In Brief: February 16
WBGU-TV series addresses ‘Addiction: Opiates and Heroin’
WBGU-TV is shining a light on a dark subject: heroin and opiate addiction in Ohio. Once considered a problem largely of the inner city, now suburbs and rural areas are seeing an explosion of addicts among unexpected populations. The first episode of “Addiction: Heroin and Pills” is set to air at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19.
Marcus Harrison, producer and director of the new series, said, “As a public television station, we have a responsibility to address this epidemic that is claiming an average of five lives a day in Ohio alone. This has become an issue of public health, and we need to raise awareness.”
In addition to the human cost, addiction to opiates and heroin is costing Ohio billions in health care, emergency services and criminal justice. “The social and economic ramifications are overwhelming,” Harrison said.
WBGU-TV has partnered with a variety of community and government agencies to create the series, which begins with an introduction to the problem of addiction and the relationship between opiates and heroin.
The descent into addiction often begins with legitimately prescribed opiate drugs for pain, which are highly addictive, Harrison said. “Once the prescribed doses have been finished, the withdrawal from opiates can be very difficult, and they are very expensive to buy on the street. That’s where heroin comes in: It’s cheap and it’s widely available.”
Another avenue involves recreational experimentation with pills, which, again, can lead to addiction and a turn to the more affordable heroin.
Thus, people who might never have imagined themselves shooting up or snorting heroin suddenly find themselves pulled into a cycle of addiction and all that brings.
“But we also want to show people there is hope, and share treatment options and resources,” Harrison said. “Addiction: Heroin and Pills” will present educational, treatment and prevention aspects of drug addiction. Harrison has met with government officials, politicians, therapists, current addicts and people in recovery.
The series includes footage of local “town hall” meetings featuring panel discussions by people on the front lines of the issue. A session sponsored by the Wood County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board included a mother of an addict who overdosed and a representative from the Governor’s Cabinet Opiate Action Team.
It was standing-room-only at the event, “because this is where we stand right now — It’s suburban and it’s rural,” Harrison said of the problem.
‘The Memory of Water’ comes to BGSU stage
The pain, laughter and bickering of siblings who remember family instances quite differently is at the heart of Shelagh Stephenson’s “The Memory of Water,” onstage at Bowling Green State University Feb. 19-28 in a BGSU Theater production.
On the eve of their mother's funeral, three sisters return to the family home on the Yorkshire coast of England. There, while a winter storm rages, the sisters wait for the day of the funeral, attend to their mother's final affairs, revisit memories of their childhoods, and reflect upon their futures. Because their memories have been diluted by time and fantasy, they are incapable of agreeing on any interpretation of the past; it is clear, however, that after the events of their two days together, each of their futures will be forever altered. “The Memory of Water” received the Laurence Olivier Award for best new comedy in 2000.
Department of Theatre and Film faculty member Lesa Lockford directs the play, with graduate student Kevin Calcamp as assistant director.
Broadway reviewer Larry Murray said, “‘The Memory of Water’ is a tragedy, leavened with many moments of near-insane humor. It delights. It raises issues. It is a rousing evening of truly alive, and lively, theatre.”
Lockford hopes audiences will look deeper than just the humor. “The title and the question that lies at the heart of the play urge us to consider what is left after we are gone. Does any significance we may have generated in the world slip away when we have ‘shuffled off this mortal coil’?”
The relatable setting of the play is important to Lockford. “While all this may hardly seem like material for a comedy, despite the emotional core of the play with its themes of loss and mourning, the play is nevertheless comedic. Perhaps what unfolds in the play, then, is best summed up with what Mary says in Act One, ‘It's what normal people do at abnormal times.’”
The main characters are performed by Cynthia Stroud, Janina Bradshaw, Allison Kump, Madison Zavitz, Patrick Scholl and David Baker.
Given the mature subject matter of the play, parental guidance is suggested for young children.
“The Memory of Water” opens at 8 p.m. on Feb. 19. Additional performances are at 8 p.m. on February 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28, as well as 2 p.m. on Feb. 21, 22 and 28 in the Eva Marie Saint Theatre at the Wolfe Center for the Arts.
All advance seats are $15 for adults and $5 for students and children. Ticket prices will increase at the door prior to each performance. To purchase tickets, visit bgsu.edu/arts or call the box office at 419-372-8171.
Updated: 12/02/2017 12:40AM