When I first heard of the workshop, Dream: The Joy of Creating with Oily Cart, it was just that, a dream. However, that dream became a reality when I received an email telling me that I had been selected to participate in the highly selective workshop. A flight across the Atlantic, two trains, and a taxi ride later I was in Ashford, a town in the county of Kent, England for a weeklong workshop organized by Jeremy Harrison of Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance. The pinnacle of this workshop was working with the creative team of Oily Cart. Oily Cart is a theatre company in London that has been creating innovative interactive multi-sensory theatre for youth with complex disabilities (Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities [PMLD] or an Autism Spectrum Disorder [ASD]). Lead by Artistic Director Tim Web, Head of Design, Claire de Loon, and Musical Director Max Reinhardt, the Oily Cart team has been creating theatre for young people since 1981. In total, there were 16 individuals selected to participate in the workshop. We were theatre artists, special educators, drama therapists, and teaching artists from the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, and the United States. We were given a task that seemed too big for a one-week workshop, to devise a 15-20 minute interactive multi-sensory performance for youth with complex disabilities. To accomplish our task we took residency at the Wyvern Special School in Ashford, Kent. After a day of getting to know each other through theatre games we were randomly placed into groups of four. Each group had an educator, director, performer, and musician. My group members were Abi, a performing artist, Laura, a teaching artist, and Susan, a special educator and musician. It was then revealed that we would use the theme of luggage to create our piece. Once we arrived at the school we were assigned to the classes that we would be working with and creating for at the Wyvern Special School. Two of the classes were PMLD and 2 were predominantly ASD. My group, Team Trunk, was assigned to the Keystage 2 J4 Class (ages 8-9). There were 9 students in our class, eight male and one female. Eight of our students had a primary diagnosis of ASD with one having a primary diagnosis of Down syndrome. Our classroom teacher, Peter, was very excited to be part of the process and was extremely helpful. He was able to provide great insight and advised us of triggers for specific students. Our first official task was to observe our class during instruction. We were given just 20 minutes to observe them and learn as much as we could about our audience as possible. After our observation we began to discuss what we wanted to explore with these young people. Susan said that she had a trunk that we could use and we began to think of all the ways we could use a trunk to interact with our audience. At the end of our first devising session we were full of ideas and left the first day with lots of ideas but no plan of action. For me I kept thinking of the sage advice that was given to us by the Oily team, “keep it simple”. It was what I think we lacked, the permission to keep things simple. All of this changed as soon as we saw the trunk that Susan brought for us to use. Team TrunkMy group consisted of (From Left to Right): Abi Horn: Performing Artist, Susan Farrington: Special Educator, Laura Griffiths: Teaching Artist Key Things to Remember
Devising ProcessDay 1: Who is in the Trunk?Advised by Artistic Director: Tim Webb, MBE - From Left to Right, W. Riley Braem, Abi Horn, Tim Webb, and Laura Griffiiths. Once the trunk came into the picture everything changed. We were working with Tim and he asked, “Can someone fit in the trunk?” Laura climbed into the trunk and our piece was born! Everything else seemed to go out the window and we got on our feet and began to create. We wanted to start with a very simple question, who is in the trunk? We initiated the action with a knock that came from within the trunk. From there, we elected to have sensory items emerge from the trunk. We used bubbles and laser lights. Laura would remain hidden inside the trunk and deliver the sensory stimuli. We started with bubbles that were then fanned by Abi and I. We then invited the students to help us fan the bubbles. After the bubbles a laser light emerged from the trunk. We used a blue laser light that was highlighted by misting lavender scented water. Finally, the moment had come for Laura, who would later become the character Who, emerged from the trunk. She would then interact with the students as Who. All the while Susan underscored the entire interaction. Our first interaction with the students was underway and we had some lovely moments. There was one student who was so excited to see someone in the trunk that he raced to her. Laura shied away and at that moment something magical happened. He was able to understand that she was scared and he held out his hand to help her. The fact that this young man, who has ASD, was able to interpret the body language of this person who emerged from a trunk was fantastic! He helped her out of the trunk and then led her around the class, almost as to show her that there was nothing to be afraid of. Peter, the classroom teacher, was thrilled with what he had seen but wondered if there was a way that we could do more to engage students in their own space within the classroom. We took this, and other feedback that we received from the Oily team and other groups and used this information to make choices about our next facilitation with the students. Day 2: What is in the Trunk?Advised by Head of Design: Claire de Loon - From Left to Right, Abi Horn, Laura Griffiths, Claire de Loon, and W. Riley Braem. On the second day of our residency we worked with Claire. We wanted to continue to keep things simple. We decided to keep the design element of our piece neutral by using only white materials. The only thing that wasn’t white was our trunk. This time, instead of having Who in the trunk we wanted to use the students excitement as a way to propel the drama forward. Once again, we initiated the action by a knock from within the trunk. We invited the children to knock on the trunk and then, just when they couldn’t stand it any longer, we opened the trunk to find that Who was not in the trunk. The children were curious and wanted to know where Who was. They helped us look for Who in the classroom. We eventually found Who taking a nap under a table and the students woke her up so they could play with Who. Again, we interacted with the students and introduced different sensory stimuli. We used bubbles, fans, and music. The students were CRAZY curious when they realized Who wasn’t in the trunk! (Score!) In addition, we had some really nice moments with students in their own space within the classroom. We were really excited because the shape of our piece really seemed to be translating to the students and spectators. Day 3: Where is Who?Advised by Musical Director: Max Reinhardt - From Left to Right, Abi Horn, Laura Griffiths, Max Reinhardt, and W. Riley Braem. Now it was time dive into another devising session. Once again, we wanted to go with Who not being in the trunk. Instead of Who the students would find Helium Balloons that had a ticket attached with each of their names on it. In a sea of blue balloons the students found one white balloon with the name Who on it. This would serve as the motivation to transition to the world of Who. We asked the students to help us find Who and took them to the Physiotherapy, affectionately called the Fizzy Room. While the students were in the fizzy room looking for Who led by Susan, Abi and I got the trunk and secretly loaded Lauren into the trunk. Once we were back in the room and placed the trunk in the center of the playing area we heard a knock. It was Who! We had some last minute interactions with Who and then began our transition back to the student’s classroom. On day five of our residency, and last day at Wyvern, we worked with Max. The goal of today was to incorporate music into our piece. This was especially difficult for me because there seemed to be so much to add in our last 1-hour rehearsal session. One of the biggest hurdles was comfort. It was difficult for us to deal with so much new material in such a short time. Max, however, pushed us to incorporate a number of songs into our piece that made it so much better. We incorporated: Where is Who, Wake up Who, Let’s Dance, and then finally, a hallmark Oily Cart Goodbye Song. Scratch PerformanceUltimately, the students loved the helium balloons. Not only were they excited about the balloons having their names on them; they were super excited that they got to keep the balloon. The transition was from the classroom to the fizzy room was rough. We hadn’t attempted a room transition before but luckily we had a sensory box that the student and a Teaching Assistant were able to use while the rest of the class was away. In the moment it appeared like organized chaos. To be honest, it was really exciting but tremendously scary. As a group we felt that the scratch performance went HORRIBLY wrong. The video told such a different story. The performance was so different and things were nowhere near as chaotic as we thought they were. The reactions that the student’s had were priceless. There were some genuine moments of discovery and excitement from the students. The transition to the World of Who went great and we received positive feedback from everyone. The World of WhoDress Rehearsal for Public Sharing
My Challenge to You
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Dream: The Joy of Creating with Oily Cart Workshop Participants
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Just in case you missed any of the awesome blogs posted in the latest edition of the TYA Blog, Creating Nontraditional TYA, follow the link below to read the exciting entries submitted by artists from around the country! Entries in this edition are: Reinventing Work for Young Audiences in Non-Traditional Ways by Danny Campos Oily Carted: An Interview with Max Reinhardt by Ashley Lavarty Oily Carted: An Interview with Tim Webb by Andy Whaldron Oily Carted: An Interview with Claire de Loon by Chris Hamby The Dream of Creating All Sorts of Theatre for All Sorts of Kids by Sara Brunow Overcoming Reluctance by Kristianna Smith Walking Through the World: Reflecting on an Immersive Fairytale by Meredyth Pederson, Rachel Alulis, and Becca Drew Emmerich Do It!: The Creation of Multisensory TYA by Tamar MacKay Nontraditional TYA: Queer TYA by Lindsay Amer Making Theatre on the Playground: Children’s Museums and Unconventional TYA by Megan Flod Johnson Immersive Theatre for Young Audiences: A Manifesto by Jeff Sachs Taking on the Resistance: Engaging Audiences in Interactive Performance by Miranda Giles and Elizabeth Sullivan The Emancipation of TYA: Creating Nontraditional Theatre for Young Audiences by W. Riley Braem TYA Blog - Creating Nontraditional TYA My road to becoming a young professional was a little nontraditional. After high school I tried college out and quickly found out that it wasn’t for me…at least not yet. In the pursuit of my art I went out and experienced life and by life I mean adulthood. I got a job doing anything and everything from working in fast food to factory work to being a temporary postal worker. I performed in community theatre, completed a directing apprenticeship program, attended conferences and took master classes when I could.
At 26 I decided that it was time for me to get a college degree. After a bumpy start and 4 major changes I accepted that in order to be successful in college I had to study something I loved. I changed my major to theatre performance and theatre design and I haven’t looked back. As an undergrad I jumped at the opportunity to do work and the thought of being paid was a myth. I graduated from Austin Peay State University with a BS in Theatre Performance and Theatre Design in 2010 and moved to Tempe, Arizona to begin the Master of Fine Arts Theatre for Youth Program at Arizona State University. In my first term of graduate studies I had a mid-semester check in with Roger Bedard and we were discussing how my term was going thus far. I mentioned that I wanted to look for internships to gain more experience and Roger stopped me. While I don’t remember his exact words he said something along the lines of, you don’t work for free anymore. What? You mean I get to get paid now? As silly as it seems, for the first time it occurred to me that I had a degree in theatre. While I still had lots to learn I was a young professional in the field. With that said, not all payment is monetary. I’ll say it again. Not all payment is monetary. As an emerging artist in the field, being given the opportunity to build my craft and network with established professionals is a form of payment. But each opportunity is different. I had to take a long hard look at what benefits an unpaid opportunity would give me. It is also important to put value in your work. If you don’t place a value, in this case monetary value, on your work then others will not either. If you establish yourself as an artist who always does work for free when you make the transition and provide the same product people will move on to the next free worker. Mutually Beneficial Work Instead of seeking out internship opportunities I shifted my focus to mutually beneficial work. What opportunities will provide me with some benefit that I would otherwise not have? Fellowships are a great example of mutually beneficial work. In my second year of grad school I applied and was named a Jim Rye Fellow for the 2012 International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) showcase. I was able to work with Kim Peter Kovac (KPK for short), Producing Director, Theatre for Young Audiences, at the Kennedy Center and head of the Rye Fellow program and IPAY board member. KPK took the time to speak to each Rye Fellow and find out our interests. He then paired us up with professionals for career chats. We were also able to network with TYA professionals from around the world and see inspiring theatre. The benefits did not end for me when the showcase ended. A few months later, KPK emailed me and asked if I would be interested in connecting with Jennifer Adams, Academy Director for First Stage Children’s Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who was developing a recreational drama program for youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (the topic of my MFA Thesis). I connected with Jennifer and in August of 2012 First Stage flew me to Milwaukee to help launch their Next Steps Program for Youth with ASD. As a result of the connections I made at IPAY I was offered a paid contract for work. I was lucky to be named a Jim Rye Fellow for the 2013 IPAY Showcase as well. As a result of the job that I did I was recommended for and contracted for a research project for VSA at the Kennedy Center. The work that you do for positions like this make an impact and could yield future paid work. There is nothing wrong with working as an unpaid intern/fellow if the relationship is mutually beneficial. It is important to also think about the connections you will make from the work you do and how you can use them in the future. However, current and future benefits are not the only things you need to think about. You need to really look at the organization you are considering working with. You need to know what you are getting yourself into. Are you going to be stuck answering the phone and stuffing envelops or will you have the opportunity to build skills that will aid you in your long-term career goals? Don’t be afraid to ask for a list of job expectations and if there is a way to tailor the internship to meet your learning goals in addition to the goals of the organization. Also, don’t be afraid to ask if there is a way to speak with past interns/fellows. If you are lucky enough to be offered a paid internship/fellowship you need to find out he specifics of the job before you accept the post. If your internship is a 6-month gig and you are expected to work 40 hours a week but you are only paid $3,000.00…well you can do the math. Again, you need to look at the work that you will be doing for the organization and think about how it serves your short and long-term career goals. You also have to ask yourself, “Can I afford this internship/fellowship?” This is an especially important question if the internship/fellowship you are considering is unpaid. If your internship/fellowship is part of your program of study for your degree then you may qualify for financial aid from your college or university. If not, look to professional organizations in your field that may provide grants for professional development. You also need to consider the following:
Conclusion There are a lot of things to consider when thinking about taking both paid and unpaid internships/fellowships. The most important thing to remember is that any work that you do, both paid and unpaid, should be mutually beneficial in some way. It might be building skills or networking with amazing artists from around the world but there must be something in the work that you do that fulfills you. *This is another post originally published with the TYA Blog. http://tyablog.com/2014/06/03/mutually-beneficial-work-as-a-young-professional/ Across the United States and around the world there are TYA companies and artists who are pushing the envelope by creating nontraditional TYA. These artists are breaking with tradition by creating work that is immersive, interactive, multi-sensory, and/or installation-style theatre. These artists and companies are challenging their audiences by exposing them to theatre that is innovative and nontraditional in form. But what makes something nontraditional? Is it simply a departure from the traditional Aristotelian form? Are we bound by linear plots that are driven by narrative action or can we venture to the land of non-linear storytelling?
In times past a majority of work produced for young audiences seemed to be inspired by fairy tales. Now book adaptations have replaced fairy tales as the new go-to material for young audiences. How can we create innovative and evocative work for youth when so many TYA companies shy away from creating new work? Is there a way to reimagine the way we stage book adaptations and fairy tales that will breathe new life into the stories and characters that are so popular with the communities we serve? Content aside, are we bound to the traditional theater space or is there a way to break free from the conventional idea that theatre must be produced in a theater? If not produced in a theater, where? The theater is a safe space with clear boundaries. How can we create safe boundaries when we endeavor to create theatre in nontraditional spaces? In this edition of The TYA Blog I hope to address the following questions:
Stay tuned! -Riley *This is a blog originally published on the TYA Blog. http://tyablog.com/2015/03/19/the-emancipation-of-tya-creating-nontraditional-theatre-for-young-audiences/ It’s that time of year again. March begins the busy conference season that continues until early August. This year I will be presenting with the fantastical Sara Brunow at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee and One Theatre World in Chicago, Illinois. We will present our work at SETC in a presentation entitled: Discovering Accessibility though Sensory Friendly Performance”. Next, we will had to OTW and present a workshop called: “Sensory Storytelling: Exploring Theatre with and for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder”. In between these two conferences I will be presenting two workshops at the Junior Thespian Conference in Nashville, Tennessee called: “Character Development for the Middle School Actor” and “Acting Up! An Introduction to Improv”. The only remaining conference that I would like to attend is the annual AATE conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in August. I would really enjoy a visit to Milwaukee so I can catch up with my First Stage friends!
In Other News… I am in the midst of finally bringing my multi-sensory interactive theatre instillation project to life! I have secured a venue and have partnered with a music teaching artist. I am now on the hunt for two ridiculously talented teaching artist/performers to join in on the fun. I’m knee deep in grant proposals and have a very positive feeling about things. The project will be produced in part by Starcatcher Initiative and I am super excited to get my organization working on this project. Publishing work is always something I am working on. I am almost done with an article about my experience as a participant in the Dream: The Joy of Creating with Oily Cart workshop sponsored by Rose Bruford College in the UK. I’m putting the finishing touches on it and coupling it with a more in-depth blog that will be displayed right here! I am also the Editor of the TYABlog for the months of March and April! I am super excited to start releasing blogs about creating nontraditional TYA. Stay tuned! Teaching My adjunct and teaching artist work is going great. I am heading into the 3rd week of an Arts Integration Residency with Napier Elementary School in Nashville and it is crazy fun. Working in a classroom is always fun, but I think my favorite part is seeing the look on the classroom teachers face when a little dramatic chaos ensues! I am also pumped about starting to offer classes/workshops with some other teaching artist friends of mine via the Metro Nashville Parks and Recreations Cultural Arts Department. The phenomenal Rachel Hamilton is the new Director of Theatre for Parks and Recs and I couldn't be more excited about the direction she is taking the program in. Stay tuned for more news about the projects I am working on and new stuff to come! -Riley There are so many new things happening this Fall and I am very excited about all of them. First, I am very excited to announce that I will be joining the faculty at Middle Tennessee State University as an Adjunct Professor! MTSU is a wonderful institution with a very impressive child drama program led by Dr. Jette Halladay. While I am just starting out with some theatre appreciation classes, I am still very excited to be teaching at the university level! I am also very excited to continue my work with Nashville Children’s Theatre as a Teaching Artist. They have some wonderful things coming up that I am very excited to be a part of. I am also busy at work with the Starcatcher Initiative planning an event to be held at Dunbar Cave in October. I also hope to continue with SI’s Banned Play Reading Program. We have several scripts selected and I hope to secure a venue soon.
Finally, I am really excited to announce that I am one of two American’s selected to participate in a theatre workshop intensive with Oily Cart Theatre Company in London, England. Oily Cart creates innovative multi-sensory interactive theatre for youth with complex disabilities and/or an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This is an AMAZING opportunity and I am very grateful to the support that I have received from Austin Peay State University, the Martha Dickerson College of Education, and the Area of Special Education for their generous financial support. I can’t wait to share more with you all about these wonderful opportunities! Cheers, Riley Hello All,
Welcome to my website! I am new to blogging but I hope that this will be a way to keep everyone up to date with what projects I am doing. Summer 2014 I am really excited to be working with Nashville Children's Theatre as a Teaching Artist this summer. This is my send summer with NCT and I can't wait to see what fantastic things my students create this summer. I also just got back from the happiest place on Earth. No offense to Disney but Camp MARC is in fact the happiest place on Earth. It is a camp for adults with mental and/or physical disabilities. This summer was my 19th year as a Camp MARC staff member! I also am very excited to announce that I have been selected to take part in a workshop this fall with Oily Cart in London entitled: Dream: The Joy of Creating with Oily Cart. This is a fantastic opportunity to work with and learn from Tim Webb, MBE, the Founder and Artistic Director of Oily Cart. More on that later! Please stay tuned! -Riley |
W. Riley BraemThis is a blog of my thoughts and theatre projects. Archives
May 2015
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