Spiders in webs of dreams

Page 10

Of all presentations heard during the four-day Poundmaker's "Healing our Youth Conference" none touched the soul of the issues facing adolescents like the dream performance by a group of inner city youth.

The Inner City Drama Club's 30-minute play touched on the realities of prostitution, drugs, education, peer pressure and suicide in a funny, sad, scary manner that tugged on the emotions of everyone who watched. Even stronger than the message give by the group was the group itself that represented the strenghts, hopes and dreams of all young people today.

They performed the play for the 450 delegates from across the country, who attended the Sept. 17-20 conference. Ranging in age from 12-21 the nine-member cast, from different walks of life in the inner city, showed their distinct personalities with openness and honesty.

The Inner City Drama Association is run out of the McCauley Street Boys and Girls Club by drama director Joe Cloutier who grew up in the inner city.

He combined his personal experiences growing up with his volunteering experiences at the McCauley club together with a drama course from the U of A to come up with a means of communication he could use with the youth.

"I realized what a powerful tool (drama) could be," he said.

"One thing the street does is make you hard. You learn not to show emotion but you can't put a cap on emotions. They will come out in a burst of violence and all sorts of things. (Drama) is a healthy method of expression. It helps to prevent abuse just by being able to express yourself in healthy ways."

There are five different drama groups working at different stages within the club. The one represented at the conference was the only group that performs out of the center.

"We go through the drama processes working in groups," said Cloutier. "Once the kids become strong, they go out and begin working in their own communities. It's only a small part of their lives but one thing you immediately see is their self-confidence. They begin to talk about themselves and their feeling and at a conference like this they begin to realize people are willing to listen."

"I wanted to gain self-confidence," said 18-year-old Blake Arcand who is the musician in the group. "It's a lot of fun and I get to meet new people."

Twenty-year-old Dwayne Jeff said he likes the big audiences he meets while performing.

"If I can face all of you. I'm not going to have trouble facing one person at all. The greatest challenge in life is to challenge yourself and see how far you can go."

When writing a play the group works together and talks about what it wants to accomplish. The story line seems to progress naturally like it would in real life.

"Each of us has a certain dream an we try to work at that. Everything just seems to fall into place," said Arcand.

"It shows when you get into a predicament. It just sort of fell into line, like a line of dominos," added Jeff.

The group performed its play Spider in a Web of Dreams at the Poundmaker's conference. It took the play on tour earlier this summer. The play's name is based on the many dreams individuals hold which intertwine to form a web. Spiders like drugs and alcohol keep people from reaching their dreams.

"When the issues come out into a scene, it's taken outside of you. You see choices and things around you," said Cloutier. "We talk about these things and changing the scenes. Suddenly, this thing that was overpowering, you can see out of. It shows choices and responsibilities.