spring has sprung
Its raining today.
First signs of spring.
Snow is melting.
Bits of grass are peeking thorough.
The woman who lived below us is singing.
She is not the worlds best singer.
Its really awful to say but
she may actually be among the worlds worst singers.
Not connected to my next thought (or is it?)…
March Break
Over the March break (high school march break) I spent time doing a workshop with a number of students from around Toronto. The goal of the workshop, organized my Mixed Company Theatre, was to create a play. The students were not all “drama” students but were brought to the workshop because of their interest in the theme, which was sexual assault.
First of all - Working with youth is always so recharging. They have so much to say and so much to teach. They are always willing to listen if you listen to them in return.
Secondly - What a great theatrical experience! To work with people and use theatre to explore an issue that they want to talk about, to use theatre to get at the various perspectives. It’s always new! It’s always engaging! It always reminds me that community arts, and theatre especially (since theatre is what I happen to be drawn to), is necessary. Over and over the youth expressed that they cannot talk to teachers about sexual assault or that they don’t have sex education, or that, in general, it’s not a topic that is addressed. It perturbs me that this is the case when sexual assault is on the rise according to a number of studies/surveys done by a variety of school boards.
I often have moments where I wonder if theatre still reaches people beyond the relatively small theatre community. Workshops such as this reassure me to no end. As the writer of the workshop, I am now responsible for moulding the ideas of the youth into a cohesive play, which they will in turn read at their schools. This is a weighty responsibility but an exciting one.
Spring is full of new life in so many ways.
First signs of spring.
Snow is melting.
Bits of grass are peeking thorough.
The woman who lived below us is singing.
She is not the worlds best singer.
Its really awful to say but
she may actually be among the worlds worst singers.
Not connected to my next thought (or is it?)…
March Break
Over the March break (high school march break) I spent time doing a workshop with a number of students from around Toronto. The goal of the workshop, organized my Mixed Company Theatre, was to create a play. The students were not all “drama” students but were brought to the workshop because of their interest in the theme, which was sexual assault.
First of all - Working with youth is always so recharging. They have so much to say and so much to teach. They are always willing to listen if you listen to them in return.
Secondly - What a great theatrical experience! To work with people and use theatre to explore an issue that they want to talk about, to use theatre to get at the various perspectives. It’s always new! It’s always engaging! It always reminds me that community arts, and theatre especially (since theatre is what I happen to be drawn to), is necessary. Over and over the youth expressed that they cannot talk to teachers about sexual assault or that they don’t have sex education, or that, in general, it’s not a topic that is addressed. It perturbs me that this is the case when sexual assault is on the rise according to a number of studies/surveys done by a variety of school boards.
I often have moments where I wonder if theatre still reaches people beyond the relatively small theatre community. Workshops such as this reassure me to no end. As the writer of the workshop, I am now responsible for moulding the ideas of the youth into a cohesive play, which they will in turn read at their schools. This is a weighty responsibility but an exciting one.
Spring is full of new life in so many ways.