Recovery Is Fodder For Play
By Faith Richards

Nine patients from Key Women’s Residential Treatment Program, a recovery facility in Lorain, came to Oberlin on Saturday to spread their message about drugs and alcohol, presenting a play titled “Recovery is the Key.” The play was an original work written by the women about their own experiences with drugs and alcohol. The performance clearly touched the group of Lorain County residents and the students who attended.
The format of the play was simple: three acts with three parts. Each act began with a short, fictional representation of the theme of the act, then moved on to a short group session where each woman shared her real-life experience relating to the theme and finally ended with a motivational song.
The three acts all related to different aspects of addiction: the first spoke about peer pressure and the beginnings of addiction, the second about the effect the disease has on family and the third about the hardships of addiction and the desire for recovery.
Although the mood of the fictional sections was light and sometimes even humorous, it was obvious that each of the women involved felt deeply about her own experience and about spreading the message of recovery to anyone who would listen.
And it made sense that the women would be emotional about their roles in the play. In fact, the idea behind the play was conceived by the women while they were role-playing during group therapy sessions. Working closely with Margaret Brewer, their therapist and director of the play, the women created a play that addressed what they felt to be the most problematic or important parts of addiction and recovery.
The play was originally performed at the House of Praise in Lorain in June to raise money for Lorain County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services, but when it received great acclaim, the women decided to perform it again in July and then take their message throughout Lorain County.

“Recovery is the Key” came to Oberlin at the request of Director of Oberlin’s counseling center and psychologist at Key, Dr. Charles Ross. Director of women’s services at the center Helen Rodriguez and Dr. Ross both believed that Oberlin would benefit from having such a play performed. Although not many students attended the performance, Rodriguez was still pleased.
“If we reach a few folks, that’s good enough for us,” she said.
Hopefully, the applause at the close of the performance meant that the play did reach the members of the audience with its powerful message. The nine women put their hearts into the play and, despite the lack of lighting, microphones and curtains in Wilder Main, managed to put on a stirring performance.

Their friendship and hope for a better future was clear at the close, especially when two of the women proudly displayed their drug-free babies, and it was obvious that everyone felt that the performance was a success.