COMMUNITY ARTS See Eric snarl. A group of four artists and twelve kids ages 6 to 17 made him do it. He loved it. This is Eric in "Pterodactyl Delight", a play that we made together in 1997. Community arts: That's when a group of people with something in common (that's the community) work together with artists in a joint effort -- sharing the responsibility and decisions, the work and the glory -- to make their own work of art from the beginning spark to the end product. Eric Earl worked with Joan Chandler, Laura Cameron, Emerita Emerencia, Carolyn Elliott, Brad Harley, Billy Johnston, Joss-Ann Johnston, Sunny Johnston, Keira McArthur, Emma & Adam McLaren, Sean Moreau, Marcelle Paulin, Ana Ratcliffe, and Nicky Sutherland. He played two nasty cat characters in this piece about children's rights and cultural heritage. Sheatre has worked directly with over 1250 participants in Community Arts projects and served audiences in excess of 14,000 during the 1990's.  Durham Art Gallery Main Exhibit "Turning on the Light" "Turning on the Light" is a visual art exhibition cosponsored by the Tom Thompson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, and the Sexual Assault Centre of Grey and Bruce as an educational vehicle about sexual assault. This community art project features the work of numerous artists in the region focusing on the subject of sexual assault. The works are based on stories told by "survivors" to the artists. Artists then expressed these stories through various visual media. Sheatre presents "Two ways of spreading light", a mask and puppet sculptural piece created by Joan Chandler with Nadia Dekking in a "face t face" youth project. Thanks to John Moulton for his welding and metalwork on the piece. Joan and Nadia began by talking about the real and disturbing experience of sexual assault. This was then expressed using physical movement. These "dances" were distilled into two images: one reflecting the immediate response to the experience and the second encapsulating Nadia's moment of epiphany, when she saw the strength that she had gained and the person she wanted to be after much healing work had been done. These images were then rendered into masks. The moment of agony was perceived as being immobile, frozen, disassociated and trapped. It seemed appropriate to turn that mask into a puppet chained to a steel weight, being consumed by fire. The second image is presented as a costume piece, a mask with head-dress. The figure is seen in the act of taking flight, soaring to new heights. The body is still not concrete or whole, but the spirit glows, alive and thriving. These two images form one presentation piece. Also exhibited in "Turning on the Light" is a work by Keira McArthur, an Owen Sound artist who has been involved in numerous Sheatre projects in the past. The exhibit is touring throughout the province. During the summer and fall of 1998 it was seen in Owen Sound, Durham and Stratford, before touring to schools. To view the images, connect through the following link.

THEATRE WITH A PURPOSE: THEATRE FORUM What's at stake and who's at risk in our community? Is there a problem? Step onto the stage and into the action and try out your idea to solve it. Will it change anything? Together we'll discover alternative ways of dealing with real issues. The theatre forum features a short play created with participants from the community about their own external oppressions and difficult experiences. An audience interactive performance focuses on actively exploring creative solutions. Theatre forum is an effective and entertaining rehearsal for reality.

OUR ARTISTIC ROOTS Sheatre's approach to the arts is strongly rooted in the Theatre of the Oppressed. Theatre Forum is one form of Theatre of the Oppressed, a type of theatre that responds to community needs created by Augusto Boal of Brazil. Other formats of T.of O. include Cops in the Head, Rainbow of Desire, Image Theatre and Invisible Theatre. We have delivered programs in all forms of Theatre of the Oppressed. Our work is also influenced by the philosophy and approaches of The Sweet Medicine Sundance Path, Viola Spolin, Starhawk, Paulo Friere, Shadowland, and Bread and Puppet Theatre.   Sheatre has produced and co-facilitated over 40 community based interactive theatre forum presentations in Canada, the US and England, produced the video documentary , "Shelter Me: The Power of Popular Theatre", about theatre forum which was presented in the 20th anniversary conference of Theatre of the Oppressed in Paris, France (1991). Recognized internationally, Sheatre has participated in numerous festivals, conferences and events. In 1991 our Artistic Director, Joan Chandler, co-led the introductory portion of Boal's master's workshop on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada. Sheatre is featured in the book Playing Boal: Theatre and Therapy (New York: Routledge, 1994).