Artist/Educator Statement

I really enjoyed this project. I feel like I've never been in a group project with members who worked so seamlessly and effortlessly together. As soon as we decided on the self-care idea, we latched onto it, and ideas stemmed from there. We all had different ideas that contributed to it, and the piece came together bit by bit, which was really wonderful to see. I loved how one person contributed the idea of the pictures, and then plants became a huge part of our theme. I also loved how the project was set up. In past experiences with devising, my teacher has often given us very little to work with, simply saying, Go devise! I loved how we worked on the project in chunks, taking it up bit by bit, so that we could build on the piece as it went along and consistently make it better. Early in our conversations Allison suggested using my story as the center focus of the piece, which was flattering because I hadn't thought it was anything special. To me that taught me that my story was valuable and that my group members wanted to hear what I had to say, which I really appreciated. I think every student should feel as though their stories matter and that their experiences are valuable and should be heard by everyone.

I think we all took equal roles in the project; it’s hard to say who wrote the script, because we all pitched in to create it. I did create the initial outline for the script, memorized my lines, and of course, screamed. We all contributed to directing and deciding how we wanted the piece to be structured. We would submit an idea, discuss it together, then decide how we wanted to implement it. We’re all very chill people, so there was an easy camaraderie and respect that came. We all listened to each other’s ideas and made them a reality.

I would love to do this kind of assignment with students. If they ever create a devised piece of theater, which I think would be a great experience, I would want to structure it in this way, by having them submit it in pieces. I would want to give them a long span of time to work on it and complete parts of it bit by bit. I love the idea of having students speak to their friends, their families, and each other to get different perspectives on different stories. I feel like hearing the experiences of the people around you is an incredible catalyst for learning.