Starrs Productions

Bully No More

Eric finds that he is always being picked on by Becksy at lunch time and can’t really understand why.

Finally he confides in his good friend Ralph who gives him some great advice and a few home truths. He decides to find out what is making Becksy do the things she does to him and through his endeavours discovers that they can be friends after all.

Through the story of Eric and Becksy the play dramatizes what bullying actually is; physical, verbal, visual, intimidation and exclusion while offering positive strategies for children to deal with bullying.

As Eric learns to deal with Becksy he also begins to understand what is making her act this way and finds that he and his friend Ralph can actually help her through peer support and friendship.

“Students were mesmerised by the performance. They were totally engrossed and highly motivated to discuss the issues after the performance. Content was exceptional and dealt sensitively with meaningful and relevant issues. Students were engaged the entire time.”
– Banksia Road, NSW

Return of the Bully

At the end of the play, Bully No More, Becksy and Eric become friends but we don’t know what has happened to Becksy’s older brother Alex. In Return of the Bully we find Alex is still bullying the other kids at school particularly the very popular Poppy whom he believes needs to come off her high horse. Poppy turns to her old friend and teacher sensei who shows her the three secrets of the bully and the six strategies to deal with them. With this knowledge they decide that together they can stop the bully.

Return of the Bully shows how you stop bullies without becoming a bully.

“Return of the bully’ had a very positive response from the teachers. An excellent program.  The children were engaged and enjoyed the acting. Excellent!”
– Ourimbah Public School

The Bully is Back!

During The Bully is Back the principles of resilience are introduced to the children through the dramatisation of Alex’s return to the school. Poppy had been bullied by Alex in Return of the Bully but this time she attempts to make friends and discovers all about Alex’s home life and how that has contributed to the bullying. Poppy asks Sensei for help and he teaches her all about resilience. Sensei and Poppy decide to help Alex discover his resilience in times of adversity so that he doesn’t have to be a bully.

The three sources of resilience I Have, I am and I Can are dramatised through the play’s story to encourage the children to foster trusting relationships, pride in oneself, the ability to problem solve and grow towards autonomous and independent behaviour.

“The Bully is Back was very positive. A great learning experience. The interactive part with the children was fun – but also helped to develop empathy towards a bully and provided strategies for the children.”
– Islamic College SA

Cyber Bully

Zoe and her cousin Edward have a lot of time on their hands as they both have busy parents. They love playing computer games until Zoe realises she can bully the girls she doesn’t like in her class using her favourite social networking sites and their mobile phones. Zoe and Edward have a lot of fun terrorizing kids while being completely anonymous and experiencing no consequences for their actions. However Zoe goes too far and experiences binge texting, textiety and post traumatic text disorder while turning on her only friend and accomplice Edward with devastating results for both of them.

The Cyber Bully is an entertaining play that explores the serious issue of cyber bullying among young people. The play looks at the negative use of texting, social networking sites (facebook) and unauthorized use of pictures and footage. There will be a de-brief session offered after the performance where the students can ask the actors questions. The actors will address important issues that are raised during the performance and occur due to cyber bullying.

“Great!! Very engaging & entertaining. Glenn always has the strength as an excellent performer to bring the kids on board & sustain/maintain their attention
a big audience and he had them all watching!!! Thank you!! ☺”
– Dubbo College South Campus

Techno Bully

Techno Bully is a dramatisation of Kathy’s story, a Yr 10 student who is being harassed through mobile text messages, email and the internet.

Bullying is hard enough to deal with but in this play Kathy finds the secrecy of what is happening to her and the hidden identity of her attacker an almost impossible situation to protect herself from.

One of the male students befriends her and seems very sympathetic to her problem but Kathy doesn’t know whom she can trust. People are one kind of person in the real world but can be the complete opposite in the world of cyber space. Kathy realises it could be anyone and has to decide whom she can really trust at school.

Through Kathy’s dilemma this play explores the issues of sexual harassment and bullying, using new technologies and offers strategies to deal with this growing problem.

After the play we offer a Q&A de-brief with the students, to discuss the issues the play has raised in an informal, friendly and open forum. This play is suitable for Years 7 to 10.

“Close to 300 students sat enthralled throughout. Their enthused questions at the conclusion further endorsed their total level of engagement. It was completely relevant. Great performance – appropriately pitched, lots of energy, lots of skill, the play explained vital issues and invited the students into a thought provoking analysis of a world that is all too real for them and often not questioned.”
– Marymount College SA