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Bully Beware

2011 · Lincoln Land Community College

Bully Beware was the fall 2011 traveling-theatre production created by the students of Ken Bradbury's Lincoln Land Community College Theatre 110 class. Like his other "Traveling Theatre" shows, it was an original piece written and directed by Ken and devised together with his college students, then taken on the road to perform for elementary-school audiences across the Jacksonville, Illinois area. This year, however, the usual lighthearted children's-theatre fare gave way to something more pointed: a show about bullying and the loneliness it leaves behind.

The idea grew out of the class itself. As Ken recorded in his journal, he offered student Erin Washington a choice of themes and "she liked the Bullying idea," and a Facebook post encouraging people to befriend the lonely drew nearly a hundred responses overnight, convincing him the subject "seems to strike a chord with people." He had the students blog about bullying they had witnessed or taken part in, and those firsthand stories became the spine of the play. "I know it's traveling kids theatre and it's usually ha-ha stuff," he wrote, "but these stories are powerful…I've got to [get] them into the play." The result balanced humor with real emotional weight, building toward closing monologues meant to "drive the point home" rather than leave the children with "just a play."

Songs and Pieces

The show was built around music, comedy, and direct address to the young audiences.

At each school, a local student with "a big voice, plenty of nerve and the ability to learn a couple of lines" was recruited from the audience to play a small part, and cast members pulled children up to dance during the show.

Cast

The LLCC Theatre 110 company that devised and performed Bully Beware:

Production Notes

The class met largely at Triopia, with travel to Meredosia and other sites, and rehearsed through the fall semester. A preview performance for friends, family, and the Trinity community was given Sunday, November 27, 2011, at 5 p.m. The full tour ran across four days, December 1–9, 2011, reaching roughly sixteen area elementary and middle schools. As Ken wrote to the principals, "The schedule for our performance of Bully Beware is set… We simply need a wide-open space like a gym floor… we need to cover a good deal of ground each day we're on the road."

The tour schedule:

The show's subject landed hard with some viewers. After the preview, audience member Jill Briggs Roegge wrote that she had nearly walked out in the first two minutes — not from any fault of the actors or script, but because the subject "doesn't just hit close to home, it hits MY home," recalling her own son's daily experience of bullying. "Through my tears… I thoroughly enjoyed the quality of acting, the script, the singing/dancing, and hearing the message," she wrote. "I hope it will impact the audiences in a favorable way. Thanks for trying to get the message out there!"