Middle School Bullying Meets "Higher Ground"

Life in middle school can be painful.

Children live under a magnifying glass, with every word and action subject to examination and judgment by their peers. Public humiliation can happen in an instant, and private torment, online or by text, threatens at any hour of the day or night. Little hurts can accumulate into bullying, sometimes with tragic consequences. What can we do as a community? Educate.

That's the message of the Bedford Acting Group, which presents "Higher Ground," a play written by a middle school teacher about how students encounter and deal with persecution over sexual orientation, learning disabilities, weight issues, ethnicity and even harassment over academic achievement. The beauty of "Higher Ground" lies in how its student characters confront bullying.

The play was written in 2008 by Jennie Brown, a middle school teacher in a suburb of Portland, Ore. The material is challenging, and sparked a major controversy, according to Bedford's drama program producer Marge French. The principal of Brown's school, where it was to be performed, deemed the play "too mature" and ordered it rewritten, but the student performers, determined that it showed life in middle school how it really is, refused to perform if the play was censored. The show was canceled at the school, but the community rose up in support, and "Higher Ground" opened to great success at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. However, Jennie Brown was subjected to an investigation by the school board (including having her school computer and e-mails scrutinized) and she subsequently resigned her teaching job rather than carry on in a hostile environment, French said in an e-mail to Westport Patch Wednesday.

"In contrast, the Westport school district, and especially Bedford's Principal, Dr. Cary Bell, has been very supportive of the message of "Higher Ground," French continued. "And, we are happy to be hosting Jennie Brown for our performances of her play – cast parents have chipped in to fly her from Portland, and she will be with us when the Bedford curtain goes up on our production of "Higher Ground."

The acting group invites the public to the thought-provoking work of theater art. Performances will be held today and Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Bedford Middle School Auditorium. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students, and will be available at the door. Because of the mature themes of the material, it is recommended that children 8 or younger do not attend.