DigitAL nativeS: 2016 Social issue play

Public Performance
April 20 •  7 p.m. • Memorial Auditorium

School Performances
April 21 • 9 a.m. & 1 p.m. • Memorial Auditorium

​Free!

For the ninth year, PHS presents an original social issue play written especially for PHS Rep Theatre by Debbie Lamedman. Beginning with "Bang Bang, You're Dead" in 2008, the plays have supported the goal of improving the school climate by helping students make safer and healthier choices, and fostering academic and social engagement.

“We’re starting a conversation," says director Greg Shaw. "That’s the whole objective of the entire thing. We just want to elicit a response.”

Shaw has been recognized for the plays with the KNEA Human and Civil Rights Award and Character Education Partnership's National Award for Promising Practices — awards he said he shares with his students and administrators.

This year’s focus: Technology addiction.

"As technology seeps into every aspect of our lives, we rely on it to do everything. We check for emails, social media updates, tweets, as well as news or sports updates," Shaw says. "If you are like our district, we recognize the impact that technology addiction has on our students and know it can interfere with a student's academic and personal-social development."

Nomophobia is the fear of being without your smartphone, and affects 40 percent of the population. According to Dale Archer, M.D., more than 56 percent of all Americans own a smartphone. For many, the phone, computer, tablet and other high-tech devices have become not just an object, but a best friend.

"While there tragic consequences to using one’s phone at unsafe times, such as texting while driving, the use of and addiction to technology may have an impact on our relationships with friends, family, work and the world," Shaw says. "In fact, there are some studies that show that there may be brain surface shrinkage with excessive use of high-tech devices."

The show will be offered to area SCHOOLS in two FREE performances on Thursday, April 21, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. (teachers must make reservations to guarantee seating).
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A FREE, PUBLIC performance is slated for 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 20. The 45-minute performance, to be held at Pittsburg's Memorial Auditorium, will be appropriate for middle and high school-aged students.

After the performance, the cast and select community members will take the stage to conduct a 20-30 minute "talk-back" Q&A session with the audience.​

About Debbie Lamedman

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Debbie is a playwright, author and editor of eight acting books published by Smith & Kraus, Inc.  Debbie's plays include phat girls, Triangle Logic, Eating in the Dark, Just Add Love, and Out with the Old. Debbie is the co-bookwriter for the musical How the Nurse Feels, which had staged readings at both the ASCAP/Disney workshop in Los Angeles, and New World Stages in New York City.

Debbie's short play Mind Control was produced as part of the 35th Annual Samuel French Off-Broadway Short Play Festival in New York City.
Debbie's commissioned work includes Ignorance is Bliss: a Global Warning, and Everyday People, a play on anti-bullying which premiered in April 2011 to nearly 5,000 audience members.

Additional commissions include Rx, a play that deals with prescription drug abuse among teens, You Belong to Me, a piece about dating violence, and Snowflakes, a theatrical documentary exploring Autism.  Her most recent play, Digital Natives, focuses on excessive texting and Internet usage and will premier in Pittsburg in April.
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 In addition to her writing, Debbie is an acting and writing coach for students and professionals.  Debbie frequently is a guest teaching artist and has taught master classes and monologue workshops around the country.  Debbie received her MFA in theatre from Brandeis University and is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and Actors' Equity Association.