On a lighter note, freshman Andee Skaggs and sophomore Herniel Fernandez had the audience laughing as they worked their way through their first date. Fernandez particularly mastered the nervous body language and sputtering dialogue. He didn't skip a beat when he dropped his microphone. Nor was he bothered when someone in the audience guessed his next line. He just pointed nonchalantly to the crowd and repeated the line.
"He has amazing timing and was so much fun to work with," Skaggs said. "The whole scene was so true, and I think we were perfectly cast."
The production ended with "Libby Pearce Drinks," the story of an alcohol prank that goes tragically awry. Four girls invite a prissy classmate to a party, where they spike her soda with vodka. She drives away, intoxicated and unaware, and causes an accident that claims a woman's life. The scene is a police department, where the four girls argue about responsibility, before three of them opt to tell the truth.
"I am talking about taking responsibility for a dead woman and a girl in jail," said Lindsay, played by senior Taryn Wem.
Playing the conscience of the group was difficult and the vignette constantly reminded Wem of a schoolmate who lost his life to a drunken driver in June, she said.
Senior Joelle Turner acted the role of Julie, the girl who wanted to hide the truth.
"It was cool to play the bad guy," Turner said. "This was a really good theme for kids our age. It shows another reason not to drink."
Drama Therapy has dealt with racism, dysfunctional families and alcohol abuse in the past three years. The school's guidance department typically sees an increase in appointments after each presentation, Cummins said.
"We are depicting these scenes so kids do not think they are alone with these issues," Cummins said. "Kids are coming in to guidance to talk."
Cummins plans to take Drama Therapy to Havre de Grace Middle School, with some tempering of themes and dialogue. The students will present "Wishing You Were Here," about a girl who suspects a friend is being abused. Senior Chelsey Holian wrote the drama for six players.
"I might change it up a bit for middle schoolers, so it's not quite so heavy," she said. "I will make the focus more on getting help."
Cummins added, "She can make those revisions in seconds."
His brother, Ed Cummins, a teacher at Stevenson University in Baltimore County, is encouraging him to take the production on the road. "This stuff is important," he said. "These are good messages that are getting through to kids."
