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<p class="MsoNormal"><b style>Fairmount Center for
the Arts takes on the realities of prescription drug abuse</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Roy Berko</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">(Member, American Theatre
Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none">Two years ago, Fairmount Center for the Arts <span style="font-family:Palatino-Roman">presented
EAT IT’S NOT ABOUT FOOD. <span style> </span>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. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino-Roman"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino-Roman">The production was so powerful that the Cleveland Center for
Eating Disorders signed on as a lead sponsor and twelve community productions
were presented.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino-Roman"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino-Roman">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.<span style>
</span>The sessions are aimed at inner city, suburban and rural audiences.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino-Roman"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino-Roman">According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the Ohio Department of Health, in 2010, prescription drug overdoses killed 1,544
Ohioans.<span style> </span>From 1999 to 2010, Ohio’s
death rate due to unintentional drug overdoses increased 372%, driven largely
by prescription drugs.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino-Roman"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext">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. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext">LEGALLY ADDICTED is a 35-minute script written by
Notre Dame College Theatre and Communication professor, Jacqi Loewy.<span style> </span>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.<span style> </span>Advanced content materials have been prepared to help
prepare students and parents for the performance. <span style> </span>The entire approach is to speak with, not at the students and
parents.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext">LEGALLY ADDICTED will be directed by Dustin
Welch.<span style> </span>The actors, who will be
mainly teenagers, will be selected through open auditions.<span style> </span>The show’s staging requires little in
the way of technical support, as the setting is minimal.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext">An anonymous private funder has given a grant to help
underwrite the cost of<span style> </span>script
preparation.<span style> </span>Support of
foundations and companies interested in supporting either performances or production
expenses are still being sought.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext">Each showing costs $1000, but subsidization may be
available to schools and organizations who want to present LEGALLY
ADDICTED.<span style> </span>The programs are
available Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 pm and Monday evenings from September
through May.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext">After a series of staged readings, a full-production
and discussion will be held on September 10 at the Fairmount Center.<span style> </span>There will also be a showing at the
large opiate summit to be held in the area on September 28.<span style> </span>Segments of the production will be
available on You Tube and other social media.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:windowtext">For more information about the production go to
<a href="http://www.fairmountcenter.org">www.fairmountcenter.org</a>,<span style> </span>For
booking performances contact Lindsay Gips at 440-338-3171.</span></p>