‘Always Picked Last’ comes in first with anti-bullying message

May 02, 2016 12:00 am • Last Updated: May 02, 2016 5:22 pm

There’s nothing like a true story of hardship with a happy ending to get an audience’s attention.

Emerson Theater Collaborative is staging such a play written by Lisa Giordano, ETC’s resident playwright and cofounder. The new, original production is based on an autobiographical book in which its author, Kevin Kearns, survived incessant bullying as a kid to passionately spread his message of empowerment over perpetrators of violence via the martial arts.

Camilla Ross, ETC’s president and cofounder, met Kearns, a Massachusetts resident, through a mutual friend and his story resonated with her. She initiated a collaboration between ETC, The Lighthouse in Groton and The Riverfront Children’s Center, also in Groton, to produce an anti-bullying-themed play. The Light House offers educational programs for individuals with unique needs, skills and differences, specializing in services for adults with autism spectrum disorders. Riverfront Children’s Center provides child care and educational services for students age 3 to 12 years old. They applied for and received funding from the State of Connecticut’s Office of the Arts as well as the National Endowment For the Arts to create the play featuring local student actors.

“Camilla and I and other ETC board members have been talking about doing a program on bullying for a number of years and Camilla asked me to write this play,” Giordano says. “I think the whole topic of bullying is pertinent today. Lots of kids go through it. Lots of the kids who have been cast in the play have gone through it, and so I thought it was really important to write about. It’s a major problem.”

In writing the play, Giordano says she tried to keep as close to Kearns’s actual story as possible. The script focuses on the bullying he endured as an adolescent due to his small stature and not being physically adept at sports — he was always picked last for ball games. The death of his father when Kearns was just 12 years old and the lack of adult mentoring in his life compounded his difficulties.

Yet, an uncle’s birthday gift of karate classes to teach Kearns self-defense is what helped him overcome the many obstacles in his young life and put him on the path to where he is today — a leading strength and conditioning expert to mixed martial arts professionals in the U.S., including UFC fighters. In his Kids Growing Up Strong bully prevention program, Kearns shares his personal story in schools all over the country and teaches kids what he calls “The 4 S’s: Speak up, Stand up, Stay together, Self-defense (as necessary).

Kearns on ETC’s reenactment of his life

When asked what he thought about ETC turning his book into a play, Kearns responded, “I think it’s awesome because my whole purpose in writing the book was to help somebody else. If it gets turned into a play, a movie, the reach is going to go far beyond what I imagined.

“I wrote the book for two reasons,” he adds. “It’s good for kids, but it’s also been cathartic for me.”

Kearns performs a role in the play as Paul, his martial arts teacher and inspiration.

Kearns understands that bullying is not something that children necessarily grow out of if it isn’t addressed.

“Basically, when you look at bullying, it can lead to other things like no self worth, which can lead to obesity, alcoholism, drug use, and now you’ve got young girls cutting,” he says. “So my intention is real simple. If I can turn one kid around that doesn’t commit suicide or think he has no value in the world, I think I’ve done a pretty good job.”

Kearns thinks the reason bullying is so pervasive today is that we’re more aware of it as a culture because cases of bullying are now being reported more often.

“We also have cyber-bullying (today),” he points out. “And once you put it on the web, it’s permanent.”

The father of two daughters, ages 12 and 13, he says parents must be hyper-vigilant about monitoring their kids’ use of the Internet.

Kearns’s advice to young people is to find the thing they most like to do, get together with like-minded people, and do it.

“Surround yourself with a success team,” he urges. “For me, it was martial arts and fitness (because) it builds confidence. What person isn’t confident who’s fit, whose body is in good shape?”

The message Kearns wants to relay about bullying is ultimately optimistic.

“Talking to someone else who’s been there is empowerment,” he says. “No one wants to hear they’re the only person who got bullied. People want to hear the truth. It wasn’t like it didn’t happen to me. It did happen to me and it sucked and you know what? I’m a better person for it.”

Kearns reminds people whom bullies have victimized, “It’s just for now. It doesn’t have to be forever. There’s always a way out. Keep a positive attitude because this too will pass. Don’t react—take action.”

More about the play

Giordano explains that three youth leaders from local schools who heave theater experience wrote original monologues about their personal experiences of bullying that are woven throughout the play. They are Shemuel Goode, 14 and Ciara Rollins, 16, both of New London, and Christian Marshall, 19, of Stonington.

Also, students from the Riverfront Children’s Center will be opening and closing the play with original songs by ETC’s musical director Kala Farnham.

“The songs are inspired by the story and how it’s hard growing up and dealing with the problems of bullying,” Giordano says, “and also there’s a hopeful song about friendship and love.”

There will be talkbacks led by Kearns after the performances in order to encourage a conversation about the problem of bullying and how to overcome it.

“This is a great project and I hope people come out to see it,” Giordano says. “Besides it being a great collaboration between all three organizations, all the kids and the director Stephanie Donnelly have been working very hard and are very enthusiastic about the production. And the students from The Lighthouse are new to theater and they are doing a terrific job.”