Roanoke County Prevention Council
The hardest part about talking to your kids about drinking is talking. Roanoke Children’s Theatre invites you to come to something together that starts the conversation for you.
Wrecked
By Chris Craddock
October 18-30, 2011
Student Matinees October 18-21, 25-30
“We are doing this project to make sure our kids and their friends stay safe,” says Pat Wilhelms, RCT Artistic Director. “After the success of Secret Life of Girls last fall, we knew we wanted to make an impact with this year’s RCT4TEENS project, and, based on the statistics, the choice of this play was absolute.”
According to the "Parent Guide to Preventing Underage Drinking" presented by the Richmond Times Dispatch and the State of Virginia, teens that start drinking prior to the age of 15 have an elevated risk of violence, school failure, promiscuity and illicit drug use. Specifically, teens who drink prior to the age of 15 are 12 times more likely to be injured while under the influence of alcohol and 10 times more likely to be in a fight after drinking. RCT wants to help families and local agencies send a message of prevention in an effort to keep Roanoke Valley teens from becoming just another statistic.
RCT4TEENS is an expanded arts education program and young adult series offered annually for middle and high school youth, their families and schools, that focuses on challenging issues youth face. Through RCT4TEENS, RCT provides “Educational Theatre”, an approach based on the theories of Albert Bandura, who recognized that people learn how to behave – and how to change their behavior – by watching other people. Last year RCT received recognition for its efforts to fight cyberbullying in a new and creative way by both Roanoke City and County Schools and on the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's website.
This year, RCT has joined forces with a coalition of agencies throughout the region to help parents and teens address the issues and consequences of underage and family alcohol abuse. Produced in partnership with the Prevention Council of Roanoke County and funded in part by a federal grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention through the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, RCT has joined forces with the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the NEA, Foundation for Roanoke Valley, Carlilion Clinic and Roanoke City and Roanoke County Schools so all 9th grade students from Roanoke City and Roanoke County Schools can attend student matinees performances of the production.
All performances begin the critical conversation – and all public and student matinee performances are followed by post-show “how-to-cope”, “who-to-call” and where-to-go” seminar workshops bringing expert guidance to continuing the dialogue, empowering young people and their parents to find their voices going forward. Health professionals and local experts will be on hand to answer everyone’s questions.
