Preview
DOES TV RULE THE NATION?
Community Youth Arts Project
Runs July 14 and 15
Engineered Air Theatre (Epcor Centre)
When the Community Youth Arts Project presents its new play, Does TV Rule the Nation?, this month, audiences will be seeing not only an exploration of the relationship between media and society, but also the result of a 30-week program designed to help young people gain meaningful employment.
Presented by Boys and Girls Club Community Services in partnership with the City of Calgary Youth Employment Centre, and funded in part by the federal government’s Youth Employment Strategy, the project is the brainchild of Sharon Cavanagh.
A newcomer to Calgary, Cavanagh had previously run a similar arts program in St. John’s, Newfoundland. "When I moved here, I thought, ‘Why don’t I start it up here?’" she says. When she presented her idea to administration at the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts, they were immediately excited. "They were a major component to our coming into being," she says.
Once Cavanagh had secured some backing for the program, with the assistance of the city’s Youth Employment Centre, she was able to round up seven young people in their teens and early 20s. The group has been together since the start of the year, rehearsing, developing improv and acting skills, and having group discussions about the project.
Fawn Cardinal, Colin Menzies and Nikki Menzies, three of the project’s participants, say they have spent a lot of time questioning the messages television is sending. The show, which Cavanagh says is not so much a play as a series of brief skits, questions both the value and influence of TV, examining such topics as illusion versus reality, celebrity, the relevance of TV and how it affects our thinking.
"Has society influenced television, or has television influenced society?" asks Nikki Menzies.
This ties in directly to the cult of celebrity and why we sometimes go to extreme lengths to emulate famous people. "Are we really elevating ourselves, holding people to these higher standards?" she asks. "Has the bar been raised or lowered?" She says one of the goals with Does TV Rule the Nation? is to make people ask these kinds of questions.
"If you’re not happy with yourself, maybe it’s you, not something outside," adds Cardinal. "Television can’t make you unhappy."
However, Nikki is also quick to point out that the show won’t be too heavy – it’s meant to be entertaining. "It’s a very satirical show," she says. "It makes light of some of these situations."
Cardinal and Colin Menzies agree, referring to a scene in which a family takes a vacation based completely on TV commercials. "The generation we’re talking to was sort of raised on television," says Colin. "At least we can step back and laugh at it."
Although the end result is an important part of this project, there is also an emphasis on what the participants learn in the process.
"When we leave here, we have so much to take with us," says Cardinal, referring to the various groups and individuals, from playwright Clem Martini to mask and puppetry experts The Green Fools, who have come in to conduct workshops with the group.
All three young performers agree it’s been exciting to have a chance to learn from these professionals. However, they feel the biggest educational experience has come from working as a group with people from different backgrounds. "You learn a lot from the program and the people who come in (to teach), but you learn a lot more from the people in the program," says Cardinal.
Colin Menzies echoes that sentiment. "It’s like Breakfast Club meets community arts!"
Cavanagh’s hoping this year is the first of many for the Community Youth Arts Project and would like to do the program twice a year. She says it could be a perfect opportunity for a young person who is struggling in a traditional school setting, as students can get high school credit for participating in the program.
But whatever the reasons others might have for wanting to be a part of the project, for Colin Menzies the greatest benefit has been the chance to do something he otherwise wouldn’t have done. "The program’s been such a roller-coaster," he says. "It’s the last thing I thought I’d do, but it’s the best thing I’ve done." |
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