Pubdate: Wed, 08 Nov 2006 Source: Saanich News (CN BC) Copyright: 2006 Saanich News Contact: http://www.saanichnews.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1209 Author: Andrea Lavigne PLAY TACKLES METH WITH AN IRON FIST Actors Invite Audience on Stage for Solutions An interactive play wants audience members to "freeze" crystal meth use in the Capital Region. The YM-YWCA of Greater Victoria's Bridging the Gap Project and TheatreWorks are presenting Meth: iron fist Nov. 9-10 to promote dialogue about crystal meth. The forum theatre play engages youths between 15-23 who have been affected by substance abuse, either through personal addiction or addiction of a loved one. Director River Chandler has been working with the young adults since last Friday. In the six-days leading up to the performances, the youths worked through games and drama exercises to explore their own experiences with meth and addition. During the workshops the actors created characters and developed a plot that mirrors their own personal stories. "The process with the actors is definitely emotional," Chandler said. "We're talking about their struggle and we're creating theatre with that... The plays are not any one person's story and none of the kids actually play themselves. They draw on what we've done for the first half of the workshop to create characters and create a story that's realistic." Each of the short 10-minute plays will be performed once for the audience. The stories build to a crisis and offer no solutions. The plays are then performed a second time - only now, audience members are invited to "freeze" the action at any point, come on stage, replace a character and try their own solution to the crisis. This is called an intervention. Unlike other performances, Chandler says the invention aspect of this play engages the audience. "This work does have an emotional impact on the audience as well because they're drawn into the world that we create in the plays," Chandler said. "Sometimes people are surprised to find themselves up on stage, but they feel compelled by what's going on on stage to do that." The play is one facet of YM-YWCA's Bridging the Gap project - a community response to current trends in crystal meth use. The project aims to build links between the street community and social and health services. They're also trying to help youth participants build skills such as writing, graphic design, and accessing inter-agency resources. The youth involved in Meth: iron fist volunteered to be actors. "They came because they wanted to open up the conversation," Chandler explained. According to Youth Detox in Victoria admissions for crystal meth use doubled from 2001-2002. Approximately 70 per cent of the youths admitted to the centre are addicted to meth. They've also noticed that the average age of users is getting younger. A recent study found teens as young as 14 reported trying meth, with a particularly large proportion of the teen woman swayed to try meth as an appetite suppressant. Counsellors report that gay and lesbian youth are also susceptible to crystal meth use. Meth: iron fist will be held Thursday, Nov. 9 and Friday, Nov. 10 at the Metro Studio Theatre, 1411 Quadra St. at 7 p.m. Admission by donation. - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine