HOBE SOUND, Fla. — A Martin County High School student is earning national recognition for his powerful perspective on gun violence in schools.
Ian Hodges, a 16-year-old junior, is one of six winners chosen out of hundreds in the ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence national competition. His original 10-minute play, 'Nobody Cares About Death,' explores the emotional and societal toll of gun violence through the lens of an unusual narrator.
WATCH: Hodges says his play is 'very much about apathy'
“My play 'Nobody Cares About Death' follows the literal personification of death, a grim reaper-like character as he’s written a book and doing a TV interview quite like this one,” Hodges said. “And he’s talking about the horrible, horrible sense of gun violence in this country.”
The play focuses on what Hodges describes as a growing indifference toward the staggering number of children and teenagers who die from gun violence.
"'Nobody Cares About Death' is very much about apathy,” he said. “Death is exhausted, he’s tired of this and a large portion of the play is him discussing the children.”
Hodges said the idea was inspired by an experience in fourth grade when he was accidentally locked out of of his classroom’s designated safe space during an active shooter drill.
“You realize during those moments when it seems all too real for me... that death doesn’t discriminate. When faced with a gun, anyone has an equal chance of death,” Hodges said. “Gun violence is a terrifying thing that most people my age are constantly thinking about. It is the number one cause of death of children and teenagers in America.”
The play has resonated not only with the judges, but also with his mother, Wendy Hodges. She said the subject matter strikes a chord for parents.
“It really makes you think and it makes you feel, and as proud as I am of him, this subject is very painful,” she said.
Still, Wendy Hodges explained she is proud of her son for using his voice to address a difficult topic and spark conversation.
On Monday, Hodges’ play will be performed during a nationwide reading event.
“I want the audience to come away and realize, students like me, lives are in their hands,” Hodges said. “We don’t get to vote, they do."
The ENOUGH! initiative encourages young writers to use creative expression to address the issue of gun violence in a 10-minute play. The national project seeks to raise awareness through art and amplify youth voices in a pressing national conversation.
All six winning plays will be staged in more than 30 states, three countries and more than 70 theaters. One of those performances will be at StarStruck Theatre in Stuart at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online here.