A play being staged by Pueblo County High School students and faculty members is sparking discussions about teen mental health in Pueblo and beyond.
Roxanne Pignanelli, consulting producer for the Arts Academy at Pueblo County High, introduced to students in 2017 the play "No One Hears Unless You Scream" — an original one-act teen suicide awareness play written by Joey Madia, a playwright and educator based in New Jersey.
"That's the piece we began with but over the course of producing and presenting it to the public, the high schools, we determined that the evolution of all the things that affect children have changed," Pignanelli said. With input from Arts Academy at Pueblo County High students, the play has since been revised to include discussion about modern issues affecting student mental health including bullying of LGBTQ students, eating disorders like bulimia nervosa, growing up in poverty and isolation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The piece requires safe messaging because, at the end of the day, we in no way, shape, or form want to be graphic," Pignanelli said.
Following each production, licensed therapists from Spark the Change Colorado are available for audience members to anonymously text and receive immediate counseling. Spark the Change Colorado is a statewide mental wellness program with a Pueblo location at 635 W. Corona Ave.
"Social change has to have possibilities and points of entry for people to be able to make that change," Pignanelli said.
"No One Hears Unless You Scream" will be performed this week in the Pueblo County High School auditorium Wednesday, Feb. 9, for freshmen and Thursday, Feb.10, for sophomores at Pueblo County High School. The play will be performed later this month for Pueblo West High School students. The Arts Academy at Pueblo County High School is planning future performances in Pueblo School District 60 schools. The academy also is in the process of arranging performances outside of the Pueblo area including in Salida, Walsenburg, Crested Butte and Colorado Springs.
