Grief Support Performance Troupes

Peer Support Performance Troupes

Grieving teenagers can make a difference
...for themselves and others.

Imagine a group of teenagers with the capacity to reach thousands of their peers, to:

· Dismantle the taboo around grief.

· Invite peer to peer dialogue

· Create community out of strangers

The Boldness Institute has created an innovative program that facilitates an exciting liaison between grieving teenagers and the broader teenage population.

Within a short period of time a group of teenagers, affiliated with their local grief support agency, will be provided with the tools to create a self sustaining peer support performance troupe that can tour the schools in their area.

During the course of troupe training, teens are presented with

· Exercises and games that establish common ground and build a team spirit.

· Theatrical devices in vocalization, staging and physical presence.

· A range of forms with which to frame their stories.

· The requisite skills for leading rehearsals and pre-performance warm-up.

A Peer Support Performance Troupe is a powerful gift for your community

Adolescents inhabit a world of change in which complicated feelings are rarely discussed. Sharing feelings means risking vulnerability, ridicule and rejection.

Teenagers in pain tend to alienate themselves from their peers, the people who could best help them normalize their feelings.

Many teenagers are silently grieving losses, stories about the passage through pain are a balm to their fears.
Teens who have processed their grief can teach theirs peers about how to cope in difficult times.

Grief performances are a powerful conduit to dialogue; proof that pain transforms and loss is survivable.

"When my grandma died, my mom started to grieve. I felt lost and didn't know how to cope with sad parents. The house seemed quiet and we didn't talk about it. I tried to cry, but no tears came out. It hurt me to think of myself. I felt somewhat angry with myself. I felt angry at others.
Thank you for coming to our school and talking about this subject when no one else would."

-Middle school student

"After one show, an eighth grader approached me in tears, speaking about how her father had died of cancer. The show had triggered things for her and I gave her some advice on how to get through it. It felt so good to have made an impact."

-Claire LaPoma, troupe member

"Thank you for sharing yourself with all of us. I have felt all the emotions you portrayed. My dad died eight months ago. Even as old as I am it has been a really difficult experience. You showed me I am not alone.”

-Middle School teacher

"Somehow, through weeks of rehearsals, meetings, and the sharing of countless stories, we put together a collage of skits powerful enough to have audiences laughing and sobbing and everything in between."

-Shelly Steward, troupe member

"When I saw the show last year I felt like a door that I had been searching for had opened and everything inside was suddenly revealed to me. It was such an amazing feeling. I immediately knew that I wanted to participate in a performance group like that one and I'm so happy I was able to have the extraordinary opportunity to this year. It has been an amazing experience and I have learned a huge amount about myself, my grief, and how to deal with the hardships in life, as well as the great feeling of knowing that other people are going through a lot of the same things. Many thanks to Lola for her amazing support."

-Jaclyn Bovee, troupe member

During the past three years, It's been a great blessing to watch Lola skillfully and compassionately weave each teen's deep feelings and profound personal story into wonderfully poignant performances that have been well-received by our local school communities.

-Cheryl Coughran Director of Courageous Kids

Performance Troupe Programs

Ways to support the creation of a peer support performance troupe in your area.

Summer Camp
A week long performance troupe training camp in Eugene, Oregon August 2005.

If you know teenagers who want to use the skills that they have learned through the passage of grief to impact the world, this camp will give them the tools to do so.

Numbers are limited. Five grief support agencies from around the country will be invited to send a team of teenagers (minimum 4 - maximum 10) and a support adult to this exciting camp. Each team will return to their center with a performance troupe and show ready to tour local middle and high schools.

Don’t feel like traveling?
You can have a performance troupe touring your area in no time at all.

A Theater Arts Bereavement Specialist will visit your community to help to set up a Peer Support Performance Troupe. Whether its training trainers or working directly with your teenagers, the process of creating a troupe is efficient, exciting and beneficial to all.

Both of these options will be supported by funding raised by The Boldness Institute. Call Lola at 541-686-8119 for details.

Contact Lola Broomberg at
lola@broomberg.com
or call her at
541-686-8119
to create a touring
grief-support performance
troupe in your area

 To view/download the Grief Support Performance Troupe Flyer
in Adobe Acrobat format, CLICK HERE (670k)
(You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view/print the flyer)