Virtual 'Banned in Boston' tackles the awkwardness of school during a pandemic

Going back to school during a pandemic is weird. It's a tricky balancing act between the desire for normal education and normal life for kids and public health. A new virtual show finds the humor in that weirdness, and it's being presented virtually through the yearly fundraiser "Banned in Boston," presented by Rehearsal for Life, a local nonprofit empowering local youth through the arts. Tim Meadows, an actor known for his roles on SNL, “The Ladies Man,” “Mean Girls” and more, and is part of the production, joined GBH's Morning Edition hosts Paris Alston and Jeremy Siegel along with Faith Soloway, who wrote the musical. This transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

Paris Alston: So I know that you two go way back, but how did all of this come together?

Faith Soloway: Oh gosh, I asked him and he said yes.

Tim Meadows: We've known each other for a long time. So yeah, I'm sure Faith would do the same thing for me if I asked. So I said yes right away.

Jeremy Siegel: So tell us a little bit about what the show is. I mentioned the weirdness and the humor of kids going back to school. What exactly should people tuning into the show expect?

Soloway: Well, it's a musical. It's science fiction. It's people singing who shouldn't be singing. But at the same time, there's a lot of charm in that because I really have the public school teachers singing and, oh my gosh, one of our teachers, this is a real singer, so it just she's amazing.

Meadows: And just in reading it, it seems to be a lot of self-deprecating humor in it for everyone involved. And so I think when you see people like myself or other people that are in the script, it's going to be fun for people to see them make comments about themselves.

Soloway: Yeah, Tim's bringing up that it's meta. We're playing ourselves.

Alston: And Tim, you played a number of different roles, including the role of a principal more than once, both in "Mean Girls" and on the ABC sitcom "Schooled." So this whole idea of going back to school in general, is it like the perfect topic for you, right?

Meadows: Well, basically, I'm playing myself in this thing, and I have already told my managers and agents I'm not doing any more principal or school teacher role over it. I'm done. I don't care if it's Spielberg directing. So, you know, I basically just put on a sweater vest and the tie, and I'm done ready to go.

Siegel: So Faith and Tim, you've both worked at the highest levels of production. And in this production, you mentioned you're working with people in politics, you're working with our colleagues,Jim Braude and Margery Eagan. They're funny on air, but I don't know if I'd consider them comedians in a way that both of you are, right. And definitely Jim and Margery, you know, I don't think would consider themselves stage singers, musical artists. How do you put something like this together?

Soloway: It's funny, I listen to them a lot. So I was able to write something that Jim looked at and he was like, "how did you know this is probably what we would do if we were in a little spat or something?" You know, a lot of people who are doing this have never had this kind of experience. They're sitting at desks or they're calling meetings. And so this weirdly was fun for them. So I'm lucky in that way.

Meadows: And I also think that people aren't as afraid to be on camera or to perform anymore like they used to be. I think things have really changed with phones and social media. Everybody's a performer. Andy Warhol was wrong. It's quicker than 15 minutes.

Siegel: We mentioned earlier that this production is presented by Rehearsal for Life. It's a local nonprofit working with local youth through the arts. Can you tell us a little bit about the goal of this production?

Soloway: Social, emotional learning is kind of almost a new pedagogy and education. So I think in the last 10 years, people are starting to understand that if children, if students have an awareness of how they're treating each other, then they're building a better world for themselves. And so I'm going deep here, but I feel like what we're doing with the children is giving them a space to dream, to have a voice, to make decisions, to make critical decisions, giving them the safety of play of improvisation, of role play. And my goodness, in the last two years with what's happened, the social anxiety that students are facing is so high. So I'm hoping that the people who are watching this will see the necessity for programs like Rehearsal for Life.

Alston: And Tim, you mentioned how we all sort of have become performers with the internet, right? With social media, everyone's on TikTok. So for young people who are being exposed to the arts through Rehearsal for Life, or for people who are going to see this performance, what would your advice be to them about how to really find their niche in that performance space?

Meadows: I mean, I can speak from my own personal experience with improv. It would sound dramatic, but it literally gave me everything that I have. And not only did it give me confidence and the ability to speak in front of people without being nervous or it gave me confidence in my ideas. And yeah, there have been other times, like after I left SNL and I got back into performing, I went through a divorce and it was really rough, and I started going out to do improv again. And it really saved my life. And I'm sure programs like this — when people are learning improv at a younger age, I think it's just such a positive thing because it really does change the way you look at yourself and how you look at other people.