Andy Short, Co-Director of Improbable Players shared his experiences with marijuana and alcohol addiction.  He started using in high school because of stress and anxiety and found he didn’t understand addiction and had a preconceived notion of what an alcoholic looked like – essentially he could defend his use of drugs and alcohol because others were “worse” than he was at the time. 
 

Andy was “politely asked to leave by college administration” but did go back to school to become a drama teacher after becoming sober (thanks to a treatment center).  But after three years sober he was in his deepest depression because not all of his problems went away (he was shocked by that!) because he could no longer use as the solution anymore.  This is why people relapse; they no longer have a solution to the problems they were solving by using drugs or alcohol.  He needed fellowship and something else to break the cycle. Here is where he found Improbable Players, a theater company founded in 1984 who hires sober actors to work with youth on prevention through theater performances & workshops.

Addiction prevention work/education in the goal for middle schools to try to delay use.  Why this age group?  Most who develop an addiction will start using in middle school.  The show models positive behavior through theater because the attention span at that age is not there to sit through a lecture or video.  It has proven to be an effective approach.  Performances are 25-45 minutes long followed by a talkback/Q&A. Workshops are designed to give students the space and tools to combat social pressures and find coping strategies that work for them. All plays are based on true stories and performed by people in recovery.

 

Powerful that all actors are in recovery. 

Andy touched on the fact that opioid epidemic is everywhere.  Most are dying or overdosing in Boston/Worcester so people can pretend the problem isn’t in towns like Stow.  The shows provide a moment to reflect BEFORE someone dies in the community.  To on what can be done to help people before it’s too late.

Andy had us raise hands if we know/knew someone who shows addictive before and then told us that middle schoolers (grade 6 and up) have the same percentage of hands in the air (at least 80%).  They’re so young to know that.
 

Leigh found his presentation incredibly well done and encourages you to learn more about their work, where performances are done and how to be involved visit https://www.improbableplayers.org/.