Читать книгу No White Picket Fence - Robin C. Whittaker - Страница 12

As Theatre St. Thomas sent out the usual press releases and social-media blitzes, and Robin conducted media interviews, Sue’s promotional focus was on outreach to stakeholders who are in positions to support much-needed change in the systems impacting many youth. These efforts resulted in audiences significantly made up of social workers, educators, activists, politicians, and staff of non-profit organizations and government ministries whose mandate includes the support of youth. Along with other audience members, they engaged in robust discussions during the twenty-minute talkback sessions that followed each performance.

At several points in the play, experiences of violence and abuse are described (although we do not linger in these accounts, and none are physically acted out). Accordingly, a comfortable quiet space was prepared for the use of audience members during or after the show; the audience was made aware at the show’s outset that if they wished to have a break during the play (or a quiet space after its conclusion), the space was available to them. Trained volunteers from the Fredericton Sexual Assault Centre were present throughout and following each production to offer support if requested.

Of note, eight of the ten interviewed participants (accompanied by loved ones) chose to see the show; some travelled significant distances to do so. Two also chose to speak during the talkback sessions. Most often, the participants lingered after the show in order to meet the actor whose character represented their experiences. The actors described these meetings, and the participants’ feedback and words of thanks, as powerful and affirming for them.

Since the run of No White Picket Fence in February 2017, the team has continued to receive strong responses from audiences. Sue and Robin have been particularly moved by enthusiastic and affirming messages from individuals who have themselves experienced the troubled care system in their youth, as well as from those who are actively working to improve it.

For the creative team, the ten research participants are the true heroes of this story. Their accounts are raw, characterized by times of turmoil and suffering in their original family homes, and later during impermanent arrangements in foster care and group homes. And yet, these women’s stories also highlight their persistent efforts to move toward living well on their own terms. Above all else, theirs are stories of resistance, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit.

In creating No White Picket Fence, we have all sought to move toward a better world for youth in/from care by bringing their stories – in their own words – into public view.