Ali Bracken reports on an initiative which uses drama workshops and theatre production to raise awareness of issues surrounding suicide and suicide prevention
In 2004, 457 people in Ireland took their own lives, including two children under 14. A report compiled by health professionals in the North and the Republic last year, found that suicide accounts for almost one-third of all deaths in the 15-to-24 year-old age group.
With such startling statistics, innovative ways of tackling this contentious issue are more than welcomed; they're imperative.
Smashing Times theatre company's current project, Acting for the Future, focuses on raising awareness around suicide and suicide prevention through drama workshops and a theatre production, Testimonies, due to be staged in Dublin City University's (DCU) Helix theatre from November 15th-19th.
Testimonies comprise three dramatic monologues, adapted from the experiences of those who have lost loved ones to suicide, and captures the anger, despair, hope and forgiveness of the families and friends left behind.
"Information from the drama workshops was used in the play and interviews with 10 people who have been bereaved by suicide has also been fed into the script," says Mary Moynihan, artistic director with Smashing Times, which operates as a non-profit organisation.
Performances at the Helix will be followed by post-show discussions where audience members will be invited to discuss the issues raised by the performance with invited guest speakers from the Samaritans and other organisations.
Testimonies will stage performances in three Dublin secondary schools - St Paul's CBS, Blakestown Community School and Westland Row CBS on November 7th, 8th and 9th respectively, as well as a public performance at St Vincent's Trust community education centre on November 10th - ahead of its premiere at the Helix.
"Drama is an ideal medium to explore the issue of suicide because drama is accessible to everyone," says Moynihan. "Because suicide is such a difficult thing to talk about, by using a creative approach, we hope we might make it easier."
The Smashing Times initiative - funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund - has been assisted by Acting for the Future, a panel of advisers qualified in areas of suicide prevention, research and counselling, and the year-long project is due to conclude in December.
But Moynihan is hopeful that as a consequence of the 10 pilot drama workshops that took place in Dublin schools, colleges and communities, Smashing Times can develop a workshop model to be made available for adaptation throughout Ireland by trained drama facilitators and councillors as a means of educating people on how to deal with suicide.
The drama workshops took place at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT); St Vincent's Trust and the Pathways Project organisations; the Axis Arts and community centre in Ballymun; Ringsend district community centre; An Cosán in Jobstown, Tallaght; St Paul's CBS; Westland Row CBS and Blakestown Community School.
As many of these workshops involved younger people, says Moynihan, each workshop's focus was altered to cater to its audience and younger participants explored in greater detail issues surrounding sexuality and binge-drinking in relation to suicide.
Paul Kennedy, drama facilitator with Smashing Times, was responsible for designing and implementing the workshops, which took place in partnership with a trained councillor. "The workshops were not counselling sessions for people who have been bereaved," he says. "They are about raising awareness and teaching about intervention and prevention."
Jane Sharpe, family co-ordinator with Ballywaltrim SCP (school completion project), works with the parents of children who attend St Fergal's national school and St Killian's secondary school in Bray, Co Wicklow, by educating them on-site in the schools by offering various initiatives, such as FETAC (further education and training awards council) courses.
Following an invitation from Smashing Times, Sharpe participated in a drama workshop with St Vincent's Trust. "I didn't want to go at all," she says. "But the whole experience was fantastic. I wasn't into drama but as I got involved in the workshop, I couldn't wait to get up there."
The format of the two-and-a-half hour workshops has evolved, says Kennedy, and by the project's end he believes a template emerged for organisations to adopt. The 20 or so people who participated in each workshop took part in disinhibiting exercises, theatre games, and, finally, a short play acted out in groups.
"Along with the psychotherapist, I also outlined guidelines for good intervention, such as taking someone seriously if they tell you they're suicidal. We then look at misplaced intervention, like telling someone to 'pull themselves together'," he says.
The short plays, he adds, were crafted and then acted by participants who created a scenario of misplaced intervention. The workshops also explored myths surrounding suicide.
"I found using drama was a good way of approaching a dark subject," says Sharpe. "As a direct result, I have introduced drama workshops into my work and it really helps people to express themselves."
Smashing Times is also developing a full-length script, The Empty Chair, by writer and director Joe O'Byrne to be presented next year. The play follows the life of a family who have lost their 20-year-old son to suicide. The Empty Chair will be presented as a rehearsed reading at Pearse Street Library on November 11th and will be followed by a panel discussion.
Smashing Times will soon issue a booklet on how to conduct drama workshops aimed at qualified drama facilitators and councillors around the country.
For tickets to Testimonies in the Helix, contact the box office on 01 7007000 or book online at www.thehelix.ie Tickets cost €12 or €8 with concession.
For information on The Empty Chair, contact Smashing Times on 01 8656613.