National Australian Radio program features story on Â鶹´«Ã½Add Verb's 'You the Man'
A new theatrical approach is being taken to reduce the incidence of violence against women and children in Australia, and it employs Â鶹´«Ã½Add Verb Production’s "You the Man. " Australia's featured a story on the program Nov. 19, 2013.
"You the Man" is a 35-minute, one actor show, portraying a number of characters, who wrestle with their response to unhealthy relationship issues, created by Cathy Plourde, Director of Add Verb here at UNE.
The Australian production is the result of Deakin University's (Melbourne) invitation to Plourde last May. Plourde visited with women’s leadership organizations, city councils, and violence prevention agencies throughout Victoria, Australia, presenting the play as an innovation that could be implemented under recent funding for domestic/dating violence prevention from Victoria’s Department of Justice.
Figures show 34 percent of Australian women are affected by violence and, tragically, at least one woman dies each week at the hands of a partner.
Renee Fiolet of Deakin University and Victorian representative of the National Rural Women's Network says the problem is significant in regional and rural centers, especially at times when men face financial and personal crisis.
To highlight the problem, "You the Man," adapted for use in Australia, is being trialed in Victoria to give people, especially bystanders, the tools to safely intervene to prevent violence happening.