Chautauqua Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Council (CASAC)
2-6 E. 2nd StreetJamestownNY14701
716-664-3608716-664-3661

Program: Awareness Theatre Year Started: 1985 Focus: Theater Youth Served: 45 Ages: 14-18 Budget: $53,000 Two troupes of youth are recruited at the beginning of every school year to perform scenes about alcohol and substance abuse before student audiences throughout the county. Performers receive intensive theater training and then meet once a week for 2 1/2 hours for rehearsals and discussion. Once a month, guest speakers and trainers meet with youth to work on special issues such as AIDS and alcohol and substance abuse treatment. There is a basic outline for each of the scenes. However, improvisation and audience participation are encouraged, so every performance is different. In performance, youth and peers talk about substance abuse and alcoholism, thus creating an interactive program between performers and audience members. This interaction has resulted in a regular following and requests for repeat performances. In 1994, 245 performances (mostly in schools) were given.