Taboo topic addressed on Eden Prairie stage

For three days in January, Minnesota's largest high school was under scrutiny for all the wrong reasons.

News spread quickly that several Eden Prairie High School students had been questioned and 13 suspended from sports and other activities after Facebook.com photos surfaced showing underage students partying with alcohol.

A few indignant teens walked out of school to protest the disciplinary action.

"I was surprised by all the media and the negative attention it gained," said Peter Heeringa, a 24-year-old Eden Prairie alum. "We wanted to create a positive dialogue."

Eden Prairie students hope to turn the embarrassment into something meaningful with "Blackout," a student-created play that opened Thursday, exploring underage drinking in the suburbs. Some say it's a step toward healing for the school that prefers to tout its status as the state's biggest producer of National Merit scholars.

Eden Prairie's play isn't a typical scripted drama. Instead, it combines monologues, video clips and real-life interviews with community members about the devastating effects of underage drinking.

Heeringa, the director, said the 14-student cast and crew spent six weeks interviewing more than 50 Eden Prairie students, district staff members and parents.

One of the most powerful scenes in the play reconstructs the aftermath of a fictionalized underage drinking party that's busted by adults.

After the party breaks up, the audience witnesses three parents discuss -- or avoid discussing -- what happened with their children during a long car ride home.

"It's all material they've created through extensive research and interviews," Heeringa said. "We really sought to get at 'what is the general experience [in Eden Prairie] with underage drinking?'"

School officials said it's difficult to answer that question without relying on stereotypes. Some kids make bad choices, some kids don't. It's not easy to understand.

Eden Prairie junior Kate Bjorklund said "Blackout" is presented as a "collage." The 17-year-old was the principal researcher for this week's production. Bjorklund and other cast and crew members said it uses facts, humor and real-life emotion caught on camera to delve into a subject that is often taboo. But "Blackout" isn't a lecture, the students said.

"This is a very real topic in our community these days," said Ali White, an Eden Prairie senior who will study theater at Northwestern University next fall. "Frankly, it's a bigger problem than people think."

Problem greater in suburbs?

More than 70 percent of American teens have had alcohol by the time they turn 18, according to a 2006 report released by the U.S. Surgeon General. Some experts believe the numbers are especially high in suburbs such as Eden Prairie, where students often have more disposable income and greater access to cars.

Julia Chester, an assistant professor of psychological sciences at Purdue University, heard about the Facebook.com flap and said the students should be commended for launching a community-wide dialogue about underage drinking. Chester has spent more than a decade researching how alcohol affects adolescents' brains and future development.

"We know a lot of kids come to college with significant experience with alcohol," she said. "There's a fear that kids are going to drink anyway, so why not let them drink at home?" But research shows that kids who drink as teens are more likely to develop alcohol dependence issues.

Eden Prairie Principal Conn McCartan stood offstage earlier this week at the school's performing arts center watching one of the final dress rehearsals.

He liked what he saw.

McCartan moonlights as an actor at the Minnetonka Community Theatre and other local playhouses. He said he couldn't be more proud of the students.

"I love it on two levels," he said. "One, it's a great topic to address in school. Two, as a 'theater man,' I love that we've got students exploring a real-world issue and portraying it through theater."

Paul Blakely, 17, an Eden Prairie junior, explained that the audience can stick around after the production to ask questions or share their thoughts about the play and its subject matter. If they decide not to stay, Blakely said he hopes they'll at least discuss it at home.

Students hope the play gets across the dangers and embarrassments that come with underage drinking.

"I'm just hoping people take it seriously," Bjorklund said.

Patrice Relerford • 612-673-4395