Newsletter: A good ending — Forum theater lets kids rewrite bullying story
Children change fate in “Safa’s Story” showcasing their empathy, confidence and friendship through roleplay.
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“Stop!” yelled the children at Montgomery Middle School on Nov. 12 while raising their hands in front of them.
They halted “Safa’s Story,” an interactive play about a fifth grade girl named Safa being bullied because of the color of her skin and where her family is from.
The play is no ordinary production where actors sing a song then leave. It’s a Forum Theatre piece by Imagine, an applied theater company specializing in stories of social justice, human connection, learning and development. In this performance style, the audience gets a chance to shape the outcome.
“Safa’s Story” is a true story written by Imagine co-founder Catherine Hanna Schrock about a fifth grade Zimbabwean American girl who gets bullied by a new kid named Ryan from Minnesota. He mispronounces her name, touches her hair, and jokes that Safa is sweaty and stinky because she is Black. At one point, he says that Safa is “not a real American” because she’s from Zimbabwe.
Her two friends — Jake and Sarah — don’t realize the pain Safa goes through, and at the end of the play, she ultimately suppresses it.
This story has a sad ending, Schrock told the audience.
First photo: An actor playing Ryan (yellow shirt) touches Safa’s (pink shirt) hair, commenting on its texture during "Safa’s Story" at Montgomery Middle School. Center photo: In one scene, Safa gets teased by her classmates while they skip around her. Last photo: An actor playing Ms. Hernandez (center) tells Safa (left) to get along with Ryan (right), despite him teasing her. Brittany Cruz-Fejeran/Daylight San Diego
“But how would you like us to change the story?” she asked the children in the audience. “Actually, we can’t do it without you!”
For the second half of the play, actors go through some of the scenes and tell the kids to yell, “Stop!” if they see something they want to change. The kids are encouraged to express what they think Safa can do better and think about how her friends can support her.
Schrock believes that live theater is a powerful storytelling tool. Allowing the kids the ability to control the outcome gives them the opportunity to gain real practice at showing empathy and standing up for their friends, she said.
Jaeonnie Davis-Crawford, who plays Safa, said when she first saw the play, she cried because she saw her personal experiences reflected in it.
“I think the difference in my childhood is that my defense mechanism was to always be in on the joke,” she said. “For a really long time, I was kind of tokenizing myself as a kid growing up.”
Being a part of something that teaches children how to combat racism and bullying was a dream role for Davis-Crawford. She said it’s moving to hear the kids articulate things she didn’t have the words for when she was their age.
She recalled one show where a young girl stopped it to replace the character Sarah. In character, Davis-Crawford told the girl she was scared to say anything because she was afraid Ryan would be meaner.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let that happen,” the girl replied, according to Davis-Crawford.
During the Nov. 12 performance, when Ryan said Safa is “not a real American,” a student joined the performance to tell him it doesn’t matter where she is from.
“We are all American,” she said.
Kids stopped the play during moments when Ryan touched Safa’s hair, when Safa doesn’t tell the teacher why she’s crying, when Jake doesn’t stand up for Safa and when Sarah fails to see that Safa is hurt. During each pause, a student went up and protected Safa with their own words.
The cast and audience shouted, “You are brave!” after each student left the stage.
“We are always asking for huge bravery,” Schrock said. “They’re in front of their peers expressing their ideas, and without fail, they always (participate).”
— Brittany Cruz-Fejeran
ICE arrests continue at green card appointments
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has a policy that says it should adjudicate green card applications of people who entered through the visa waiver program before referring them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but this week ICE interrupted a green card appointment to detain a man who had come as a tourist, fallen in love and married a U.S. citizen.
— Kate Morrissey
In a new escalation of immigration arrests in San Diego, ICE officers detained people at their green card interviews this week. Though other cities have reported arrests of immigrants in the final stages of obtaining their green cards, this week marks the first time that San Diego attorneys have seen clients detained at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services appointments.
— Kate Morrissey
Barring a sharp shift, health insurance costs will skyrocket
Many of the 24 million working and middle-class Americans insured through the Affordable Care Act may forgo insurance if their bills multiply.
— Story by Mark Kreidler, Capital & Main
This week, San Diegans can attend a children’s focused farmers market event in downtown San Diego, a community workshop from the San Diego Black Panthers Party and a cleanup event in Balboa Park. We’ve also compiled a roundup of food distribution events throughout the county.
— Lauren J. Mapp
Other news
Police in San Diego County have been accessing many private automated license plate readers in the region without adhering to state guardrails for such systems, KPBS reported.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has directed its staff to negotiate a partnership with the San Diego Foundation, a philanthropic organization, to help continue social services despite federal funding cuts, according to inewsource.
New border crossing lanes in Tijuana opened for people enrolled in SENTRI and Global Entry programs on Wednesday, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The new lanes at Calle Segunda, also known as Benito Juárez, are open every day from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m., and thus far, have decreased wait times to cross the border.
Upcoming Events
Nov. 22
Balboa Park Cleanup: Forever Balboa Park is leading a community cleanup throughout the park. 9 - 11 a.m., Balboa Park, 1549 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101
Fall Legislative Update, Health Fair & Turkey Giveaway: California State Senator Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) is hosting a health fair with a turkey giveaway and legislative update in the back of Madison High School. Guests can receive one turkey per household on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last. 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., Back of Madison High School, 4858 Mount Abernathy Ave., San Diego, CA 92117
Children’s Day at the Market: Park Takeover is hosting games, crafts and other activities during the City Heights Farmers Market. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., 4325 Wightman St., San Diego, CA 92105
Community Workshop for Empowerment: The San Diego Black Panthers, Asian Solidarity Collective and Vision Culture Foundation are hosting a free teach-in. Topics covered during the workshop will include Know Your Rights, performative resistance, shared leadership, and navigating resistance, resilience and mental health. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m., Vision Culture Foundation, 2440 Highland Ave., National City, CA 91950
Nov. 23
South Park Shop Local: Artisans at a monthly makers market will offer crafted items like candles, planters and jewelry at Wicked Fit in South Park. 12 - 3 p.m., 1504 30th St, San Diego, CA 92102
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