Youth Performance Recap + Open Mic!
Photographs from the performances at Lewiston Public Library and King Middle School. Left photograph by Lauryn Hottinger. Right photograph by Caroline Burns.
The fall sessions of Maine Inside Out’s youth theater projects in Lewiston and Portland completed this past week with four original performances followed by community dialogues between the performers and the audiences! The youth artists talked about their favorite parts of these projects being friendships, the mentors and facilitators, sharing their stories, and sharing their voices.
Lewiston Youth Performance
Lewiston MIO youth artists performing the original play “Don’t Take Time for Granted.” Photo by Lauryn Hottinger.
In Lewiston, two MIO groups created plays titled “Divided Community” and “Don’t Take Time for Granted” that explored the themes of friendship, trust, betrayal, conflict, and violence. The groups included youth who were participating in their first MIO project and youth who were participating in their fourth MIO project having previously worked with MIO at Lewiston Middle School.
Powerful lines from the plays included, “life is too short, cherish every moment,” and "retaliation isn’t the answer.” In the post-performance dialogue, audience members asked how they can support the youth artists and each other. The artists responded with, “keep showing love,” “check in on each other every week,” and “try to understand each other.”
This project is MIO’s first after school youth theater project and is in partnership with Sustainable Livelihoods Relief Organization and Maine Immigrant & Refugee Services. Thank you for your support and collaboration!
Snapshots from the MIO Lewiston youth performances and audience dialogue. Photos by Lauryn Hottinger.
Portland Youth Performance
MIO participants and facilitators at King Middle School. Photo by Caroline Burns.
At King Middle School in Portland, the performances of “An Unempathetic World” and “What Happens After” explored relationships and moments of conflict between youth and adults and between peers. The two groups of 8th graders have been working together in MIO to create original theater since 6th grade.
The audience responded deeply to the scenes that showed young people repeatedly not getting the support they needed from adults. Youth asking for help and not getting it, not being allowed to explain a situation, being blamed, being hurt, being judged, losing trust. Audience members reflected that theater was a powerful format for sharing and hearing this message and hoped that more school staff and adults could witness the student performances. The post-performance dialogue was honest and vulnerable, and hopeful for change.
This project is in partnership with King Middle School and Portland Public Schools. Thank you for your support and collaboration!
King Middle School performance and dialogue. Photos by Caroline Burns.
MIO’s work is made possible by community support, including grants from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Bingham Program, Maine Health Access Foundation, the Peter Alfond Foundation, Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust, Onion Foundation, Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, Maine Initiatives, and others. The Portland youth theater project is funded in part by the Edward H. Daveis Benevolent Fund of the Maine Community Foundation and the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Community Open Mic
Join us for our final event of the year on Tuesday, December 17, at 6pm at L/A Arts! The December Open Mic “Everything Must Change” will be hosted by Lewiston Community members Bashir Matan, Hassan Hassan, Isha Abdullahi, and Mohamud Duale with featured artist Viva! All are welcome. This is a substance free event.
All of MIO’s Open Mics in Lewiston this year are funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to support art for healing after the devastating mass shooting on October 25, 2023.
L/A Arts is accessible for people with disabilities. Please contact Joseph Jackson at Joseph@maineinsideout.org if you need any specific accommodations in order to attend this event.