The Secret Life of Girls

Theatre of Youth has ventured back into territory for teen audiences with Linda Daugherty’s The Secret Life of Girls. Originally produced by Dallas Children’s Theatre, the script is the latest in the category of overtly topical plays for young people, sort of the live equivalent of the old after-school specials. TOY has previously paid a theatrical visit to childhood obesity, and, through a partnership with Independent Health, more titles of this nature can be expected.

Beverly Fletcher

The genre lends itself nicely to Theatre of Youth’s post-performance question-and-answer format, wherein stagestruck children ask the actors about the magic of theater. On these occasions, however, the queries go in the opposite direction as issue-oriented questions are posed to the audience members. This time, the topic is bullying.

The Secret Life of Girls follows six close friends as they journey into the cruel days of adolescence. We meet the happy crew through Abby, who hosts the group for her birthday party. The event proves to be fateful when popular but emotionally fragile Stephanie perceives a slight, and begins a ruthless campaign of manipulation in order to exclude Abby from the group. Her effort is successful, and soon the innocent days of childhood are gone.

In successive episodes, we watch as the girls gang up in various combinations to perpetuate mental mutilations of every sort on one girl and then another. Even self-aware girls fear that to defend a victim is to become a victim yourself. Before we’re through we’ve seen depression, bulimia, cutting—he works. Meanwhile, Abby’s mother is at a loss to help, as she sees her daughter becoming increasingly distraught and remote.

The production is being touted as a response to “cyber-bullying,” but while these girls are clearly connected through internet and mobile phone, the essence of the torment is pretty hands-on and personal. As I once heard famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal say, cruelty is cruelty—what makes a holocaust is technology. The Secret Life of Girls makes a compelling case that bullying, cyber or not, is a dangerous blight on society.

Under the direction of Meg Quinn, the production is handsomely staged with a minimal set dominated by a central projection screen. The focus is placed squarely on the mostly teenaged cast: Mary Keenan-Brown as Abby; Sara Elizabeth States as Stephanie; Amy Mings as Rebecca; Claire Cannon as Kayla; Marisol Torres as Sutton; Mahalia McCrayer as Anna Marie; and Kaila-Rose Proulx as Chandler. Adult actors Mary McMahon and Dechen Dolkar play Abby’s Mom and Sutton’s Mom/Coach. The acting is uniformly good with uncommonly strong performances from the teen actors.

The overtly educational function of the production is surprisingly low-key, despite some heavy-handed plot turns. Comic relief is provided through Dolkar’s portrayals of Sutton’s clueless mother and a volleyball coach to whom winning is the only thing.

I found The Secret Life of Girls to be one of the most engaging Theatre of Youth productions I’ve seen for some time, and teen audiences are certain to recognize both themselves and people they know.

Beverly Fletcher

Nationally recognized dance teacher, choreographer, and longtime member of the Niagara University theater faculty Beverly Fletcher died on January 10, 2009, at the age of 81. The legendary jazz and tap teacher, whose students included generations of NU students and such theater luminaries as A Chorus Line creator Michael Bennett and choreographer-director Sam Viverito, was once honored by Artvoice with an Artie for career achievement and with a star in the Buffalo Theater Walk of Fame on Chippewa Street. (Former students claimed to recognize combinations used by Fletcher during dance instruction in the opening dance sequence of A Chorus Line.)

In describing “Miss Bev” at her memorial service, longtime friend and colleague Brother Augustine Towey said she “was the quintessential teacher: patient, clear and kind. I think today of the thousands of young people who are better for having known Bev—like all of us. Miss Bev was larger than life, larger than words, larger than the sum of us but always there for each of us. We miss her terribly.”

Fletcher earned a bachelor of arts degree from Buffalo State Teachers College and a master’s from Niagara University. She was the owner of Miss Bev’s Dance Studio in Niagara Falls for over 55 years, and the author of Tap Dictionaire, as well as the syllabus for the certification exam in tap for the Dance Masters of America. She developed a tap shoe that was marketed and produced by Capezio Shoes. Her own dance company, Am-Dance, was founded in 1975 and toured the country. In addition to her work at NU, she was a frequent guest choreographer at Artpark. All who knew her will miss her terribly. Her legacy in Western New York theater and dance is indelible.

The Beverly Fletcher Memorial Scholarship has been established at Niagara University “in honor of Miss Beverly Fletcher Bellegia.” Contributions can be sent to: The Beverly Fletcher Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o The Department of Theatre and Fine Arts, P.O. Box 1913, Niagara University, NY 14109.