(Seattle, Wash.) For a third consecutive year, Seattle Children’s Theatre will partner with Kaiser Permanente to support its educational theatre program which will include a touring production of Ghosted, written by Seattle-based playwright Trisha Baldwin and produced by SCT.
Ghosted will tour around high schools in Washington State in the fall of 2019, focusing on grades 9-12 with the aim to use professional theatre as a way to communicate with teenagers around modern issues and provide them with skills to build social-emotional resiliency.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 20% of youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition and several key indicators point to a rising tide of anxiety and depression among young people. Johamy Morales, Director of Education at SCT says, “The production is designed by SCT to raise awareness around topics like anxiety and depression, as well as give students a much needed platform to process and discuss how these things affect their everyday lives”.
Ghosted tells the story of four students as they navigate through a single day of high school. When one of them experiences a bout of anxiety and is sent to the counselor’s office, issues of friendship and honesty lead all of them to reveal hard truths about their personal experiences and lives. Following these disclosures, the characters brainstorm a collective path towards resiliency, personal strength, and mutual support. Additionally, the cast will engage with student audiences in a conversation to further examine the themes of the play, and offer resources and information about healthy personal growth.
Designed to be performed in an assembly-like setting for audiences of up to 300 students, Ghosted is paired with a one-hour workshop where trained SCT teaching artists will work with students to further explore critical themes of the play. Following each performance, students will have an opportunity to participate in a discussion which utilizes interactive theatre techniques designed to help students practice making positive choices in challenging situations and to brainstorm healthy alternatives and outcomes when conflicts emerge.
“Many of these students are struggling with how to help a friend dealing with anxiety or depression or how to process their own issues,” says Johamy Morales, “Ghosted is here to tell them not only are they not alone in feeling this way, but to give them tools for how to understand and overcome these challenges”.
For more information on the experience, please contact Brodrick Ryans, Arts Based Learning Coordinator at brodrickr@sct.org or 206.443.0807 ext. 1164.
The details
What: Ghosted
Where: Touring Fall 2019 in Spokane and Seattle regions
Where: Touring Fall 2019 in Spokane and Seattle regions
CAST AND CREW
Sofía Raquel Sánchez (Kayla); Martha Kathryn Smith (Syd); Charles Antoni (Andre); Dylan Zucati (Liam); Treavor Boykin (Understudy – Andre); Yadira Duarte (Understudy – Kayla & Syd); James Schilling (Understudy – Liam)
Anita Montgomery (Director); Trista Baldwin (Playwright); Mike Egan (Stage Manager); Elizabeth Stasio (Production Assistant); Michael K. Hase (Scenic Director); Pete Rush (Costume Designer); Chris R. Walker (Composer & Sound Designer); Meredith Berlin (Arts Based Leaning Curriculum Specialist & Teaching Artist); Brodrick Ryans (Arts Based Learning Coordinator); Amber Wolfe (Teaching Artist & Ghosted Post Show Discussion Facilitator); Kyleigh Archer (Teaching Artist); Colin Briskey (Teaching Artist); Malika Lee (Teaching Artist); Teague M. Parker (Teaching Artist); Shalonia Rosen (Teaching Artist); Amber Tanaka (Teaching Artist)
Anita Montgomery (Director); Trista Baldwin (Playwright); Mike Egan (Stage Manager); Elizabeth Stasio (Production Assistant); Michael K. Hase (Scenic Director); Pete Rush (Costume Designer); Chris R. Walker (Composer & Sound Designer); Meredith Berlin (Arts Based Leaning Curriculum Specialist & Teaching Artist); Brodrick Ryans (Arts Based Learning Coordinator); Amber Wolfe (Teaching Artist & Ghosted Post Show Discussion Facilitator); Kyleigh Archer (Teaching Artist); Colin Briskey (Teaching Artist); Malika Lee (Teaching Artist); Teague M. Parker (Teaching Artist); Shalonia Rosen (Teaching Artist); Amber Tanaka (Teaching Artist)
