Stage become home for homeless

By Kelly Chen

For Jane Chen, JE '97, summer is not going be to a time of easy breathing before an arduous academic year. Nor will it be a time to forget about the social ills of an economically depressed New Haven. Chen will be staying in the city to work on her senior project for the Theater Studies major: a "homeless theatre troupe" that is scheduled to make its debut next semester. The Herald interviewed Chen to find out more about the project.

Yale Herald: What is the troupe doing now?

Jane Chen: The troupe is in its beginning stages. Currently we are organizing and recruiting people. I have talked to various homeless people and plan to recruit at the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK). Homeless folks go there to eat, so I just go there and publicize the troupe verbally. I've put off recruiting until now because of problems in securing a space to hold workshops.

YH: What problems has the project encountered so far?

JC: The project hasn't started yet because there is no space. Originally I had planned to have workshops in the churches where the soup kitchens are, but church space was not available. The church would have been perfect because we could have rehearsals in the afternoons, before the soup kitchen opens.

YH: What are your location options?

JC: The main thing I'm looking for in a new location is convenience. Everyone is busy so it'll be hard to get people to come if the workshops aren't in a convenient location. I asked the New Dramat if we could use their space, and they have said okay, so we will probably hold workshops there.

YH: What is the role of homeless people within the troupe?

JC: The workshops will be a collaboration of all people involved, including myself, homeless folks, and Yale students. Homeless folks will act and collaborate to write original scripts. I would like this to be an experience for them to release their creative sides. and to make their voices heard.

YH: What are the workshops?

JC: The weekly workshops will be loosely based on Games for Actors and Non-Actors by Augusto Boal which focuses on theatre games and exercises. Hopefully these workshops will turn oppression into empowerment. The workshops will be unstructured and very flexible. There will be opportunities for interaction through script writing and acting.

YH: What was your inspiration, and what do you see as your personal goal for this project?

JC: I've been interested in theatre for a long time and I like the idea of using art as social change. Art can be used to change people. I've been involved with YHHAP since sophomore year, and I've always been interested in theatre, so I wanted to bring the two together. I hate to use the term director because it is so hierarchical. I guess I'm a coordinator, just to draw people and their ideas out, though. This is a group-based effort.

YH: What is the goal of the troupe?

JC: There is not enough dialogue between homeless folks and students. I'm really interested in fighting homelessness and in theater as a vehicle to open people's minds and perhaps change stereotypes. Students have a lot of notions about homeless folks, but rarely see them in a creative light. The troupe should challenge opinions about homeless people and perhaps motivate them to do something. It's a way to see and interact with homeless folks on a daily basis. When people see plays, their minds are open: they want to see this form of entertainment. This is especially true of Yale and New Haven. The troupe is a way of reaching people in the Yale/New Haven community.

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