Love Doesn't Have to Hurt
LOVE DOESN'T HAVE TO HURT brings awareness to the different forms of domestic violence. LOVE DOESN'T HAVE TO HURT gives various safety tips for women living on and off campus and assures victims that help, hope, and resources are available for their protection. Domestic violence won’t stop unless victims are willing to report the incident.
by: REV. LANCE EDMOND BROWN, Playwright
Revised 2007
SYNOPSIS
LOVE DOESN’T HAVE TO HURT is an original stage play about the life of a young college woman from a small town who learned about domestic violence the hard way. The production LOVE DOESN'T HAVE TO HURT brings awareness to the various forms of domestic violence.
LOVE DOESN'T HAVE TO HURT gives various safety tips for women living on and off campus and assures victims that help, hope, and resources are available for their protection. Domestic violence won’t stop until victims are willing to report the incident.
LOVE DOESN'T HAVE TO HURT has several main characters. Diamond is a good person who has made several bad choices in life and is a victim of domestic violence. Silas, the university’s star football player, is not to be trusted. He makes Diamond’s life a living nightmare and a reminder of her past. Toi is a senior and Diamond’s roommate. She has a questionable lifestyle and is also a victim of domestic violence. Tyler, who comes from a good family, is a second-semester freshman and Diamond’s “love interest”. He is a scholar, a real man, and very protective of Diamond. He is saved and aspires to a higher calling. MeMa, Diamond’s grandmother, is a slow-talking, Bible-toting, no-nonsense grandma who is both old school and street-wise. She is known to take nips now and then for "medicinal" purposes. She is the grandma that everyone wants as a friend because they don’t want her as an enemy.
What Diamond has done in her past has come back to haunt her. Now, a graduating senior, honor student, active in her sorority, and a committed church attendee, she finds herself dealing with the reality that for every action, there’s a reaction, a price to pay in life for our decisions and choices. Every day, women are victims of domestic violence, which is one of the fastest and deadliest growing crimes, even on college/university campuses.
The turning point in LOVE DOESN'T HAVE TO HURT comes when Mema visits Diamond on campus. Grandma teaches her to fight back. MeMa shows Diamond several defense moves to protect herself against an abuser.
LOVE DOESN'T HAVE TO HURT is an excellent production for presentations year-round. It is especially appropriate during October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. LOVE DOESN'T HAVE TO HURT is a must-see play for women and men of all ages. It is an excellent production for churches and civic organizations to present to help reinforce the seriousness of domestic violence.
Audio Recording
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From The Audience
I was so impressed with your troupe’s presentation of Sunset High, and their ability to tackle so many issues in one play. Thank you for educating our students.
The productions Sunset High and Love Doesn’t Have to Hurt have been presented at Ebenezer. If you are looking for a “game-changer” in your efforts to serve humanity, let me personally recommend Public Awareness Theater as a critical tool which serves the present age.
The First Semester captured our student’s attention and kept them engaged. The play was informative and inspiring to the students. You continuously motivate our students and make them excited about their first semester on our campus.
Public Awareness Theater came to our Job Corps Center to present the play Sunset High. The play dealt with issues our youth deal with on a daily basis. Our students really enjoyed the performance.
Our chapter collaborated with Public Awareness Theater in hosting the original stage play Love Doesn’t Have To Hurt. The play served as an opportunity to raise awareness regarding domestic violence, as well as a fundraiser for our organization. We were entertained by a stellar production company, with passionate acting, and a compelling story.
The play, Sunset High, is an effective portrayal of challenges that many youths face today. I, along with students appreciated the tragicomic style of the play in that it conveyed a serious message that was mixed with a strand of comedy.
Public Awareness Theater has been performing on the campus of Coahoma Community College since 1993. Love Doesn’t Have To Hurt was powerful, and some students confessed that the play mirrored their current or past situations.
Our Upward Bound students were deeply touched by the play The First Semester. The performance gave our students the type of reinforcement needed to look at the choices, decisions, and evaluate consequences that we as individuals face every day.
The First Semester made a great impact on our students’ first impression of university life. The play was both entertaining-we laughed, and educational-we learned. I look forward to working with you in the future.