Westside - A Baltimore Story

About This Project

Stacy Willyard, Youth Theatre Leader

About: A youth summer camp focused on a direct-conflict transformation intervention in the Sandtown neighbourhood of west Baltimore. Using Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre model, the project included train the trainer sessions to properly prepare the artist facilitators to work with the students. Each day students and artist facilitators listened to testimony from members of the community who have been directly impacted by violence on the streets of Sandtown, to properly honor the loss of those affected by violence. The students then created a performance piece in response to the testimonies heard.

Outcomes: Key community leaders involved in and supporting the project with the aim to mark the start of a non-violence campaign with the youth groups’ performance. The performance took place on June 7th, 2014.

“The grant helped me by providing the resources to put together the project but also the confidence to actually try to take on such a sensitive topic, actively reaching out to the community with my idea.”