Theatre for Living Report The Gagged Voice #3, Prince George May 24, 1998 Clap Exchange 2 Knots Effective Hand West Side Story The Journey Intestine Exchange Oppressors (Racists) Magnetic Image Rainbow of Desire Circle This was an extremely long and hard day. Hard from the very beginning. We seem to be in a lose/lose situation with the Youth from Vanderhoof. As far as I can understand a question was put to about 40 youth regarding the workshop. Places were offered for four. These four said they wanted to come. But, to what and to where? They got no information about the workshop. The sheet we sent with the contract was not given to participants as requested. I believe after talking with them today that they just wanted to get out of where they were and come to the City. Every game or exercise we did today stopped because they were not participating, except the Intestine. They are one third of the group and are in the workshop but completely passive. So, in knots they just stood there, in effective hand they wandered around the outskirts of the room, not looking for a partner, in west side story they wouldn't offer a sound or gesture, in Magnetic Image two wouldn't go to a shape, in Rainbow all of them clued out completely..........you get the idea. This isn't because they don't understand. They don't want to be there. Their input into the day was wanting longer breaks and wondering when we were going to finish. I had a private chat with them mid-day about this. They all insisted they wanted to be there. In the afternoon nothing changed, though. So we talked about it again. They were more honest this time. "Where else is there to be?" one asked. "I just wanted to check it out" another commented. Trouble is, they are not at home. If they were they could drop out. We can't release them to wander around Prince George alone. They have a Guardian with them who is telling them they should finish what they start. I disagreed with her in front of them, insisting that they needed to make up their own minds about this but I know that she has much more power than me and that they cannot say they don't want to and so they are there not wanting to be there. In the end they said what they know they are supposed to say -- that they will be back tomorrow to participate. It isn't fair to them, to the group who are getting impatient with them, (they are getting excluded now because participants don't want a partner who they know is just going to stand there and do nothing) and to me who has to keep trying to convince them to do what we are doing. This is a product of adults going to other adults and then sending four youth from another town into this workshop because they believe it will be good for them. The youth didn't know what they were coming to and the decision to come was not informed enough to really be theirs. In conversation with Angelo, Catherine and Emma after the session today it turned out that the welcome letter that explains the process to participants that we send with the contract was not used at all. I am thinking that the letter itself needs to be a mini-contract that each participant signs and brings to the workshop, indicating that s/he has read it and is attending of their own free will. Maybe it should be made clear to sponsors that participants will not be allowed into the workshop without reading the letter and signing it. I don't know what else to do -- this is happening too much. There were also some strong Images today, in particular a 'pyramid of desire' that was about patriarchy and possibilities of ending it with or without violence and a 'scream for help' in which the oppressed and the oppressor seem interchangeable depending on one's perspective. How do we see each other? We did a partial Rainbow of Desire that got stuck. I have set some time aside tomorrow to work concepts before the public event.   Next Back to Headlines Past Work