THE OUTRAGE: An Educational Journey Through Teen Dating Violence and Sexual Assault

Check out "The Most Valuable Thing You've Learned from The Outrage" here: http://youtu.be/rWNUJccJLD0

Getting the Message Out

“The Outrage” program is always looking for ways to create a great impact with their message of “Be the Change – Become a person who speaks up in situations where people are being disrespectful.” 

Charlie Weber, a member of “The Outrage” for two years, came up with a fantastic idea:  To have “The Outrage” members create large banners and small signs for the school’s hallways.  Then while some of “The Outrage” members were performing and the students at the school were watching the performance, other members of “The Outrage” would change the signs and pass out resource information.

Charlie said, “We made flyers and posters to put up before and after the performance. A few days before we performed at our school we placed huge "The Outrage is coming," "It is happening," and "It is around us" signs all over the locker areas. During the performance ‘The Outrage’ Invasion began. We put resource cards in every locker, taped ‘Loves Me/Loves Me Not’ resource bookmarks on every locker front, covered the school walls with our statistics flyers and changed the huge posters to new ones that read "Be The Change" and "Feel Outrage in this Room.

Not only did we get our peers and friends to start talking about The Outrage, but after the performance you could feel a change in the hallways. Leaving the posters and flyers up for a few more days kept the message alive.”

Charlie – and the other 27 Outrage members – turn the message into a movement!”

A Video: Why I am Part of "The Outrage"

Check it out here: http://youtu.be/m0TQ3S-lQAY

"The Outrage" collaborates with students from Kansas School for the Deaf

Kansas School for the Deaf students: 8

SAFEHOME student volunteers: 8

Number of Interpreters: 2

Minutes of practicing together: 90

Declaring a unified message without sharing a similar language: Priceless

The week before the performance, Jennifer Carlino (Kansas School for the Deaf Theatre Teacher) worked with 8 deaf theatre students to memorize “The Outrage” lines in American Sign Language and to learn the blocking for the performance.  Throughout that same week, Allison Basinger (SAFEHOME “The Outrage” Program Coordinator) communicated with KSD Staff to implement modifications to “The Outrage” script.

During a 90 minute rehearsal session,  eight KSD deaf theatre students and eight SAFEHOME hearing students fused together their previous individual practice sessions.  “The air was full of this palpable energy.” Allison Basinger stated, “There was an instant connection and recognition that we were there for the same purpose: to communicate the importance of healthy relationships.”  The collaborative process zipped the two communities together and resulted in a completely integrated performance of “The Outrage” on January 12 for approximately 100 Kansas School for the Deaf students. 

Nick Huggard, a SAFEHOME “Outrage” student volunteer reflected, “Performing for the school for the deaf was one of the most unique experiences of my life.  Not only was it a terrific performance, but it helped me realize that with “Outrage” there is no one we can’t reach.”

A Video: What I've Learned from "The Outrage"

Wonder what teens learn from "The Outrage"? Check out what a performer of the piece has learned: http://bit.ly/t1FfnR

The Outrage Code of Ethics

“The Outrage” student volunteers know that disrespectful behaviors are the foundation of all unhealthy relationships.  They also recognize that in order to be effective teachers of healthy relationships they must be respectful people.  At “The Outrage” monthly meeting the student volunteers completed the process of re-working “The Outrage” Code of Ethics.  The Code of Ethics is a contractual agreement constructed by “The Outrage” student actors through discussion and consensus.  The final contract must be signed by each Outrage student and their parent in order to participate in “The Outrage” program.  

November Stats

• "The Outrage" students volunteered approximately 130 hours during the month of November!
• "The Outrage" performed four times for a total of 410 audience members in Novmber.

Teen Dating Violence PSA

Thanks to the grant from the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, five Outrage students were selected to appear in a 15-second PSA that will air before all PG-13 and R-rated movies playing in the three Johnson County AMC Theatres now through mid-March 2012! The PSA states two dating violence statistics and provides resource information regarding unhealthy and abusive relationships. Check it out here:

http://youtu.be/O_U3a-ki5A0

Are you Outraged?

The month of October was full of performances for “The Outrage”!

On October 2, “The Outrage” performed in Olathe, Kan. for more than 100 people, including State Farm Public Affairs Specialist Stella Spiking. Stella presented the troupe with a check from the YAB following the performance.

 After a performance at a local hospital on October 24, an attendee wrote a thank you letter stating, “I received numerous compliments from our staff on the performance. I know we are all aware that abuses such as those addressed by the “The Outrage” occur; however, when you see it occur in a format such as this, it brings the issue to life.”

Overall, "The Outrage" was performed five times for nearly 850 people in October!