[NEohioPAL] Berko feature article: Fairmount Center takes on LEGALLY ADDICTED

[Roy Berko]

*Fairmount Center for the Arts takes on the realities of prescription drug
abuse*



Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)



Two years ago, Fairmount Center for the Arts presented EAT IT’S NOT ABOUT
FOOD.  The production examined the dangerous world of eating disorders for
tween and teen girls and boys.  Using theatre rather than lecturing, the
emotional impact was raw and unapologetic, making the pain of these eating
disorders obvious.



The production was so powerful that the Cleveland Center for Eating
Disorders signed on as a lead sponsor and twelve community productions were
presented.



This year, Fairmount Center for the Arts’ Committee for Social Relevancy,
in coordination with Recovery Resources, will present and tour LEGALLY
ADDICTED, a program aimed at exposing high school students, their teachers,
families, and community members, to the epidemic of prescription drug abuse
and its pathway to street drugs.  The sessions are aimed at inner city,
suburban and rural audiences.



According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio
Department of Health, in 2010, prescription drug overdoses killed 1,544
Ohioans.  From 1999 to 2010, Ohio’s death rate due to unintentional drug
overdoses increased 372%, driven largely by prescription drugs.



The FCA program is part of an effort by the Ohio Association of County
Behavioral Health Authorities, which has partnered with the Ohio Department
of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services and Cardinal Health, to battle the
opiate epidemic.



LEGALLY ADDICTED is a 35-minute script written by Notre Dame College
Theatre and Communication professor, Jacqi Loewy.  The play will be coupled
with a post-play dialogue in which experts on substance abuse and recovery
from Recovery Resources and other programming partners, will lead
discussions adapted to fit the audience being addressed.  Advanced content
materials have been prepared to help prepare students and parents for the
performance.  The entire approach is to speak with, not at the students and
parents.



LEGALLY ADDICTED will be directed by Dustin Welch.  The actors, who will be
mainly teenagers, will be selected through open auditions.  The show’s
staging requires little in the way of technical support, as the setting is
minimal.



An anonymous private funder has given a grant to help underwrite the cost of
script preparation.  Support of foundations and companies interested in
supporting either performances or production expenses are still being
sought.



Each showing costs $1000, but subsidization may be available to schools and
organizations who want to present LEGALLY ADDICTED.  The programs are
available Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 pm and Monday evenings from September
through May.



After a series of staged readings, a full-production and discussion will be
held on September 10 at the Fairmount Center.  There will also be a showing
at the large opiate summit to be held in the area on September 28.  Segments
of the production will be available on You Tube and other social media.



For more information about the production go to www.fairmountcenter.org,  For
booking performances contact Lindsay Gips at 440-338-3171.
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