3 May 2013

Showdown 2.0 – Dweepesh’s Intro to MCT

by Mixed Company Theatre | posted in: Showdown 2.0 | 0

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself – I am Dweepesh, co-op MBA candidate at the DeGroote School of Business in McMaster University. I have recently joined MCT as a Marketing Communications Specialist for the summer 2013 co-op term.

While watching my first theatre show presented by Mixed Company Theatre, I realized why I wanted to work here. I have enjoyed theatre over the years, but none like the one I experienced on Wednesday. The first act of SHOWDOWN 2.0 was about the worst case scenario of bullying in high school, especially through the use of social media. While watching I could sense the nervousness inside me because of the issues that were raised. I felt the actors portrayed the scenarios very realistically.

The second act was something I could have never imagined. The ‘joker’, or the facilitator, asked the audience to be involved in scenes they felt they’d like to change, and to pick a character in the scene they would want to replace. I was surprised by the enthusiastic response of the middle school kids, who volunteered to get up and intervene in the play. I noticed how many wanted to become the oppressor and change the way the bully treated others. Going up in front of their peers was a very brave step. The audience participants really influenced me, and if I was called up on the stage, I would have probably liked to replace a bystander and try my own ways of standing up against the bully.

Thank you MCT for this wonderful opportunity and I look forward to a successful term!

7 Dec 2012

Philippe’s Tales of the Great North

by Mixed Company Theatre | posted in: Projet Actif | 0

What inspired me was the personal experiences of a student from our Hanmer tour whose intervention with my character was also an open confession of how he himself understood ‘Rick”s problems; because quite simply, he had lived through these issues himself. He sympathized with my character’s experiences and tried warning me of terrible pitfalls when it came to consuming drugs and alcohol. “You’ll end up regretting it. Trust me. Problems with the law, your friends, your family. Trust me. You don’t want any of that. I should know, because it’s all happened to me.” These were statements of true sincerity that made my character see the world a little differently and with a little more hope. I opened myself up to him by revealing ‘Rick’s’ feelings of depression. In this he definitely felt akin and assured ‘Rick’ that he wasn’t alone. This was incredibly encouraging to ‘Rick’ and obviously a pretty successful intervention.

Afterward, Mattawa in Ontario was nothing less then relaxing and picturesque. Having experienced beautiful views of the large river banks from the Valois Motel, we nestled our heads for the evening; but not before I indulged my taste-buds to a homemade sugar pie, a piece of true Canadiana. We also spotted a Newfoundlander dog whose size was almost akin to a full grown bear! Yikes!

Lastly, in Mattawa we visited the birth of a school, which opened a mere 2 months ago for their inaugural scholastic year. You could smell how fresh the painted walls, the linoleum floors and the varnished gymnasium was. This beautiful bright school with an even brighter future dubbed our show the very first show performed inside the new building. Mixed Company Theatre having been chosen for this sacred spot in its future history, wishes nothing but the best for its faculty members, students and all families associated with this institution.

Enjoy our future blogs and follow us everywhere on the social media Trans-Canadian highway. YOLO! 🙂

– Philippe Poirier actor playing ‘RICK’ in Projet Actif!

14 Dec 2011

Showdown 2.0 Extended!

by Mixed Company Theatre | posted in: Showdown 2.0 | 0

Tour leg #1 is over, but it’s only the end of phase one for the cast of Showdown 2.0. Due to the overwhelming success of the school tour, and a great showcase at the TCDSB Safe Schools Symposium, MCT is bringing Showdown 2.0 back in February 2012 (February 6-24) for another sold-out tour throughout the GTA.

We have several interns here at MCT his season who had never experienced the power of Forum Theatre prior to working here. Here’s what intern Carina had to say about her first Forum performance:

“A couple of weeks ago I saw my first ever Forum Theatre play. I could tell right away that the Forum experience is a powerful one. When presented with situations and characters that are developed with the audience in mind, the play allows viewers to relate and think about how worst-case scenarios can be changed for the better. It also allows audience members to step back, view and think about how what is presented on stage fits within their community. While watching the play, not only was I thinking about what might happen next, but I also questioned how I would handle the situations presented if I was in the position of many of the characters. A Forum play like SHOWDOWN 2.0 sparks much conversation since the behaviour of characters in worst-case scenario situations can be changed in many different ways. I’m sure that when the audience of a Forum production sees a show and has the opportunity to participate through acting out resolutions for the worst-cases, the audience will be excited to learn and relate to their peers on stage.”

During the tour, we performed at and ESL school, which can present a unique set of challenges, but also opportunities to explore Forum Theatre in a different way than we usually do. MCT Co-Op student, Eslam, attended that performance:

“School that are mainly an ESL may have a little bit of an issue to understand the play, but I noticed a lot of students helped other students to understand. This meant some talking during the play, but I think the best thing about that is that students are taking care of each other. Also they seemed to enjoyed more of the physical and facial expressions of the characters. It was great some of the well known kids in the school volunteered to participate in the interventions and resolve the conflict in the best way possible, because it motivated others to do the same.”

1 Nov 2011

New MCT Blog!

by Mixed Company Theatre | posted in: Announcements | 0

Well boys and girls, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for – yep, that’s right, the new MCT blog has final arrived! We’ve spent months pouring over social media strategies and creating a brand new show that’s jam packed with technology (Showdown 2.0 – you’ll hear all about that later) so it seemed like an opportune time to launch our new blog.

You’ll be hearing from interns-extrodinaire, Carina & Janie; super enthusiastic co-op student, Eslam; and of course yours truly, MCT Communications & Outreach Coordinator, Deidre.

MCT’s 2011-2012 Educational Tour Season is all about bullying awareness, so there’ll be lots of content about that, as well as a sneak-peak into rehearsals and reports from the road.

Stay tuned!

Deidre