Street Spirits Theatre Company

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions about Street Spirits

1.       What is Street Spirits?

Street Spirits is a youth driven social action theatre program designed to raise awareness and generate solutions to problems that affect the community.   

2.       How does it work?

Using a range of social action theatre techniques Street Spirits creates audience interactive plays about problems. The plays are all original works created by the actors. Plays show problems but not solutions. Audience members are invited to try to resolve the issues presented in the plays. This provides audiences with a “rehearsal for life” as a means to address complex issues.  

3.       Where did the name come from?

The name “Street Spirits” was the title of our first live stage show. After the program got rolling as an ongoing thing the youth chose to keep that title as the name of the group.

4.       What is the logo about?

One of our Street Spirits members (Beckie) designed our logo. It shows a group of people involved in creating a frozen image, one of the theatre techniques we often use.   

5.       How long has Street Spirits been going?

Street Spirits was founded in September of 1999. The program has operated regularly since then. 

6.       How do people get involved?

Youth who wish to get involved in Street Spirits can come to rehearsals on Thursday evenings at 6:00 PM at YAP Friends 1148 7^th Ave. Rehearsals usually go to between 8:30 and 9:00 PM. People who attend regularly can be part of a performance.  

7.       Does it cost anything to join?

No, there is no cost to youth to be involved in Street Spirits.

8.       How is Street Spirits supported?     

Street Spirits draws support from several areas. In-kind support comes from:

·         MCFD providing office space, rehearsal space, phone and fax for our work

·         Northern Health provides Andrew’s time to run the program

·         Central Interior Native Health administers our funds

Street Spirits also raises funds to cover cash expenses that the company incurs.

9.       Where do Street Spirits funds come from?

·         We apply for grants under Central Interior Native Health. We have received funds through National Crime Prevention, Vancouver Foundation, McCreary  Foundation, Royal Bank Foundation, Prince George Foundation and HRSDC.

·         We have received some corporate support from Commonwealth Financial Services and Starbucks.  

·         We make some money by mounting public performances for “Admission by Donation”

·         We sell copies of our videos.

·         We solicit donations from organizations that ask us to provide workshops and performances. 

10.    What costs are associated with Street Spirits?

Street Spirits funds are used to cover:

·         Travel expenses such as mileage, hotels and meals office equipment and supplies

·         Specialized equipment such as video resources

·         Honoraria for youth (We pay a small amount to youth when they take part in a performance or workshop)   

·         Specialized support for youth. We send some youth for training each year and we support some youth in pursuing their life goals. This has included training courses, work equipment, recording studio time and other support as it arises. 

11.   Why does Street Spirits pay the youth for their work?

Youth are not paid for rehearsals but are paid for road trips, performances, working on video productions and for workshop facilitation. We do this because some youth miss time at work to take part. Other members have little experience with earning legitimate money and being paid for work speaks to that. We believe that the payment is a way to recognize that the youth are providing a service when they perform or teach.

12.   What kind of youth are involved?

All kinds of youth are involved. Over the years we have been pressured to limit membership in Street Spirits to “high risk and at risk” youth. The members themselves objected to this saying that limiting the membership in such a way stigmatized them. Street Spirits is now open to anyone who wants to join. We do not describe our members in terms of their problems. 

13.   What is the age range?

Our age range was actually determined partially by the youth themselves and partially by funders. Our youth members felt that very young members might cause older members to censor their work so a minimum age of 13 was established early on. The upper limit was set by one of our funders as 29. Most of our members are in the 15 to 19 age range. Most of the older members are people who have been with us for some time and now take a leadership role within the group.

14.   Who supervises the youth?

Founder of the program Andrew Burton runs Street Spirits and facilitates most of our shows and workshops. Some of our more advanced members can facilitate shows as well. We have volunteers who assist in running the program. For the past several years Teresa Cavanaugh has assisted in running Street Spirits on a volunteer basis. Our first volunteer, Anita Glaab, founded the Street Spirits program in Stratford Ontario based on our model.

15.   What does Street Spirits charge for shows?

Street Spirits charges a nominal fee for a show or a day of workshop plus travel expenses outside of Prince George. The exact amount is negotiable depending on the length and complexity of the event.

16.   What if an organization can’t afford to pay for a show?

When an organization can’t afford to pay we invite the youth to decide if we will do the show for free. Performers still get paid from money raised from other projects.

17.   What does Street Spirits do about liability?

We carry insurance. Theatre BC has worked with an insurance company in Salmon Arm to develop a specialized insurance policy for touring theatre companies that covers us for liabilities arising from our work.

18.   How does Street Spirits travel?

On some special long distance trips we fly. Most often we travel in Andrew’s van. (the van carries extra insurance)

19.   Why doesn’t Street Spirits specialize in one issue?

We know that we could probably get grants more easily if we specialized.  We have found that covering a range of issues keeps the youth and the performances we create fresh and relevant. We have also found that issues are too complex to be isolated. Sexual exploitation, for example, is connected to substance use, family violence, organized crime, peer pressure and self esteem issues.  Working on a range of issues allows us to show those connections.

20.   Are the plays based on real life experiences?

The nature of the work is based on reality but are composites of several people’s experience. Our plays draw from the understanding of the people creating them. Actors use their real life experiences to inform the play and ensure that it rings true to an audience but we do not tell one person’s story. We also say that if a role is close to a person’s real life we prefer that they do not play it on stage.

21.   What is the name of the theatre system Street Spirits uses?

When we first started much of our work was done in the form called “Theatre of the Oppressed”  designed by Augusto Boal. Over the years we have altered the processes we use in significant ways borrowing from Psychodrama, Dramatic Reenactment, Polish Laboratory Theatre and other techniques.  We call our theatre technique “Actorvism” and offer training in it.  

22.   What is the theoretical base of the work?

The work draws heavily on the theories of popular education developed by Paolo Friere. Friere was a close friend and work partner of Augusto Boal. While Freire was developing his “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” Boal developed “Theatre of the Oppressed”. Both works develop on ideas of experiential knowledge and on the importance of self-direction. We have worked with Augusto Boal on a number of occasions and have had the opportunity to discuss the Street Spirits work with him. He has seen our youth perform and has met several of them. Other influences on the work are drawn from Social Construction Therory including the works of John Shotter and Kenneth Gergen. The application of these theories to theatre has been developed in New York by Lois Holtzman and Dan Friedmen through the Eastside Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy. The Eastside Institute invited us to present at an International event in the fall of 2007.

23.   What are the workshops about?

Street Spirits offers a number of workshops. Initially we were offering small-scale workshops for youth to engage them in exploring problems through theatre. Later we expanded our range to include:

·         Issue based workshops to address social issues through theatre. These include workshops on issues such as drug use, family violence, racism, sexual exploitation and so forth. The people booking the workshop identify the issue and we provide the facilitation to explore the problems.

·         Group workshops work with an identified population such as youth, victims of violence, aboriginal communities and so forth. The group learns theatre technique and is guided through a program to identify and explore issues theatrically.

·         Train the Trainer workshops teach people how to facilitate a theatre program. These workshops are most successful in combination with a group workshop. We train local people how to run a theatre program in a Train the Trainer workshop then conduct a group workshop where they have the opportunity to practice their skills. Participants in the group workshop then see the local people as the leaders rather than us giving the group a better chance at continuing.

·         Advanced workshops train people in specific techniques such as Actorvism Social Action Theatre, Rainbow of Desire, Cop in the Head, Invisible Theatre, Facilitation skills and others.

24.   Is Street Spirits a therapy program?

We do not call Street Spirits a therapeutic program. We believe that Street Spirits work has therapeutic value. However, we do not want to limit or label it by defining the work in that way. As Augusto Boal once said, “This work is not therapy, but it is very therapeutic. Give people the space and support and they will find what they need in it.” Youth involved in the program will often speak of the changes in their lives because of the program. However, they more often speak of the changes they have made in the community and in the province through this work. Youth in the program develop good communication skills, good problem solving skills, social skills and a sense of social responsibility as a result of their involvement.    

25.   What outcomes do the performances have?

Street Spirits performances raise awareness of issues among audience members. Shows make people aware of the broader implications of social problems and the connections between issues. Individuals have told us that our shows have caused them to change how they think and behave about issues. Some communities have instituted new programs based on our performances. Some school programs have changed as a result of our workshops.

26.   What recognition has Street Spirits received?

Street Spirits has:

·     Shared a gold public service award from the province with other YAP services.

·     Received a citation from the Solicitor General for Canada for work against violence

·     Been cited as “best practice” in work with sexually exploited youth by the Justice Institute of BC

·     Been cited as a “best practice” in anti racism by the Multicultural Service Society

·     Received an honorable mention from the “Retail Comp” awards for a PSA about the sex trade. 

·     Received a Certificate of Appreciation from MCFD for work on Integrated Case management

·     Received a gold medal from the International Symposium of Police Executives

·     Received the Canada Peace Medal

·     Received a Certificate of Appreciation from VAWIR (Violence Against Women In Relationships Committee)for work about Family Violence

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