Pubdate: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 Source: North Island Gazette (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 North Island Gazette Contact: http://www.northislandgazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2783 Author: Pat King METH TACKLES ADDICTION FORCEFULLY PORT HARDY - The community was chastised for its lack of response, during Meth, an interactive play about addiction. Meth is not only about crystal meth addiction, it is about addiction of all types. It is about co-dependency. It is about the ability we all have to ignore the truth. The stage was set with a family home on one side and a bachelor apartment on the other. The lights and the large video screen in the background were used to indicate the setting. This eliminated the necessity of changing props, so the play presented as a very intense one act. The opening scene is in a graveyard. A young man's funeral. His best friend Trey is there, and his brother Adam. A 17-year-old girl, Karen, is standing off a little, and then approaches the brother. She had not seen him for a while, but they had been good friends. We later learn that Trey is a drug dealer as well as user. Adam started out as a weekend party user, but in burying the loss of his brother he becomes addicted, doesn't sleep, is continually thirsty, and in the end has a seizure. Karen's family consists of her mom, her grandmother, and her cousin Cliff. During the course of the play the co-dependencies within this family become apparent. The grandmother keeps a bottle in her purse. The mother is a workaholic who refuses to see the truth of what is happening in her family, and who has kept the truth from Karen regarding her father. Cliff had used drugs in the past, and is now into gambling. The awful reality of this family is that they appeared so normal. To the outside community this is a single working mom, a grandmother helping her daughter and grandkids, a young man who works at a paying job, and a schoolgirl. After the play was finished, the artistic director David Diamond explained how the audience was to interact. The play was done again, with various people in the audience calling "Stop!" and replacing one of the actors on the stage. There were times that "Stop!" needed to be called, but no one did. Diamond chastised the audience - the silence from the audience was the same as the silence of our communities to the actual problems out there. Perhaps no one knew what could be said that would make the other characters react in a way that would bring a different outcome. Peter Carter of Vancouver Island Health Authority was key in bringing the play to Port Hardy Saturday. He was on hand with a team of counselors, available to assist anyone who wanted. Counseling and support is available on the North Island for those struggling with addictions: 24 Hour Crisis Line at 949-6033, Mental Health & Addiction Services at 949-8611 in Port Hardy or 956-3644 in Port McNeill, Youth Addiction Services at 949-8611, Child & Youth Mental Health at 949-8011, North Island Crisis Counseling Centre at 949-8383, Family Place at 949-7330, North Island Community Services at 956-3134, Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Health & Family Services at 956-8131, Kwakiutl District Council Health at 949-6625, Quatsino First Nation Health Centre at 949-7161, and the Sacred Wolf Friendship Centre at 902-0552. And there are several websites for more information about substances and protective influences for parents: www.heretohelp.bc.ca, www.youarethelink.ca, www.search-institute.ore and www.aadac.com. Meth was also scheduled for a performance in Alert Bay Monday night. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman