Street Spirits Theatre Company

On Sunday, December 4 Street Spirits provided a workshop on public presentations to participants of the Katimavik program. Katimavik is a life experience exchange program that provides young people the opportunity to find out what life is like in other parts of the country while providing community service wherever they go. The presentation was to assist the participants in developing skills in public speaking and advocacy for social issues. Participants learned about selecting topics, tailoring a presentation to the audience and specific performance skills and knowledge to help deliver an effective message.

On December 2 Street Spirits provided role playing actors to the Crisis Intervention Training program organized by Canadian Mental Health Association.  Kaiser, Charles, Linda, Elise, Holly and John role played people experiencing mental health problems so that participants in the program could practice the skills they have learned. Group participants tried to intervene with our actors in scenarios and resolve problems in a good way. the similarity to our forum theatre work meant that our performers were able to give the participants a realistic and effective practice experience.

From Nov. 18 to 26 Street Spirits provided a combination workshop to the community of Creston BC. The first part of the workshop was a Train the Trainer event teaching people the skills they would need to operate a theatre program. There were participants from all over the Kootenays and from as far away as Calgary. The second part of the event was a community workshop with young people who created an original play to perform for the community. Train the Trainer participants took part in the workshop with the youth to gain experience and to start the process of establishing a theatre program in Creston. The group decided on “The Vicious Circle” as a title for the play and also as the name for the  theatre company. We performed for an audience of about 85 people with good participation and great responses. The crew got a standing ovation at the end of the show. here’s the media on this event: http://www.crestonvalleyadvance.ca/news/134340443.html

On November 16 Street Spirits provided a workshop for students at College Heights Secondary School. We led the students through a series of exercises to engage them in a process to explore social issues including bullying, family violence and problems in communication. Taking part from Street Spirits were Andrew, Mary, Elise, Kaiser, Linda, Charles and Michelle. It was a treat for us to welcome back Michelle to take part in a workshop with us once again after years away.

On September 10 Street Spirits presented an original play for suicide prevention. We had a large cast made up of Street Spirits, Future Cents and Crisis Centre members. The play,entitled Keeping Secrets,  focused on three people considering suicide and the friends and family members that surround them.  We had a good sized audience and a lot of thoughtful and effective interventions. Working with the audience we explored the issues around suicide and some ways that people can make a difference in helping someone through difficult times.  Many thaks to Jim at Books and Company for making the Artspace venue available to us.

From August 8th  to the12th we once again provided a workshop for participants in the Future Cents program. This is the eighteenth contract we have worked withfor this program. Facilitating were Elise and Andrew. We worked with 12 members of their team for five days. Participants learned performance skills and play creation techniques. over the course of the week they created two plays that focused on issues of poverty, violence in relationships, theft, and drug use. On Friday the group performed for an audience of about 30 people. The plays went well with a good response and involvement from the audience.

Check out Our video project. This is a video version of the play we have been performing in schools about cyber-bullying. We posted it on youtube at: Not My Fault

On June 19, 2011 Street Spirits provided a performance of “Sergei” a play about racism to about 75  students at DP Todd  school. The play explores issues of racism, sexism and peer pressure challenging audience members to work out ways to respond to unacceptable attitudes and behavior. Taking part for Street Spirits were: Gwen, Amber, Elise, Charles, and Lee.

On June 9 Street Spirits provided a performance of our play on bullying using facebook and text messaging to students at Westwood School. We had about 80 students in the audience and experienced positive participation. Taking part for Street Spirits were: Holly, Gwen, Cody, Elise, Lee,  Mary and Amber. Mary was the facilitator for the performance.

On May 20 Street Spirits provided a workshop for over 100 Kindergarten to 3rd grade students at Westwood School. Participants were involved in theatre games and a “Workout Theatre” process to explore issues related to peer pressure and bullying. Participation was very positive. Taking part for Street Spirits were: Holly, Gwen, Ebony, Cody, Lee, Mary and Teresa.