable doubt, while Robinson doesn't have trust in the justice system because of how it has treated Blacks. The investigation found that the attack on the woman was done with two hands, but Robinson did not have use of his left arm. It comes out in the trial that the woman who was allegedly r***d was abused by her father and there were accusations of in**st. But the father picks Robinson as his scapegoat. Robinson is convicted by a jury of all white male farmers in the play, despite there being no evidence of him having committed the crimes, and then someone says he is killed in prison by white guards who shot him while he was climbing a fence to get out. O'Brien said a trial is supposed to be done in front of a person's peers so that it is as fair as possible and bias is removed from the proceedings. She said the decision is supposed to be made based on evidence and the prosecution has the burden of proof. O'Brien said enslavement was a big economic driver for the country. She said when slavery ended, the South had a hard time because people who owned and worked on land lost income and their way of life. She said they had to redefine how they would work the land, bring in income, put food on their tables and survive. O'Brien said the Jim Crow laws were a way around the new laws. She said people still found ways to treat Black people like second class citizens.
O'Brien said there will be racial slurs and hate speech in the play and students will see how that has been taught and passed down from generation to generation.
O'Brien said the play is being performed in Boston today because some of the issues in it are still happening. She said it delivers a message and asks important questions. O'Brien asked the students in the class if the country has made progress on some of the issues in the play. A lot of students in the class raised their hands. She then asked them if there is more to do to address the issues and a lot of them raised their hands again.
There will be three classes of sophomores and one class of freshmen attending "To Kill a Mockingbird" at the Huntingtown Theatre at the end of October. The classes are taught by teachers Nicole Copeland and Sherri Gosson.
O'Brien said that during the play, actors will be coming into the aisles, so that it will be like the students are in Maycomb, Alabama.
O'Brien said Atticus Finch is known as one of the best characters in American literature because he takes the case knowing he will not get praised by anybody and people will say terrible things about him because he is defending a Black person. Finch doesn't want to see Robinson, who has young children, go to jail. Robinson wants to plead guilty so that he will go to prison for 18 years, rather than being found guilty in court and receiving the death penalty because he does not want his kids to have to go through life knowing their father was executed. O'Brien said Finch believes there is good in everyone and wants his kids to believe that, but his kids don't agree.
After talking about "To Kill a Mockingbird," O'Brien asked the students if they agreed or disagreed that children need to be protected from the injustices of the world. The students in the class disagreed. She asked the students if someone is innocent until proven guilty. Most agreed, but some disagreed because they felt there is deeper meaning to the subject. They pointed out that Robinson was convicted in the story, but not proven guilty. O'Brien asked the students if fear is the main reason for the existence or prejudice. One student said anger causes prejudice. O'Brien said the character of the father of the woman who was allegedly r***d was still angry because of the Civil War and his parents blamed Black people in Alabama for losing the war which caused them to have to learn a new way of life. The father believes Finch has abandoned his own race. O'Brien asked the students if they had compassion for the father's daughter who was allegedly r***d. One student said she did have compassion for the daughter because her father beat her up. O'Brien asked the students if they had compassion for the father. One student said he didn't, pointing out that the father was racist. One student said the father deserved some compassion because he was brought up with discrimination when he should have been taught to love and accept Black people.
Gosson said the workshop done by O'Brien at the high school prepared the students for the play and what to think about when they watch it.
The trip to the Huntington Theatre to see "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the students is being funded by the Somerset Berkley Education Foundation.
