It is a
little bit surreal to look back on the first half of my summer at the Atlanta
Shakespeare Company. I spent June working with the Shakespeare Intensive for Teens program, and I feel like I have
just stepped off of a rollercoaster. Sure, I’m winded but I also can’t stop
smiling. This three-week program has been incredibly informative for me as an
artist, as an intern, and as a person. However, since it is impossible to
convey every lesson learned during SIT without time travel -and science has
limited my resources- here is the Sparknotes version of what I learned.
It’s all
about the students. This experience is shaped by those who participate in it
and each student within this group was incredibly eager and willing to work.
Personally, it would be difficult to imagine this going through this experience
without each of the young artists and their personalities that brought the work
to life. Veterans and newcomers alike courageously explored outside of their
comfort zones. These students readily shared their discoveries about
themselves, their characters and the text which informed their work in
profoundly unique ways and brought the group together.
After
each day, we would sign off as a team (like an all hands in, 3..2..1 GO TEAM!!
type team). Though it might seem trivial, reinforcing the team element was a
beautiful way to establish the tone of the room. One of the tenants of the
ASC’s educational philosophy is to create a judgement-free environment, so establishing
this group as a team helped keep everyone on the same plane. On any given day we
were Team Off-Book, Team Team or Team Work but most importantly, we were always
a part of Team Safe Space. We asked students to be aware of judgement within
their language and their physicality in order to establish the SIT classroom as
a free zone for exploration. The group was supportive, attentive, and quickly
broke judgmental habits. Especially once the students recognized they had the
support of their cast, they identified and discussed their emotions eloquently-
something even adults struggle with. It seemed simple for the students to be
receptive to the ideas and emotions of others which allowed us to really get
moving in the artistic process. However, it was much more difficult to
eliminate the judgement they passed on themselves.
Asking
anyone to access their emotions in front of others is a tall order. Asking
TEENAGERS to access their emotions in front of others?? Good luck. High
schoolers have an inclination to avoid talking about their feelings in public.
Naturally, SIT starts every day with an emotional check-in. After each run
through of a scene, the first question asked was usually “how did that feel?”. So, it’s safe to say we talked about feelings
A LOT. One of the larger challenges was to get the students to identify what
they were feeling instead of judging their performance. Judgement is a full
stop. When faced with a judgmental response such as “that was good” or “I felt
like I was awful” the directors would shift the focus to unpacking the emotions
behind those rulings. As someone who is riddled with self-judgement, this is a
game changer. Providing the vocabulary to assess emotions prompted students to
make bold, active choices and opened their performances up to new discoveries.
Once a student made an awesome new choice there was no time to waste. To quote everyone’s
favorite sports brand, JUST DO IT. Infinite
discoveries are made in the moment. There was no time to judge when ideas were
immediately put into motion. Students, especially self-conscious students,
tried to talk themselves out of these spontaneous findings by inquiring whether
it was “the right answer” or not. But here’s the kicker: we trusted our
students and the findings they discovered.
It took
some students the whole process to recognize that they were entitled to their
own decisions. No one was going to shame them if they tried something that
didn’t exactly fit. Sure, the directors offered guidance, but ultimately the
students were at the helm. Students let their emotions lead them without
worrying about conforming to a pre-set artistic vision. Each student had the
right to tell the story their way. This
inclusive directing style cultivated wonderful, weird and honest performances.
Offstage, it changed lives. During the wrap-up of the first week, we asked the
students what had affected them most from this process. Almost unanimously the
group commented on how quickly they felt comfortable trusting one another. Another
resounding answer came from several students; they had never felt like they
were enough on stage before this program. This struck a personal chord with me.
I’ve spent a lot of my life obsessing over whether or not I am good enough. If
I could go back in time and tell my younger self one thing, I would try to
silence self-doubt (I’m waiting on you, science!!). So, to know that SIT has
given students the tools to combat that anxiety is overwhelming. This program is powerful.
Lastly,
life– like theatre- is ephemeral. RECORD IT. I wish I had just written down
what it felt like to be in that classroom. That way I could bottle it up and
take it with me now, like a handwritten time machine. I implore everyone to
journal. The feelings discovered and life lessons learned within this program
are all worth remembering. Keep discovering, exploring and leaning in. I know I
will.
Submitted by Aliya Kraar, Summer Intern
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