Education

Užupis Theatre Company is proud to present its education program to the Athens-Clarke County community and beyond.

In 2008, we embarked upon a journey with Barrow County Safety Zone to present "One Bad Day", a play about Suicide Prevention and Mental Health.

We toured 4 different middle and high schools in Barrow County as well as presented the play at STARS Community Development Fair 2008 in Clarke County.

We will begin our Intern Program Summer 2008.

For more information about our Education Program please contact Brandon Deyette at brandon@uzupistheatre.com or call 706.296.8947.

Here are the synopsis of the current shows we have available:

Teen Pregnancy

The teen pregnancy is about a couple who have been dating for a while in high school and the boyfriend wants to take it a step further. The girlfriend is completely unsure of what to do next and feels pressured to succumb to him. In the end she must make a decision on whether or not to continue with her actions and the relationship. The ending is completely ambiguous and leaves it open for discussion with the students as to what she should do next and why. In the discussion that follows the play we will talk about safety and abstinence. We will discuss certain measures to take to protect you from pregnancy and disease. It is also important to talk about speaking with family members, clergymen, and mentors about the situation before acting upon it but knowing in the end abstinence is the best practice. This play is a bit more dramatic, but has its funny moments as well.

 Play: 20 Minutes

Discussion: 20 Minutes

 

Eating Disorders

The play is about the parallel lives of two high school girls: one is slightly overweight and the other is extremely thin. Both are dealing with body image issues and eating disorders. It isn’t until a chance encounter that they both meet each other and realize they see themselves in a different way than anyone else does. They get to a point in which they can either help each other by realizing that they are beautiful inside and out or hurt each other by falling deep into their illness and slowly wither away to nothing. Before each of them has the chance to do anything destructive, they realize that through each other they can see beauty and realize there is hope and get help. Their decisions are up for discussion afterward which will help facilitate discourse about the disease and ways for prevention and detection. We will also discuss methods of treatment as well as how to talk to family, friends and mentors about the situation. It is in fact a light hearted dramedy, with many comedic elements to a dramatic situation.

Play: 25 Minutes

Discussion: 15-20 Minutes

 

Cultural Differences

A new student from Mexico, who barely speaks English, arrives at a USA high school. And though the main character is part Mexican he pokes fun with his friends at how different the new student is not realizing how similar they really are, or knowing about his own ancestry. The next day he wakes up to find himself in magically transported to Mexico, not knowing how to speak the language nor anything about the culture. When he starts to see the commonality between him and his new fellow student he realizes that the things that made him so different really make him more unique. He learns that culture and language help make us unique but what bonds us as is the spirit of community and humanity and that despite differences we are all very similar. When he wakes up, he realizes it was all a dream. He returns to school the next day with his new found knowledge tries to bridge the gap between his friends and the new kid at school. We leave it to the students to discuss what happens next. Will he go back and be a bully? Or will he see that our differences really make us the same? This comedy looks at how being different really unites us in the end.

Play: 30 Minutes

Discussion: 15-20 Minutes

 

Suicide Prevention

A mid-twenties professional female looks back at her senior year of high school and how her depression is deeply rooted in the normal highs and lows of teenage life. With SATs, part time jobs, cheerleading and relationships she is on the verge of a breakdown dealing with it and living her life as a teenager. After being forced to quit the cheerleading squad she feels she has to choose between her friends, family, school and her job. It isn’t until prom night that she finally breaks and ends up seeking counseling for her depression. And she asks herself, was worrying about all of this worth it now that she looks back on it from her current position? We discuss with the students what they could have done differently as a friend to find signs of depression and get her help sooner. This is a dramedy with many comedic moments.

 Play: 20 Minutes

Discussion: 20 Minutes

 

 

Check out images and a clip from our show "One Bad Day" below!

 

 

"One Bad Day" Clip 1

 

 

"One Bad Day" Clip 2

Cast: Brandon Deyette, Cora West, Erina Francesconi and Jonathan Kleitman

Jessica (Cora West) and Hunter (Jonathan Kleitman) in "One Bad Day"