Bullies terrorizing their classmates might not be the first thing that comes to mind when people think of opera performances, but an upcoming production by the Lawrence Arts Center’s City Youth Theater and Lyric Opera of Kansas City may help tie the two subjects together in young Lawrence residents’ minds.

Supported by the GaDuGi SafeCenter, Lawrence’s rape crisis center, and the Willow Domestic Violence Center, “One False Move” is an opera with a mission: to help young girls understand the causes and motivations behind bullies.

GaDuGi’s Outreach Coordinator, Christie Dobson, says it’s important for young girls to realize what is happening emotionally when girls bully each other. She says early confrontations can create self-esteem issues and create problems down the road for girls.

“What we’ve heard about girl bullying is that it can be very emotionally damaging and scarring,” Dobson says. “If they’re treated badly by their girl group and excluded, then they can often make different choices with boys. They can start dating at a younger age and start making choices with boys that they wouldn’t normally make.”

Dobson, who is also serving as a producer for the opera, says she believes the current environment, fostered by newer technologies like the Internet and cell phones, has given rise to new types of bullying. She says there is now a potential for a non-stop barrage of insults to be hurled at a child, all day long and from many different sources of media.

“I think bullying has the potential for being worse now because of all of the online cyber bullying that’s going on, because we’re connected all the time,” she says. “You used to be able to shut it out, shut it off and go home. Kids have access to each other in a whole different way than when we were kids. Sexting, texting — being able to spread rumors about people constantly.”

Ric Averill, drama program director at the Lawrence Art Center and co-producer of “One False Move,” agrees with Dobson. He says that with technology playing a larger role in children’s lives, though, there is also, conversely, more impetus by parents to make sure children are being treated fairly by each other.

“There’s been more awareness about the importance of peer relationships and when kids are going too far,” he says. “There’s been more of an insistence on monitoring the respect kids show to each other. It’s certainly a problem that’s become more evident and more in our conscience. You’ll see something in the newspaper about a teen suicide that brings home the importance of education about how what you say and do can effect other people’s lives.”

Averill says the opera’s theme is definitely one girls will be able to relate to, and he also hopes the audience will gain an appreciation for opera as an art form while learning about important life issues.

“It’s a series of sketches, based on real-life experiences that kids have had. It’s about mean girls, you know? It’s a storyline with really two main themes: stop bullying your classmates and learn more about this thing called opera.”

Averill says opera is the perfect form of expression to relay themes of extreme emotions, and the fact that the production is cast solely of girls near the age of its audience helps the viewers put themselves in the situations being portrayed.

“Any large issue can be operatic. Opera’s always been intense, kind of a big medium. The production is about 45 minutes long, it’s accessible – it’s something kids will enjoy, and they’ll also learn about opera.”

Director Linda Brand agrees the opera is a fast-paced, lively production, with interesting, very challenging music being sung by its young performers.

“We have a fun way of doing the productions,” she says. “There’s just chairs and desks, and then all of the rest of the places we go are just created with big PVC rectangles. It’s a very story-oriented theater production. Though it goes from scene to scene, it goes through very seamlessly. We just really enjoy doing this piece.”

She says the dynamic of working with a young all-female cast has been exciting and enjoyable for her as a director, and she thinks their energy will be obvious to audiences as well.

“All the girls bring so much experience. Each time we do it, it’s different. It’s just a really neat experience. It doesn’t matter what age group I’m working with, what matters to me is the story, and this is a good story to tell.”

Brand says the issues of girl bullying portrayed in the production are very important and she hopes the opera makes a difference in the lives of its audience.

“If bullying keeps turning deadly, then clearly we have to be doing more as a community to lay out that these behaviors aren’t okay, and not just passively witness and walk on. You can’t walk by and think, ‘I dodged that bullet, that wasn’t me.’ Just to make them feel not abandoned is an important step.”