The teachers at Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) believe students learn best when they are having fun and engaged and so do the actors of the Kompany Family Theatre.
That is why the school teamed up with the theatre group in an effort to teach students about the importance of healthy relationships by hosting a performance of ‘In True Pirate Fashion’ on Thursday, Oct. 23 for students from Grades 7 to 9.
BCHS Grade 7 teacher and guidance counselor, Margryt Rispens said she found out about the Kompany Family Theatre’s play, ‘In True Pirate Fashion,’ and thought it would fit perfectly with the school’s health curriculum.
“We thought (school and teachers) it would be a good and meaningful way to address a lot of the issues junior high students are facing,” Rispens said, adding that the play also touched a lot of the topics students learn during their language arts class-health education component.
Rispens said at BCHS language as part of junior high schools arts classes they are also responsible for teaching health education.
The play follows six Grade 9 students as they prepare and then go on a school camping trip.
During the school camping trip the group decide to go on a quest to find a hidden pirate’s treasure. Of course, nothing on their quest goes right and the group dynamics change as they are forced to depend on each other.
“Body-image, self-esteem, bullying, peer and societal pressure, it’s all covered during the play,” Rispens said, adding that those topics are featured heavily in the junior high school health curriculum.
Karen Fischer, BCHS Associate Principal, agreed saying the play touched on many the topics covered in the junior high school curriculum, however it went beyond what is covered in school.
“The presentation was very realistic. The play touched on a lot of issues our students have to deal with on a daily basis just because of how society is,” Fischer said. “From the comments I have heard from students, in the hallway it already has started a lot of great discussions.”
April Ashley Killins, one of the actors, said that is how the play is designed.
The play was written by the company’s artistic director Jan Taylor, 10 years ago when it was commissioned by the Expecting Respect Social Services Consortium. The consortium consists of a number of different Edmonton social agencies.
“All of us actors love doing the show,” Killins said, adding that the topics the play is about are so relevant to teens. “The whole purpose is to get kids talking about and recognizing the different unhealthy relationships. That is why we have a number of workshops with the kids after the show, to help debrief them about what they saw.”
Killins said the actors especially like visiting schools in small towns. Although the Kompany Family Theatre is based in Edmonton ,and the majority of the performances are for schools in the city, the cast really enjoys visiting smaller communities.
“It gives a lot of pleasure to bring professional theatre to a town where the students do not have the chance to see a professional performance. It is a great thrill,” Killins said, adding students in the city have the opportunity to see live theatre at anytime.
“I know growing up in Peace River it was really special when a professional theatre group came to our school,” shel said. “I know it wasn’t until I saw a professional theatre group that I knew being a full-time actor was even a possibility. A lot of us are from small towns and I think, secretly, we like showing the kids that there are other options that they did not know were out there.”
