CLIMB Theatre performs Nov. 3 meth prevention program

CLIMB Theatre will perform its methamphetamine prevention play, “Shattered,” and intensive follow-up class sessions at Plum City High School on Monday, Nov. 3, at 8:45 a.m.

CLIMB worked with local meth prevention task forces, the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Drug Enforcement Agency to develop the program, designed to reach students in sixth through 12th grade.

“This play consists of a slide show and a dramatic enactment so that students receive not only information about meth, but also have a true look at what a teenager’s life is like when they become addicted to this dangerous drug,” says Peg Wetli, CEO of CLIMB and the play’s author. “Our program engages students through a compelling drama that goes beyond what can be said in lectures. This is the gift the theatre brings in fighting this terrible epidemic.”

Following the play, CLIMB actors conduct classes with students to help them consider their levels of risk taking and their vulnerabilities so they can be on guard if they are exposed to methamphetamine.

CLIMB performed Shattered for 17,000 students in 34 schools in 15 counties across Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota in the spring of 2008. The demand for the 50-minute play and subsequent follow-up discussion sessions is high enough for the current school year that CLIMB has dedicated one acting company to perform only this program for a four-month tour.

For 33 years, CLIMB (Creative Learning Ideas for Mind and Body) Theatre has brought quality character education programming into schools and other educational settings. Its mission is to create and perform plays, classes and other works inspiring and propelling young people toward actions to benefit themselves, each other and the community. CLIMB’s programming is available in a variety of formats, including plays, interactive classroom activities, and professional development workshops for students and administrators.

For more information about CLIMB, visit http://www.climb.org. CLIMB is funded in part by a grant provided the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tags: education, climb, theater, meth, prevention