EVALUATION OF COMMUNITY THEATRE
What does community theatre mean to me after working closely with a community group?
In Term One I learnt a wealth about community theatre, Augusto Boal and the importance of the work in uniting people and fighting for a greater change. All of those concepts, techniques, games and ideas were things that I had to bring to the table over the last 7 weeks when I was working as a facilitator in a group with other Year 13s at the Crescent Primary School, working with two primary school groups of various ages. This term certainly tested me not only as an actor, but as someone who is able to lead young groups of people, adapt to change, have empathy and patience and build relationships with people in the community. It's been hugely rewarding - as a group of 15 people, we've all secured bonds and friendships with the children we've worked with. We invested our time into getting to know the children and exploring theatrical and story telling techniques with them and in return we had invested children that really valued and appreciated the experience. A teacher at the primary school mentioned that the children would constantly remind him as soon as break time was over on a Wednesday morning that it was time for their drama project, and would rush to begin the sessions. This enjoyment that we gave the children has probably been the most amazing part of this project - more important over the impact of the work we created was the nourishment and tools we gave to these little young people. Perhaps the enjoyment they felt might inspire them to get involved in theatre or the arts when they're older, or perhaps the project did something as little as improve their confidence, communication, empathy or ability to put their hand up in class. I know from when I was younger that the advent of drama and story telling can have such a positive impact on you and your social conduct, and I would be over joyed if this was something we achieved with the Year 1's and Year 3's that we worked with over 7 weeks.
When we began the project, having been given the criteria of what the two groups were learning about currently in lessons, we had two slightly different aims for the groups that didn't just come down to material but also age - this was highlighted in my initial impressions to the project.
With the Year One's, we knew we were working with slightly younger children who were probably in the midst of their primary socialisation. Many might not have ever been exposed to drama before. Three's, we knew we had to plan the sessions accordingly so that this younger group was eased in and that there was an emphasis on fun over output for each workshop. We wanted to support their learning of dinosaurs and a book text and stimulate their imagination. With the Year Three's, we also wanted to focus on their imagination, empowering them to look at the elements about their local area that they liked, and then using their imagination to think about what it would be like if this city turned into a jungle. For Year Three's, the focus was on empowerment. With both groups, as facilitators we were tested every week to try and cater to the room and focus on creating a warm, friendly and safe atmosphere for all the children to learn and thrive in. We encountered challenges, but overall I think as a group we supported eachother in trying to understand better how to cope with more difficult situations, and we planned the sessions so there was an equal amount of initiative in people leading aspects of the sessions. By the 7th week, we performed a final showing to small audiences where we culminated a lot of concepts and exercises we'd looked at throughout the weeks and gave a mash up of our work, which was hugely successful and there was a massive sense that both groups had responded well to the experience.
Applying my skills and knowledge of community theatre has been eye-opening. This project has evolved in ways I didn't expect it to. Initially, I was disappointed that I was working with children for the second time in a year - however, working directly with children repeatedly over weeks has been such a more challenging experience than simply creating a play for them to watch. I've learnt how to understand children better and how to positively encourage and empower them, and they've taught me how to see the world differently with their vivid and untouched imagination. What has proved so strongly is that community theatre is not about you: it's about who you're doing it for. Going into this project with a hint of self entitlement was not helpful and was eventually wiped away as we as a group were humbled by the innocent presence of the children and their sense of keenness to learn. They shaped us through our growth of patience, positivity and enthusiasm that we adopted from them with a sense of contagiousness. The impact of our eventual piece was important because so much of the final work that was there was created by the children - we were simply just helping to make that happen smoothly. Their understanding of their area - Croydon - a place that is not always met positively - was transformed into a piece that imagined what Croydon would be like as a jungle. The Year One's imaginations were also stretched through their knowledge of dinosaurs and what it would be like to go on a dinosaur hunt and become friends with dinosaurs. We didn't just support the learning of the children but built genuine bonds and relationships with them, us as facilitators having respect for the children as much as them having respect for us. This was the most rewarding part of the process for me, and it embedded my thoughts on how theatre is so much more than just performing and being the self absorbed actor. It's about giving and change. Us introducing these young children to theatre could change their lives forever, and introduce them to ways of expression that could improve their life and moreover the world we live in today. We were united as a community with the primary school next door. On reflection, theatre is not only a powerful weapon to highlight issues in society, but also such a powerful tool to unite people, to emphasise with people, to look at things through different perspectives. Working with children made me see things in such different perspectives, and took me back to my innocent state of being a child.
I have come out of this community theatre project as a more empowered artist and also a more mature person in general. Leading sessions built my confidence and being part of a large team of facilitators who supported each other was rewarding. I won't forget the importance of the community and the meaning of the work you're creating and who it's for. I will also continue to value the importance of friendship in a cut throat world that many of us as actors are striving for: a little girl in Year 3 gave me a friendship bracelet towards the end of the project and it's something I'll treasure as a sign of kindness in an art form that is usually regarded as just the opposite.
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