‘Expressions’ Theater Group Forming for Area Youth
By Martha Slater

The mission of Expressions, a new social theatre group forming for area youth, is to address the internal life of adolescence.

Beginning in January, three age groups will meet weekly at the Seven Stars Center in Sharon for 10 weeks to create three scripts that tell the story of the evolution of adolescence from ages 12-18. Players (students) will use drama-based work and writing to create a script from their own stories and experiences of what it means to be a young person today.

Expressions director and founder Kimberly Hackett has a master's degree in adolescent psychology and designs social-emotional learning programs for schools and other organizations. A former dancer and actor, she has worked as a theatre director, choreographer and social-emotional learning teacher-coordinator at The Sharon Academy.

Hackett, who says she is trying to reach out to students from as many schools as possible, explains that "The purpose of this performance group is to offer a creative social emotional learning opportunity to local youth by offering a safe space for young people to reflect and express, explore and discover, acknowledge and create and be validated for their efforts."

Hackett notes that Expressions uses the arts (writing, drama, movement and music) to support social emotional learning.

"This is reflective, interactive and expressive work," Hackett says. "It is intense, fun and informative for both the players (youth) as well as the audience (youth and adults). What is important is constructively shared and expressed through the creativity of the group."

Hackett says she feels that, "The main task of adolescence is to establish a sense of self and autonomy. To create a self from the whole cloth of childhood, teenagers experiment and take risks, hopefully choosing what feels right. One of the most important things we can do is to make the social and emotional education of all children a cornerstone of their regular education and stop leaving it to chance. If social education were integrated into every child’s school week, destructive expressions might largely be avoided, or at least reduced."

Expressions will take place on Saturday or Sunday, depending on the age group, for 10 weeks beginning January 20. In April, there will be two kinds of performances, one for the general public at a local theatre, possibly Northern Stage. A second performance opportunity will be for local schools and parent groups, followed by a Q & A with the players about the content of their work.

For more information about Expressions, send e-mail to Hackett.kimberly@gmail.com.

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