A Cochrane High student who is about to graduate presented her award-winning one-act play to an appreciative audience at her school on Wednesday, May 17.
This was not typical high-school fare – no West Side Story, no Cats here.
Denai Eerkes’ play Trust Me took on a difficult subject head-on, as forewarned in the program’s cautionary statement: “Content warnings – mentions/depictions of sexual assault, abuse, flashing lights, foul language.”
Two weeks ago, Eerkes won best playwright at a one-act festival for high schools in Strathmore.
The evening of live theatre at Cochrane High School on May 17 also featured two other short plays: The Universal Language, written by David Ives and directed by Katie Stang; and Words, Words, Words, which was written by David Ives and directed by Minna Duranni.
Trust Me, which Eerkes also stars in, tells the story of Iris Harper and three of her close friends as they navigate the pitfalls and heartaches of high-school relationships.
They go into the story thinking they’re prepared for whatever life has in store, but soon learn how easily each of them could be manipulated.
Eerkes said it is based on true events. She was moved to write about sexual assault after hearing about it from friends.
“All the stories sounded similar but in different ways,” she said.
“My play is about sexual assault and verbal abuse and harassment of girls.”
She sat down to write her play last summer, after thinking that although the topic is talked about, it’s not really dealt with in an open, in-depth way that was meaningful for her.
“I decided that this needs to be heard about,” she said.
The initial reactions from her peers after she performed the play for the first time in Strathmore in April were encouraging.
“A lot of people came up to me after and were saying ‘Thank you so much for talking about this,’” she said. “It’s a topic that needs to be talked about over and over again, it’s not talked about enough, it’s pushed aside.”
At the end of the play, with the three friends standing shoulder to shoulder after being abused in different ways by boyfriends/acquaintances, they struggle over what to do about it.
Eerkes’ character, Iris, tells her friends, “I will not shut up. Trust me.”
The daughter of a local filmmaker, Eerkes said she has been surrounded by creative people since she can remember. But she was never moved to create anything until she was exposed to the issue of sexual abuse by listening to her friends.
She was not interested in writing until this year, when the urge to shine a light on an important issue took over.
The writer, director and actor is not completely sure which area appeals to her most as she embarks on her post-secondary education in British Columbia next year, but she’s leaning towards musical theatre.
She hasn’t finalized those plans yet, though noted she has her eye on Capilano University in North Vancouver.
