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Social action theatre for youth coming to Creston

A social action theatre workshop for young Creston adults is coming to Creston later this month...

A social action theatre workshop for young Creston adults is coming to Creston later this month. The workshop is presented by Andrew Burton, founder of Street Spirits Theatre Company in Prince George, whose vision is to help youth change the world one performance at a time.

Burton will train youth from Nov. 21-25 from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Sasquatch Arts and Music House at 222 11th Ave. N.

The presentation to the public will take place on November 26 at 2 p.m. at Prince Charles Auditorium. Come and support Creston youth and the food bank — admission is $2 or a non-perishable item.

Social action theatre is youth driven. Techniques from theatre of the oppressed along with theatre games and other creative techniques allow youth to explore social problems in their world that matter to them. Youth are coached to create audience interactive performances presented as forum theatre. Topics may include drug and alcohol use, family violence, racism, sexual assault, poverty, peer pressure and homophobia.

The plays created are usually short, 15 to 20 minutes in length, and illustrate only the problems inherent in the situation. Audience members are then invited to join the actors to brainstorm ways to resolve the problems in the play. The play plus audience interventions can create a theatrical event of one or two hours in length.

This training is open to 30 youth between the ages of 12 and 18. If you want to take part in this training, please contact Colton Luke on the Facebook page Socialactiontheatre/Creston or call Doreen at 250-428-4405 to sign up. You will need to fill out a registration form and have written permission from your school principal and/or guardian.

This training and production is a result of a partnership of youth, the Lower Kootenay Band, Columbia Basin Trust, the Interior Health Authority and the Creston and District Community Resource Centre.