Stage Play: Overcoming the Game

Overcoming the Game

Written by Lt. Eric McElroy

NELAJ Productions – www.nelajofficial.com

“Overcoming The Game” is a message filled stage play that depicts the residual effects of violence and wrong choices that plague our youth today. Our parish has battled through many challenges and we are faced with daily generational changes. The “Game” represents the streets and the challenges that come with it. Our youth are falling victim to drugs, guns, and violence. This behavior severely diminishes their focus on education which results in low test scores, classroom disruptions, expulsions, and truancy. Mentoring is not only a way to increase focus on education, but it also helps to discipline our youth and condition them for future success. The “Game” has claimed too many lives and shattered too many families. To overcome means you have gained enough strength to remove yourself from a situation. To overcome tells the spirit of a man that his responsibility to himself and his family is more important than the streets. Mentoring is a triangular based focus of Time, Patience, and Solutions. This approach helps our youth regain the trust of the community and law enforcement personnel they may encounter. Each character representation is a common factor that our youth have begun to lack.