Voices Project

The Voices project uses the entertaining media of theatre, dance, and music to strengthen and share the youth voice on issues that can impact teen lives in serious ways, such as family, school, drugs, dating, sex, health, religion, peer pressure, diversity, media, politics, and the world at large. Although these issues shape the lives of youth all around the world, this project is intentionally regional. Specific issues of rural vs. urban life, farming, class division, and the similarities and differences of growing up in Vermont vs. the rest of the country have been debated.

Youth collaboration and participation have been central to this programme. During a 4-5 month research stage, the Voices Project organised round-table discussions, conversations, and a series of professionally run theatre workshops with a diverse group of teens throughout the state. Organisers described the workshops as "a great place to meet other teens like you and talk about issues that concern you through song, poetry, film or other creative [means] of expressing yourself." To support this process, teachers, therapists, activists, artists, and social workers worked with groups of teens to collect ideas, stories, and input about what it is like to grow up in Vermont today.

A state-wide call for original teen writing, poetry, music, and youth media was then extended to youth via such media as a radio ad, announcements posted in schools and various community locations, and the internet (an online submission form was designed to enable easy participation).

The internet has also been used strategically to engage Vermont's young people, many of whom live in very rural areas, in online exchange about the issues raised by the project. A Young Writers Project Forum has been set up to enable youth to discuss such topics as race and ethnicity; health, nutrition, and body image; disabilities and differences; media and culture; relationships; and school. This website also encourages participants to read the articles/poems and music that have been submitted as part of the project. A multimedia gallery was set up to enable access to videos, photos, and media related to the show.

The Voices website describes the process of creating the play itself, which involved such strategies as carrying out 40 one-on-one interviews with teens from all walks of life to help shape the characters. The 2 project personnel who undertook this process said, "We were moved and delighted to find the teens we spoke to so willing to share their stories and ideas. Their openness made our job easy, and reaffirmed our sense that if adults took the time to listen, kids would have valuable insights into their own situations." In addition, as part of the research process, organisers assembled a group of a dozen high school students to work independently on documentary videos on various topics: the lives of teens in rural communities; teen depression and the trend toward medicating teens for mental illness; the struggles of a teen recovering from alcoholism; and the challenges faced of an openly gay high school student. They say that the resulting footage and edited videos "gave us a raw, real, and revealing picture of teen life created by teens themselves."

Central to the process of writing the script and crafting the play (January - June 2005) was youth participation. Five teens collaborated on the writing of the script, meeting twice a month to discuss the characters, scenes, ideas, and concepts for the play. A series of music workshops held with teen songwriters and musicians was designed to stimulate ideas and directions in which to take the script. Auditions and rehearsals were held, with a community-based tour to follow.