MHS Encourages Students To REBEL Using Improvisational Acting

The club members of R.E.B.E.L., Reaching Everyone By Exposing Lies, don’t want their peers to fall victim to the lure of tobacco.  Throughout the student body, the sentiment seems to be catching on. Guidance Counselor and club adviser, Joan Stewart says, “R.E.B.E.L is the largest club in Mahwah High School and we are the largest chapter in Bergen County.”

Club President and senior, Kellie Madden says, “I just love this club. I love that it’s a huge group and we reach out to so many people. Everyone is affected by smoking somehow.”

Kellie believes so much in the message of R.E.B.E.L that she had a goal from freshman year.

“When I was a freshman, I told Mrs. Stewart, that I’m going to be president of this club. I was a freshman representative and I moved up.”

In the past, Stewart booked Reflections, a theater and improv group which focuses on social issues which confront young people, to address the club.

“They’ve done other things about prom safety and being responsible during prom season but we wanted to bring them here to talk about prejudice with the seniors and talk about tobacco and educating students through R.E.B.E.L.”

Reflections, which is run by the Bergen County Division of Family Guidance, was created 21 years ago by social worker Staci Block. The group travels to middle schools, high schools, colleges and conferences performing a variety of topics and issues which affect our pre-teens and teens today, in hopes of creating a forum for discussion. Staci explains how Reflections came to be.

“I’m a social worker and I was doing other kinds of social work at the agency but I also have a theater background. The director at the time, asked if I’d be interested in starting a group with volunteer teens to do outreach to the community.”

Reflections is open to all Bergen County high school students who are interested in theater, improv and community service. There is no cost to join the group, but space is limited. The group practices weekly and performs on a regular basis.

Hackensack High School senior and group member BarryDean Chen joined the group for the acting technique and found something more meaningful.

“I came to the group for the acting. I want to be an actor. But, after being there for more than a year, it’s so much more to me. It’s opened my eyes to a whole myriad of issues. It’s not about acting anymore, but about helping people. It’s all about the message you get across. It doesn’t matter how big the role is, what matters is helping people. Reflections helps you open your eyes and see all the issues.”

Reflections helps promote self awareness among group members. Teaneck High School senior, Brian Thorn, credits Reflections with making him a more well rounded person. 

“I feel like when I joined Reflections, I wasn’t really a responsible person. I didn’t have good accountability. I wasn’t good at working in a team. Being in Reflections really helped me to strengthen my skills in those areas. It’s also helped me become good at improv and a better actor.  I’ve reaped many benefits as far as my person and my character from being in Reflections.”

Glen Rock High School sophomore, Marleigh Felsenstein, attributes her acting and improv with improving her comfort level around people.

“I was really shy and I’m still a little shy, but I’ve learned to be more comfortable on stage and get comfortable talking to the audience and to other group members. I learned that there’s people in the world that actually care about issues and in Reflections there is no ignorance.”

Any Bergen County high school student interested in joining Reflections or looking for more information on the group can contact Reflections founder, Staci Block at 201-336-7361. She can be reached via email at Sblock@co.bergen.nj.us