Stand Up Speak Out

empathy | connection | kindness

At its core, SUSO blends meaningful storytelling with music and performance, featuring a youth cast who bring real-life challenges to the stage in a way that is both relatable and inspiring. Through engaging dialogue and original songs, audiences are guided to better understand the emotional impact of bullying—and, more importantly, how to respond to it safely and effectively.

SUSO empowers both students and adults to recognize bullying behaviors, support one another, and take action rooted in empathy, inclusion, and respect. Each performance is paired with a comprehensive 49-page educational activity guide, extending the experience beyond the theater and into classrooms and communities.

Our mission is not just to raise awareness, but to create lasting change—encouraging individuals to stand up for themselves and others, speak out with courage, and contribute to a ripple effect of kindness. Because when even one voice chooses compassion, it has the power to inspire many more.

Together, we can create safer, more connected communities—one voice at a time.

If you or your school are interested in attending a free school performance click here

What People Are Saying…

Thank you very much for the wonderful performance of Stand UP and Speak OUT at Platt High School. From the beginning of the process at the Legislative Office Building, we recognized that your message, and the format to include students as the voice, aligned tightly with our values and practices in the Meriden Public Schools. Your willingness to partner with us and inclusion of Platt High School students mad SUSO an even more impactful presentation during the assemblies in our schools. Some of the feedback from the staff were powerful testimonies of the message. The different characters resonated with the students and staff in attendance. Students identified with both the bully and the victim. Stand UP, along with our Restorative Practices at Platt High School, are showing students positive ways so that they can stand up and speak out against all types of bullying. We especially found the message very powerful for the elementary school children. Many who attended have gone back to their home schools with the message of empowerment. When students hear from other students, the message resonates in a special way. We are confident that the presentations in Meriden will have long lasting impact!

Dr. Miguel Cardona
United States Secretary of Education, former Assistant Superintendent, Meriden Public Schools
Sitting at “The Kate” waiting for the Performance of ‘Stand UP Speak OUT The Musical’ to begin, watching the theater fill with Middle Schoolers and their teachers brought me back to my teaching days and how wonderful and important field trips are. Stand UP Speak OUT is an honest and powerful performance about bullying. Every student and educator can relate to the experiences shared through song by a cast of exceptionally talented youth performers. The audience can see and hear from their peers on stage who give voice to the truth and the effects of bullying. This show is a win-win for students and teachers with follow up lessons and discussions in a free activity guide. A truly wonderful platform for Student Voice to deliver the truth about bullying and to Stand UP and Speak OUT with kindness.

Erin D. Benham
Connecticut State Board of Education Vice Chairperson, Connecticut RISE Network,
SERC Board Member
Stand UP is the message we all need to hear and a call to action for the relational kindness we all need to follow. The teens who raise their (fantastic) voices to sing that message are truly inspirational. The group left the audience in awe of how a few songs, sung by albeit very talented teens, could communicate about student life with such clarity and emotional impact! We plan to include them in other events in NYC and will look for opportunities to collaborate in our initiative to make Connecticut the first emotionally intelligent state.

Dr. Robin Stern
Associate Director, Yale Center For Emotional Intelligence
Stand UP & Speak OUT the musical was a tremendous experience for the Walter C. Polson Middle School students this past spring. We were able to take our entire seventh grade and it was worth it. The acting and producing was amazing. What was equally amazing was how right on target the message of the show was. I know our students took away a great deal from the experience and I did as well as a parent and a principal! All the best!

Frank Henderson
Principal Polson Middle School
Last Friday, the entire 7th grade from Polson Middle School sat down in The Kate to watch “Her Song” together. The show’s humorous beginning spurred laughter and giggles among the preteen audience, helping to engage students right away in the performance. But as the musical continued and the story line developed, students fell quiet when they witnessed a portrayal of events all too real for them: the humiliating and damaging effects of bullying. With actors only a few years older than them, it was easy for students to connect with the show’s characters and absorb the overarching message: they must “stand up and speak out” when bullying is taking place. If left unchallenged, bullying will only spread far and wide. This wasn’t the only take-away that students gained from the show though. In follow-up discussions, they also commented on how it’s important to consider the perspective of the “bully” and recognize that often times those who are perpetrators of bullying have been victims of bullying themselves. Students concluded that reaching out and being kind to everyone will help break the cycle of bullying. After the show, students were quick to break into song as they recited the musical’s catchy tunes and inspirational lyrics. “Her Song” was certainly entertaining, but more importantly, it helped spark conversations about topics that need our attention now more than ever before.”

Jenna Frisbie
7th Grade Social Studies, Polson Middle School

Student Performance Experience

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