Pembina North Community School students treated their parents to a series of home-grown shows which tackled world-wide issues at the first-ever Trickster Theatre residency that ran from Jan. 23-26.
All 10 of the school’s classes brainstormed, wrote and performed single-act plays running under the larger theme of Kids Go Global. Performances Jan. 26 were assisted and directed by four members of the theatrical group Trickster Theatre, a non-profit group that brings visual drama to schools across the country.
“It was a really cool experience for the kids,” said school organizer Heather Beaver. “It was a very different form of drama than what we’re used to with things like the Christmas concert.”
Beaver had previously worked with Trickster Theatre when she was a teacher in Wabasca.
“We provided the theme we wanted the production company to go around. They went into the classrooms and said ‘OK, what do you guys think about helping out in your community?’” said Beaver. “So all of it came from the kids, the production company just pieced it together to make a story.”
Topics ranged from local topics such as community clean up and helping out with family chores, to dramatizations of the Fort McMurray fire and the public response to it, the struggles Syrian refugees endure trying to escape to Canada and a discussion about carbon pricing and how it affects urban and rural communities differently.
“For the little guys it was more about their personal understanding of how they connect with the world,” said Beaver.
“But for the junior high students you could tell that they were more into current events. They had to research and understand the global issues, how they affect the students and what they can do about them.”
Other performances included helping define Canada as a haven of freedom and human rights and a visual depiction of many of the great adventures Canada has to offer. A dramatization of a hurricane disaster, a discussion of the colonization of the country and the origin of Canada’s Métis culture and a group of helper Elves topped off the performance.
“It was great,” said associate principal Daryl Chattargoon. “The kids had a great time, the parents had a great time. They’re engaged. It’s very valuable to them to get the opportunity to have a drama class.”
Chattargoon noted that there has been no discussion on whether to bring the group in again, but he would be all for it.
Beaver added that the performance was a major learning success.
“The global citizenship is part of our social studies curriculum and it’s a focus for the school, so it threaded into what we were already teaching the students,” said Beaver. “Also, we don’t have a lot of opportunity to provide a lot in terms of dramatic arts, it was a really good chance to give the kids a feel what it’s like to be on stage. It was a really valuable thing for them.”
Now that the students have caught the stage-bug, Beaver added she hopes their dramatic interests will continue to blossom.
“It brought together our junior high and elementary and our staff around one big project,” said Beaver, adding that she had received a lot of positive feedback from parents. “It took a lot of effort for the parents to support this, making props and supporting the kids.
“A lot of them said that maybe we should do our Christmas concert like this.”
