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Riveting Stage Plays Tackle Bullying at School
"Why don't we like her, again?"
"Because she's different." Most adults in the audience of Taproot Theatre's show Star Power can remember either having said these words, or the pain of having heard them. For the children watching the performances the memories aren't distant. For them, the daily struggle to keep egos afloat in a harsh and judgmental world is all too fresh.
Based on the Committee for Children STEPS TO RESPECT anti-bullying program and set in a fictional preteen "American Idol" knockoff called "Talent Quest," Star Power explores the anxiety of being judged in front of peers. A talented, handsome boy named Trick is bullying his fellow contestants in order to win the contest and become popular. At various times we see Trick hurting, frightening, threatening, and excluding his peers to achieve his goal.
Taproot is a Seattle-based theater company with a 20-year tradition of producing plays rooted in social issues. The decision to provide touring shows-plays that venture onto school campuses throughout the Northwest-is only a few seasons old.
Drama Brings Anti-bullying Lessons to Life
According to Taproot development director Margaret Schultz, more than 60,000 kids will see either Star Power or Witness before the end of the 2007 school year. Using theater as an educational tool isn't new, she admits. "What's unique is pairing drama with ongoing curriculum. Students can apply what they see in the play to the lessons their teachers are stressing as part of the STEPS TO RESPECT program."
Juliet Kandel describes the partnership between Taproot and Committee for Children-a nonprofit developing research-based safety and violence-prevention messages for 7 million children in 25,000 schools-as a natural one nourished by comparable missions. Kandel is a former educator and staff member at Committee for Children, which is also headquartered in Seattle.
According to Schultz, "We knew these themes resonated deeply with children. The expertise provided by Committee for Children added another layer. Their prevention curriculum offered a building block, ensuring that the ideas represented dramatically grew from a solid educational base, one of value to any school."
In this context, Taproot manages to teach the audience without their noticing. During Star Power, the actors repeat the "Three Rs" of bullying three times in a row, managing to fix the idea of "recognizing, refusing, and reporting" in the audiences' heads without boring them or preaching at them.
The plays' profound effects aren't limited to particular types of schools. Public, private, urban or rural-similar enthusiasm and thoughtfulness seems to greet each performance, actors report. In addition to Washington State, this year the casts will also travel to Oregon and Idaho.
Plays Prompt Debate, Feeling, Discussion
The emotion generated can extend long after the play ends. Following the performances, kids in the audience often begin to tell their own bullying stories. And later on, principals may receive bullying reports, because the children can compare what is happening to them to what they saw in Star Power, and recognize it as bullying.
One Auburn, Washington educator commented, "Kids flooded the counselor's office for the rest of the day. The play brought a lot of feelings to the surface, and they wanted to talk, which was great."
The depth of feeling engaged can make it critical that the actors train beforehand to keep their responses consistent with the curriculum. Kandel works with the actors during their rehearsals to make sure they are confident about how they handle their audiences' questions.
Students' admiration of the actors—most of whom are in their 20s—is evidenced by rapt attention. Most the products of professional training and university theater programs, the young thespians bring energy and enthusiasm to improvised stages which can range from gym floors to cramped classrooms.
Shows Reinforce Curriculum
Riveting as the shows are, they can't duplicate full-bore anti-bullying curriculum, educators say.
"Research tells us that one-time events aren't likely to bring significant behavioral change in an area as complex as anti-bullying, which calls for a multifaceted, complex approach," Kandel stresses.
The plays don't just engage the younger children. Teachers, school staff, and teenagers alike are absorbed in the action, and adults appreciate some of the more sophisticated humor. And speaking of adults, there's even a sub-plot. One of the "Talent Quest" judges doesn't seem to like anything he sees, and berates the female judge in public about how nice she is to the contestants. That's right: he bullies her! Even adults do it!
And what of our handsome, talented Trick who bullies his peers? We soon learn that bullying is all he knows. When the show's announcer tells him that bullying is unacceptable, Trick whines, "What about the rest of the world getting away with it?" and goes on to reveal that his older brother and friends bully him at every opportunity. But his peers-including the ones he was bullying-and the announcer help Trick realize that "A real star is a great performer on stage and in real life."
More Information
Seattle's KOMO 4 (ABC) aired a story featuring the partnership between Committee for Children and Taproot. Read the story and watch a clip here.