ELBOW - A play written by two students of Loreburn Central School shone a light on the pressures that teenagers find themselves under these days.
Taking the stage at Elbow's Harbor Golf Community Center on Thursday, May 8, a host of young performers from LCS gave the audience a glimpse into the daily lives of kids with the play, 'Unspoken Reflections', written by students Rebecca Possberg and Audrey Santos together with teacher Jacob Schilling.
The show depicted the seemingly normal, everyday lives of teens; commitments like organizing events at school, upcoming exams, and balancing that with what their home lives may bring them. But adding to all of it was the growing realization that one of society's most popular things of today, social media, can be a tool for good or bad; filling kids' minds with hollow thoughts of praise, raising their expectations of becoming popular and 'in' with the cool crowds, and the harsh reality that can come crashing down when they see that the cyber world isn't all a bed of roses.
Perhaps the central theme running through the play's material was the message that the kids wanted to tell adults - 'We can be under immense pressure at times and our lives can feel like too much is bottling up, so don't be too hard on us when we sometimes fail to meet your expectations.' The monologue that Noah delivers, the central character played by Matthew Possberg, hits a nerve with the audience and brings the point home.
The story was a powerful one, and the fact that it was an original production made it feel more impactful.
'Unspoken Reflections' was performed by Matthew Possberg, Audrey Santos, Rebecca Possberg, Hunter Garrioch, Althea Cabungcal, Emma Griffin, Zhean Santos, Peyton Garnes, Lexie Shewchuk, Katrina Possberg, and Parker Walsh, with stage management by Ahrdrcyn Baptiste and Vincent Yakimoski on lights & sound.
