•
PORTLAND, Maine

UNE Add Verb Productions' 'Out & Allied' book free to schools courtesy of Sprague Foundation

Add Verb Productions, a program of the University of New England, has published a volume of monologues, plays and poems written by LGBTQ youth and allies entitled Out & Allied.

Through the Sprague Foundation, 65 copies of Out & Allied are being distributed free to schools and congregations in Maine. Single copies will be mailed at no charge, and additional copies for those groups would be available at a nominal charge.

The mission of this book is to help groups raise awareness and open conversation about how to create a safe environment for all people, regardless of their orientation or identity. School personnel or congregation representatives only need to submit a request and a short statement about why the book would be helpful to their community and how it will be used.

All of the 34 performance pieces in the book are royalty-free, meaning that there is no charge to use or present these performances. Accompanying these pieces is a handbook for youth and adults alike who wish to present an educational program for other students, parents, or the community. Bonny Eagle High School recently participated in an Out & Allied Project, and used the book to help create new works presented for parents and students during No Name Calling Week. 

Said one participant: "It allowed me to face my past and have sympathy toward my bullies; it gave me a way to express myself through writing, and finally, I have become less judgmental of others because of it. I believe that this process can do all that and much more for others, both on stage and in the audience." 

Another student said, "For me, I was finally able to open up to the bullying I went through my freshman year of high school and it was so relieving to finally be able to get that off my chest and feel like I wasn't alone and it wasn't okay."

Participants in the Out & Allied Project are encouraged to use the book to create audio files or short videos that can be uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo, and more importantly, young people are encouraged to create and submit new pieces to Add Verb for other youth groups to present, in Maine or around the country.

For more information contact Add Verb at addverb@une.edu or 221-4491. To receive a free book for your Maine school or congregation, please go to the Add Verb Productions website.

Add Verb Productions, a nonprofit program of UNE's Westbrook College of Health Professions, provides health and wellness education through theater performances that address complex social and medical issues such as bullying, eating disorders, domestic violence, and sexual assault.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.