NEW ORLEANS -- Sex Signals, an improv comedy-styled sexual assault prevention show, played at Marine Forces Reserve Headquarters here April 1.
The 90-minute Catharsis Productions presentation featured two actors playing out a series of comedic and more serious date rape and sexual assault scenarios.
“It’s energizing and it’s interactive,” said Marine Forces Reserve Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program manager Peggy Cuevas. “It’s something different from just hearing me talk all the time.”
The actors depicted an awkward spell of flirting between two Marines at a bar as well as a barracks date that eventually leads to rape. The Marines and sailors in the audience were encouraged to share their own knowledge and opinions between skits and make choices for the characters in scenes.
“Any sort of presentation is us talking with you, interacting and incorporating your thoughts and opinions. Not just talking at you,” said actress Fawzia Mirza. “It’s just more effective.”
The actors also made sure to drop bits of Marine Corps slang in an effort to make the presentation, common among college campuses, more relevant to service members. Actor Chris Beier compared a spaghetti Meal Ready to Eat to a “romantic dinner” and both threw out the occasional “ooh-rah.”
“They use the same terms, they use the same language and still get the message through,” said Cuevas.
The message, the presenters said, was to always get clear consent before sex and to make sure service members watch out for and police their own.
According to a 2006 National Institute of Justice study, one in six females and one in 33 males has experienced rape. The Marine Corps had 310 reported sexual assaults in 2010, a six percent decrease from the previous year, according to the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s 2010 Sexual Assault Annual Report.
Cpl. Kory Foster, an information technology specialist with 4th Marine Aircraft Wing G-6, has seen the presentation twice.
“It’s a step up from things like Power Point. It’s unique,” he said, adding that he always thought of rape and sexual assault as distant, unlikely events.
“It’s one of those things that you see on TV and the news,” he said. “I didn’t know it could happen so close to home.”
For more information about the SAPR program, contact Peggy Cuevas at 504-678-5303 or visit http://www.usmc-mccs.org/sapro/index.cfm.