Area middle and high school students sat through a different type of lesson Tuesday.
It was noisy and lively. Sometimes funny, sometimes not.
A group of singers performed “Stand Up! Change Teen Statistics” at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
“Stand Up!” is a musical focused on issues facing teens, such as pregnancy, bullying, self mutilation, drugs and alcohol abuse.
The musical was presented by Reach, Educate, Inspire, a non-profit arts and education foundation from Chicago, dedicated to enhancing communication among teenagers.
The show was created after interviewing more than 60 students of all ages to share real-life situations.
The theme of the musical was to literally “stand up” and not become part of the statistics.
Teen bullying and drug and substance abuse were major themes.
“Every year we change the show to stay up to date with current issues,” actor Dakota Rhodes said. “It also changes depending on the area that we are performing in.”
Which skits they emphasize often are decided after visiting with teachers about prevalent issues in their schools.
THE SKITS offered plenty of statistics for the students to absorb.
One out of six teens self-injure themselves and one out of three teens are victims of bullying.
Sometimes the actors have students stay after their performance and ask for their advice on how to deal with certain circumstances.
“If someone is being bullied we tell them everything is going to be OK and that it is not OK to stay quiet. We tell them that they need to talk someone,” actor Cory Connor said. “The repercussions will be a lot worse if you don’t say anything.”
Each day 160,000 students miss school for fear of being bullied.
