Your Choice

Self-Esteem/Substance Awareness
Designed for grades 6-8 and 9-12

“In my fourteen years of teaching, I have never seen a more professional, more entertaining, and more motivating performance for teenagers. Many deal with the topic of adolescent choices, drugs and other temptations, and self–esteem, but none in such a positive, upbeat manner as you did. Your message came through loud and clear, but without the usual “preaching” and negativism.”

— Betty McDevitt, Teacher Mentally Gifted Program
Poquessing Junior High, Langhorne, PA


During the past fifteen years Quiet Riot has offered self-esteem and substance awareness programs for students in middle schools and junior and senior high schools. In addition they perform for Teacher In-Services and have been featured at many state, and regional conferences including Penn Aware, Student Assistant Professional (SAP) Conferences in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Northeast Region.

Description of Pieces

Truck Driver – This opening story is very popular with students, as well as a metaphor of individual uniqueness and creativity.
Uniqueness vs "fitting in"
We have hundreds of unique ideas, thoughts, and notions every day that spring from our one-of-a kind imagination. These thoughts are often subject to an array of criticism from friends, parents, peers, even ourselves. In order to fit in we give up something of ourselves.
Our own uniqueness and inventiveness comes out in various ways: how we speak, how we interpret events, what we wear, and our beliefs, to name a few. Each of us sees the world differently sometimes, though; we are criticized for being different.

Wave – a story that is intertwined throughout the show about an island and a tidal wave, addresses the themes of building a supportive community, and individual determinative action.

Problem Solving– This mime and sound effects piece, focuses on the importance of using perseverance and imagination in finding solutions to problems.

Roommates – (optional) A story dealing with how friendships can be torn apart by drugs, it also stresses the importance of seeking help when needed. This story is loosely based on a successful college athlete who was drafted to play for the Boston Celtics, but never had the chance to play because he died of a heart attack from combining cocaine and basketball practice.

Shave – a comedic piece about social blundering, and our desire to "control events around us." There is also an underlying theme of wanting to be accepted by our peers, to be liked, to "have an image". There are many pressures on us to "conform" ... from peers, clubs, cultures, television ... sometimes those who are pressuring us do not have our best interests at heart as the next piece reveals.

Cargo King – a beer commercial that exposes the manipulation in alcohol advertising – critical thinking is encouraged. Note: the information below can be found in: Myths, Men, and Beer: An analysis of beer commercials on broadcast television, 1987 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 1730 M. Street N.W., Suite 401 Washington, D.C. 20036

• The average high school senior has seen one million television commercials, 100,000 of which are beer commercials.
• Each beer commercial is designed to convince the viewer that beer is a necessity for social success.
  
• Research has shown that the first beer an individual drinks is usually the one he/she stays with thereafter. The beer industry has aimed marketing therefore at a younger and younger audience. At present the beer commercial is pitched at the 12-year-old.
• Studies have also shown that children pay closer attention to commercials than to regular programming. This is because the commercial is "sound brightened" which means it is delivered at the highest legal frequencies. Additionally, the image changes every 2 seconds instead of every 3.5 seconds as in normal programming.

Death and the Driver – A story that updates the image of death from the grim reaper to a wild party character who loves to dance around precarious situations like drinking and driving. Death reminds us of how finite our lives can be.