Malaspina instructor guides new play about risky teenage behaviour

A new play that warns young people about the dangers of risky behaviour, including drugs, alcohol and peer pressure, will be performed at the Cowichan Theatre in Duncan on November 21 to 23, and then taken on tour to middle schools and high schools on Vancouver Island.

Called Crystal Diagnosis, the play was collectively created by a cast of high school students and mental health clients with the guidance of Malaspina University-College Criminology instructor Steve Noble.

 The 45-minute play takes the audience through one year in the life of a fictitious 15-year-old who gets involved in risky behaviour (drugs, sex, alcohol, peer pressure, crime - including cheating in school.)

 "The play includes improvisation, multimedia elements, and information about the dangers and consequences of certain behaviours for kids from middle school onward," explained Noble. "The audience will be called upon to take minor parts as the play progresses, and there will be a 45-minute discussion with the cast following each performance."

 Noble said the play will appeal to post-secondary students studying Education, Criminology, Sociology and Theatre, and to parents with children currently in the school system.

 The interactive play is based upon interviews with youth who have or are engaging in risky behaviours. Noble guided the collective creation process while working last summer with a group of high school students and adults living with mental disorders.

"When theatre is mentioned, often the first thing people think of is a ‘script’" Noble said, "but through popular theatre and performative inquiry, the ‘script’ doesn't exist in the usual sense. Improvisation is used to ‘tease’ material from the experiences and bodies of individuals who live through particular issues. The only textual artifact - or script - is the transcription of the recorded play. Therefore, every show is unique and open to change."

Noble guided development of an earlier play called Shaken: Not Disturbed…with a twist! That play, based on Noble's doctoral research, was performed last summer. Some of the original cast members star in Noble’s latest project.

Crystal Diagnosis will be performed at the Cowichan Theatre on Nov. 21 at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and on Nov. 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for people with low incomes (seniors, students, people with disabilities and the unemployed) and $10 for everyone else. Tickets can be purchased through the Cowichan Theatre box office at (250) 748-7529). Seats are limited.

 or further information about upcoming school tours, call Steve Noble at (250) 715-1815 or visit his web site at www.actingoutprojects.org