Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Nov 30/01) - A drama and musical troupe of young adults struck a chord with many students at Thomas Simpson school on Friday.

Carlie Clark, in character as Julie, captain of the cheerleading squad, knows she's in a predicament after deciding to drink beer with her new boyfriend. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

As part of National Addictions Awareness Week activities, the Next Generation performed an interactive spoof on dating that had their audience laughing repeatedly.

When Todd, the star basketball player, wants to ask Julie, captain of the cheerleading squad, out on a date, he turns to the audience for pick-up lines.

"Somebody call heaven, an angel ran away," one student blurted out.

"You must be tired, you've been running through my head all day," another youth offered.

The date proceeds with numerous pauses while Todd and Julie "freeze" the action to share their feelings and consult with the assembled students. They ask for help with issues such as alcohol, drinking and driving and sexual tension.

"During that date you got to act as our conscience. Some of you were our bad conscience," actor Julie Clark joked with the audience afterwards.

Following the laughter, there were some stirring moments as cast members revealed their own painful experiences with drugs and alcohol.

Dustin Nowaselski, from Saskatoon, reflected on a night when he and his friends got drunk and stole a fire truck.

He wound up spending the night in the Prince Albert penitentiary after they launched the vehicle into the ditch, avoiding serious injury, and luckily not harming other motorists.

"It sounds like a funny story to tell, but we got ourselves criminal records," he said. "It was so incredibly stupid and selfish."

Malcolm Camsell, of Hay River, said he kept partying until he flunked out of university.

"Looking back, I feel like a total ass. I had all this opportunity and I threw it all away," he said. Carlie Clark disclosed her memories of growing up with an alcoholic father and a mother who was a weekend binge drinker. Clark got drunk for the first time at age nine -- which drew gasps from the crowd -- dropped out of school and began smoking pot regularly.

"I don't want to see you guys make the same mistakes I made," she said.

In addition to goal-setting exercises with the students, the Next Generation showed a video chronicling the impact of a drinking-and-driving death of a 16-year-old. Although some may question the effectiveness of such workshops, students said it made a lasting impression.

"This one was actually good. It was better than most commercials you see on TV," said Tiffany Pedersen, a Grade 12 student.

"It was good. I liked the video," Jenni-Lyn Prevost said.

Ashley Menicoche, a Grade 7 student, agreed.

"It will stick with me (especially) the 16-year-old kid who was killed."