October 12, 2005

Actors present real life tragedy

DUI=DOA shows stark realities of drunk driving

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

       "I don't want to be dead!"
      As the realization of their fate sinks in slowly, the characters in "The Waiting Room" futilely cry out against their fate. Against alcohol, drunk driving and accidents that cut their lives short and sent them to a fictional waiting room. There they met other children who met the same end in this first of two short plays that comprise DUI=DOA.
      This fall's Traverse City Children's Theater school tour offering, DUI=DOA features a ten-person cast whose acting compellingly illustrates the dangers of drinking and driving. The second vignette, "Only Seventeen," is based on a popular 1967 letter to Ann Landers written from the perspective of a young man who died in a car accident. It describes the anguish he witnesses in his family and friends and his own regrets. For this play, the teen was drinking and driving too fast instead of just speeding.
      The young people who portray the characters in both short plays hope that the dramatization of these tragedies will pound the message into their peers' heads.
      "This is really important because we learn about it our whole school careers," said Abby Alexander, a tenth-grade student at West High School. "But we really need the pathos with the art for the learning - you have to see it so it leaves more of an impact."
      "It's a lot easier to hear it from kids," added Erin Kessler, a ninth-grade student at East Junior High.
      The 50-minute DUI=DOA program, directed by Michele Dungjen, will be available for school presentations from November 14-December 4. The play is geared to a junior high and high school audience. The Children's Theater will also give a public performance of DUI=DOA on Monday, November 21, at 7 p.m. at the Traverse Area District Library. Admission is free but donations are welcome.
      Luis Araquistain, director of the Traverse City Children's Theater, chose the piece for this fall as part of an expanded emphasis on both performance opportunities and performances for young adults. Since he joined the staff of the theater in 2003, Araquistain has boosted both the school touring program and opportunities for older children.
      "I've been working very, very hard to not only expand our clientele but also to shed the image that we only serve young kids," said Araquistain. "Which we do and I'm proud of and will continue doing. But I also want to get it across that we serve young adults not only in the entertainment but the training we present as well. Some plays that we produce will not be appropriate for very young kids."
      DUI=DOA will also feature presentations by people who have lost family members to drunk driving, a person convicted of the crime and a question and answer period.
      Peg Brace will be one of the speakers, describing the loss of her sister in 2001 during an accident that also killed the 22-year-old drunk driver. A member of MADD, she and Jackie Brundage, who lost a son to drunk driving, speak to probate kids about drunk driving once a month. Brace hopes that DUI=DOA will break through the denial and invulnerability typical to teens and get the message across that alcohol and cars don't mix.
      "I think it's pretty powerful, along with talking about statistics," she said of the DUI=DOA program. "Even if one person thinks about it at one point and doesn't get into a car with someone or doesn't drink and drive, then it's worth it."
      For information on booking DUI=DOA and the sliding scale fees, contact Luis Araquistain at 947-2210.