The atmosphere was reminiscent of a high school play, or at least that’s what my date leaned over to whisper into my ear as the lights dimmed. With its knots of young people huddled in their respective corners and coats hung up on wooden pegs near the stage, in a way I did feel transported back to high school, the fun part where I joked around with my friends in the stage wings before a production.

There’s free popcorn on a table to the right, and interviews for Letterbox are being held in the hallway. Giggling students crouch over the microphone and compare notes…