Category: Q&A

Theater company teaches kids healthy social behaviors

After a year of virtual programming, Plymouth State University’s TIGER (Theatre Integrating Guidance, Education and Responsibility) theater company is back on the road, bringing its social-emotional educational performances to K-through-8 schools across the state. The group, which consists of graduate students and professional actors, is led by artistic director Trish Lindberg. Lindberg talked about the program and how it addresses the challenges kids are facing today.

What is TIGER?

It’s a program that deals with social-emotional learning and helping kids process difficult traumatic events that happen to them using theater, music and dance. … I started it 17 years ago with colleagues at Plymouth State. … It started as a program that dealt exclusively with bullying. There was a lot of trauma around bullying happening in schools, and there still is today. I thought, I’m not a psychiatrist or psychologist or a school counselor, but why don’t I use my talents [in the performing arts] to partner with people [who are] to help kids who are being bullied.

What kinds of issues does TIGER address?

We try to stay very current and in the heartbeat of what kids are feeling now. … We send out writing prompts to get writings from kids to inform the piece … with actual stories about things that kids have gone through. … Kids are dealing with so many things right now that we really wish they didn’t have to [deal with]. … One of the biggest things is, with people being so frustrated with the pandemic … people are choosing not to be kind. That’s why we thought it was really important to do a show about kindness … and the importance of kindness in our lives. … We’re all in this pandemic together. We all have difficult things going on and things that we’d like to do but can’t do. But we can still be kind. That’s something that we want to help kids understand — that even in this crazy world, where there are a lot of things they don’t have control over, they can always control how they act, and even if [a situation] is really hard, they can still choose kindness.

What does a performance look like?

Each show teaches five concepts … represented by each letter [in ‘TIGER’]. … For example, [when teaching about] how important it is for kids to take care of themselves, ‘T’ stands for ‘Take care of you;’ ‘I’ stands for ‘Imagine;’ ‘G’ stands for ‘Grow your confidence;’ ‘E’ stands for ‘Empathy;’ and ‘R’ stands for ‘Respect yourself and others.’ … Then, we have songs and skits around those concepts. … It’s really cool, because at the end, when we ask the kids what each letter stands for, they always remember … because they’ve had it taught to them in multiple ways.

How is performance art an effective way to communicate with kids about difficult subjects?

Theater, music and dance helps kids to see themselves in scenarios that they’ve experienced themselves while being able to take a step back and watch it happen to someone else. … They’re safe; it’s not actually happening to them, but they can see the scenario played out. … It helps them understand what they’re going through from another perspective … and in a deeper way, and that can be a real catharsis for them. … I think one of the most powerful things about the arts is that it has the ability to touch hearts and minds and really resonate with people on a very deep, emotional level.

How do you keep yourselves and the kids safe while visiting schools?

Some districts have mandates where they’re not having any assembly programs of any kind, but many districts have been willing to have us. … Schools have chosen to do different [safety precautions]; some are comfortable having us do a regular performance in the gym. Others have us perform for a smaller audience or live-broadcast into the classrooms. … We’re willing to follow whatever protocols the schools have, in addition to [the safety precautions] we’re already doing ourselves. … All of our actors are fully vaccinated and tested every week … and we wear these wonderful face masks … that are made for performers. They’re full-face masks, and they’re clear so the kids can see our expressions and energy.

What impact has TIGER had on kids’ lives?

We had [a mother] call us … and tell us that her son came home from school [after a TIGER program] and burst into tears; he had been bullied for three months at school and had never told anyone. He said that TIGER taught him that he needed to tell an adult, so he told his mom, and the mom went to the school, and they were able to get help. … That’s what we’re all about — making a difference in kids’ lives, even if we’re performing for a school with 500 kids and we’re able to help just one kid.

Learn more about TIGER and how to bring them to your local school at campus.plymouth.edu/tiger.

Featured photo: Trish Lindberg. Courtesy photo.

Podcast highlights substance abuse prevention

Christin D’Ovidio is the host of The Power of Prevention, a new podcast series produced by The Partnership@drugFreeNH that explores various facets of substance abuse prevention in New Hampshire and ways in which schools, families and health professionals can bolster prevention efforts. The series is available on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

What is The Power of Prevention about?

The Partnership is an organizing force behind and [in cooperation] with organizations and individuals throughout the state working to prevent substance misuse and other [harmful] mental and behavioral health issues that can be prevented if prevention actions are put into place early on in people’s lives. The podcast talks with these organizations and individuals so that we can learn about how they work with families and within their communities to stop unwanted things from happening. Each episode goes deep into the topic or area that [the featured guest] is working in.

Why was it created?

During the pandemic, people and children [experienced] a lot of additional stressors; the safety nets they had and the ways they were functioning before were put under a huge strain. We know that substance misuse increased during that time. We saw a need to fill, to share what is happening out there with prevention so that [those efforts] can spread; prevention organizations can grow; more prevention organizations [can be established]; and more people can know about how to access prevention resources, because it’s not always evident what resources are available, and sometimes, just knowing that the resources are there is all it takes for people to get help.

How did you end up hosting the podcast?

I have a Master of Fine Arts in Acting and Production, and I was one of the people [The Partnership] asked to do it. That was super exciting for me, because I really enjoy learning about these prevention programs and getting to talk in depth with people about what they’re doing and help them share what they’re doing.

How do you define prevention in the podcast?

Prevention is an evidence-based set of messages, programs and services that lay a foundation for people so that when they encounter adversity they have the skills, support and knowledge to move past it in a positive way rather than turning to coping mechanisms that could harm their health.

Who is your target audience?

Our audience is primarily people working in prevention, so that they can [connect with] others … and families, caregivers, schools and other people who work with children, youth and young adults, because they play a very important role in prevention.

How many episodes have you done so far, and what are they about?

We’ve produced and released two episodes so far. The first one is with Kim Haley, who is a coordinator for one of the School Assistance Programs in the state, and she talks about what SAP programs are and how they provide support for families and schools. The second one is with Traci Fowler, who is a senior programs officer at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and has been working in the prevention field and [serving as] a prevention advocate for a very long time. She talks about how nonprofits in the state and the prevention community came together during the pandemic. … We’ve done a few other interviews that are still in the editing [process]. There’s one about self-managing chronic pain, because chronic pain, if unmanaged, can lead to misuse of prescribed medication … and depression. I also talked with two women working in prevention for young adults. There are a lot of changes in life on that bridge between high school, college and the workforce, and sometimes those young adults don’t know where [to access] the support that they need.

How many episodes do you have planned?

We have 27 episodes planned … and our intention is to release them monthly, though we’d like to release two a month, if we can. … Topics [will include] supporting families with skills and resources [in order to] prevent child abuse; the juvenile court diversion program … which [works to] keep [juveniles] who have committed a non-violent offense out of the system … so that they don’t end up with a mark on their record that they can’t get rid of that could take away from their future; vaping prevention; youth mental health efforts and social-emotional learning in schools; and how issues of equity, diversity and inclusion overlap with substance abuse and prevention.

Featured photo: Christin D’Ovidio. Courtesy photo.