A JOURNEY THROUGH STORIES:
Creating Dialogue with Youth about Violence

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“Violence is the absence of dialogue.”
– the Dalai Lama

“… I found out that I can be heard …”
– Youth participant, Phase 1 project
(…more feedback)

The spontaneous enactment of personal experience builds connection between people by honoring the dignity, drama and universality of their stories. Toronto Playback Theatre in association with Ralph Thornton Centre (RTC) has sponsored a youth Playback Theatre Company since 2005. For the last six years we have built relationships with schools and agencies that serve youth who have been impacted by violence and/or who are at-risk of being involved in violence, including:

• The Canadian Centre for Diversity
• Peacebuilders International
• East York Collegiate Institute
• Respect in Action (REACT)

The project includes four phases:

• Dialogue to better understand the dynamics and needs of each agency.
• A 90 minute playback presentation by our young adult playback company, providing youth an opportunity to watch as their stories are immediately recreated and brought to life by their peers.
  
• Interactive theatre-based exercises including sound, movement, listening and story-telling, designed to give youth the skills necessary to playback their stories to one another.
  
• The formation of a youth Playback Theatre companies in your own community.

Over the course of this initiative we have enacted accounts of racism, gang violence, landlord - tenant conflicts, witnessing violent killings, the ridicule of new immigrants, schoolyard bullying, family disputes and relationship tensions with authorities and teachers. We have also heard countless stories of the acts of kindness, love and caring which happen every day in the schools and on the streets of Toronto.

“… I learned that much can be resolved through
mutual respect and understanding …”

THE FORMATION OF A YOUTH PLAYBACK THEATRE COMPANY
– Spring 2006

In the final phase of the initiative, a Youth Playback Company with participants drawn from each of the agencies will train intensively in the skills necessary for public performance of Playback Theatre. They will return to their schools and communities, listen to the stories of their peers and play them back as live theatre.

The project serves as an opportunity for youth to dialogue with other youth about violence, share their stories and, finally, to develop empathy, understanding and alternative outcomes.

“… as a community we all share similar experiences …”

YOUTH PARTICIPANTS FEEDBACK

“… after this I’m more confident to put myself out there …”
“… all the facilitators were amazing … the program was fantastic! ”
“… our stories showed us that there’s a lot more oppression than I would like to think”
“… I’m more spontaneous than I thought …”
“… I most remember the time when I told a personal story …”
“… I realized that there are many forms of prejudice everywhere, everyday …”
“… I didn’t know this kind of theatre existed …”

To learn more please contact:

Winnie Lee
Programme Director of RTC
(416) 392-6810 Ext 227
winniel@ralphthornton.org,

Lisa Patterson
Project Co-ordinator
(416) 466-7112 or at
imaginit_music@sympatico.ca

Chris von Baeyer, Artistic Director
Toronto Playback Theatre
(416) 537-9595
cvonbaeyer@torontoplayback.com