Youth theater troupe tackles tough issues at middle school

Posted February 26, 2014 by the Franklin Park Herald–Journal.

Story by Mark Lawton, writer for the Chicago Tribune

For example, one troupe member sitting on the bleachers and disguised in the blue clothes of students, yelled out that someone was "gay" and worse. He was led out of the gym but later came back and used the moment to talk about intolerance in the wider world.

With the song "Imagine" by John Lennon playing in the background, he invoked real life incidents including the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the choking to death of Eric Garner in New York City and the ensuing shooting of two New York City police officers, and the shooting death of 15–year–old Demario Bailey on the South Side of Chicago in December as he walked to school.

The 12–member troupe also spoke of youth suicide by those who were bullied, complete with blown–up photos. Jennifer Higgins, the mother of middle school student Joshua Wilson of Geneseo, Ill., spoke for a few minutes about her son's suicide."He never told anybody that anything was wrong," Higgins told the roughly 400 students in the bleachers.

There were more upbeat moments as well. An 11–year–old Mexican–American boy who sang the national anthem during an NBA game read racist comments on Twitter. He handled it well, later tweeting that people shouldn't pay attention to negative people.

A woman who found herself homeless as a teenager after her drug–addicted parents died made it through high school, got a scholarship to Harvard University and became a successful author and motivational speaker.

Northlake students have a number of places they can go if they're facing any issues, Principal Sunil Mody said. Options include coaches, teachers, teacher aides, friends, the principal's office, anonymous or signed notes.

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