Fine Arts STUdent’s Tackle Sexual Assault Awareness Through Theatre
Discussions and conversations between people on taboo subjects can sometimes be tense and uncomfortable. Two students from St. Thomas University willingly took charge and co-produced a project to showcase issues of sexual assault and LGBTQ related topics.
On March 15thin St. Thomas’s Black Box Theatre, Naomi McGowan and Dustyn Forbes debuted their production of A Night of Emerging Artists. The performances were expressed though speech, movement, poetry and dialogue.
One of the students, Naomi McGowan, has previous experience organizing shows from her time spent helping organize the MRC theatre festival in Miramichi, New Brunswick. “I am new to event organization and directing, but this is not my first! It will be my first time writing a show that I share with the public which is scary, and exciting for me.”
Stories were told through physical theatre, which entails storytelling through breath, body movements, tapping and stepping. The motivation to pursue this project came from conversations and stories McGowan was hearing about sexual assault.
“All cases were vastly different but one thing they had in common was a lack of communication or respect thereof. All of these stories surrounded the gray area between sexual assault and consent.”
McGowan continued to discuss how it was astounding to hear about these uncomfortable situations and where she believes that understanding facial expressions and body language could potentially prevent some situations and assist with consent.
“If we can put care into the education of communication, we will grow respect for our interpersonal partners as a result.”
The spark that made the creation of the project, not only showcases a taboo subject but it also gave opportunities for fellow fine arts students a to showcase their talents and gain audience feedback.
Katie Hanson, one of the performers, had her first experience doing physical theatre with this project. The show has a very important message to Hanson, and resonated with her deeper level than most.
The students of St. Thomas University created a diverse, fresh and alternative idea around the conversation. McGowan hopes that the project’s initiates a conversation for the audience, and for them to develop questions and to take away some message from the night.
“I hope the audience learns the importance of communication and finds strength to implement it into their own lives.”
“This performance in particular has a very important topic that hits home so emotionally, I have to prepare myself by talking my feelings out with a therapist every week. Other than that on the physical side, I really just had to let loose and let my impulses take me places.”
The students of St. Thomas University created a diverse, fresh and alternative idea around the conversation. McGowan hopes that the project’s initiates a conversation for the audience, and for them to develop questions and to take away some message from the night.
“I hope the audience learns the importance of communication and finds strength to implement it into their own lives.”
