Preventing sexual assault taught in new format Published Oct. 3, 2011 By Airman 1st Class Katrina Heikkinen 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- "Can I get a suggestion for a pickup line?" said Chris Beier, member of Cartharsis Productions, a sexual assault awareness presentation company. The audience laughs. The sexual assault awareness play, "Sex Signals," was performed at the base auditorium Sept. 26 by Beier and Amber Kelly , also of Cartharsis Productions. The presentation has been performed more than 1,600 times at 400 colleges and dozens of military installations around the world. Instead of a power point presentation to teach about sexual violence, the duo used improvisation, audience participation and stereotypes to help the audience learn about situations that can lead to sexual violence. The duo acted out a scene titled "not my fault" where the audience hears the story of a fictional character named David and his side of the story. A girl invites David to his room to play video games. "We cracked open some beers; one thing led to another, the next thing I know we're having sex," David said. The girl then said stop, and David stopped. As he was trying to leave her room she pulled him back and started tickling him. She told him to stop, so he stopped. Then they began wrestling. This fictional character was later accused of raping the girl. Whose fault is it? The majority of the audience echoes "both" throughout the auditorium. The actors then asked the audience if they have witnessed a situation similar to this. "Would we be a bystander or would we intervene in a real-life situation?" The actors ask and confront the audience with uncomfortable, but necessary questions. The play helped reveal to audience members that regardless of what a victim does to reduce his or her risk of sexual assault, the victim is never the one to blame. Sexual violence needs to be averted, and what sex means to one person may not mean the same to another. Sex must be consensual by all involved, and if alcohol is involved, it is not consensual. Kelly and Beier encouraged the audience to be more direct when it comes to asking for what they want and to be respectful of other's decisions. "We're trying to normalize the conversation that goes on in the bedroom," Kelly said. The play presented a variety of realistic situations to the audience. It ended on a positive note, as the actors asked Team Malmstrom how sexual violence can be prevented: through consent and respecting one another's decisions.