'Getting COMPLETE!', a new work that tackles the issue of bullying, will be presented at Kutztown University in October.
"Making a difference”that is having a real impact that reduces and eliminates bullying”requires that we invest more attention and resources in understanding the bully, " said the show's playwright, Santo D. Marabella.
"Not a very attractive proposition”we sympathize with the victims of bullying, not the bully. But to me this is the only real hope for ending the cycle.
"I had thought about this as a project, when Fran Miller Pepoon, an old high school friend contacted me. She was coming to terms with her own bullying and asked me if I had any interest in writing a book on the subject. I let her know that I wasnt interested in a book, but I would work with her, much like a dramaturge, on a play. I would write the play and she would provide support to the process."
"Bullying and its impact dont end in school. This is the story of what happens when the bully grows up."
JoJo the bully, now Jo the adult, is on a quest to take responsibility and make amends. The only question that remains”is the bullys victim ready to get complete as well'
Young JoJo is being played by Marcus Matos; Jo by Luis Pagan Andersen; young Danny (the victim) by Jessie Hoffman and adult Danny by Brian Welsko.
The rest of the ensemble includes Maddie Hoffman, Diann Stewart, Greg Harwell, Amy Young, Marissa Hoover, Chuck Gallagher, Terrence OBrien and Bill Santoro. Lighting design by Jeff Cusano. Scenic design by Tara Sands.
SPECTRUM, the LGBTQA youth group sponsored by Planned Parenthood and the youth of CAMPpeaceworks of Berks Women in Crisis will be providing the two-dimensional visual art that will be both displayed in the theatre lobby and shown as a backdrop to the play, representing various emotions/descriptors: punking/bullying, feelings, anger, self-worth, transformation, forgiveness and getting complete.
Getting COMPLETE! has received "thumbs-up" endorsements from Kutztown University GLBTQ Resource Center, All Souls ECC Church and Reading Pride Celebration.
Getting COMPLETE! is being co-produced by Reading Community Players, Fleetwood Community Theatre, with help from Fran Miller Pepoon and the Kutztown University Office of Inclusion and Outreach.
It will be presented October 2, 3 and 4 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) at 8:00PM and October 4 and 5 (Saturday and Sunday) at 3:00PM in the Rickenbach Theatre, Kutztown University, 250 College Boulevard, Kutztown, PA 19530.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students.
Click www.kutztown.edu/library/gettingcomplete or call (610) 683-4092.
Adult language and themes, appropriate for mature high school students and older.
'Getting COMPLETE!' is a Marabella Entertainment and Education Enterprises production.