A few thoughts from our YPT friends….

Christine Jackson in conversation with Herbie Barnes, Karen Gilodo, and Molly Gardner

I have had a long and deeply valued relationship with Young People’s Theatre (YPT), as a parent, as a teacher and Program coordinator of the Arts at the TDSB, and now as an educator of pre-service teachers. YPT has been a very good friend, partner, and co-conspirator for over 25 years. I am so grateful for their consistent creation of outstanding theatre for young people, their unfailing commitment to expanding equitable access for all students, and their genuine respect for the work of teachers. 

Recently Herbie Barnes, Artistic Director, Karen Gilodo, Associate Artistic Director, Education, and Molly Gardner, Senior Education Manager, came to OISE to speak to my 18 very keen Intermediate/Senior Teacher Candidates. To sit together, to be able to lean in and hear and feel the embodied presence of one another, as we reflected together on the significance of what we do and why we do it, held a particular kind of gravitas. When trying to understand that gravitas, I turn towards how we held space and listened to one another. The students brought intellectual humility and appreciation to the space. Herbie, Karen and Molly brought generosity and respect. We were present to one another, and in that presence it was possible to have a meaningful dialogue. 

I followed up with the YPT team to capture a few thoughts to share with you. Herbie responded on camera; Karen and Molly put words to the page. We are so fortunate to have this window into the thinking of such committed theatre artists/educators. Thank you Herbie, Karen and Molly!

Here are the questions I asked of them and their responses:

Thoughts from Herbie Barnes…

Christine :

Herbie, the excitement in Toronto, and across Ontario and beyond when you stepped into the role of Artistic Director at YPT was resounding. You come to YPT with over 30 years experience in theatre, and a commitment to breaking down barriers. This opening of doors for audiences of young people and emerging theatre-makers is something drama educators care about passionately.  Can you tell us: 

• Why do you make theatre?  

• What does seeing theatre do for young people? 

Thoughts from Karen Gilodo…

Christine: 

Karen, as Associate Artistic Director, Education at YPT, you bring theatre and education together in very artful and pedagogically grounded ways. In this volume of Provocations, we are investigating what it means to hold space and bear witness in our drama and dance classrooms. How does this translate to theatre; specifically theatre for young people?  

Karen:

The Drama/Dance classroom is a unique space. It can be at the same time safe and completely intimidating and I think that it is because of the teacher creating the right conditions; it is the one space where students are expecting to be heard and seen. This is not to say that that cannot happen in the English classroom or the Math classroom but it is the expectation that I think makes Drama/Dance different from those other spaces. It is also the classroom where learning to listen with compassion and attention is treated as a skill. These classrooms become places to process emotions and practice empathy, and by practice, I mean to exercise the skill. I believe TYA does the same. It provides an aesthetic experience by which young people can practice empathy. They bear witness to stories perhaps foreign to them, perhaps keenly attuned to their experience, and in doing so a TYA show offers a safe way to explore the emotions and actions of characters with different perspectives, from a safe distance.

Christine:

In dialogue with my students, you spoke about the importance of supporting students to practice risk. Can you say a little bit about that?

Karen:

I’ve worked in education for a long time and I noticed at the beginning of my career that many kids are pretty risk averse. They often start sentences with qualifiers like “I’m not 100 percent sure of this but…” or “I don’t know if this is right but…” and then often go on to share incredibly interesting insights and perspectives. So I wonder what that is all about. Maybe it is because school is increasingly more competitive, especially at the high school level, maybe couching a response with a qualifier makes it easier to save face if the answer is in fact wrong, maybe being wrong becomes conflated with feeling wrong, stupid, or unprepared or maybe there are a million other reasons I am completely unaware of. Regardless, going out on a limb, taking a chance feels dangerous. And after the past three years we are all probably especially exhausted by assessing and calculating risks. While grappling with risk, we also put the weight of the world on young people and charge them with solving the world's problems. I sometimes cringe when I hear someone my age cavalierly tell young people that they will have to solve climate change or some other global crisis and in the same breath tell them that they should take more risks and that “you learn as much from failure as you do from success.” Which is true but how does one compute that information when the stakes are so high? What does all this have to do with drama in the classroom and TYA? Well, it comes down to practicing again. Playing out problem solving in an imaginary way through process drama or seeing a play where characters must work through a problem or conflict can help young people practice problem solving in a safe way. It offers the framework for critical thinking before having to deal with real world consequences. You can fail without fallout. You can fail as many times as it takes until something seems workable. And if the conditions are right, you can fail and laugh and find joy and grace in the risk as opposed to terror and judgment. The drama room or the theatre can be a laboratory for trial and error and amid trying, practicing, and rehearsing, young people learn resilience.

Thoughts from Molly….

Christine:

As senior Education Manager at YPT, you and your team have nurtured meaningful relationships with many schools and teachers. 

Molly Gardner:

YPT is a place for young people, and learning is at the centre of everything we do. We want to engage with you and your students, and make your experience of seeing a play or participating in drama workshops with us as accessible and meaningful as possible. 

We have study guides available on our website that are a free resource for teachers to support students in learning more about the play before attending the theatre. These guides include information about the production, pre- and post-show discussion questions, drama-based lesson plan ideas, and more. 

YPT also offers Companion Workshops for schools. These are pre and post-show workshops facilitated by YPT artist educators who will visit your class. These workshops are a great way to have students engage with the main ideas of the play in an extended way, through active drama-based activities and exercises. 

If you have any questions please get in touch with us. We consider educators our partners and collaborators and really appreciate your feedback and ideas. 

Visit the YPT website here for more information, resources, and a schedule of their season.