The Friends of Julia Dark - Art Lennox
A tragedy about the effects of drug use and peer pressure.
This is the third play I've read so far. It is about a girl, Julia, who has overdosed on drugs and alcohol at a party. Seven of her friends who were at the party are rounded up and taken to the police station for questioning. It is soon learned that while no one gave Julia the drugs, no one stopped her from taking them either. The teens know all about the dangers of drug use "but none of them know what it means to be a friend."
This is sort of a modern version of a morality play. I mean, you could certainly use it in a high school during D.A.R.E. week or something, but it is a little more didactic than I had expected. No interpretation necessary, this play hits you over the head with the message! I liked it well enough, but I don't think BYU students are the target audience if I were to one day direct it.
I like that theme - "none of them know what it means to be a friend." I think we've all had moments in our lives and high school especially where we feel disappointed by the actions of our friends or ourselves when we're with people who maybe aren't the best friends or influences. Not sure about you not being able to direct it here. I saw "Fefu and her Friends" here a year ago, and while it's definitely one of the more controversial plays I've seen here, it went over really well in the Q&A afterward. People said it made them really uncomfortable, but they enjoyed it because it challenged their ideas and notions about women's roles.
ReplyDeleteOh cool! I saw Fefu and her Friends too! One of my teachers directed it. I see how that sounded like I COULDN'T do it here, I mostly meant that I think that it is for younger people. The didacticism is pretty obvious, and a college aged audience might be annoyed by it. I felt a little annoyed reading it. I like the message but I think it is both more relevant for, and geared towards, a junior high/high school audience.
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