What A Riot reading

Reading Mady Schutzman’s What A Riot, made me think how useful it is to place young teenagers in an environment where they have the opportunity to step out of themselves. The age-group of thirteen to seventeen is usually known as a time when one becomes more of an introvert and more reluctant to share one’s thoughts and ideas. From what Mady shared, it seemed to be quite the opposite for the kids in the production of UPSET! And the reason for their willingness to share, I think, has a lot to do with the fact that they were given an opportunity to do so. The most interesting part to me was when Mady described the process of finding the character of Officer Laurence Powell (the officer that delivered the most blows to Rodney King). The fact that these young adults/kids were given the chance to step into the shoes of a “bad person“ and allow themselves to try to understand his thought process really impressed me. It isn’t an easy task to try to see someone, who at first glance seems “bad”, as a human being - and doing that at such an early age is a valuable lesson. I wish I was given that opportunity when I was thirteen.