Pick any Bellevue middle school, look around the classroom, then select four students randomly. At least one of them is being bullied by their classmates or peers. And in today’s digital age, e-mail, social networking sites, blogs and text messaging have extended the potential for bullying into cyberspace.

Using the power of storytelling to help combat the problem, Seattle-based Taproot Theatre has launched a new season of touring educational plays, and will perform one of them, “New Girl,” at Tillicum Middle School today. Taproot’s Road Company has performed for more than 1 million students since it began touring social-issues plays in 1985.

The method is simple: Present a captivating story with compelling characters and weave in lessons on respect and harassment prevention. When it’s over, the actors interact with the students, reinforcing the lessons.

Adrienne Littleton plays high school junior Rachel, the new girl at Clements High School.

“She shows up for her first day and is making friends, but then gets wrapped up in something going on, a situation where Eddy is being harassed by Sandy and Jeff,” Littleton says. “Rachel gets sucked into it, and then things progress. Eddy ends up trying to hurt himself.”

Guided by Seattle-based Committee for Children’s bullying-prevention curricula, Taproot’s Road Company teaches students how to respond to, and even prevent, bullying in it’s many forms, including via text messaging and social networking sites.

The need to start a dialogue about bullying in schools is clear to many educators and school administrators.

In the U.S., only 15 to 25 percent of students report being bullied, and 15 to 20 percent report bullying others, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. In some cases, bullying has led to suicide.

For the offenders, it can lead to suspension, expulsion or even criminal charges. In Washington, nearly 15,000 students were suspended and 442 expelled in 2008-2009, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In King County, 2,231 students were suspended and 89 expelled.

A new expanded anti-bullying law took effect statewide in June, stating that although a law had been put in place to prohibit harassment, intimidation and bullying, the problem had failed to decline. The new law expands efforts, requiring schools to institute policies regarding these problems, and requires each school district to appoint one individual to be the primary contact on the issue.

Littleton said she’s heard from teachers who say Taproot’s play helped them start a dialogue in their classroom. Students approach the actors after the plays and talk about how it affected them.

“Using theater gives student a chance to look at a situation from the outside and see objectively what happens to all the characters,” Littleton said. “They can see who they best relate to and think what they would do in that situation. It’s more relatable than simply having someone talk about the stats of bullying when you can see a character going through an emotional experience.”

Gabrielle Nomura be reached at 425-453-4602.