Imagination Stage and Kaiser Permanente Host Live Performance and Community Panel on Teen Mental Health

Imagination Stage, in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, will present Ghosted, a powerful live theatre performance designed for middle and high school audiences and the adults who support them, followed by a discussion focused on teen mental health and suicide prevention, on March 11 at 6:00 PM at Imagination Stage in Bethesda. 

Written by June Caryll and directed by Alina Collins Maldonado, Ghosted explores the experiences of three students navigating grief, stress, and connection after a tragedy at their school. The performance creates a safe, fictional space for audiences to engage with real-life challenges facing teens today. 

Following the performance, a panel will address the post-Covid teen mental health crisis and discuss practical ways schools, families, and communities can help. Members of the media are invited to attend, and may RSVP to Laurie Levy-Page.

Panelists include:

Delegate Teresa Woorman, Maryland General Assembly, District 16
Christina Lee, MD, Regional Medical Director for Mental Health & Baltimore Service Area Chief of Psychiatry at Kaiser Permanente.

Jennifer Grinnell, Director of Community Mental Health Education, EveryMind

Isaac Coulouris, 8th grade student 

Moderator: 

Laura Geller, CBS News National Investigative Producer

“Ghosted uses the power of storytelling to open conversations that can be difficult but are critically important,” says Joanne Lamparter, Imagination Stage's Chief Artistic Programming Officer. 

“For decades, Kaiser Permanente has used the power of live theatre to make health education meaningful and memorable for young people,” said Annie Reed, DrPH, MPP, executive director for Kaiser Permanente Youth and School Engagement. “Through our Thriving Schools initiative, we support programs like Ghosted because storytelling doesn't just inform — it stays with students, sparks conversation, and strengthens the resilience that helps school communities thrive.”

Lamparter emphasizes that  “Imagination Stage is fully aligned with Kaiser Permanente in their long-term commitment to arts-based learning to support the wellness and mental health of young people. Our Educational Theatre programming is highly interactive and builds a sense of community within the schools, while tapping into students' ability to understand their own feelings and be good empathetic classmates to one another."