Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 5, 1994 TAG: 9409010005
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELISSA CURTIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Those are the words of 14-year-old Joey DiPaolo, who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion tainted with the HIV virus when he was 4 years old .
The message is also one of the major themes Jeffrey Chaney hopes to get across as director of the musical play "The Man in the Mirror" to be performed at Roanoke College on Saturday.
Chaney, a 19-year-old sophomore at Ferrum College and the director of the Southwest Virginia Theater for Youth, said the play is aimed at educating the Roanoke Valley about AIDS and helping to put a stop to the prejudice and discrimination that is associated with the disease.
"It is time to stop the ignorance and denial and realize that AIDS is a serious problem that has affected all of our lives," Chaney said.
The 13-member cast, ranging in age from 12 to 19, spent the past four months writing the script, rehearsing the scenes and raising the money to pay for the production expenses.
The play, a compilation of monologues, short scenes and songs written by popular artists, borrows from the stories of three young AIDS patients: "The Ryan White Story," a movie based on the life of 18-year-old Ryan White, who died in 1990 of an AIDS-related sickness; "Go Toward the Light," a book written by the mother of Ben Oyler, a 9-year-old boy who died of an AIDS-related sickness in 1986; and "Blood Brothers," a movie about Joey DiPaolo.
DiPaolo and his mother will be guests at Saturday's performances, and at the end of each play DiPaolo will speak about living with AIDS and will answer questions from the audience.
"This will be a good opportunity for people in Roanoke to talk with someone who has first-hand experience with the discrimination [related to AIDS]," Chaney said.
The play has been a good opportunity for the cast members to learn more about AIDS as well.
"I think being in the play has helped me a lot," said Lindsay Lewis, an eighth-grade cast member. "I understand more about AIDS and what people with AIDS are going through now."
With a strong focus in the play on abstinence and practicing safe sex, other cast members said they realize how easy it is to contract the disease if you have unprotected sex.
"It's a really scary situation," said Gina Zimmerman, a junior at Stanton River High School. "You think it's not going to happen to you or to someone you know, but in reality it could."
The play, which Chaney said is "dedicated to all those who have suffered and died of AIDS and to those who currently have it", will be performed in Olin Hall at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Tickets are on sale for $7 and can be purchased at the performance or by calling the Olin Hall box office at 375-2333. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Roanoke AIDS project and to the Ryan White Foundation.
Chaney said he hopes his play will heighten Roanoke Valley residents' awareness, understanding and compassion for AIDS patients.
"We can stop AIDS through education and discussion. These are best possible defenses at this moment," Chaney said.
``The Man in the Mirror,'' Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Olin Hall, Roanoke College, Salem. 375-2333.
by CNB