SEATTLE -
With the school year just days away, students and parents are gearing up for some hard lessons in bullying. Reports show one out of three kids is involved in a bullying incident as school. Kids who do get bullied at school are almost three times more likely to carry a weapon on campus. Our legislature has beefed up the anti-bullying laws in our state, but now they're getting some support from a whole new act from the Taproot Theater Company.
It's a play called "Camp Super Friend," where a group of super heroes learn how to treat people with respect and stay calm if they're feeling scared. The action is sometimes campy, and the characters aren't afraid to laugh at themselves. But these actors, some of whom say they were bullied themselves in school, believe this experience is invaluable. Actor Solomon Davis, who plays the role of "Marvel," says, "When I was in school, we didn't have anything like this."
"Marvel" learns to defeat "Professor Nemesis" and make friends in "Camp Super Friend," which runs in schools all across the state and just finished a run in New York. Schools in our state hire on the acting troupe as part of their anti-bullying curriculum, the "Steps To Respect" program. The idea here is to teach young students how to resolve their differences, make friends, and thus prevent the problems that lead up to bullying. "Because it doesn't go away when you get older. Adults deal with the same problems," says Davis. "So the sooner we can give them skills to tackle these problems, the better."
You might think lines like, "I did it! I made a friend!" wouldn't connect with today's kids, but studies show a 30% decrease in bullying incidents with the help of this play and the rest of the Steps to Respect program. Actress Laura Bannister and other cast members get emails or text messages from students who are relieved to hear the lesson of learning to make friends. Bannister says, "Kids who have a strong circle of friends, whether they're popular or not, tend to get bullied less. And so I love that they get that message from this show."
The Taproot Theater is also working on a play to deal with cyber bullying called "New Girl." If you'd like to learn more about Taproot, or book one of these plays at your school, follow this link and look under "touring."
The theater is also holding a free performance of a new play called "Super School," which picks up where "Camp Super Friend" left off. The performance is a Live Theatre Week Family Day event. WHEN: Saturday, October 17, 2009, at 11 a.m. WHERE: Greenwood Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 More information about the new play, and Live Theatre Week, is on this link.
It's a play called "Camp Super Friend," where a group of super heroes learn how to treat people with respect and stay calm if they're feeling scared. The action is sometimes campy, and the characters aren't afraid to laugh at themselves. But these actors, some of whom say they were bullied themselves in school, believe this experience is invaluable. Actor Solomon Davis, who plays the role of "Marvel," says, "When I was in school, we didn't have anything like this."
"Marvel" learns to defeat "Professor Nemesis" and make friends in "Camp Super Friend," which runs in schools all across the state and just finished a run in New York. Schools in our state hire on the acting troupe as part of their anti-bullying curriculum, the "Steps To Respect" program. The idea here is to teach young students how to resolve their differences, make friends, and thus prevent the problems that lead up to bullying. "Because it doesn't go away when you get older. Adults deal with the same problems," says Davis. "So the sooner we can give them skills to tackle these problems, the better."
You might think lines like, "I did it! I made a friend!" wouldn't connect with today's kids, but studies show a 30% decrease in bullying incidents with the help of this play and the rest of the Steps to Respect program. Actress Laura Bannister and other cast members get emails or text messages from students who are relieved to hear the lesson of learning to make friends. Bannister says, "Kids who have a strong circle of friends, whether they're popular or not, tend to get bullied less. And so I love that they get that message from this show."
The Taproot Theater is also working on a play to deal with cyber bullying called "New Girl." If you'd like to learn more about Taproot, or book one of these plays at your school, follow this link and look under "touring."
The theater is also holding a free performance of a new play called "Super School," which picks up where "Camp Super Friend" left off. The performance is a Live Theatre Week Family Day event. WHEN: Saturday, October 17, 2009, at 11 a.m. WHERE: Greenwood Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 More information about the new play, and Live Theatre Week, is on this link.
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
