Young actors in the Empowered Arts Ensemble worked five months to devise ‘Unreal!’; they will stage it June 6 and 7 at the Bellview Grange

By Barbara Cervone for Ashland.news

“It’s a lovely late spring day. School has just ended for the year and the children are in high spirits. They chatter and horse around — except for two girls who interact only with their phones.

“At first, it’s subtle: Flickering, shadows, a low mechanical whine in the background. Suddenly, the day is broken by phone alarms and voices of authority issuing warnings. There’s a blinding flash of light and then complete darkness.

“When light returns, the children find themselves in what seems like a bomb shelter. They wonder if the world has ended. Jack, a seeming loner in the group, transforms into an AI “being,” and the tug of war between artificial intelligence (and cell phone addiction) and the “real” world begins.” — Script notes

Welcome to “Unreal!,” this year’s one-of-a-kind performance by Ashland’s Empowered Arts Ensemble. Started in 2022 by award-winning actor Shanique Scott, the ensemble brings the talents and voices of a diverse group of young local thespians to the public stage.

“Their stories will make you wonder,” warns Scott. “Their acting will amaze you.”

Building something new

Here, “The Lion King” and “Peter Pan” are not on the playbill. In their place is a collaborative theater-making process called “devised theater.” In devised theater, no one knows what the end product will look like — not the performers, nor the creative team. Instead, the performers start with an idea and together build something completely new. 

Over the past five months, the Empowered Arts Ensemble’s eleven enthusiastic young actors have become experts in devised theater, sparked by a weeklong workshop this January with Arizona State University’s Pam Sterling. Sterling has taught devised theater to her ASU students for more than a decade.

“I learned that there isn’t just one way to make theater,” said Meghan, 10, whose reserve belies a passion for acting.

After Sterling’s visit, the ensemble met weekly, sometimes semi-weekly, to devise characters, a storyline, and multiple scenes for their end-of-year performance. In April, they sent a videotape of what they had created to local playwright Carol S. Lashof, who answered back with a draft of a full script. Through several table reads between the ensemble and Lashof, a final script emerged.

“I’d call it alchemy,” says teaching artist Marc Friedman, who assists Scott.

Since then, the group has met three times a week to practice and polish the June 6-7 debut of “Unreal!”

Connecting

In a world of screens and social media, a world where the voices of adults drown out those of children, Ashland’s Empowered Arts Ensemble offers an alternative space.

These young thespians will tell you how much it means to them to connect with other youths for whom acting is in their blood, to be able to express themselves in and out of character, to connect with an accomplished playwright at such a young age.

“One of the things I’ve learned is how to die properly,” an acquired pastime, 10-year-old Emmet adds.

What do they hope the audience takes away from next week’s performance?

“That we’re really good actors.”

“The importance of emotions.”

“The dangers of AI and cell phones.”

“That human connections matter.”

Alex, whose transformation into “AI Jack” at the beginning of “Unreal!” seems supernatural, hopes audiences “go away immediately wanting to watch another play.”

Two performances

“Unreal!” is a new devised performance created by the Empowered Arts Ensemble, empoweredartsensemble.org. Performances are at 5 p.m. June 6 and 7 p.m. June 7 at the Bellview Grange, 1050 Tolman Creek Road. (Pay what you will.) Sponsors include the Ashland Children’s Theatre and the Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Barbara Cervone moved to the Rogue Valley in 2018 after 50 years in the urban Northeast. She spent her professional career championing public schools that serve all students well. A passionate writer, she has Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Education degrees from Harvard University. Read her “Postcards From the Rogue Valley” at postcards-from-the-rogue-valley.blog. Email Cervone at [email protected].