Sporting everything from the 1950s dresses to the big curly hair styles of the 1980s, the students calmly performed the play in its entirety, some perfecting their role while others seemed to struggle with their lines.
An early 1980s model red Honda Accord sat on the side of the stage — the one prop that remains constant throughout all the scenes. It’s the car that Suzie was killed in the first scene, set in the 1950s; where a mother and daughter were involved in a drunken driving accident in the 1960s scene; and where two teenagers were pulled over after drinking vodka in detention in the 1980s scene.
As the curtain draws to a close between episodes, popular songs epitomizing the musical style of the decade blast from the speakers, allowing the audience to guess the upcoming epoch. Behind the curtain, the students run around, changing the props and situating the new characters on stage — characters donning a hippie costume for the 1970s scene and mini-skirts in the 1960s.
The students who have spent months preparing for the play say they have learned the lessons of substance abuse through their characters.
“I learned that drugs are just bad and to listen to others when it comes to not doing something,that’s bad,”said Cary Doveck, who plays the role of Johnny in the first scene.
Whenever Maiya Livas, who plays the role of Caroline, the daughter in the 1960s scene, watched a news story about a teenager who was involved in a drunken driving accident, she usually brushed the issue off without giving it much thought. It wasn’t until she started doing research for her current role that she saw how serious teenage drinking was.
In the 1960s scene, Livas’ character is confronted with the issue of her mother’s constant drinking and driving. Her mother, played by Sarah Pena, spends the day drinking and decides she needs to head to the market. Worried, Caroline tags along, asking her mother drive carefully. The two eventually get into a car accident.
Livas wonders about her character and how it must feel to deal with such a situation.
“It makes me feel sad for the part I am playing,” Livas said. “Driving Through the Decades” will be performed tonight at 7 p.m. at the John Adams Middle School Auditorium on the corner of 17th and Pearl streets. Admission is $5. For more information, call (310) 452-2326 ext. 186.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 30, 2007. Read the original PDF.