Social Issues Drama Aims to Curb Adolescent Bullying

“I have a secret. One I’m … afraid to tell …”

These are the opening lines of local playwright Brenton Cochran’s drama, I Have a Secret, which will be presented by Spotlight on
Youth (SOY), an outreach of the North Canton Playhouse, in schools throughout Northeast Ohio.

The audience hears Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful as the actors take the stage. 

“I am beautiful, no matter what they say/ Words can’t bring
me down.”

One by one, each character reveals his or her secret struggles (food
addiction, cutting, coping with dyslexia, with anorexia, sexual identity issues, difficulty with parental relationships, and feeling invisible or outcast).

The script alternates between monologue-confessions and the characters lashing out at one another.  

The “bullied” is, at times, the "bully.”

The play is designed to provoke meaningful discussion among
students, teachers, administrators and parents. Woven into the script is: information on the types of bullying (pack or individual bullying,
verbal/emotional bullying, social exclusion, sexual bullying and
cyber-bullying, for example) and revealing statistics (23 percent of students grades 4-6 have been bullied “sometimes” or more often.)

In unison, the characters say: “Inside, we are screaming. We are the ones who are bullied.”

One character takes her own life; another decides to take control of her life.

The beat then changes to include direct statements about bullying
and its effect on school atmosphere, finally leaving the students with a positive message to "stop bullying" and "start living."

The play is directed by the founder of the North Canton Playhouse, Mary McManaway*, who has been a North Canton resident for 45 years. McManaway has been involved with plays on social issues since 1970.  She started SOY in 1988, initially with a grant from the Hoover Foundation.

“If you care about people, you want them to have a good life. You can’t have a good life if you get messed up in drugs and bullying. Helping kids to be strong creates a strong community,” McManaway said.

This year, Spotlight on Youth will partner with Diversity Initiatives,
Inc. Executive Director Michael Douglas said that the message about bullying is timely because of all of the media exposure, especially after the suicide of a Rutgers student last year that was connected to cyber-bullying.

“That was a tipping point. Now administrators and teachers
are looking for contemporary, progressive pieces that are relevant and start discussions,” Douglas said.    

On Aug. 9, the play will be presented to administrators at a leadership conference. Based on actual events from Cochran’s life and school years, the play is meant to be a springboard for discussion for student populations as well as adults, including teachers, administrators and parents.

“Teachers need a starting point for these discussions, and
this play is timely,” Douglas said.

Douglas’ colleague Michael Gudger will travel with SOY to introduce the drama and encourage follow-up discussions. 

Area students involved are: Ellenore Holbrook, Katy Hubble,
Nathaniel Brumbaugh, and Misty Weick (Cast 1) and Molly Byrne, Sarah Jane Toy, DJ Tucker, and Allison Zornes (Cast 2).

Nathaniel Brumbaugh, 17 and a junior at GlenOak High School,
is starting his third season with Spotlight on Youth. He auditioned because of the impact of a SOY play he saw. Since that time, he has performed in schools, churches, jails and other venues.

“I’ve seen people break down and cry and have had a lot of really good discussions with people because of the plays,” Brumbaugh said. “Our mission statement says it all: ‘Saving Lives Through the Arts.’”

*Editor's note: Mary McManaway was misidentified in the original version of this story.

Download the movie