Plays explore issues of substance abuse

Audiences who regularly visit the Naperville North High School Performing Arts Center and are accustomed to seeing comedies and musicals are in for a change of pace.

In a departure from the student theater's usual lighthearted fare, students are taking on the serious issues of drug addiction and alcoholism in two one-act plays to be presented Friday through Sunday, Aug. 26 to 28.

Auditions were held last spring and rehearsals began in July for the two shows, "Alky" and "Users."

"Alky" depicts a party scene that ends tragically. "Users" includes monologues and vignettes illuminating how and why some young people begin traveling down the path of substance abuse, said Andy Simon, the plays' director. Simon teaches theater and English at Naperville North.

"I've never done anything this serious before. We don't tend to do things this serious," Simon said.

He said several recently graduated Naperville North alumni have died from drug overdoses within the past few years.

"As much as we talk about it, we don't know that we're solving it," he said.

Presenting the problem as a theatrical production is another way to encourage dialogue about resisting negative choices and opting for healthy behaviors, he said.

"I've got to address this in what we do in the theater," he said.

Part of the rehearsal process involved a meeting between cast members and addiction specialists and substance abuse counselors.

One afternoon last week, students assembled on folding chairs arranged around three sides of the elevated stage, which will serve as a black box theater-in-the-round for the show's performances, while addiction specialists helped them understand the troubled characters' vantage points.

"It mostly related to trying to get a better understanding, trying to get into the mindset (of a drug abuser)," said Matt Quinn, community relations coordinator for the Rosecrance Health Network, a Rockford-based treatment center with offices in Naperville.

"We know from the work that we do that most of these kids are making healthy choices," said Dawn Neylon, a coordinator with 360 Youth Services' Power of Choice program. "They asked about the points of view of the characters. We were mostly talking about addiction and how it affects the addicts."

Seniors Alia Trannon and Nora Snyder each portray drug-using characters in "Users." Trannon also plays a girl with an alcohol problem in "Alky."

"It's kind of challenging to do super serious stuff," Trannon said. "So many of the characters have heavy drug problems. The longer you work with a character, you come to understand where they're coming from and why they're doing those things."

Trannon rehearsed a scene as Billie, the alcoholic character she portrays.

"The pain that you're dodging - it comes bacwk, all at once, when you sober up," Billie laments.

As a character named Mar, Snyder rehearsed a monologue from "Users" that revealed Mar's need to keep using drugs, the desperation and her budding plans to start stealing to pay for drugs.

While both girls said they are not aware of a substantial problem with drugs or alcohol among their peers at Naperville North, they both said they are aware of substance abuse problems among teens elsewhere.

Most of the 26 cast members in the show are in both plays. The intimate seating arrangement allows for 115 audience members, Simon said.

Both plays were written by Jerome McDonough and have been updated, Simon said. The shows are not appropriate for younger audiences, said Anita Mraz, the arts center's marketing director, and are rated PG-13.

Mraz said counselors from Rosecrance, Power of Choice and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health will be on hand at the performances to answer questions.

If you go

What: Two one-act plays, "Alky" and "Users," staged by Naperville North High School students

When: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 26 and 27; 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28

Where: Naperville North High School Performing Arts Center, 899 N. Mill St., Naperville

Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for students; available at naperville203.tix.com and at the door

Info: naperville203.org/nnhs