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Two Articles by participants in the 2009 Vancouver Downtown Eastside Arts For All Institute,
written for the Carnegie Centre Newsletter:
My Vancouver Arts For All Institute Experience
by Colleen Carroll, 2009
What the hell am I doing here my body screamed out as Varrick Grimes instructed the circle of
participants to make funny faces while saying our name. This after Ruth Howard had us make hand
puppets. Now my poor joints screamed in pain with all the hokey pokey monkey see monkey do
business.
I had signed up for Vancouver╒s Moving Theatre and Jumbles Theatre Arts4All Institute. Yes, me,
without an ounce of theatre talent in my being. Curiosity had gotten the best of me. I had wanted to
discover the big secret how Vancouver Moving Theatre got together a community and produced plays
entirely with the wealth of talent within that community. Now I felt like I was in kindergarten, well
almost, dam gout!
Now I was questioning my sanity. Instead of sitting at lectures we were DOING things, like making
funny sounds faces and gestures and singing silly songs. And the pain from the effort on my joints
was killing me. But I stuck it out and I was happy I did.
They first bonded the group. Next we shared experiences over the week, and everyone was so nice to
us even though a couple of us were unable to do some of the wiggling around. We all learned how to
ask questions and bring up topics that can be used for material in the plays we were to develop. We
got experience in building dialogue, lyrics and choreography. Eventually the group divided into many
small performance groups. The highlight was when we all used the material we had created over the
week and put on these mini shows. Next we learned how to weave these individual performances into a
show.
In other words we learned by having to partake in activities, such as having Cathy Stubington teach us
to sing silly songs about water in rounds, or make puppets come alive. Exercises taught that we can
create a song or a character from just one word or puppet. Savannah Walling brought her energy,
talents and kindness to the workshops as too did Keith McNair and Will Weigler. All attending were
made to feel welcome and allowed to contribute to the best of their abilities.
Did I learn how they create a community play, accomplish what at first glance seems a daunting task?
You bet I did! In spades. I also learned it takes a lot of work and energy to produce a community play
and although I do not have the energy or talents I learned to appreciate all the work going into a
production and will never enjoy one again without a new appreciation.
Will Weigler also brought a copy of his book Strategies for Play Building, this book has been given a
Distinguished Book Award by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. Carnegie Community
Library now has a copy of this book for anyone to read. It helps groups translate Issues into Theatre.
Most helpful read, to be sure. However, nothing can beat attending an Arts4All Institute. I hope you
will try do so when it comes to our community again. I urge anyone, even though you don╒t have a
Thespian bone in your body, to attend. All you need is a desire to learn about community building
through theatre and to attend all the classes. It is truly a great learning experience. I╒m grateful for
Ruth, Varrick and Keith for coming all the way from Ontario to share their expertise as well as Cathy
who came from Enderby to share her talents with us and Will for coming from Victoria. Most of all I
wish to thank Terry Hunter and Savannah for organizing this and all the others who made this past
weeks remarkable learning experience possible.
The First Downtown Eastside Vancouver Arts For All Institute,
by Patrick Foley, 2009
The Arts For All Institute was a six-day workshop about all aspects of community art, or, as some call it:
community-engaged art. The purpose was to mentor and teach artists the essentials in creating and
producing a piece. If by chance you saw the Downtown Eastside community play: In the Heart of a
City, you have an idea what community art is about. It is a collaborative work between artists and a
community that expresses or explores some aspect of that community. The purpose might be to raise
awareness of drug use, conflict between different racial groups, differences between youth and elders,
historical events, or it might be simply to provide an opportunity for folks to get to know their neighbors.
The form a community play might take is limited only by the imagination. It might use music, drama,
opera, mime, shadow puppetry, parades, drumming, writing, signage, the visual arts, and all manner of
objects, machines, and costumes. It reminds one of using mother’s old clothes as well as everything in
the attic and the basement to make a play.
Ruth Howard, artistic director and co-founder of Jumblies Theatre from Toronto led about twenty
participants in the workshops. Indeed, Ruth and her assistants developed the course because she
realized that there was a need to teach this art form. The Downtown Eastside Arts4All Institute was
produced by Vancouver Moving Theatre, Terry Hunter, producer and Savannah Walling, artistic
director. Sharon Kravitz and Susan Gordon saw to it that this motley crew of artists ate heartily and
well. The Institute was also supported by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, and the
Community Arts Council of Vancouver.
And what did we learn? First, we got to know each other by singing:
I come from a place, I’m going to a place, I am, and I am.
We stood in a circle and sang this softly while each one of us said our name and a little about the
reason why we’re here, our work, and how we’re feeling.
We learned about making grant proposals, budgeting, and building partnerships. We addressed things
like codes of conduct and publicity. We also talked about the terminology used in describing this art
form; how it may get in the way and limit the work. ‘Community art’ is a recent art practice and
therefore definitions are important; there may be people who don’t know much about it, especially
funders and other potential supporters.
We each learned how to make a labyrinth from Varrick Grimes, one of the guest workshop leaders from
Toronto. We made one about ourselves and our creative projects and one about our heroes. Next we
wrote a poem, or prose piece, or made a drawing about our partner’s hero. We used these to construct
several group plays which we also presented.
This was the highlight of the six-day workshop, for now we put to use some of the things we learned.
One play was about Elvis Presley and his reluctance to come out of the toilet, even though we chanted:
“Elvis! Elvis! Elvis! Another addressed Residential Schools. There was one about Charlie Chaplin that
had women playing a bunch of Charlies. One was about two combative neighbors making peace with
one another. One moment that was particularly moving was seeing this little paper puppet being pulled
across the floor by a string. It seemed so vulnerable and fragile; it held everyone’s attention and
showed that you don’t need a lot of fancy stuff to say something meaningful.
The Arts For All Institute was a lively and inspiring six days. Ruth Howard, a dedicated community
artist and mentor, inspired us with her love and passion for art. Thank you, Ruth, for your generosity in
sharing your knowledge and experience.