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Friday, April 17, 2009 8:13 PM CDT
Teens get creative for 'I Sing the Body Electric' performances
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
MATTOON – In the “Friends of Sorrow” skit, alcohol abuse begins to pull apart two high school students who have been friends since childhood.
One friend goes on to start a legal career and a family while the other becomes an alcoholic and cannot hold a job. Ultimately, the alcoholic succumbs to pancreatic cancer caused by his drinking and his friend is left mourning him.
“We thought it would make more of an impact on those watching if you saw the people down the road,” said Eric Haughee, who wrote and acted the skit with Oakland High School classmate Caleb Maxedon.
Their skit will be presented Sunday along with other skits, videos, art, writings and live musical performances created by teens in eight counties at the sixth biennial I Sing the Body Electric Arts & Health Festival.
The event is scheduled for 1-5 p.m. at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center’s education center, with awards presentation at 4:30 p.m. Entry is free.
Body Electric promotes healthy choices by teens and provides funds for materials to help youth communicate their prevention messages through the arts. Themes include underage alcohol use, drugs, body image, teen sexuality, dating violence and other health concerns of youths.
Haughee said he and Maxedon saw a problem with underage drinking that they wanted to address through their skit.
“You will have time when you turn 21 to get into alcohol. High school is not the time for that,” Maxedon said, adding high school is time for academics and athletics.
The two Oakland students created their five-minute skit with the help of art teacher Jill Sweeney and the Body Electric staff, and filmed the skit at WEIU’s studio. Maxedon said the studio’s green screen enable them to create the simulated backdrop of a locker-lined hallway for one of the scenes.
Students in Martinsville’s Prevention Theatre Troupe also recorded their Body Electric skit submissions at WEIU.
Victoria Norton, head of the Prevention Theatre Troupe and principal of Martinsville Elementary School, said that Body Electric believes young people want to be respected for their abilities and ideas. She said the program gives each young artist an opportunity to create healthy messages for others.
“For rural youth, school attachment can also be a significant protective factor. The Body Electric coalition supports arts-centered activities because they attract and hold youth by challenging them and enriching their school experience,” Norton said.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 238-6861.
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