This week, some MHA staff members and I had the chance to see Jason Invisible, a new play co-commissioned by the Kennedy Center and VSA, the international organization on arts and disability. The drama, which focuses on a young boy dealing with his father’s mental health conditions, is a terrific way to educate middle schoolers about mental health.
Jason Invisible is about a teenager named Jason whose mother just died. His father has a mental illness and Jason feels that it’s his responsibility to take care of his father alone. He has three voices in head that function as a Greek chorus, giving him advice and commenting on the action. Soon, he has trouble in school, no food and no money. When he’s sent to group therapy in school, he meets three other teenagers with troubles of their own, and they become friends. Jason’s father steals a valuable violin, and the four teenagers help return it anonymously. Eventually, one of his friends tells the therapist about Jason’s father and he’s sent to a hospital and Jason is sent to a foster family.
Jason Invisible often features its hero talking to the audience and the audience is asked to offer insights on the characters’ choices and dilemmas. “Was it okay for Jason’s friend to tell the therapist about his father?” and “What should you do if someone tells you a secret that could be harmful?” got the audience talking amongst themselves and the cast. The play concludes with Jason learning to cope with his life and forgiving his friends. It’s a fairly complex story presented in an easy way to understand way.
Based on a novel by Han Nolan, the play is designed for young audiences. With the break for questions, this play is perfect for a middle school assembly. I can imagine the students participating in the discussion and talking with their friends about it. The way mental health is discussed is sophisticated and powerful, and Jason’s feelings of guilt and fear are well articulated. The play starts a conversation that can be helpful and healing to middle school kids who might be struggling with this (or similar) issues. I hope the Kennedy Center will allow other groups to use the play in the school setting. The show is not so complicated that high school casts can’t perform it for the younger students themselves, with discussions guided by school therapists or teachers. In addition, the playbill included discussion materials for talking to children about mental health conditions.
The cast made the material shine. Jason, in particular, was played wonderfully by Mark Halpern. He brought the anger and the guilt out in Jason while staying in a family friendly place. The three actors playing both the support group and the Greek chorus (Rana Kay, Mark Hairston and Michael V. Sazonov) kept both characters engaging and vital to Jason’s story. They were also wonderful at guiding the discussion with the young children in the audience, keeping them talking without being patronizing. In addition, Michael John Casey was great at portraying Jason’s dad and his illness.
This is the first run of Jason Invisible, but not the last, I hope. I believe shows like this have the chance to reach young children in a way that television series and movies don’t. By seeing someone up close in the theater, the audience can empathizes with them more. I truly hope the Kennedy Center gets this out around the country quickly. The show runs through April 7. If you can make it by then, do so. I highly recommend it.
Apr 5, 2013 at 9:48 AM Nicely said. I saw the play, too, and thought the main characters were relate-able and sympathetic -- it got to my heart and my head. It's a good piece for adults, too, to start a conversation about when & where services are available for families, what the ideal situation would be, and how we could get there, as a community. The audience participation piece was nice, and I wish more of it could be incorporated into the show.