As part of a growing national movement to increase awareness of painkiller addiction and overdose, high school students today saw a production of the Saltworks Theatre Company’s play “Off-Script.”

The play, which was funded by a grant the district received, combined moments of comedy with serious messages about how prescription drug use can lead to addiction, the use of illegal drugs, and fatal overdoses.

“Any time we see students relate or take something away from our show, we know we’ve made an impact with not only social issues but bigger issues surrounding drugs,” Saltworks actor Kevin Moore said.

The play focused on three different students – an athlete, a serious student, and a student who parties – and how their prescription drug use led to serious problems. After the performance, the actors said the script had been based on research into real-world causes and effects of addiction and overdose.

Students said the performance had made an impact.

“It was very informative and I felt that a lot of people could relate or learn from it,” junior Claire Plunket said.

Junior Brianna Phillips agreed, saying she felt “very informed and really connected to the storyline.”

After the play, students learned about the personal pain of addiction through a presentation by Joanne Fleet, who lost her 24-year-old granddaughter, former Baldwin student Amber Mersing, last year to a fatal overdose.

Fleet talked about the relationship she had with her granddaughter, and explained the happy life that Mersing led in the years before her addiction took hold. She also talked about how the depression that Mersing suffered progressively led to her addiction, and she urged students to seek help if they feel they are in danger of becoming addicted.