Libby Trainor Parker Festivals, The Arts, Uncategorized, What's on in Adelaide

TALK OUT LOUD BRINGS IMPORTANT CONVERSATION TO THE FORE AT ADELAIDE FRINGE

It has been reported that males are three times more likely to take their own lives.
One in eight lives are lost to suicide each day in Australia alone.
Talk Out Loud’s compelling play, 41 Seconds turns a spotlight on the lives of a group of young people coming to terms with the unexpected suicide of Nick – an aspiring young musician.
Nick takes his own life after struggling with a dark secret and the play follows the group’s grief through a blend of stories, courageous monologues and original music.
Mary Galouzis, founder of not for profit organisation Talk Out Loud, which provides suicide prevention initiatives for people under 30 and their families, started the group due to a sad story of her own.
“Unfortunately it stems all from my brother’s suicide back in 1990,” she says. “He was halfway through year 12 and, I’ve been an educator for so many years, so I’ve seen a lot of what the stress can do to you in year 11 and 12. I guess he didn’t turn to the right people for support. We had no idea he was struggling. I just don’t want any other young person to feel that way, so I started this group.”
41 Seconds began as a cathartic experience for Mary and has evolved into a moving theatrical piece involving young people from around Adelaide’s North East.

“I started writing [41 Seconds] two years ago,” Mary says. “I got out my brother’s diary; it was quite painful to re-read after all these years. I portrayed my journal at the time as well, so the play is written from the perspective of what my brother was going through just before he took his life and also how it felt to be left behind from my perspective.

“From that, it’s gone from about three or four characters to 15. It sounds like a lot, but we have monologues interspersed in between the scenes. It’s a complicated yet poignant version of what actually happens after someone takes their life.”

Talk Out Loud recently moved into a space of its own, which means the programmes and services they can offer are able to grow and develop.

“We’re based at Modbury in Tea Tree Plaza at the moment. We were fortunate enough to secure a space last August. We work with volunteers aged 14 to 30; some of them are ex-students, and once we’ve established some of the programmes, in particular our camps, we will acquire a lot of new volunteers that way. Psychologists are also starting to refer young people to us,” Mary says.

As part of their mission, Talk Out Loud aims to improve self-esteem and build resilience by openly exploring issues such as self-esteem, sexuality, cyber-bullying and depression.
Mary says the group devised 41 Seconds to help towards raising awareness for youth mental health and suicide prevention by ‘talking out loud’.

“I just want people to talk about it,” she says. “I suppose that’s it; simply put: just talk about it. Talk about how you’re feeling. If you are having suicidal thoughts, you need to get some help. Don’t think that you’re out there all alone. And that’s what I think a lot of people realise after they get in touch with us. You’d think with social media that it would be connecting us more but I think it’s actually doing quite the opposite. So, yeah, just talk about what you’re feeling, seek help, and know that you can get better. It’s not a permanent situation.”

41 Seconds is playing at the Theatre and Golden Grove Arts Centre and Bakehouse Theatre. Grab your tickets HERE.

https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/41-seconds-af2018