Artbeat
Acting out what parents refuse to discuss
By: Jennifer Loftis
ARAS, Romania's anti-Aids association, is using drama to raise awareness of HIV and Aids prevention amongst schoolchildren
Posted: 20/04/2007
The leader gets their attention and they settle down. They get out their scripts and start rehearsing their lines. It is just like any other club and these students are just like any others except that they don’t always have mom and dad’s approval for the lines they read. They talk about sex.
Their hosts, the Romanian Anti-Aids Association, ARAS, started the club to give young people a place to have fun and be creative, but also to serve their community and reach their own generation with the message of making smart choices about sex and preventing the spread of Aids at the same time.
Aras has been serving the community since 1992. They have two main branches of work. They help provide good services to those who have HIV/Aids and they work towards prevention and education of Aids. The drama club is one way they work to educate young people.
One scene starts like this. Johnny struts up to his two friends that he hasn’t seen in a while. His friends exclaim that they’re surprised to see him since he disappeared recently. He calmly tells them that he has neglected his friends for a lady and that he has finally found love
"Johnny: Do you know Diana?
Guys: Yeah, we know her!
Johnny: Well, we’ve been together for three months now and we’re really perfect for each other. We walk to school together every day, go out every evening…we do everything together.
Guys: Everything?!
Johnny: Almost everything. I want to have sex….
Robert: With or without a condom? Listen, my girlfriend and I have been having sex for 6 months, but never without a condom!"
With much humour, cool attitudes and a lot of slang, the boys go on to talk about safe sex. They talk about the dangers of HIV/Aids and the decisions which should be involved when thinking about having sex. These students, nearly a dozen from different local high schools in Bucharest, get together weekly to plan and practice for the next performance. They usually perform once every two or three weeks at a local high school, drug centre or orphanage about the importance of thinking through sexual choices and being aware of sexually transmitted diseases. Through their plays, they teach about avoiding STDs and pregnancy by abstaining from sex while you’re young or by using condoms.
When asked why they give up their Saturdays, Mihaela, aged 17, answered, “I like what ARAS does. I want to help with this. It’s a great thing to do in my free time.” Sorin, aged 16, said, “I like doing this because I like to meet new people. I like to be able to talk about this subject because it is something that is not supposed to be talked about but that we all need to know about.”
Monica Dan, the Project Coordinator at ARAS and the director of the acting club, said, “We have learned that it the acting is extremely important not only for the education of the public, but also for those involved.” She said that the club actually makes up their own scripts and enjoys coming up with their own ideas of how to talk about sex.
Parents, however, were not thrilled at first. Ana, at 18 one of the club's eldest members, said her parents did not like it when she started attending. “They said that I did not need to know about this stuff, but they are happy now because I know things I need to know, but things that they would not have told me,” said Ana.
Other students agreed with Ana that their parents were not happy about it at first. But with time and more knowledge of what the club actually does, most parents have come around and are able to see the real benefit of their teens participating in this kind of programme.
The club has given its attendees a taste of the personal satisfaction in helping others and giving to the community. When they wrote down what they wanted to do as adults, almost all listed a profession involved in some kind of social work. Sorin wrote that he wanted to be a chauffeur for the elderly because they need help getting around and if young people do not help them then no one will. He also wants to be a secretary because he likes answering phones and talking to people. Mihai wants to go to college, then become a guard, a nurse or an ARAS volunteer. Mihaela wrote that she wants to be a psychologist so that she can understand people and help them with their problems. Oana also wants to be a psychologist so that she can be a good listener when people need to talk about their problems. But Lili simply wrote that she wants to marry a football player.
The club also recruits people to join their cause. Every time they do a performance, they pass out a sign-up sheet at the end. They ask students to sign up and come help teach others about the importance of safe sex. And it works. Most of those now in the club saw a performance at their school and decided they wanted to help, meet new people and be a part of a club with a purpose.
Even if their parents refuse to talk about it, someone has to. And acting is fun.
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