On a recent morning, “The Real Tweenagers of Atlanta” took the stage, while real tweens took their seats.
Adult actors tackled bullying, testing and Justin Bieber in zany ways at the Alliance Theatre. The improvisational production included a Shakespeare-inspired parody, a game show and ballet dancing-while-playing-dodgeball.
But sprinkled throughout the show were universal tween truths:
“Real tweens value friendship.”
“A real tween knows how to keep it real and express how they feel.”
“Bullies are jerks.”
“A real tween doesn’t have time for bullying.”
The audience included middle school girls from Lindley Sixth Grade Academy in Mableton who participated in workshops called “Help Create the Real Tweenagers of Atlanta Script.”
During the workshops, the Lindley students created a “sixth grade dictionary,” which included the words “swag” (which refers to your dress) and “dope” (or cool). They also gave the creators of the show a lesson on texting lingo: “SMH” means “shaking my head” and “TBH” means “to be honest.”
The AJC recently talked to some of those Lindley middle school girls at a performance of “The Real Tweenagers of Atlanta.” Here’s how the production explores tween life, and what the girls say about how these challenges play out in their lives.
Bullying
The show: A Shakespeare-inspired, “Romeo and Bullyet” features bullies trying to steal the lunch money from a classmate.
Ten years later, one of the bullies needs a spine transplant for a made up condition.
Turns out the doctor (who was also bullied as a child) botches the job out of revenge.
Real tweens: Breana Owens, a sixth-grader at Lindley, says about bullying: “Parents may not think something is wrong because you’re not talking about it. Parents need to look at our moods and our attitudes. My parents know my facial expressions. If they see something is not right, they ask me to sit down and talk about it.”
Taking tests
The show: A song, “I have the CRCT blues,” touches on what a drag it is to sit still for so long taking a test.
Real tweens: Joi Hall, sixth-grader at Lindley says about testing: “The CRCTs aren’t so bad. As far as other testing, you have to take a lot of notes, study and study and be as neat as possible. The other thing you need to do is breathe.”
Surviving school
The show: Questions from the show include: “What makes you feel real?” and “Is it real to be smart, cool or do sports?”
Real tweens: The following line sparked the biggest reaction from a recent show: “My parents keep telling me to act more grown up but they keep treating me like a kid.”
Middle-schoolers cheered, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Witty songs and dance touch on middle school angst but never go very deep.
Lauren Peltier, a sixth-grader at Lindley says this about getting through middle school: “To survive middle school, just walk down the hall. If someone says something, just ignore it. And if you are the smallest one in the class, don’t worry about. You can be the smallest and you can also be the smartest.”
