Shine A Light
Theater Program
Helping Teens With Depression Through Self Expression
A program to designed to bring Suicide Prevention & mental health awareness through theater
Rates of Teen Suicide are up over 50 percent in the last decade. According to a recent study, feelings of depression and thoughts of suicide are on the rise among 8th-12th graders. In 2018, more than 1 in 3 kids experienced symptoms of depression and 1 in 5 considered suicide.
Our goal is to SHINE A LIGHT on the struggle of depression that many young people are experiencing & to harness the power of theater as positive catalyst to help create a healthy discussion after the play with young people who may be struggling with mental health issues.
FIRST HALF
This 2-part event will be the performance of The Seatbelt, a 40 minute play that contains a powerful message for young people about both suicide prevention and seatbelt awareness.
The play chronicles the story of a teenage girl, DANI (17) who is struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide. The story dives deeply into issues surrounding teen depression, suicidal ideation and although it’s an intense subject, the play has a hopeful message and contains a powerful suicide prevention theme.
The play's hopeful message is especially cathartic for younger audiences who may be struggling with depression and see themselves in the main character of DANI who makes the decision to choose to live at the end of the story.
SHINING A LIGHT PART 2
The program Directly proceeding the play, there will be a Q&A portion, between audience members and a mental health professional. We feel that shining a light on this issue in a safe space can open up a healthy dialog about this subject & help teens struggling with depression. There will also be information shared about local mental health recourses.
STAGE 3 OF THE PROGRAM - STUDENTS WRITE THEIR OWN PLAYS
In this later stage, students will create THEIR OWN STORIES, writing original 1-Act plays with themes that revolve around mental health and suicide prevention. This is the depression to expression element of our program and another tool to help young people shine a light on this important subject