Some Nashville students have been using their acting skills to tackle issues around youth violence and to create social change.
Pearl Cohn High School students, with the help of community group Gideon's Army, have planned to put on the skit April 26 at the Z Alexander Looby Theater in North Nashville.
The students chose the topic using real life experiences.
Freda Heisler, an 11th grader and part of the cast, has encouraged other teens to talk about how issues like gun violence and physical abuse affects them.
"Say something happened in their life and they don't know how to come out to people, so they build up a wall and so they show anger to people. So that builds on with youth violence. They don't know how to cope with anything," Heisler said.
"This is a good way for them to kind of come together, talk through their experiences, talk through why does youth violence exist," facilitator Hannah Fletcher-Page said.
During the show, students will perform the skit twice. First, for the audience and then a second time with the audience's help.
"We allow people from the audience to put their input if they feel like something should be changed or tweaked around to make the storyline better," student Ma'Kiah Wade said.
The goal is to create real life social change, according to Gideon's Army founder Rasheedat Fetuga.
"It's always the young people who are the catalyst for anything when it happens. When it comes to justice issues, especially in this country, and so I'm really expecting that the young people take responsibility. They will take the hands of the adults, and they will lead the change and we will have a different city," Fetuga said.
The free skit will begin at 6 p.m.
