Sudbury Secondary School Arts Education students in STC Production

The Sudbury Theatre Centre’s production of Black Dog: 4 Against the World will showcase the talent of Sudbury Secondary School’s Arts Education students – both on and off the stage.

Black Dog: 4 Against the World deals with the topic of teen and pre-teen mental health. (Black Dog has become a common symbol of depression.) The upbeat, high-tech lives of four teens are interrupted by a problem no one seems to want to talk about and nobody knows how to solve.

“This is a highly entertaining, compelling show designed to appeal to kids in Grades 7 to 12 and their parents/guardians,” says Director Judi Straughan, a former drama teacher at Sudbury Secondary School.  “This show is a must-see. While the subject matter may seem heavy, the audience will feel uplifted and will leave with a sense of optimism and hope.”

The entire cast of Black Dog: 4 Against the World is made up of Sudbury Secondary School students who were selected through an open casting call. They include Morgan St. Onge, April Perrin, Jake Deeth, Michael Boyce and Christian Williams, who composed the central piece of music for the play.

Matthew Heiti, a graduate of Sudbury Secondary School, wrote the play. As the audience is watching events unfold live on stage, there are film sequences in the background produced by filmmaker Greg Tremblay, another Sudbury Secondary School graduate.

“This provocative play delves into the world of mental illness experienced by so many young people,” says Norm Blaseg, Director of Education for Rainbow District School Board. “Statistics show that one in five Ontarians are affected by mental health problems. It is certainly a topic that we need to bring out into the open. Awareness is the first step towards building understanding and a strong network of support.”

Grade 12 visual art students created drawings inspired by the sketches of one of the characters in the play. They were asked to visually interpret the various meanings of the black dog in the production and were challenged to work large and expressively, using high contrast and a strong point of emphasis so that the results would be both aesthetically appealing and dramatic.

“The goal behind the Black Dog IV art project at Sudbury Secondary School was to create drawings inspired by the sketches of the character Number 1 in the play,” says Visual Art teacher Sue Bechard. “Media was deliberately limited to maintain the connection with the character’s sketchbook images. The resulting artwork is powerful and visually stunning and a testament to the students’ ability to translate one artistic medium into another and to work collaboratively while honouring their individual artistic integrity.” The artwork will be on display at the Sudbury Theatre Centre throughout the show.

Black Dog: 4 vs the World plays at the Sudbury Theatre Centre for the public on Saturday, April 6, 2013 only at 2 pm and 7 pm.  All other shows (two matinées per day from April 8 to 11, 2013) are for school audiences. Prices are $15 for students and $23 for adults and seniors.  Tickets are available on line or by calling the Sudbury Theatre Centre at 705-674-8381.

-30-

Media Contact:

Nicole Charette, Senior Advisor,
Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning,
Rainbow District School Board, 705.674.3171, ext. 7217.