XCelerated Theatre
The arts and mentorship have proven effective in reducing delinquent behavior, improving academic achievement, and improving young people's attitudes about themselves and their futures, according to the International Child and Youth Care Network. In arts programs, young people find the same sense of belonging, achievement, self-expression, and recognition that many seek through unhealthy avenues, like gang involvement. Magik’s X-celerated Theatre program is proof.
Offered in collaboration with the Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center and Bexar County’s Juvenile Probation Department, X-celerated Theatre offers rehabilitative theatre arts mentorship to some of San Antonio’s most at-risk young people.
During the program, Krier Center residents meet twice a week with mentors and artists from the Magik Theatre's professional repertory company at the Bexar County Learning Center (East Central I.S.D). Program participants first sign a program completion contract before being accepted into the program. Participants then form a theatre troupe, working closely with Magik Theatre mentors who give intensive, hands-on instruction in theatre arts skills like idea development, writing, script reading, improvisation, acting theory, theatre vocabulary, and technical theatre elements. Using their newly developed skills, the X-celerated Theatre troupe writes and produces an original production – with direct involvement in the costuming, lighting, sound, set and props construction, and marketing – that they perform for family and friends on Magik’s main stage.
Beyond theatre skills, X-celerated Theatre troupe members develop important life and social skills such as conflict resolution and anger management. The young offenders in the program come from different economic, ethnic, and social backgrounds – are often members of rival gangs – and must learn to put aside these conflicts in order to come together as a cohesive troupe. Through team-building exercises, they learn to positively interact with each other, trust one another, and work together to achieve common goals, while personal reflection takes them on a journey to understand where they have been, where they are now, and where they hope to be in the future. The creative process offers them a safe place to express themselves, their fears, anger, and personal issues, ultimately allowing these young people to leave unproductive thoughts and behaviors on the stage to work toward a brighter future.
“The program has benefited the youth
immensely by building their self-esteem and has been a critical component of
their treatment program... Although the audience is always impressed by the
youths’ performance, no one in attendance truly understands the magic of the
experience... These are young people who are focused on a goal, not youth
offenders who want to continue to make poor life choices. These are young men and women who are
speaking from the heart, who reflect their inner-self in their characters and
take pride in having belonged to this project.”
-- Glenn Faulk, Special Projects
Coordinator, Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department
