From April 21-23 at 8 p.m. in
the Gateway Auditorium the
Bucks Department of the Arts
will present the spring play,
“Addicted,” to kick off “Arts at
Bucks” week.
The play is made up of current
Bucks students and directed
by Bucks professor
Michelle Pentimall.
Tickets will be $5 prior to the
show on April 11, which is
subject to change. At the show,
tickets will be $7 for students
and $10 for non-students.
For the initial read through of
the script, Bucks students who
were selected to be a part of the
play after auditioning, along
with Professor Pentimall, met
in the Orangery on Feb. 11.
The cast members were talking
to one another and seemed
excited to start reading through
their lines as a group.
Everyone sat at three tables
pushed together and spouted
their lines with enthusiasm.
Many of the students had a
sense of humor and remained
positive throughout the hour
and a half that it took to read
the script.
Alex O’Brien, 19, a communications/
performance major
from Doylestown, said that it
would benefit students to see
the show because “it’s good to
be aware of what’s going on
with kids our age.”
“Addicted” is centered
around a group of troubled
teens addicted to alcohol and
drugs, who are trying to get
through life. The monologues
that appear throughout the play
are “real words from real
addicts,” said Pentimall.
Pentimall would like people
to see the show and really think
about how the “consequences
of making the choice to do
drugs” could really affect your
own life along with the lives of
others.
Each character has their own
internal struggle with drugs,
whether it be cocaine, pills, or
pot. Some also have to deal
with an addiction to alcohol
that consumes their lives.
Past experiences, such as
abuse, also play a big role in
the development of certain
characters.
Michael, a musician, gets
pressuredby his peers into
drinking, even though his good
friend Nikki does not approve.
Lori, abused as a child, turns
to alcohol to ease her everpresent
pain.
Jim, a member of NA/AA
( N a r c o t i c s
An o n ymo u s /Al c o h o l i c s
Anonymous) is a recovering
addict who somehow remains
optimistic throughout his time
of trouble.
The character Jim, interviewed
by Pentimall, is based
on a real person who has now
been sober for 17 years.
Karl Schoeler, 22, a communications/
performance major
from Doylestown, plays the
part of Jim.
When asked what people
should get out of “Addicted”
he said “addicts aren’t bad people”
and people shouldn’t shun
an addict because of their past.
He also said “Addicted” really
shows what problems
addicts may go through.
Selected scenes from
Addicted will be performed on
April 19 and April 21 at 12:30
p.m. in the Gallagher Room.
These dates and times are subject
to change.