Ali MacLean’s award winning play, She’s Not There, which tackles living with depression and how it affects the people around you, was requested by the Lexington High School Theater program for their 2024 UIL competition play. Though MacLean doesn’t normally allow anyone to change her work, she made an exception so that the play could be seen by more young people.
“I felt it was important that kids this age, teens, saw this and started a dialogue about depression. As a mental health advocate, I felt responsible for putting out that message. There were a couple of suicides at my high school when I was a teen and I had depression. I wish there had been a show or some type of program like this back then, so we had a place to discuss it.”
MacLean worked with Lexington High School Theater program director Cody Church to adapt the play to fit the high school audience and the UIL competition rules. The theater group, led by Connor Huddleston as Rob and Jackie DeShazo as Anna, won the UIL Texas Area 1 All Star Crew, Best Performer and All Star Cast, Bi-District Champions: Best Play, Best Performance Male, Best Performance Female, All Star Cast Supporting, All Star Crew, and District champions: 1st place play, Best Performance Male and Female, and All Star Crew.
Congratulations to Lexington High Theatre for all of their accolades, and for telling this important story about mental illness.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If you or someone you know is suffering from depression, you are not alone. Whether you or a friend is struggling emotionally or having a hard time, be the difference in getting the help needed. It’s important to take care of yourself when you are supporting someone through a difficult time, as this may stir up difficult emotions. If it does, please reach out for support yourself.
Call 988 at any time for help.
ALI MacLEAN 