Stories of Substance

Educating adolescents about healthy decision-making can be just as awkward for parents as it is for the children. And with shows such as Intervention, 16 and Pregnant, and Teen Mom, questionable decision-making has been widely publicized, causing some adults to look for new ways to talk to the youth about the choices in their life.

Such new forms of education can be found through the use of peer groups like Stories of Substance (SOS), a performance group that travels to different schools and teaches students of all ages about decisions that may directly affect their life.

Director and health educator Kathleen Flynn-Bisson started SOS about two years ago. The group was originally made up of students that were a part of a class Flynn-Bisson taught at Stony Brook University, but has expanded since.

Flynn-Bisson accepts true stories through Stories of Substance’s website, and then talks with the cast about which ones they find the most suitable for any given performance.

“We’re taking all different topics,” said Flynn-Bisson, “we’re taking them from the community through our website and then turn it into a live show that is then performed back into the community.”

The group’s most recent performance was at Herrick’s High School in New Hyde Park, where they worked to educate students while pushing parents to encourage an open dialogue with their kids.

“I was fortunate enough to see the troupe perform back in October at a bullying conference,” said Andrew Frisone, an assistant principal at Herricks, “so when I heard they were coming tonight I was extremely excited to see them again.”

SOS performed skits on sexual abuse, family alcoholism, cyber bullying, energy drinks and video gaming. Frisone kept an eye on the students throughout. “When we went to the conference it was filled with adults so it was good to see the kids reactions this time,” he said.

Students came to earn mandatory points for their health class, but enjoyed the show.



“I think they had no idea what they were coming to see,” said Frisone. “They liked it because the actors got down on their level, spoke the language that they understood and they were just phenomenal.”

Though students were a large focus of the performance, parents were encouraged to get involved as well.

Flynn-Bisson directed the attention to the parents in the audience in the end, explaining the role they play in their children’s decision making. “When we present to parents we try to show them what’s going on because it’s based on true things,” she said. “Sometimes when we have a scene that has to do with heroin, because heroin definitely is a problem, that opens a lot of discussion with parents.”

Among the parents was Christine Michelen, co-president of Herrick’s Parent Education and Community Awareness Committee (PECA). PECA, made up of youth council, Herricks’ administrators and PTAs, has been working to get different health education opportunities to schools throughout the district.

“Sometimes we have a panel, sometimes it’s a film, but we’ve never had actors before,” said Michelen. “So we brought a variety of programs and we never really addressed alcohol, which is a gateway to other drugs.”

Michelen appreciated the focus on alcoholism as well as the various other topics they performed about. She too saw the reaction of the students. “Every single one of them said they didn’t want to come but they were so glad that they did,” she said.
This positive reaction is just what Flynn-Bisson and the cast of SOS thrives off of.

“One of the thing’s that’s really cool about it is that a lot of time, by the end of the day, were getting stories from the school we just performed at,” Flynn-Bisson said. “That’s just been amazing because that’s the kids, that’s the youth we try to get.”