After seeing a play with no fancy lights and no elaborate
costumes
– just hard-hitting dialogue – the audience at Gavilan College
Monday night will go home with something to think about, said play
writer and San Benito County Commissioner Jean Flanagan.
After seeing a play with no fancy lights and no elaborate costumes – just hard-hitting dialogue – the audience at Gavilan College Monday night will go home with something to think about, said play writer and San Benito County Commissioner Jean Flanagan.
San Benito County vs. John Doe, a play reading, explores the legal consequences of unplanned pregnancy in an innovative, theatrical way, said Gavilan drama instructor and play director Julianne Palma.
The play tells the story of a teenage couple who, on their first date at the prom, have unplanned sex. Nine months later a baby girl is born and the young couple must face the emotional, physical and financial consequences of their choice.
The last scene takes the audience to a courtroom, where the parents are forced to deal with the high costs of raising a child and the liabilities they have because they don’t live together.
If there’s one message Flanagan wants her audience to walk away with, it’s that having unplanned sex brings consequences, she said.
“For boys, it’s important they have a real understanding of the cost of living on your own and supporting someone else,” she said. “For girls, it’s important to think before taking those risks.”
Flanagan said she was inspired to write the play nearly four years ago when she saw how many young parents end up in court dealing with child support because of an unwanted pregnancy.
“I see them in court, and I see the difficulties they’re having,” Flanagan said. “From a court’s perspective, this play is a preventative program. Our desire is not to make judgments of whether or not to have sex, but to drive home the financial and legal consequences that might flow from that.”
The play originated a few years ago as a simple story-telling in front of an audience, Flanagan said. But when she realized the message would seem more real to teens if they could actually participate in it, she revamped the script to include live actors.
Flanagan said she will attend Monday’s performance and encourages audience members – both teenagers and their parents – to further explore the issue with her afterward in a group discussion.
In 2003, San Benito County vs. John Doe won a Kleps award, which was established in 1991 in honor of the first administrative director of the California courts Ralph N. Kleps.
The awards, given to a number of individual courts per year, applaud programs that uphold the justice system and influence the public in a creative way.
Monday’s performance is part of Gavilan College Theatre Program’s First Monday Series, a play-reading program designed to generate discussion about socially relevant, contemporary issues. The plays are performed by professional actors, Gavilan College students and other members of the community.
The plays take place on the first Monday of each month except for holidays. Play ideas, submissions and suggestions are encouraged. For more information, call 408-848-4717.
Katie Niekerk is a staff writer. Reach her at 408-847-7097 or [email protected].
