#HELPPLZ: Mental Health Representation in Theatre for Young Audiences

Author

Kate Elizabeth Dirrigl, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Creative Writing

First Advisor

David Carren

Second Advisor

Jose Rodriguez

Third Advisor

David Anshen

Abstract

#HELPPLZ is a play for young theater audiences that depicts four teenagers with various mental health challenges. It’s target audience is for children ages ten to fifteen and should be performed by actors of similar ages. #HELPPLZ is an immersive theatre experience, as a audience members watch four actors perform from four different lifestyles and point of views, all while broadcast on screens behind the actors. Every seat is a good seat in the house. This play follows a shift in trends of mental health depiction in contemporary theatre. No longer demonized and much more accessible, plays such as Dear Evan Hansen and 13 openly talk about and feature plot lines about mental health.

Comments

Copyright 2025 Kate Elizabeth Dirrigl. https://proquest.com/docview/3240631211

Recommended Citation

Dirrigl, K. E. (2025). #HELPPLZ: Mental Health Representation in Theatre For Young Audiences [Master's thesis, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley]. ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/etd/1688