Monsters
“All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid,
and that kind of courage you have in plenty.”
L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
In 2023 Unique Community will embark on the voyage through fears both big and small, with the hope that at the end of the journey we will feel; calmer, less alone, more capable of challenging the behaviours that fear can breed, and at the end of it all take away some tangible skills to help us face new fears thereafter.
The world can feel like a scary place right now full of fear.
We spent Autumn exploring this.
Imagine this scenario:
You have a phone call to make. Not today, you’re too busy. Tomorrow is your day off. The next day, it’s just not the right time and even if you did, what would you say? The day after that, well, now it’s been too long and it feels awkward that you haven’t already called. And so you go on with your life trying to forget. It was just one phone call but now it keeps you up at night. You’re anxious. Your connections with people are fraught because there is always a niggle in the back of your mind, something is incomplete. You want to talk about it but that would mean unlocking something you are desperate to keep shut. You’d have to admit you failed. If someone does ask you about it, you double down, you didn’t even need to make that phone call. Or worse still, you say you already have. You’re angry, how can people think you didn’t? Negative thought patterns appear, if you can’t face a simple phone call then you must be weak and incapable.
Now you have to do everything in your power to show that you are not.
A monster is born.
If we don’t face our monsters, we run the risk of becoming them.
This year we will be using the arts to help our community face monsters that surround us all. As part of the process we are interested in understanding the tipping point, when fear is a useful tool that keeps us safe or empowers us to take action versus when it turns negative, angry or debilitating.
BRENT YOUTH THEATRE
Younger Youth Theatre will be developing a show about monsters under the bed and the first reactions we have to them through 4 character types; freezers, seekers, flights, and shielders.
Youth Theatre will explore the environments in which monsters are born and ask questions about whether anyone can become a monster.
The Young Company will spend some time with the monster and see if it's really as big and powerful as people say. The group will spend the year creating a show inspired by the Wizard of Oz.
Backstage Crew will explore the idea of fear through art, everything from poetry to painting to sculpture.
Music Den will create the soundtrack to fear.
THE STORK PROJECT
Our refugee community will be developing both a youth & adult show both of which will address life after you have faced the monster. We spent three weeks exploring together and they concluded that the audience should know, despite having looked the monster straight in the eye their lives go on. They smile, they cry, they laugh, they brush their teeth in the morning, and continue to go about their daily lives. This community wants to share their voice with the world and there is so much to be gained from listening to them.
DYCE
With the successful delivery of the Hope Road workshops in 2022 we will be launching the new DYCE program in Autumn 2023 based on the shows created at Brent Youth Theatre.
We can’t wait to show you what we make.
