The third collaboration between Roanoke Children’s Theatre and the Roanoke County Prevention Council, RAYSAC, Family Services, Mental Health America and Roanoke Valley school systems resulted in tears and silence. That no doubt had a lot to do with the subject matter and the effective manner in which it was dealt with.
Eric & Elliot, which staged student matinees and an evening show for the public at its Taubman Museum home base, deals with teen suicide. The one-act play will now tour area schools until May. By early March, 2500 students in the prime target audience for the play – 8th graders – had seen it.
At a public evening performance recently, youth actors Noah Oldham (Eric), Alex Cutting (Elliott) and Gwyneth Strope (Daisy), from Andrew Lewis, Northside High School and Franklin County respectively, handled the subject of teen suicide with sensitivity and aplomb. Finding someone to reach out to when it seems there is no hope was a major theme in the play.
“How honored I am to be a part of this,” said Strope afterwards; her character considers suicide but is convinced by another who already has that there is still hope, still something to live for. Referring to symbolism in the play that perhaps portrayed all of life’s baggage (stacks of paper-filled boxes), licensed therapist Carol Stockton had this advice: “You don’t have to have everything on your shoulders.” Handle what you can at one time, before tackling the next big issue, noted Stockton.
By the end, as it is slowly revealed that one character is actually dead after committing suicide, there were sobs and sniffles from the audience. During the discussion that followed, one audience member wished Eric & Elliot has been around when he was a child – it might have helped him deal more effectively with a bi-polar parent.
This play was “very special to RCT,” said director Pat Wilhelms, who also doubles as Roanoke Children Theatre’s artistic director. “We looked for a play out there that [dealt] with depression. The message that we leave with our kids is that it’s okay to feel not well.” In other words it isn’t the end of the world, there is hope, things will get better. Occasionally it’s hard for a teen – or an adult – to grasp that.
Amanda Mansfield, the director of development and an actor, also appeared in Eric & Elliott as a grieving parent; her husband Mike Mansfield appeared as Mr. Willoughby. “Its been wonderful and impactful,” said Amanda Mansfield about the effect Eric & Elliot has had on audiences. “We kind of went out on a limb to do this,” said Mansfield.
The other two RCT collaborations with the Prevention Council et al, entitled “RCT4TEENS,” were “The Secret Life of Girls” and “Wrecked,” which tackled the subjects of bullying and alcoholism’s effect on the family. (The next RCT production, Stuart Little from June 6-16, promises to be much lighter.)
Prevention Council coordinator Nancy Hans said it was “going to be really good to look at these kids as they go into 9th grade,” after they saw Eric & Elliott. She noted that student audiences for Eric & Elliot were typically rambunctious at the start but soon quieted down as the subject matter took hold and the actor’s performances became riveting.
Kids might worry about “snitching” but Hans said it was okay to tell an adult if they feared for the safety of another student – that they might bring harm to themselves in some way. “Keep going – get the help you need,” added Wilhelms.
Cutting, a senior at Northside, had a message for other students: “Make sure you watch out for each other. Watch out for those [struggling] – let them know there’s help out there.” Hans said the three plays presented in conjunction with RCT over the past few years are food for thought and discussion starters: “We hope they take these tools [and] make better decisions.”
By Gene Marrano
