Students in Black Diamond are learning how to prevent bullying.
Taproot Theatre’s Road Company, the touring part of the Greenwood Theatre, travels to schools around the Pacific Northwest during the school year, teaching them how to respond to, and even prevent, bullying and harassment. They will visit Black Diamond Elementary at 9:15 a.m. Monday with their play “Alexander and the Dragon.”
“So many students are bullied and threatened, that I’m thrilled to be able to help put a stop to it,” said Nathan Jeffrey, Taproot Theatre’s director of outreach. “The plays are great; first of all, they’re extremely engaging, but most important, they give students practical ways to respond to bullying and violence – and even prevent it before it starts.”
Guided by Committee for Children’s Steps to Respect and Second Step programs, which are among the leading bullying prevention curricula in the United States, the Road Company’s plays teach kids and teens the importance of treating others with respect, and present the lessons in ways they’ll remember.
“Alexander and the Dragon,” by Bethany Wallace and directed by Karen Lund, teaches elementary school students how to identify and respond to bullying and their responsibility as a bystander.
Being a fifth-grade student is even harder than being a knight. When Sir Alexander returns to school after a summer of battling make-believe foes, he fails to stand up for the new girl getting bullied on the school bus. He unknowingly allows Maddy (Princess Madeline) to be captured by a “dragon,” and is stripped of his knighthood. Will Alexander conquer the fire-breathing dragon and rescue the princess? Will his heroic quest restore his honor?
The performance is designed to help students recognize, refuse and report bullying and harassment. It also covers the responsibility of a bystander, how to initiate a friendship, how to engaging others in conversation and how to forgive.
The Road Company has performed for more than 1 million students since it began touring social-issues plays in 1985. In August, they performed at the New York International Fringe Festival.
