SHS play has lessons for modern teen

Published: Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Photo courtesy of MARK LAWRENCE From left, Dan Gilligan, Sophie Gagnon, Alyssa Peterson, Shauna Sousa and Jon Constable were members of the cast of "Making Choices" at Souhegan High School.

For years, Souhegan High School has been performing its annual series of one-act plays. Ranging from the hilarious to the thought-provoking, these relatively short productions have shown that the length of a product has nothing to do with its quality.

Joey Abis, a senior at Souhegan, knows the power a play can hold over an audience. Having been involved with theater for about 10 years, he has experienced firsthand the unique perspectives a live show can offer.

“Not only is the material beneficial,” Abis said, “but rather than listening to an adult teach these topics, they are hearing it from kids their own age.”

This led Abis to take on a huge challenge for his senior project: directing his own show for the Souhegan fall one-acts.

“I had seen Adam Hayward (a 2007 Souhegan graduate) direct a play called ‘The Laramie Project,’ ” Abis said in citing the inspiration behind his choice to direct his own show. “Adam was definitely a role model for me in this process.”

The name of Abis’ show is “Making Choices” by Wayne Harrel. Abis describes the play as “a social-issue drama that deals with high school teenagers making the big choices on being in relationships and, more importantly, on when to have sex.”

Abis said what initially caught his attention was that the play was listed as a “comedy/drama.”

“I was like, ‘I need to order a copy of this script,’ and (it) ended up really working well with a cast at this age level,” he said.

The issues dealt with in “Making Choices” are crucial to the modern teen. According to the National Centers for Disease Control, 50 percent of sexually transmitted disease cases occur in people ages 15-24, and the American Social Health Association says that fewer than 50 percent of teens in the U.S. have had a formal sexual education.

“I decided on (this) message mainly because I realized how much kids my age would be able to relate to the topics that came up,” Abis said. “This play deals with these issues in a comedic manner that puts them out there in the open.”

The play was performed Nov. 21-22, but Abis doesn’t expect this to be the end.

“We have some other really cool things planned currently, including showing the play to the entire freshman class, and we are still trying to include the middle school in some way,” Abis said.

Even disregarding future plans, Abis believes the show has been very successful.

“We had two great performances and I couldn’t have been more happy with the final product,” he said.

Amy Butenhof is a junior at Souhegan High School in Amherst.