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In October 2020 we began working with Kyra; Women's Project, on the Positive Stories for Negative times by Wonder Fools and in Association with the Traverse Theatre project.
We have been running sessions weekly with sessions between 1 and 1.5 hour long. Each session focusing on the script ‘Bad Bored Women of The Rooms’ by Sabrina Mahfouz;
‘A lyrical adventure through the centuries of women who have spent a lot of time stuck in a room and who have not necessarily been very ‘good’. From Nesmut, raider of Ancient Egyptian tombs to Madame Ching, the most famous pirate of all time, here are historical and contemporary stories of women who have been ‘bad’, bored and often trapped in a room. Fused with fictional or real-life tales from the performers themselves, this is not only a narration of doing epic, noble or naughty things, but that extraordinary thing of getting through the days as best we can, in a room. This is a play about women you have probably never heard of before, doing extraordinary, criminal things and it’s about you – what have you been doing in your room all this time?’
Through traditional theatrical techniques we have explored this script and prepared to film a ‘rehearsed reading’ style showing of the piece for the project.
Although we have been working towards filming this piece, we have also been focusing on wellbeing and connection in these online zoom sessions. In our sessions we focus on using creativity as a way to elevate the stresses of day to day life, encourage positive wellbeing and build confidence. We begin each session with a short physical warm up to get the members on their feet and moving. We then use positive writing exercises to provoke empowerment in the members and we also run meditation exercises to alleviate stress at the end of sessions. The main duration of the session is spent exploring the piece we are creating, experimenting with the delivery and form, whilst having fun.
The sessions are free flowing and allow for the members to input what they wish to explore and try out.
This setup has been well received by the members and allows the sessions to focus on the whole experience rather than a traditional rehearsal period resulting in a polished end product.
Positive Stories for Negative Times by Wonder Fools and in Association with the Traverse Theatre.
Positive Stories for Negative Times is a national participatory project. The project is responsive to the lack of physical spaces for young people to participate in creative activities due to the pandemic, and instead allows them to come together to make new work online or live in the space if government guidelines allow.
More information can be found: https://positivestories.scot
Kyra
Kyra are a charity in York that exists to help local women make positive change in their lives. They offer a range of courses, therapies, life skills and events for women, all from our relaxed, comfy, city centre location and now also online!
More information can be found: https://www.kyra.org.uk