YOUth Riot

 

A lovely group of 6 youth had their new work/plays presented by professional actors in a public staged reading on May 13, 2015 at One Yellow Rabbit’s Big Secret Theatre.
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WHAT IS YOUth RIOT?

A FEB – MAY 2015 free playwriting program for queer teens (13-20 yrs old) culminating in a public festival of 10 minute plays written by Queer Youth at One Yellow Rabbit’s Big Secret Theatre.

Third Street Theatre has created a program specifically for Queer Youth, entitled YOUth Riot. Over the course of 12 weeks, Third Street Theatre associates will facilitate a playwriting program for Queer teens, helping them tell their stories through the medium of 10 minute plays.

The work created in this program will culminate in a public reading festival sponsored by Third Street Theatre on May 13th 2015 at One Yellow Rabbit‘s Big Secret Theatre in Arts Commons. During the festival, professional actors and directors from the Calgary Theatre Community will stage the readings of the participant’s plays.

This is a largely be a workshop-based program, where industry professionals lead workshops aimed at mentoring program participants, fostering their creativity and most importantly, providing valuable tools to foster confidence, acceptance, and positive self-image.

Some LGBTQ Youth statistics*:

• 4 in 10 LGBTQ youth say the community in which they live is not accepting of LGBTQ people
• LGBTQ youth are TWICE as likely to physically and emotionally bullied
• 73% of LGBTQ youth say they are more honest about themselves online than they are in their real lives
• 92% of LGBTQ say they hear negative messages about being LGBTQ – namely at school, online, and from their peers.
• LGBTQ youth are TWICE as likely to be homeless than their heterosexual peers
• LGBTQ youth are THREE times as likely to abuse illegal drugs
• LGBTQ youth are FOUR times more likely to attempt suicide, and are 5.4 times more likely to suffer from severe depression (Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 10 to 24)

*statistics from Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG, and The Trevor Project
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“We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $157 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.

Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil  a investi 157 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.”