Students Deal With Violence Through Drama
(CBS) -- The show must go on.
That's what students in a high school play decided, despite recurring violence outside their school in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez has a story of how the students are using art to show the backstories of kids and guns.
Students at Catalyst Maria Charter High School are back on stage after last year's final school play was cancelled, because of a shooting outside the school.
"They were disappointed. But unfortunately sometimes, they're kind of used to this kind of thing," drama director Andrea Mear says. "They really want to get their message across that an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind."
This year, Mear wrote a play that incorporated the students' real-life challenges growing up with violence. The theme struck a chord.
"One wrong choice, one wrong move and that could lead to something you're going to regret," student actor Eddie Barajas says.
Students say two more people were shot in the neighborhood just a couple of weeks ago. But instead of cancelling their performances this weekend, they feel their anti-violence message is needed more than ever.
"Maybe we won't stop it, but we'll put our voice out there," student actor Vaness Tejeda says.
"A Work in Progress" will be performed Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
