CHOICES: An Interactive Play on Cyberbullying and Suicide

Choices Cast
Looking for Lilith

Hannah, played by
Trina Fischer

Trina Fischer, Executive Director, received a B.S. in Peformance Studies with a minor in Latin American Studies from Northwestern University. She spent a year in Santiago, Chile on a Fulbright grant. She has performed at Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Manhattan Theatre Source, CenterStage NY, and with Bridgework Theatre, Necessary Theatre and Pandora Productions. She worked as a teaching artist with CUNY's Creative Arts Team in New York City for 7 years. She has been based in Louisville, KY since 2006 with her theatre company and her family - husband Juan Pablo Kalawski and son Pedro. Trina is a proud member of Alternate ROOTS.

Mom/Abby/Teacher/Bully played by
Shannon Leigh Woolley

Shannon Woolley Allison, Artistic Director, received her BFA in Acting from Southern Methodist University and her MA in Educational Theatre from NYU, where she completed her Advanced Threatre of the Oppressed training under Chris Vine. Shannon is an actor, director, playwright, and teahing artist, and has been honroed to work in these capacities for HorseChart Theatre (CO), Bridgeworks Theatre for Young Audiences (IN), The Leadership Program (NYC), City Lights Youth Theatre (NCY) Women's Project and Productions (NYC), Putney Student Travel (VT), StageOne Children's Threatre, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, and Blue Apple Players, as well as extensive work with Looking for Lilith Theatre.

The Joker** played by
Jennifer Thalman Kepler

Jennifer Thalman Kepler, Community Outreach Director, received her BA in History and Spanish with a Theatre minor from Albright College and an MA in Educational Theatre from New York University, where she completed her Advanced Theatre of the Oppressed training under Chris Vine. Jennifer also has an Mdiv from Wesley Theological Seminary. Jennifer is an actor, director, playwright with 10 years experience working as a teaching artist, integrating drama into math and social studies curriculum, facilitating arts-based violence prevention program, exploring social issues through drama and directing youth theatre. With Looking for Lilith, she has helped create, produce, perform, and/or direct most of the original plays.

**The Joker is the director, referee, facilitator, and workshop leader. The Joker is the person who acts as a intermediary between audience and performers and is attached to no one party, just as the Joker in a pack of cards belongs to no one suit, but floats between them.

When 15-year old Hannah receives numerous threatening messages from an online peer, she finds herself becoming more and more powerless. Terrified, it seems to Hannah that she has no other way to end the fear and pain than to take her own life.

In this interactive theater production, students have the opportunity to stop the suicide and choose other options that will change the outcome for Hannah.

Professional actors with the Louisville-based theater group "Looking for Lilith" will perform the short play, telling Hannah’s story. Just as Hannah makes that terrible decision to take her life, the play stops...

The actors then address the students in the audience, giving them the opportunity to actively “discuss” Hannah’s other options by intervening in moments in the play where Hannah could make different choices when dealing with her online bully.

Students will be able to take Hannah’s place in the play and act out their ideas, practicing how they themselves would deal with the situation at hand. “The theory is that theatre is a rehearsal for life,” explains Shannon Woolley, artistic director of Looking for Lilith.

The founder of Make a Difference for Kids, Mark Neblett, knows all too well the negative consequences of cyberbullying. His 17-year old daughter, Rachael Neblett, died by suicide in 2006 after she was stalked online by a peer from her school.

Mark Neblett

”I was like the old school dad and told her not to worry. In my day, we were eye to eye and this stuff didn’t last. "

She said, “You don’t understand, it’s different.”

She was right.“

Rachael Neblett

"Our hope is that through this production, teens will see that negative experiences and outcomes can be changed through the different choices they make.”

Sheila Stanton
Training Specialist, Jefferson County Public Schools

Choices Pricing

$500 - a small assembly program (approximately 90 students) or three individual classroom presentations (approximately 30 students each)

$800 - assembly 100 - 300 students or a video-conferencing performance for up to four schools

$1500 - assembly over 300 students

Since most schools will not be able to afford the cost of the program, we plan to ask community leaders and businesses to sponsor a school in their community. We also plan to fund the project through grants and fundraising events. One such event, 2009 Ride to Survive Motorcycle Run raised the initial funds for this program.

Watch the video from the 2009 Ride to Survive

If your school is interested in participating in a performance or if you are interested in sponsoring a school production, please contact:

Sheila Stanton
Computer Education Support Unit
Jefferson County Public Schools
(502) 485-3647
sheila.stanton@jefferson.kyschools.us

Did you know?

Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for Kentucky youths and young adults age 15 – 24.
Center for Disease Control

Approximately four out of ten teens (43%) experience online harassment. Only 10% of those kids told their parents about the incident.
National Crime Prevention Council

Victims of bullying are two to nine times more likely to report suicidal thoughts than other children.
Yale School of Medicine

Download an article about this theater program in the
Kentucky Suicide Prevention Group newsletter.

Choices is a collaborative effort with between Louisville based theatre group, Looking for Lilith, Make a Difference for Kids, Inc., and the Computer Education Support Unit of Jefferson County Public Schools.