The old saying about life imitating art is exemplified once again this weekend as Dot teens join peers from across the city in presenting an annual educational drama about the legal consequences of all-too-common mistakes youngsters make.
The Huntington Theatre Company (HTC) presents its 14th annual production of “Know the Law!”, a series of intertwining vignettes by and about urban youth performed by Boston teenagers, at the Kroc Center in Uphams Corner tomorrow (June 29) at 7 p.m. and Saturday, at 2 p.m.
Designed specifically for an urban audience, the 40-minute play interweaves stories of teenagers in trouble. Teen actors present authentic scenes that teach their peers how a better understanding of Massachusetts law can help them to make informed choices and stay out of trouble. Following each performance there is a talkback session among the actors, audience, MBTA Transit Police Officer police officers and other law enforcement personnel who also perform.
“Many Boston teens encounter legally compromising or dangerous situations every day,” says Naheem Garcia, HTC Education and Community Associate, who co-authored “Know the Law!” with Amanda Pyne.
Garcia goes on to note that it’s not uncommon for cast members to have experienced or to be experiencing the very problems being staged in the play.
Deborah Foderingham, Administrative Coordinator for the Children’s Services of Roxbury, Inc. which helps run the effort, recalls a case in point. A teen actress last year found the lead role she was preparing brought back traumatic memories. She was playing a girl under house arrest wearing an ankle bracelet having taken the blame for a friend whose gun she was left holding. Because the situation so closely paralleled her own history, she became increasingly tense during the rehearsal process. Just before the show opened, she left the part to her understudy.
This year’s cast seem to be wrestling with no such problems. They include Mattapan’s Rechmiaeel Tajah who gives a Jamaican accent to his character of “Ace.” Dot residents include Tonea Washington (“Evonne”), Natiyanna Merchant (“Corey”), Kevon Smith (“Warren’) along with Akeyla Ford-Sharpe (Girl 1) Nikasia Woodley (Jolene) and Antonia Pinckney.
To mount “Know the Law!” a group of 25 teenaged peer leaders hired by Youth and Police in Partnership (YPP) receive free acting training and direction over six months from HTC teaching artists. Beyond the coaching that they receive in acting and speech, this group of Boston students participates in writing and vocabulary programs and work collaboratively with the HTC’s teaching artists to improve and update the production.
The HTC developed “Know the Law!” in 1998 and runs the program as a collaboration with YPP, a program of Children’s Services of Roxbury, Inc. “Know the Law!” was developed through a collaboration between the Huntington Theatre Company’s Department of Education and Community Programs, the Boston Police Department, and community leaders. It is sponsored in part by a grant from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
