| For a few years now, members of ALIAS have been working with members of Kingston Road United Church ("last church before Scarborough") http://www.om.ca/kru/ This came about through a grant from the Trillium Foundation of Ontario, and something we called THE CHANGE PROJECT. This project enabled community members of Fred Victor Centre to take part in a number of artistic endeavours and then put everything we'd learned into a stage show, which we took out to different groups around the city of Toronto. Because the groups were all different, and we all came from different backgrounds, the object was to present a play which told the stories of the individuals working with us - and then to have discussion afterwards, in an effort to create bridges to other communities. It was a successful project, and we all gained some understanding about each other, and where we all were "coming from". The people of Kingston Road United Church were very receptive to this idea and formed something called THE CHANGE PROJECT EAST, and the "bridge" leading to our two communities was built, from the centre of downtown to the edge of the city's east end. When the Change Project was over (read: ran out of funding) - some folks at K.R.U.C. (as we'll call Kingston Road United Church for space reasons) decided they wanted to continue their relationship with ALIAS and Fred Victor Centre. So, we began going to the church once a month for social get- togethers, i.e. bowling, lunch, discussion, etc. One member of the church has a farm and we were able to spend the day there a couple of times (really nice, because many of us have no other opportunity to get out of the city). As the two groups came to know each other better, and realizing we had many of the same concerns, the idea came up that perhaps we could work together on a new play, and take it out to other churches. So, without further ado, we came up with the script and started rehearsing what we've called PERCEPTIONS 502. It is streetcar number 502 that leads from Fred Victor Centre to K.R.U.C., and the play is based on a homeless person (Ben) getting on the streetcar and speaking to the driver (they know one another) about how he lost his job, family and finally, housing. Since Perceptions 502 takes us on the edges of a wealthy section of the city, some of the people on the streetcar have rather negative ideas and perceptions about homelessness issues. Some of the passengers, overhearing Ben's remarks to the driver, start to make comments of their own, like ,"Get a job, you bum!" etc. This doesn't sit very well, however, with some of the OTHER passengers - some of them have been homeless, or are on the verge of it, and they know it isn't just a matter of whether or not one wants to work. There are plenty of reasons why people are forced onto the street: greedy landlords, a housing shortage, people with physical and mental health issues, etc. - and a public that doesn't always seem to care. By the time the streetcar gets from the west end of the city to the downtown core, the discussion has become very heated, with more and more passengers joining in. It's an interesting excursion both for members of K.R.U.C. and ALIAS alike, and we're anxious to see what audience reaction will be as we start to take it out to others... the first showing was held with great success on April 25th, 1999 The second showing was held in Newmarket to the Toronto Conference (of United Churches), where it was also well received. PERCEPTIONS 502 was originally written by Bonnie Briggs, and adapted by the group for production.  |
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