STAGE premieres to laughter, tears and cheers

The members of STAGE, who recently appeared in Who We Are at Blackhorse, included (front) Amanda Mickey of Brampton, Patrick Dilkie of Bolton, Alex Brasche of Bolton, Matt Brisby of Orangeville, (back) Artemis Forster of Bolton, Alanna Bayer of Brampton, Ross Jackson from Cedar Mills, Natasha Alexander of Bolton, Nicolino De Francesco of Bolton, Jen Pause of Orangeville, Mary-Germaine Boers of Tottenham and Daniel Robertson of Palgrave.

Teens face a lot of problems with their lives and it might help them to know how many of their fellows carry similar burdens.

That should be nothing new, but it might not be a bad thing for adults to be reminded about what some of today's youth have to carry. Weren't today's adults bearing similar cargo some years ago?

Student Theatre for Awareness Guidance and Education (STAGE) have attempted to address some of those issues with their production of Who We Are, which was introduced to the community recently at the Blackhorse Village Players theatre in Caledon.

STAGE is an innovative initiative, run by Caledon Community Services and funded through a grant from the Ontario Victims' Services Secretariat. It consists of a group of actors, mainly teens, hailing primarily from Caledon or Brampton (there are a few from the Orangeville or Tottenham areas).

This play was their first effort, and was the result of some months of research and writing, according to Deb Robertson, program manager for STAGE. She added it's a method of using creative arts as a tool to talk about and deal with certain issues.

The play was divided into two acts, with the first one consisting of a single scene set in a high school cafeteria at lunch time, with the usual mindless chatter often camouflaging real problems, such as a girl who blames herself for her mother's drinking, drug issues, bullying, feelings of isolation, gossip, teen pregnancy, cyber stalking and a whole host of other matters that frequently confront teens. That includes conforming with the expectations other place on them.

"I don't want to be what they want me to be," one of the teens complains at a passionate moment.

"Do you ever wonder what happened in their lives to make them behave as they do?" the audience is asked at the end of the scene.

The next act presents a series of scenes. Problems are spelled out in some and other show how the victims have coped over the years (not always successfully).

As voiced by one character, "Yes I have experienced victimization, but it is what I have experienced. It is not who I am. I will not let it define me."

The message resonated strongly with the crowd who were moved to laughter and tears throughout the performance. As the cast sang their original song Who We Are, the audience rose to its feet for a long and loud ovation.

Robertson said she came up with the notion for STAGE, based on her background in arts and music, in an effort to come up with something different to deal with questions of exploitation. Although the program has been funded by a grant thus far, she said more sources of money are going to be needed soon.

The young actors hosted a brief Q and A session after the performance, during which they stated they don't see themselves as counsellors. Their first goal is try and steer young people in need of help in the direction where they can receive it. The added it's important to listen and validate that one is actually in pain.

STAGE will continue performances throughout the area over the next several months and encourages other groups, theatre companies etc., and schools to call and find out about having STAGE perform. It is with the hope of reaching out to other youth and helping guide them and give them their own voice that the STAGE project will continue to have such a powerful impact.

The next scheduled performances for STAGE will be at the Caledon Youth Centre in December. For more information, or to book a performance, call Caledon Community Services at (905) 951-2300 or (905) 584-9460, ext. 524. Visit the STAGE Web site at www.stageproject.ca