For community leaders

The Cobblestone Theatre Project

In 1990, Mixed Company launched the first Cobblestone Theatre Project, offering a forum and a voice for people who have experienced homelessness and street life. This collective theatre experience challenges common conceptions and misconceptions about people who live a different lifestyle. It has garnered intense media interest and has resulted in transforming experiences, for both participants and company members alike.

There are two Cobblestone troupes: The Cobblestone Adult Troupe, and the Cobblestone Youth Troupe. Between January and March of each year, the Troupes reach into the street community through agencies and support groups to find participants for that year's play.

Working with a core group of 10 people who are homeless or have experienced homelessness, each Troupe is then guided over a three-week period to develop a 75-minute play as a means of creative expression and of educating their community. The plays then tour at community gathering places (hostels, shelters, job training centres) and also for national and international poverty and activist organizations.

The Cobblestone Troupes' use of Forum Theatre and of actors from within the homeless community provides multiple perspectives, encourages understanding of different lifestyles, and helps to make people aware of the consequences of the actions they take.