Rise Up. Lisa Evans
Melbourne – all to great critical and audience acclaim.
He is currently working on a new project inspired by Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the sounds of outer space and the planets.
An introduction to Theatre Centre
Theatre Centre empowers young leadership and youth activism through the arts, supporting and transforming children and young people to change the world by enriching their learning and leadership potential with theatre productions, creative projects and resources.
‘Companies like Theatre Centre defy clichés’ – The Guardian
‘Big, mainstream institutions have a lot to learn from smaller companies like Theatre Centre’ – Jenny Sealey, Graeae
‘Our entire group of 14 year-olds were immediately engaged and spellbound’ – David, teacher, Tunbridge Wells
‘Revolutionary’ – The Hackney Citizen
Education and teaching resources
Rise Up is a newly commissioned touring production, devised to inspire activism and ownership of social and political issues in future generations. All our productions support National Curriculum requirements across a range of subjects, with comprehensive learning resources available online. Free resources and lesson plans are available from Theatre Centre’s website – www.theatre-centre.org.uk/education. We have included a sample lesson plan in the next few pages.
Keeping in touch
www.theatre-centre.co.uk facebook.com/TheatreCentreUK Twitter: @TCLive #TCRiseUp Instagram: theatrecentre
We’re always available for enquiries about bookings, or partnership opportunities. Email us at [email protected]
And finally, to keep up-to-date with all the latest, join our email list at: http://www.theatre-centre.co.uk/mailing-list/
Director’s Introduction – Natalie Wilson
One day in 2012, I was on a London Overground train to Stratford and as I looked out of the window at the passing world, I saw two teenage girls walking along the street. They were huddled together chatting, in their school uniforms, out of school during the day. I don’t know why but it prompted me to wonder what these girls were talking about, what they got out of school, what did they consider to be their future prospects? Did they have hope about what was next for them, or were they already resigned to live within some limited horizon defined by this age of ‘austerity’?
The question that started to form in my mind was “How will young people shape the future?” when all around them they were experiencing cuts and retraction of services that previous generations of young people had possibly taken for granted. How do you make a future when you can’t afford to be educated? I asked three writers to respond to this question and – working with Rose Bruford College students – we developed three new play ideas. One of these was Rise Up by Lisa Evans. Her response was to look into the past – how had young people changed the course of history before? Inspired by Pauline Pearce, the community worker in Hackney who challenged young rioters in 2011 to fight for more than a pair of trainers, Lisa looked at the Freedom Riders – a US civil rights movement in 1961 – as a demonstration of what can happen when you believe in justice and non-violence, and are looking for a better future.
I had never heard of the Freedom Riders and was as galvanised as Lisa to discover their story and present it as an inspiration to ourselves today. This true story of vision, courage, commitment and collective action by young people, black and white, frames important lessons about changing the world through peaceful nonviolent direct action. It’s a story about the fear of change in the Deep South and how even the most entrenched attitudes eventually had to move with the times as a movement took hold. It started with thirteen brave Riders and ended with over 400 souls committed to a cause that shamed the greatest superpower out of complacency and into action. We hope that this story encourages young people to identify injustices in their world and open a space for creativity and courage to change the world for the better and for future generations to come.
Sample lesson plan – Change/choice and voice
Aims:
| – | To help young people to understand the power of the individual voice |
| – | To help young people identify what they would like to change in the world |
| Activity | Introduction |
| Introduction | The story of the Freedom Riders – and the story of the play – is a stark reminder of the power of individuals and groups to change their worlds. It is a call-to-action for people – young and old – to work together to recognise the injustices of society, to protest against them and to create the change they seek. This session will enable young people to continue to address injustices they see in society and to begin to consider how they can work towards creating change, in their own lives and in the world beyond. |
| Warm Up | – Ask the students to choose one point in the room and walk towards it. Then, ask them to choose a different point in the room and to walk towards that – build this up until they each have a “route” of four points. – Once they have got their four points, prescribe a variety of movement qualities i.e. tell the students they are in a rush to catch a bus, that they are on the way to meet someone that they are excited by, that it’s just started raining, that they are on their way to an exam etc. – Then, ask the students to travel between the points again. This time, as they reach each point – ask them to think of something or someone that is important to them and to carry this to the next point – ask them to consider how this affects the way that they travel. |
| Freedom Riders’ “change-line” | – Ask the students to get into pairs and hand out the change-line (right) to these pairs. On one side of the paper, there is a change-line entitled “Freedom Riders” and another entitled “You”. Ask them to consider the Freedom Riders change-line first. Complete the boxes in the change-line. – Once the students have completed this, ask them to choose seven points in the room – these seven points correspond to the seven boxes in the change-line. Ask the students to move between these points, stating their ‘answers’ when they arrive at these chosen points. Ask the students to be aware of how they move between each point and be aware of the pictures they are creating. Both students need to play an active role in this sequence; they could perhaps take it in turns to say the lines. – Ask a few pairs to present what they have done. |
| Students’ “change-line” |
– Next, in the same pairs, ask the students to make a list of the social problems they see in their world. Together, choose one.
– Focusing on the problem, ask the students to work through the same timeline, but focusing on themselves as the agents of change.
– Once the students have completed this – repeat |