Theatre is conflict at its heart. Drama is about power and want and the need to feel in control.

So theatre is a near-perfect medium to address the increasingly prevalent and ever-more complex social struggle that is Cyberbullying.

It’s everywhere these days because, like Drama, Cyberbullying is all Tragedy. Stories of pre-teens, teens, and college students killing themselves because of relentless bullying are appearing everywhere, and educators, administrators, and legislators are all taking action.

And the element of the Relentless is what makes Cyberbullying so dangerous and so difficult a problem to “solve.”

It is safe to say that, on some level on a very long vertical continuum, we have all been bullied, either in school, at home, or in the workplace. As children, we were told it would pass and for most of us whose homes were a safe haven from such things as name-calling, threats, and ridicule, it did. We perhaps even learned and were strengthened by our experiences with bullies.

But Cyberbullying doesn’t end when a student goes home, or out of town, or anywhere else. It resides in the cell phone, the social networking of the Internet, and in the videos posted on places like YouTube. Bullies have unprecedented reach and a very broad audience that is all too willing to feed on what the bully is giving them.

In our workshops, which started for elementary school students in 2003 and have since been expanded for older students and adults in almost any social setting imaginable, we have seen the trends in Cyberbullying develop in real time. The stories have changed. Gotten harder to believe; harder to address. The scenarios we play out as a means to discussion and the search for understanding and solutions have gotten increasingly more Dramatic.

It is encouraging to see lawmakers taking steps to better protect those that are bullied. This is even more important than punishing the bullies, who represent the gap between our Technological and Moral advancement as a society.

Cell phones, digital recording devices, and the Internet are here to stay and will only grow more ubiquitous over time, reaching younger users and those in rural areas who are not yet weaving them into the fabric of their lives. No doubt bullies will find more hurtful and horrific ways to use these devices to get the power and sense of control they engage in this behavior for in the first place.

Those in the public eye should do more to set an example. Tweets and blogs trashing their competitors and colleagues fill the social networking sites, and they are often presented as humorous. Celebrities engaging in bullying behavior are rewarded with hundreds of thousands of faithful followers and millions of dollars. No need to name names—the list is far too long.

Social justice theatre can make a difference, fostering understanding and opening dialogue. We need to find new ways to turn these mediums of negative communication back around on themselves and work to re-capture their great potential.

In theatre we seek to “raise the stakes.” When it comes to Cyberbullying, and the lives of the young people it destroys, the stakes are higher than any of us could ever have imagined.