by Gene Marrano
A play staged by the Roanoke Children’s Theatre at the Taubman Museum of Art, and sponsored by the Roanoke County Prevention Council, is being presented through this weekend to high school audiences from all over the valley. “Wrecked,” a play originally created in Canada, highlights what happens to a family when alcoholism threatens to tear it apart. There are also shows this weekend (Oct. 29-30, at 2 p.m. each day) open to the public; tickets are $15.
Each performance of “Wrecked, which is about an hour long, is followed by a panel discussion and feedback from the audience on the subject. The federally funded Roanoke County Prevention Council works to curb abusive behaviors in teens, whether it is drug or alcohol abuse, or bullying. A grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, administered through the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, is funding the production of “Wrecked.”
The 9th graders from all seven high schools in the valley will be taken to see Wrecked at the Taubman. Last year the Prevention Council took part when the Roanoke Children’s Theatre mounted another production geared towards sixth graders, “The Secret Lives of Girls,” which focused on cyber-bullying and technology. “[That’s] when we got to know [Children’s Theatre director] Pat Wilhelms and she asked about other risk behaviors,” said Prevention Council coordinator Nancy Hans, “and we talked about underage alcohol use.”
Wilhelms found a script in Canada, authored by Chris Craddock, which “deals with many, many facets of the use of alcohol,” according to Hans, who has one child at Hidden Valley High School. That includes underage use, and a mother who is an alcoholic. The older siblings try to hide that problem from the younger child, referring to it as mom’s “secret potion.” “Wrecked” is fairly comprehensive, touching on issues such as drinking and driving, how children feel when their parents drink, alcohol poisoning and drinking as a teen due to peer pressure.
Ninth graders were targeted, explained Hans, because at that stage of high school life “true prevention” might still be possible. “The peer pressure hasn’t gotten so great [yet],” said Hans, who helped write an $8000 grant proposal to assist in funding the play. The cast includes high school students, home schooled children and even college graduates.
Students watch the show and then participate with the cast and community members, which includes school officials, law enforcement, and medical representatives. Cast members engage the student audience by asking them questions. Each school population has had “different reactions” to the play. “You can see this range,” notes Hans. “Every school group has been a little different.” One thing stressed to students—brains are not fully developed until age 25, meaning alcohol and drug abuse can threaten that development.
As they leave, students receive a card instructing them what to do if they suspect a family member or a friend has suffered alcohol poisoning, and is unresponsive. Just sleeping it off isn’t the answer, and it can be fatal. “They need to get them to the hospital,” said Hans, who is hoping to schedule town hall meetings at each school soon so students can reflect on what they felt while watching “Wrecked.” They were also asked to fill out a survey about the play.
This was the first major collaboration between the Roanoke County Prevention Council and Roanoke Children’s Theatre; Hans said it wouldn’t be the last. “It’s a very unique way of getting community involved [on] a very difficult subject.”
Hans believes underage drinking should not be a rite of passage, with parents looking the other way because they drank as teens. “[It’s] not inevitable,” said Hans, who encourages parents to come see “Wrecked” this weekend so they can discuss it with their high school student. “It’s preventable – it truly is.”
See roanokechildrenstheatre.org for more on “Wrecked,” which features two matinees open to the public this weekend.