ABOUT YOUTHWORKS
The Mission of BTW’s YouthWorks Training program is to engage Black and other youth with the skills, crafts, potential and rewards of creative expression through live performance, and to present YouthWorks productions and performances to Montreal audiences, as artworks which express the hopes, fears, and dreams of the students.
Background on the YouthWorks Training Program
Since its inception in 2000 (formerly known as Young Performers Initiative) YouthWorks continues to offer youth of diverse backgrounds between the ages of 12 and 25 a wide range of courses including acting, dance, and musical poetry in a multi-level training environment, as well as mentorship and apprenticeship opportunities to emerging artists. All participants work with trained professional artists in their field, and explore diasporic art forms with a focus of creating whole-body performers.
Philosophy
The YouthWorks program curriculum is designed to train individuals in the art of theatre performance, as well as to foster and mentor emerging artists in the midst of their professional development.
Under the umbrella of Black Theatre Workshop, YouthWorks aims to work from an Africentric but inclusive process: a) developing and understanding a sense of ancestry and ritual; b) developing skills that create whole-body performers, and c) storytelling – the power of the Griot (A West African poet and musician who sustains the oral tradition of storytelling).
General Method of Training
The YouthWorks training methodology is built around the following guiding principles:
The Majority of training is provided by professional artists of African descent; these are generally the program director, the lead artist, the instructors and the team leaders. This team is responsible for interpreting the Africentric process, without neglecting what is valuable and/or applicable from European/Western approaches to training.
The Drum and the rhythm of the village circle are central elements to training.
Training is geared towards encouraging life-long learning for all participants, including instructors and team leaders.
Training is conceived to be part of a self-renewing continuum: upper-level students are trained to be future mentor-trainers themselves, in addition to preparing them for professional careers and/or further specialized training.
Instructors work consistently with students on an ongoing basis, allowing for a high degree of individual attention and assessment, and providing students with a close, mentoring relationship based in a strong sense of community support.
Why be a part of YouthWorks?
YouthWorks provides solid training opportunities to youth whose participation in many other professional training institutions is currently limited.
We provide an opportunity for professional performing artists of African descent to pass on their knowledge to a younger generation, and to further their own professional development in a theatre context.
Are you or someone you know between the ages of 12 and 25 and are interested in the performing arts but don’t know where to explore your talents?
Are you…
- Motivated?
- Serious?
- Dedicated?
- Ready to learn?
Do you like…
- Theatre?
- Culture?
- Performing arts in general?
- Creativity?
If you have answered yes to at least one of the previous questions, YouthWorks might be the training ground for you.
To register, or for more information, click on
