METH TOUR TO BE LAUNCHED FROM CHILLIWACK

It all started with a meeting held on a small Chilliwack reserve last January.

Now a unique type of theatrical production called Meth is ready to
kick off a B.C.-wide tour of 27 communities from Tzeachten Hall in
Chilliwack on January 15.

"It was almost a year ago that Headlines Theatre officials came to a
meeting on the Skwah reserve organized by Marion Robinson of the
Fraser Basin Council," said Diane Garner, chair of the Drug Action Task Force.

"Out of that meeting we decided that the biggest problem to tackle
was meth, and the whole vision for the forum-theatre project was born
right here in Chilliwack."

The task force members have been working on a plan to tackle the
plague of methamphetamines addiction using education and
awareness-building. Meth was performed in Vancouver at the end of
November and early December.

"This project is another way to educate the community and youth about
the impact of meth in our communities, using theatre performances and
improvisation," Garner said.

The cast includes former meth addicts and those who've been
profoundly affected by it.

Headlines Theatre founder and director David Diamond employs a
forum-theatre technique that allows audience members to yell "Stop!"
and jump into the action of the piece. They can replace a character
and offer solutions or change the direction of the play. He developed
Theatre for Living based on Theatre of the Oppressed, where the
relationship between an oppressor and the oppressed is explored
through the play.

"Even though they're actors on stage, the players offer an inside
look at what young people are facing while involved in the world of
meth," she said. "It's tragic. It's hell on earth."

By now, everyone knows a little about the drug's ravages, including
instantaneous dependency, psychotic episodes and shattered lives, she
said. Many have heard about its lightning speed proliferation in
rural areas, emergency room trips and increased property crime rates.

"These are effects, but what are the causes?" becomes one of the
central questions of the piece.

Meth begins with the premise that addicts come from somewhere, a
community, and it is within that precise community where many
potential solutions can be found as well, Garner said.

"It offers the community in an innovative way to look at addiction,
how it happens, and what can be done," she added.

To attend Meth, call the Skwah First Nation at 604-792-9204 and ask
for Donna to reserve seats for the Jan. 15 launch at Tzeachten Hall.