Hello there! We are River Oliveira & Max Cameron Fearon (see bio's at bottom of form). We are currently looking for participants to take part in a community consultation workshop for Out of the Woods. This will be a place to discuss ideas & themes related to the play so as to accurately & effectively represent issues that impact young queer & trans individuals.
What is that?: Out of the Woods is a Forum Theatre piece that will discuss issues surrounding intimate partner abuse among Two Spirit, Queer, & Trans (2SQT+) youth, using the lens of western folktales to highlight how, when, and why abuse goes unseen or unacknowledged in queer communities.
Who are we looking for?: Eight 2SQT+ youth between the ages of 18 to 29. You do not need any theatre experience to participate. You will also not need to disclose or share personal experiences with abuse or trauma.
When is it?: It will be a three hour workshop taking place on August 14th, 2021 from 2 to 5PM. We will be offering participants an honorarium of $60.00 for this time.
Participants will be contacted by August 12th regarding participation. If there are more people interested than their are spots in the workshop, we will let you know & reach out about alternative ways you may be able to participate if you would like.
Where is it?: It will be held online via Zoom
What will we be doing?: We will be engaging in idea-generating exercises, games, and facilitated discussions around important themes related to intimate partner violence among 2SQT+ youth.
Some examples of these might be word association games pertaining to places, spaces, phrases, and actions that have to do with relationships (both healthy and abusive), collective poetry & story making exercises, etc.
What will not be expected of you: While participants are definitely welcome to share their own experiences, throughout the entire process you will not be asked to disclose personal details or share lived experiences or interactions with trauma & abuse. We will also not be using or writing any one person’s real-life experiences into the play. Instead we will draw on ideas, themes, and opinions shared in the workshop to inform the plays content and characters.
There will be a second workshop held at a later date (TBD) once the first draft is completed. Participants will also be invited to this second workshop to go over the draft, & provide feedback. This workshop is not mandatory, and all participants in attendance at this first workshop will have an opportunity to read the script.
Safety & Access Note:
We recognize that throughout this process people may feel triggered or upset by the content or subjects that arise. As such, we will take precautions to ensure it is a safer space for participants, facilitators, and active listeners to be present in. Some of these include regular check-ins around access needs, clearly stated boundaries/'rules' for the space, resources present before, during, and after the workshop, and an active listener (Ronnie Ali, see bio at bottom of form) who will be available to debrief with participants during the session.
We will also be checking in about access needs before, during, and after the workshop, as well as offering other access measures such as CART Captioning and ASL (if needed).
If you would like further information or if you need any assistance filling out this form or finding an alternative format for getting us this information, feel free to email us at thickettheatre@gmail.com or rivercoliveira@gmail.com. You can also fill out a form at https://www.riveroliveira.com/ and we will get in touch! We welcome any questions, comments, or concerns surrounding the application process, the workshop itself, or the piece.