A Line in the Sand

Program A:

A performance of A LINE IN THE SAND at your school, followed by a guided post show discussion with the students: The performance is typically the length of a class period (45 to 50 minutes). The post show discussion works best when it’s done immediately after the performance in small groups of students during their next class period. Students tend to feel more comfortable opening up about their experiences with bullying and talking about their feelings in smaller groups.

Depending on the size of the student body, I often do one evening show for one grade (e.g., the freshmen) and any parents who would like to see the play, and then the following morning I do two shows back to back, in order to accommodate all the students.

Program B:

1. A performance of A LINE IN THE SAND at your school, followed by a guided post show discussion with the students

2. A 10 session writing and performance workshop to teach a group of students how to create an original play based on their experiences in school and their feelings about the issues surrounding school violence and/or bullying. Students can choose to write in the form of either a solo play with monologues or an ensemble play with dialogue.

Services:

1. I can come to your school for a pre-planning meeting before the performance date to discuss how best to organize the post show discussion. I can Skype or do a phone meeting, if a physical visit is not possible. We can discuss the best way to guide the discussion and what kinds of questions might be best to ask in order to address the particular needs of your student community.

2. I can do a follow-up meeting with a group of teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, and student representatives to discuss options for violence prevention at your school. I can also meet with the PTA to discuss improving parent child communication. The post show discussions I’ve had with parents in the past have been very helpful and thought provoking.

Possible actions for school violence prevention:

Students can get involved with CPYV (The Center to Prevent Youth Violence), or a local chapter of a gun control organization such as, The Brady Campaign, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (or a similar group in your state), or Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense. They can get involved in political activism, state lobbying, etc.

If you don’t already have a conflict resolution program in place at your school, we can discuss how you might form one and train peer counselors, etc.