I remember the first play that I was ever in. I out hopped my classmates in my Junior Kindergarten to earn the coveted role of Peter Rabbit in our end of year production. I also vividly remember the first time that my elementary school brought in a professional theatre company to perform in our school gym. I grew up in a small town in Southern Ontario and my elementary school was tiny, 150 kids from JK to Gr. 8, I’m talking small and having a professional theatre company perform in our undersized little gym was, to me, a really big deal. I can remember these memories with exact detail, and I believe these two experiences are the catalyst which set me on a path that has lead me to my current position as the Outreach and Education Manager at Tapestry.

I take a lot of pride in the fact that Tapestry is an organization that is dedicated to the creation of new work and is a company that places value in the integration of the community within the artistic process. As the Outreach and Education Manager, I get to work closely with the creative artists in the development of the outreach programmes and productions and have the privilege of meeting the members of the community in which we implement our programmes such as INside Opera and our operas for young audiences like Elijah’s Kite, and Sanctuary Song.

This spring we have the opportunity to bring Elijah’s Kite, an opera that shares a bullying prevention message, to students across Ontario. Thanks to the support of the Ontario Art Council we will be taking a message of caring and cooperation and introducing professional opera to the underserviced students in Northern Ontario. And maybe a small number of the students that see Elijah’s Kite will only remember Billy’s ultimate burp, or the fact that they were able to miss class for the a part of the day. But hopefully, and most likely, the impact of experiencing a live opera performance and the fact that Tapestry brought the art to their small country schools will have a lasting effect on the young students.

I came across a new study online called Assessing the Intrinsic Impacts of a Live Performance. It is a substantial read but if you are interested in learning the effects the arts have on communities and individual participants it is worth a look. http://www.wolfbrown.com/index.php?page=books

-Amber

Photo: Students from the Regent Park School of Music participate in INside Opera 2007