By BETTY BASTIDAS
“I have friends that are gay, are in interracial relationships so yes, it definitely relates to a lot of students at this school,” said Cedric Bowser, a senior at Mission High and an actor playing the role of a boyfriend in an interracial relationship in the school’s play titled “Love Ain’t Easy.”
After four weeks of long discussions around what makes a healthy relationship, the students from Jennifer Colker’s Peer Resources class were ready to start writing and developing their characters. They decided to develop scenes using four sets of characters—a gay couple, an interracial couple, an abusive man and a single girl who wants a boyfriend. After a month of rehearsing, they were ready to go on the road—or at least to Mission High School’s small theater filled with a rowdy audience of more than 50 students.
“They got a lot out of the process,” said Colker, the peer resource educator who let the students run with the idea. “I’d like to think those discussions led them to be a little open minded about abuse and domestic violence.”
“I definitely feel like I understand it better, and I’ll be able to give advice on it now,” said Jackson Harris, a junior in Colker’s class.
Hello Olu,
In response to your typo comment, I realize it is bad grammar but that is the title of the play and I don’t have the license to change it without taking away its effect–so I purposely went with it. But thank you for spotting it. Your comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
What an uplifting story! Kudos to Ms. Colker for guiding these young people in developing understanding around these difficult issues. The play and the way the students expressed themselves made me feel hopeful about the fantastic job our teachers are doing with our public school students. And Betty Bastida did an excellent job of video storytelling.
Please fix the you’re / your typo on the subhead on the main page..
Great article, and great site though!
Betty Bastidas is an amazing reporter, journalist and artist. She is also kind, professional, and lots of fun! Thank you Betty for creating such a beautiful piece on this worthwhile project. If anyone wants help creating educational theater from scratch, let me know!
Betty Bastidas is an amazing producer, journalist, and artist! She is also easy to work with and a lot of fun. Thanks Betty for creating this beautiful piece on such an worthwhile project. If anyone is interested in creating educational theater from scratch, please let me know.