Using live theatre combined with role playing and discussion to examine what at-risk adolescents think about substance abuse, its consequences, and prevention.

Live theater is used as a means of stimulating thought and discussion among adolescents on topics related to the effects of substance abuse in their lives. A thirty-minute professional and contemporary live musical play, Captain Clean, was performed at three Chicago high schools (grades 9-12). In general, students in these schools had been judged to be at risk for drug problems by school administrators and by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. Students' responses to issues highlighted in the play were examined through ethnographic procedures used during role playing and discussion immediately following the performance. In addition, written comments were collected from the students two weeks after viewing. The amount of interaction and level of student response indicate that live theater is an effective means for stimulating both thought and discussion pertaining to the effects of drugs in the lives of adolescents. In addition, analysis of the students' responses reveals: (1) an unmet need for individual counseling; (2) a pervasive ignorance of the legal consequences of drug use; (3) the importance of family as a source of information and support; and (4) an expressed concern for their own futures as well as those of their peers.