An ear to hear, a story to share

A unique theater troupe helps bring out the best in MacLaren kids

who qualify for the program

by Michelle Te

©2003 Woodburn Independent

Used by permission

April 2, 2003

Eliza, Betsy, John, Nikki, Emil and several other sit quietly in a large circle of plastic lawn chairs.

There are many empty seats among them and, as they wait for the group session to begin, very little, if any, conversation takes place.

Suddenly the auditorium door swings open and the whole atmosphere changes.

The senior citizens who had been patiently waiting erupt into cheers and clapping, calling out toward the door.

Aaron, Norm, Enrique, Ben, Matt and other juveniles have entered the large room and make their way to the empty seats.

Except for the individual taste in shoes, they dress the part of an inmate: They wear baggy jeans and white T-shirts, dingied by hard water. Their hair is clean-cut, practically each one sharing the same square cut on the back of his neck.

It is the numbers and letters in faded permanent marker on the upper left-hand corner of their shirts that remind you these are no ordinary boys. Nonetheless, Betsy, John, Nikki, Emil and the others warmly welcome the boys into their midst, shaking hands, patting their backs and offering genuine smiles.

Then Eliza Roaring Springs takes command of her group and directs the energy toward the daily tasks set before them.

The youth are part of drug and alcohol counseling at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility, and have been waiting for months to participate in a weeklong theater residency with senior citizens from Encore, a group based in Eugene.

The seniors are a diverse group - a gay man, two married couples, people with previous jail time, widows - and have come to hear and share life experiences.

“They work at seeing their strengths,” said Tanya Snider, drug and alcohol treatment coordinator at MacLaren, of Encore. “They find each other.”

Eliza starts the group exercise by going through a vocal exercise, and then hears from each member of the circle a one-word description of the feelings about being in the group: fine, progress, pumped up, blessed, tired, anticipatory, sore, great, eager, frightened, scared and ecstatic.

Then she asks them to find a partner and share their thoughts about someone they admire. No one hesitates.

“Our mission is to connect seniors and kids, even though we have evolved,” said Eliza. “We started with seniors giving performances about the lives of elderly people and we have evolved into shows like this, working with detention youth.”

There is power, she said, in telling the truth about our lives.

“We talk about how we've screwed up, how we're not perfect,” Eliza said. “The kids are just blown away.”

Through group and partner exercises, youth and seniors find their commonalities, discuss how to deal with anger, and talk about what brings them peace and joy.

“We talk about dealing with our anger, how to make peace with

each other or make peace with our parents who are drug addicts,” she said.

They also talk about change.

Tyler, 18, describes himself as kind of shy, but someone who was looking for a way to see himself differently.

He had been hearing about Encore for several months and was anxious to sign up.

“At first, I was kind of shy about being part of this,” Tyler said. “But then I started not to be as I got to know people here.”

“I don't know what it is about this that is helping me to change, but before I didn't even know what it meant to change.”

He's learning that senior citizens have something valuable to offer him, that they can give him a better point of view, and that they can help him to change.

“I don't know what it is about this that is helping me to change,” he said, “but before I didn't even know what it meant to change.”

The seniors are helping them, said Tyler, by believing in them.

“They believe in me more than my family believes in me,” he said. “They believe in me.”

Snider, who has been counseling with Tyler for the past year, said she has seen him open up more in one week than he has in the whole time she has been working with him.

“There is an amazing thing that happens between these two totally diverse populations,” she said.

Betsy and John Callahan, both 72, joined Encore after participating in an intergenerational acting class in Eugene with middle school girls.

They have often asked themselves what they jumped into, especially with some preconceived notions about interacting with detention youth.

“But we realized that some of the stuff that we've gone through can help them,”   Betsy said. “And it helps us, too.”

John adds: “We don't get paid, we just get free therapy.”

Both admit their previous ideas get thrown out the window after the first day together.

“Some of the best young people turn to drugs,” Betsy said. “I've never seen such talent as these young kids have.

“They feel safe with us,” Betsy added, “because they can share everything with us. We're here, we listen and then we leave. We're not going to write down what they say in a report.”

With 27 guys on the drug and alcohol unit - known as Grover Cottage - participation in Encore is done by a sign-up sheet and names drawn from a hat.

Two of this year's group are veterans, the rest are brand new.

“The ones who did it last year are still talking about it,” said Snider.

The results happen because the young men are required to open themselves up emotionally and believe in themselves, she said.

“It builds huge self-confidence,” Snider said. “They see that they can have fun without being drunk or high, that they can do things clean and sober.”

They also see that they don't have to be fearful of seniors and can, in fact, become very respectful of them.

“They find out these seniors love them, and the seniors find out they don't have to be afraid of teenagers. The message to each other just blows them away,” said Snider.