In partnership with HarborCOV in Chelsea and CityLab Innovation High School, Revere Public Schools recently commissioned a performance of ‘The Yellow Dress’, a dramatic one-woman play based on the stories of young women who were victims of dating violence.
Performed last week in front of a captivated audience of high schoolers at CityLab, the play tells the story of Anna, played by Rydia Vielehr, and Rick through an intimate and honest monologue. Anna describes her relationship that started as young love full of passion and promise that ultimately ended in tragedy.
“I know that I did the right thing to leave him; it’s just that I didn’t know that Rick doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” says Vielehr's character Anna in the play.
The Yellow Dress is a powerful performance carefully constructed for teens, encouraging them to think differently about dating violence by emphasizing awareness and early warning signs such as isolation, obsession, and controlling behaviors. Key points in the play include the cycle of abuse, the importance of recognizing positive and negative aspects of relationships, and the impact of emotional dependency and low self-esteem.
This play allows the audience to learn about the cycle of dating violence. The audience watches as Anna describes the different types of abuse that she experienced, the effects that abuse has on the victims of dating violence, and how difficult it is to leave an abusive relationship.
After the performance, Vielehr, led a group discussion with CityLab students to talk about the play and the facts and falsehoods about domestic violence. The discussion touched on dating violence topics such as awareness and early warning signs; positive and negative aspects of the relationship; the impact of abuse on self-esteem and emotional dependency; recognizing and addressing abusive behaviors; challenges of helping and supporting victims; the role of emotional dependency and jealousy in abusive relationships; the danger of breaking up and the importance of support; the broader impact of dating violence; and the complexity of abusive relationships and the need for change.
“How many of you guys think something like this could happen in Revere or at your school?” Vielehr asked the students. “I see a lot of hands go up and things like this can happen anywhere. Part of the problem with dating violence, as you saw in this show, is awareness, being aware that things like this can happen in your community. A lot of people try and hide it and cover it up, but just by talking about it and making people aware, that's how we can make sure that things like this don't happen anymore. We have a lot of people in your community who are concerned about you and want to make sure that you guys have the best experience in high school.”
Vielehr continued, “You've got a lot of teachers, guidance counselors, and other people who are there for you.”
As teens begin to form romantic relationships Vielehr said jealousy is a natural part of dating, especially among adolescence.
“How many of you guys ever felt jealousy in your life?” Vielehr asked. “I see most hands go up. Now, jealousy is a perfectly natural middle motion. It's fine to feel jealous, but what Rick did wrong was that he acted upon this jealousy. That's what we call possessiveness. Rick treated Anna like an object like he thought that he owned her. Just because you feel a certain way does not give you the right to try and control someone and do whatever you want.”
As the discussion progressed, students made some very poignant observations of Rick’s behavior.
“He might have been struggling and finding some sort of control in his life, in his relationship,” said one student. “He could have had low self-esteem and could have been looking for a way to control the situation and the people around him.”
“The Yellow Dress” is part of Deana’s Educational Theater, a Massachusetts-based organization that performs educational plays and workshops that deal with domestic abuse and bullying. Deana’s Theater has performed works across the country for more than twenty years, with “The Yellow Dress” having been adapted for high school, college, and military audiences, and offered to over 20,000 people.
The Yellow Dress was written by Deborah Lake Fortson and originally produced by Sydney Patten. The production was introduced by Lori Dawson, Ph.D., director of the Women’s Studies program, and Patricia Marshall, Ph.D., associate vice president for academic affairs. The presentation of “The Yellow Dress” at WSU was given in remembrance of former Worcester State University (WSU) student Candace Allen Scola, who was found dead in her home in 2002 and is believed to have been a victim of domestic violence.
If you believe you are a victim of dating or domestic violence HarborCOV is here for you. You can call them at any time to get support. HarborCOV’s 24 Hour Hotline is 617-884-9909.
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