NEW! Meet Sarah Thorton, Theatre for Social Change, Wed Oct 5

Wednesday October 5 at 8 pm, free. A Special Event: “Meet with Sarah Thornton, Artistic Director of Liverpool’s Collective Encounters — Theatre for Social Change. Sarah will show some slides of recent productions, including participatory theatre by youth groups and senior citizens, and professional site-specific productions on the effects of urban renewal on local populations, the state of the nation and homelessness. She is eager to chat about how this work resonates with work being done in Hamilton.” This informal evening with Sarah supplements her talk at McMaster University in the afternoon.
TALK @ McMaster Robinson Theatre 3:30 – 5:30
Presentation – Q&A @ Artword Artbar 8pm-10pm
Sarah Thornton, a theatre maker and academic specializing in political theatre, founded Collective Encounters in 2004 to create theater work in collaboration with community organizations affected by a massive “regeneration” project in one of the most disadvantaged areas in the UK, north Liverpool. Since then Collective Encounters has organized creation research with over 1500 people, close to 500 workshops with 2000 participants, and 22 productions that have reached close to 10,000 audience members. Ms Thornton will discuss Collective Encounters’ work to create “innovative theatre for social change fit for the 21st century,” including site-specific professional productions and participatory workshops with local people, in relation to her current research on the impact of theatre on community renewal.