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Slammed is a play that follows the lives of several students and faculty members of a fictional Australian Highschool over the course of a single week. The story unfolds through a mix of traditional drama and slam poetry and is designed to explore a variety of social issues in contemporary Australia, including youth violence, mental health, family and education.

Act One
The play opens with Emily Lawson performing a slam poem, revealing to the audience her innermost feelings of fear, depression and façade. The moment then opens up to a classroom setting in Mount Barkley High School where teacher Fiona Finlay is conducting a lesson about the Merchant of Venice with skilful ease.

After keeping student Jake Ryan behind for failure to complete his homework, Fiona establishes that he is in fact very bright and attempts to engage with him about plans for his future education but Jake, downtrodden by life, simply asks if he can leave.

In the staff room, teacher Matthew Mitchell reveals to colleagues Nick Benson and Fiona that his wife has suddenly decided she wants a divorce. In the playground, students Reece Morby and Cameron Manton approach Jake looking for drugs. When a fight erupts and is broken up by the teachers, it is discovered that Jake had been carrying marijuana in his school bag. He is issued a 20 day suspension by Principal Helen Vickery with possible expulsion. It later becomes clear that the drugs did not belong to Jake, but were placed in his bag without his knowledge by his father Tony Ryan, who intended to use Jake as an unwitting mule to deliver the drugs to Reece and Cameron. Frustrated with the injustice of his situation, Jake performs a slam to the audience about feeling like he was the kid that 'no one wanted'.

In Matthew Mitchell's science class, Reece and Cameron are determined to make life difficult for their already struggling teacher and antagonize him about a variety of issues, but in particular that he was wearing the same clothes he wore the day before. Finally, in a moment of suspended reality, Matthew explodes into a slam about his state of shock after his wife's demand for a divorce, revealing that he has been locked out of his own house and spent the night in his car.

As the chaos in the classroom forces an anxious Emily to leave for sick bay, her twin brother David Lawson attempts to follow and make sure she is all right. Before David can leave the room however, Reece gives him a hard time for displaying an interest in conservation and the environment earlier in the lesson, leading David to unleash a fast-paced slam about the climate change and mankinds impact on the environment.

That afternoon, Emily wins a battle with her father about being granted permission to walk at a local park as a means of relieving her anxiety. In the park she runs into Jake, and the two teens strike up an unlikely friendship.

Teacher Nick Benson offers for Matt to stay at his house while he sorts out the turmoil with his marriage, but becomes uncharacteristically serious when Matt suggests the two of them could carpool to work. Matt is curious about his shift in demeanour, but does not press the issue further. The next morning in the staffroom, Helen asks Fiona to partake in some drug counselling sessions with Jake and directs Matthew to take on a Year 10 history class. After Matt voices his discomfort at teaching Indigenous history, both Fiona and Nick convince him that it is a topic that must be taught, and taught well, in Australia.

In his classroom, Nick delivers a poignant spoken word poem about the joy and importance of singing as the scene opens up to a lesson with his Year 10 music class. Reece insists on making inappropriate comments during the class and is made to stay behind to clean up. When David challenges Reece about his behaviour, Reece becomes violent and aggressive, and Nick is forced to break up yet another fight instigated by Reece.

Jake, after being convinced by Emily to attend his counselling sessions with Fiona, begins to open up to his teacher about some "hypothetical" things he may have seen involving drugs. The counselling session is interrupted when Nick enters, bearing news that Reece has posted an offensive image online after his conflict with David. Knowing that David is Emily's twin brother, Jake rushes to her house to let her know what has happened. To his surprise, Emily thanks Jake with a kiss but is dismayed to find her disapproving father was watching. As she begins to move toward the house, David steps outside, entranced and confused. He has seen the image Reece posted and is devastated.

Act Two
David slams to the audience about the impact technological enhancement has had on bullying and the hurt and anger he feels at Reeces actions. In the other room, parents Randall and Megan Lawson lecture Emily on her friendship with Jake. Frustrated, Emily storms out of the house and yells to her father that she hates him. She meets Jake later at the park and he advises her on the correct way to tell someone you hate them, leading Emily to realise how deeply Jake is damaged by his relationship with his father. She makes an effort to tell Jake how smart he is and convince him that he can be anything he wants to be.

At Nick's house, Matt answers an awkward phonecall from Nicks father, and Nick reveals the superficial nature of his relationship with his dad due to his fathers disapproval of his homosexuality. Matt in turn confides to Nick the details surrounding the breakdown his relationship with his wife Amy.

At the Ryan house, Jake notices a letter from the school in the rubbish bin and confronts his father about it. A conflict erupts during which Tony laughs at Jake's wish to go to university and tells him he'll 'never be any good'. After an uncharacteristic outburst, Jake storms from the house.

Back at the school grounds, Year 10 student Lucy Ridley delivers a slam to the audience voicing raw heartache over the recent divorce of her parents. As she finishes, she runs into Reece, who is waiting for 'something important' at the school's front gate.

In the staff room, Fiona expresses her concern over Lucy's behaviour during class and catching Fiona off-guard, Matt announces that Amy has told him she is pregnant. Suddenly, Lucy appears at the staffroom door in a state of panic. Distressed, she informs the teachers that David is lying on the ground unmoving after Reece hit him in the head. As the teachers snap to action, Emily is seen clutching David's body and begging David to wake up.

Later in a hospital waiting room the Lawson family wait for news of his condition. After Randall becomes upset at the lack of news, we see that he too shows similar signs of anxiety that his daughter experiences, and Emily uses her knowledge of coping mechanisms to calm him down. Meanwhile, Fiona becomes emotive over the situation and slams to the audience a frustrated and heartfelt 'apology to the youth'.

Later at the park, Jake sprays graffiti on a brick wall and is seen packing up his cans by a police officer. When the police officer takes Jake back home to inform his father, Tony Ryan challenges him to prove that Jake was doing anything wrong and the officer leaves Jake with a warning. After the officer departs, Tony tells Jake that the next time the police come to the house it had better be because Jake is dead. Jake sits on the steps and refuses to enter the house.

Jake and Emily meet once more at the park. Emily tells Jake that David's condition is bad and Jake confides in her that he is going to tell Principal Vickery the truth about his father. They promise to stay in touch and remain friends, and Jake suggests that one day they may end up at the same university. Before seeing Principal Vickery, Jake makes an attempt to have Reece support him during his meeting with the Principal. Reece is not interested and asks Jake if he is 'turning into a nerd'.

In the staffroom, Matt and Fiona express concern over David's condition and Matt pokes fun at Fiona for commenting that she needs to go and "make” a dress for the school's charity dance. As their conversation progresses, Fiona reveals her devastation at being unable to have a child and that it was her infertility that caused the breakdown in her own marriage. Feeling safe in the moment, Matt confides that his wife Amy has left him for his own biological brother.

As Principal Vickery works in her office, Jake appears at her door and asks her if he can speak with her. To both of their surprise, Reece soon appears in the door way also. Sensing they have something serious to tell her, Helen attempts to tell the office staff that she will not be taking any phone calls during the meeting, but they later interrupt to insist she takes an urgent call from the Hospital. As Helen sits in her office looking at both Jake and Reece, the caller informs her that David is dead.

In a final moment of reflection, Jake speaks directly to the audience about the things he has observed, and the barriers that people put up. The entire cast then perform a final piece of spoken word poetry exploring the daily struggle of life.

Characters

 * Jake Ryan - Student
 * Emily Lawson - Student
 * David Lawson - Student
 * Reece Morby - Student
 * Lucy Ridley - Student
 * Cameron Manton - Student
 * Fiona Finlay - English Teacher
 * Matthew Mitchell - Science Teacher
 * Nick Benson - Music Teacher
 * Tony Ryan - Jake's father
 * Randall Lawson - Emily and David's father
 * Megan Lawson - Emily and David's mother
 * Helen Vickery - School Principal
 * Unnamed - Police Officer

Adaptation to Theatre
Auditions for the first production of the play 'Slammed' began in March 2015.