Sponsored by:






Official Sponsor of Play
Upon the Word

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
OF ARTS EDUCATION

At Pleiades, our aim is to bridge cultural divides by bringing people together through the art of theatre and so it is my pleasure to introduce you to our exciting, bilingual educational program, Speak the Speech!, driven by the same philosophy. Using the Ontario Curriculum Guideline, we offer workshops and classes in GTA schools and Community Centres or in the Distillery District Studios. We employ theatre professionals to work alongside teachers, using classical and contemporary text, movement, voice, mask and collective creation, all to improve literacy, creative thinking and self- confidence. Through the use of drama, we encourage the participants, be they children, high school students or adults in ESL classes, to strengthen their language and communications skills and to develop their creative potential. Wherever possible, our workshops focus on a dominant cultural group within a school or neighbourhood. We also want to ensure that the creative process of theatre is accessible to young people of all economic and social backgrounds. In addition to our workshops, we offer young people significantly discounted ticket prices to our productions through our programme, Get Thee to a Theatre! Through the generous support of Scotiabank, we were able to launch our Adult ESL Program Play Upon the Word!, beginning with The Jones Avenue Adult Centre where we’ve had the incredible opportunity to work with a range of adult newcomers to Canada who seek alternative and effective ways to express and communicate in a practical and inspiring way.

Our innovative workshops have been created specifically to empower students to have a deeper understanding of their own cultures and lives, as well as those with which they are less familiar. The purpose of this is to stimulate curiosity and cultural inclusion rather than segregation and indifference. The ultimate goal is to encourage young people to use theatre in the telling of their own stories, while providing teachers and youth workers with ideas and exercises they can use in their classrooms. In this way, we have helped thousands of young people discover the power of language and the enjoyment of creative work. In 2010 alone, through workshops, talkbacks, and innovative programming, we reached almost 3000 young people by celebrating the diversity that makes our country what it is, and we are excited to be able to share it with you.

Lauren Brotman
Director of Arts Education