2nd Act is a collective of artists in recovery that uses theatre, film, and drama therapy to address the impact of substance use by empowering diverse and inclusive communities to promote understanding in the face of stigma. Founded in 1984 by Lynn Bratley as the Improbable Players, the troupe performed “prevention plays” in middle and high schools for the first quarter century of their existence, with titles like “I’ll Never Do That!”, a four-person play about a family affected by alcohol and drug use, and “Stages,” a two-person play about how alcohol and other drugs affect us at every stage of our lives. The group merged with Rhode-Island based COAAST (Creating Outreach About Addiction Support Together) in 2021 and expanded its programming to include a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Theatre program and a Drama Therapy program.
The organizations have performed for well over a million audience members during their “extended run.” 2nd Act will hold its annual spring fundraiser on Tuesday, May 23rd at the Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion in Boston from 6:00-8:00 pm. The evening will kick off with a VIP reception, including mocktails and light fare, followed by a premiere staged reading of our newest prevention play; I’ll Be There For You. This new show will be performed by actors in recovery and is based on interviews with Queer and BIPOC youth in recovery from Substance Use Disorder, and will highlight their voices as under-served members of our community. This premiere is intended to raise funds for I’ll Be There For You to tour middle and high schools in New England in the coming school year.
Theater Mirror spoke with 2nd Act COO Karen Snyder and Artistic Director of New Works Elizabeth Addison.
TM: Why do you think 2nd Act has resonated so well with audiences?
Karen: Our actors have lived experience, which means either they’re recovering from Substance Use Disorder themselves or they’ve been affected by loved ones with Substance Use Disorder. And while a large portion of our audience – which is kids in middle and high school – don’t have issues with substances themselves, they’re affected by loved ones that do so they can relate.
TM: I know that 2nd Act has been around since 1984, but how has the mission changed in the last nearly 40 years?
Karen: We’ve really expanded our programming to reach more people, along with our prevention plays. We have the social-emotional learning curriculum, and right now, that is in either recovery high schools or high schools that have recovery programs. Our third program is our drama therapy groups and is the program that is expanding the most. In these group sessions, we have a drama therapist who goes into behavioral health facilities and hospitals and works with either peer recovery specialists or frontline healthcare workers, and those sessions really help with compassion fatigue and burnout. Drama therapy is similar to art therapy, using creative interventions and theater exercises in a therapeutic way.
TM: What is the geographical reach of 2nd Act?
Karen: We have a smaller troupe in New York that isn’t doing in-person shows but are participating virtually. We expanded to Ohio in 2018 and did 54 shows in our first year. The Boston troupe is composed of Boston and Rhode Island actors, and we do shows throughout New England.
TM: What can you tell us about the new play you’ll premiere at the fundraiser? Are you the author, Elizabeth?
Elizabeth: I’m the artistic director of this piece, so I oversee the writing process and help with the structure. I do some writing, but realistically my goal isn’t to be the writer on this; it’s to help develop and nurture new playwrights in recovery. This playwriting program is a part of 2nd Act’s New Works Department. We are dedicated to creating a trauma-informed, recovery-friendly room, where the writers explore topics such as Substance Use Disorder, trauma, identity, and prevention education. This particular play focuses more on marginalized communities that we historically haven’t spoken to within 2nd Act (speaking specifically of The Improbable Players). So this is our first play giving voice to certain aspects of the LGBTQ community as well as the BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) community. It started off with a series of about 11 or 12 interviews from the Wayside Youth and Family Support Network.
We interviewed younger as well as older folks, and we looked at the ways in which identity played a factor in these folks’ struggles with Substance Use Disorder as well as exploring protective factors – like who were the people that they were able to reach out to, who offered support, what helped them in their recovery journey, and what their lives look like now. We investigated a diversity of stories and experiences and built scenes around these narratives, creating specific moments, events, and actions, and created a throughline of how all of them were interconnected. Then we looked at ways to tell the story that brought all these different voices together in just four characters in a 30-minute play, while also being mindful of the recovery messaging.
For tickets and information, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/encore-tickets-622558097027
