THE TRUTH PROJECT

THE TRUTH PROJECT
We all remember the "educational" videos and presentations we saw in school. Their well-intentioned aim, of course, was to stop kids from drinking, to live healthier lives, to avoid STDs and also to convince teenagers that they are not indestructible and that they CAN (if they're not careful) die in a drunk driving accident, from an eating disorder, from drugs or alcohol poisoning or any number of other dangers. Unfortunately, what we remember most about these "educational" videos and presentations is that they were pretty much useless... unless of course their goal was to make most of us snicker and the rest of us laugh out loud at how ridiculous they were.
If we don't recognized that teens DO feel indestructible and that most of these presentations are ridiculous to them, we will never bring down these horrible statistics that get worse every year.
MARSHALL BEDELL PRODUCTIONS not only recognizes the problem... but we have a solution and the perfect team to carry it out.

THE TRUTH PROJECT is the brain-child of Jaclyn Marshall (resume). Jaclyn survived a serious eating disorder at the very time in her life that she was being bombarded with "educational" materials designed to help her, but only served as "how to" videos to perpetuate her problem. She was ultimately helped only when her family stepped in, but not all teens are that lucky. The memory of, herself, having a self-destructive disorder, along with having a family member who was permanently disabled in a drunk driving accident and friends who were killed in drunk driving accidents, over-doses, suicides and one who simply felt indestructible on that motorcycle and found out, too late, that he was not; has given her an impressive and honorable life-time goal. In preparation for seeing her goals come to life she earned a theatre degree and has had an impressive career as an educator AND a film and theatre professional (resume). Her determination shows in the scholarships she was awarded through out college, and in the Production Design award she received very early in her film career. THE TRUTH PROJECT has been a labor of love for nearly a decade. Now, with MARSHALL BEDELL PRODUCTIONS, it's finally taking shape.
	Mark Bedell (resume) has spent over 24 years (and counting) in theatre and film. He has created and operated several nationally touring theatre companies whose success are unmatched to this day. He has written more than 20 plays that have been produced all over the U.S. He has personally done over 5,000 performances from coast to coast. He performed in, and was a script consultant for, a multiple award winning home DVD series for children, and he has worked on countless other films and television shows. Mark's shows educate through entertainment. He has presented his literature-based "educational" shows to over a million young people and not one realized that they were being educated! Audiences learned to appreciate classic literature, common sense and the countless timeless messages woven into classic literature; but had such a great experience, they didn't know they were learning. Now with Jaclyn, Mark will apply his time-tested methods to a far more important and dramatic set of principals and lessons with THE TRUTH PROJECT.

A message from THE TRUTH PROJECT Creator/Writer/Director: Jaclyn Marshall
Like all of us, I wish that teenagers would not involve themselves with drugs, alcohol, sex, eating disorders and other self-destructive evils. In a perfect world no one, especially teens, would ever need to hear about the dangers of these things; or if they did, it would be a parent's job. But surprise... we don't live in a perfect world; and while some parents do a great job educating their children, all too many do not. This is a reality that we must face if we are ever to get to the root of the issue. Each year more and more young people are needlessly lost to drugs, alcohol, suicide and self destructive disorders. What IS being done, doesn't work. The proof is in the statistics: Alcohol is the leading cause of death among teenagers. Each DAY in the US.: 11,318 young adults ages 12 to 20 try alcohol for the first time 6,488 try Meth for the first time. 2,786 try cocaine for the first time. 1,700 Teenagers are killed each year due to an alcohol related injury, that’s 4.65 each day. (Of the following percentages 90% are under the age of 21.) 60% of teenagers today are overweight, 34% are obese. 10% females in the US (5-10 million) suffer from anorexia. 2% of men in the US suffer from anorexia. 3 million teenagers have STDs. Which means 1 in 4 sexually active teens have STDs. 2.3 million kids under the age of 15 have contacted HIV through sex. 77% of females and 86% of males will have sex before the age of 20. Statistics are from: National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism U.S. centers for Disease control AIDS partnership of Michigan. Students Against Drunk Driving Mothers Against Drunk Driving These are just some of the realities that teens and their parents are facing today; and these are only the problems we are aware of. Many families go through life-threatening challenges with their teens and it never even makes the list of statistics. The goals of The Truth Project are simple. Bring the truth about drinking, disorders, voting, drugs, and sex to every teen in America. Not in the usual "don't do this" format. But in a multi-media presentation where live, specially trained, actors are interacting with images on a big screen. We will present teens with what they already know and are far too familiar with, but we will back it up with moving portrayals of the aftermath. Not simply, "she died"... but how does that death affect her mother... her little sister... a year later... ten years later. Warnings about life-threatening risks mean nothing to teens who feel it "won't happen to them". Even if they think it might happen to them, most teens have a fascination with death... we know this to be a fact. How they will be seen after their death, however, is something they care about. We will not glorify and romanticize death as many do. We will not show what friends and family say after the suicide or drug/alcohol related death of a loved one. We'll show, instead, what they're really thinking. Many teens are at a loss today. They are aware of problems their friends, and sometimes even parents and relatives, are dealing with. Usually teens can have far greater impact on their friends life than anyone else. In the second portion of our presentation (in an entertaining and provocative way) we will teach those in need how to run an intervention. We will give them any and all information they will need to help their loved ones get themselves out of trouble. We will explore, in an interactive setting, different ways of approaching a self destructive person, and give teens the confidence they need to address the problem. With help and support we hope to bring The Truth Project to every high school in America. I come from a family of educators and am continuously faced with the reality of school budgets. Understanding these issues, it is the goal of THE TRUTH PROJECT to raise enough cooperate and grant monies to provide this presentation to high schools and colleges free of charge. Jaclyn Marshall Artistic Director The Truth Project THE TRUTH PROJECT Productions: Drinking and Alcohol Abuse Eating Disorders Drugs Voting and Politics: Why It’s Important to Understand Smoking and the Reality Sex: The Problem With Doing It Suicide: Quitting Before the Game is Over