ARTICLES

Immorality Play

Planned Parenthood Goes to the Theater

By Allyson Smith

San Diego County's firestorms did nothing to stop Planned Parenthood from holding its 23rd annual opening night of IMAGES: Theatre for Young Hearts & Minds, a "peer health education" theatrical performance geared toward "youth ages 12-21" on Saturday evening, November 1 at the Neurosciences Institute Auditorium in La Jolla.

The 90-minute play, whose theme this year is The Power of Self, consisted of a series of scenes addressing the following topics: birth control; STIs ("sexually transmissible infections"); substance abuse, violence, healthy relationships, homophobia, body image, peer pressure, communication, sexual harassment, and puberty.

According to a promotional poster for the event, "Each year, cast members (ages 16-19) collaboratively write and perform 12 to 20 scenes and monologues based on more than 100 hours of professional health and theatre training."

The troupe, which started touring in November, will travel throughout California through May of 2004. Among the California locations that the troupe will visit over the next six months are high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools.

The November 1 performance, which was attended by approximately 150 people, commenced at 5:30 p.m. following an hors d'oeuvres reception in the auditorium foyer. A small boy about six years old handed out programs to play-goers as they entered the theater. Other children were present throughout the event, including a baby in a stroller.

The opening scene was a rap titled, "The Pivotal Moment" designed to convey the message, "Every action we take affects ourselves and others."

Scene Two was a musical comedy titled "Alice in STI-Land." The scene depicted characters like the White Rabbit as "sexually transmissible infections" appearing in Alice's nightmare after she had unprotected sex with her boyfriend. The characters asked Alice questions such as, "Are you feeling any burning?" and "Do you have any watery, white or yellow thick discharge coming from your vagina?"

One character told Alice that the Mad Hatter received brain damage because he was not treated for STIs earlier. The scene ended with Alice saying, "My boyfriend and I didn't choose any protection at all. I must find a place to get tested."

The third scene, "Hooked," was a song about the dangers of cigarette smoking. The fourth, "Out of the Box," was an allegorical drama of the people of the Wild Green River. According to Planned Parenthood's program, "This piece explores the identity of self as Man and Woman. It shines light on the stereotypical expectations of male and female behavior. When those stereotypes are internalized, they destroy the true sense of self."

During the scene, the teenage actors compared body changes with "crossing the river" and talked about various aspects of puberty. One girl asked, after discovering her growing breasts, "Can I have sex now so I can have something to talk about?" One actor, looking down at his chest, yelled, "Yes, nipple hair! Woo hoo!" Another girl lamented, "My period starts on Christmas ... what an imaginative present." After crossing the river into adulthood, the students then defined various life goals, including having "meaningful sex," "showing compassion to all whom I meet, especially myself," and not needing "male validation."

The performance then returned to another vignette of "Alice in STI-land," where some of the characters representing sexually transmitted diseases exclaimed, "We pride ourselves on spreading STIs," and the Cheshire cat contracted an incurable sexual disease from touching a genital wart."

The next scene, "I Started a Joke," was a drama dealing with the harmful effects of gossip followed by "Like Father, Like Son," a vignette about the dangers of drunk driving.

Alice popped in again for yet another raunchy STI-land adventure. The scene opened to the sounds of a loudly-moaning couple making love in the rose bushes, followed by the young man screaming, "Oh no, my glove broke! Now I'm going to need to get tested!"

The "STI tester" was played by the Queen of Hearts, who sang a song about the unpleasantness of having a "discharge or an itch" and the good fortune of having "antibiotics [and] medications that can treat those STIs. The Queen then broke wind in Alice's face as other characters pushed her up onto her throne. She demanded that "those who are painting the roses red" (i.e. having sex) line up for treatment, causing the White Rabbit to exclaim, "I'm a rabbit. We do it 30 times a day!"

Producing a huge white condom, the Queen advised the characters, "If you intend to go painting the roses red again, use one of these. "The scene ended with Alice singing à la Gloria Gaynor, "I will survive, for as long as I protect myself, I know I'll stay alive," and vowing to never again "paint the roses red again without a glove" as she and her condom-waving boyfriend exited the stage.

The next vignette named "You Can't Be Straight" dealt with homosexuality. In it, a mother expressed disappointment when her son told her that, contrary to her perceptions, he is actually heterosexual instead of homosexual. According to Planned Parenthood's synopsis, the primary messages of this scene are to communicate the ideas that "Homophobia is hurtful and creates separation" and "People don't have to question each other's sexual preferences."

In "The Birth Control Tango," a musical comedy performed to a tune from the film Chicago, a sergeant drilled his students about contraception and STD prevention methods. The teenage actors discussed the consequences of forgetting to take the Pill, biting a hole in a condom, improperly using intrauterine devices (IUDs) and over-the-counter spermicidal jellies and creams. One of the male actors praised the Depo Provera shot as being "99.9 percent effective against making little dudes."

The performance concluded with a closing rap titled, "The Power of Self," that encouraged listeners to "Realize the power of self lives in you."

After that, the actors answered audience questions. High school and middle school teachers were invited to pick up a booking packet on their way out. The packets gave instructions for bringing the show to their campuses, as well as the following pricing information; ranging from $350 for a school in San Diego County to $600 for any organization outside of the county.

According to the "Behind the Scenes" manual, available on its web site, in recent years IMAGES annual production funding cost has ranged from approximately $80,000 to just over $100,000 per year, with more than 50 percent of funding provided by Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties. The show generates approximately $10,000 per year in performance fees.

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