Posted By Jessica Dargo Caplan on Monday, November 7th, 2011
Last week on November 2nd and 3rd, we had the opportunity to screen Luminato’s 2011 Digital Storytelling Project, as part of the Regent Park Film Festival’s school programs, to over 800 enthusiastic students!
Some of our student filmmakers from Lord Dufferin PS and Queen Victoria PS attended the screenings, answering questions from their peers, and offering great insight into their collective process. I continue to be inspired by their creativity…
A special thank you to Rachel Gowman and Tuyet Li, the student filmmakers’ teachers — without your support and encouragement, none of this would have been possible!
In addition to the screenings, renowned storyteller Dan Yashinsky, who was an instrumental part of our 2011 Digital Storytelling Project team (read his previous guest blog entries here), engaged the energetic student audiences telling wonderfully imaginative stories. Dan invited a few teachers and students up to the stage, to share their favourite stories from personal storytellers in their lives, and then encouraged everyone to continue to share stories with one another back in the classroom.
A special thanks to Regent Park Film Festival Executive Director, Richard Fung, for inviting us to participate in the 2011 school program.
We look forward to future collaborations!
For more photos, videos and other information about last week’s Festival visit the Regent Park Film Festival on Facebook.
Posted By Jessica Dargo Caplan on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
Last month during the Festival, teen writers participated in a special story writing workshop at the Toronto Reference Library, with acclaimed author Lauren Kirshner (see previous blog entry below – “Jump Start to Writing”).
This and previous blog entries are powerful examples of their short fiction pieces, posted in their entirety:
Monday Moans – by Lucy Shang
SETTING: The Week Department.
Enter WEDNESDAY.
WEDNESDAY: (Sings) It’s Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday!
MONDAY: (Sings) Maybe you should just shut up!
WEDNESDAY: Wow. Did Avril Lavigne purposely write that for Rebecca Black? Or is it someone’s burst of jealousy that just had to borrow words in order to—
MONDAY: I cannot possibly hide my strong dislike for Friday. He robbed all of my fans away from me.
WEDNESDAY: Well, technically you need fans in the first place before you’re qualified to get robbed.
MONDAY: It’s so unfair it isn’t even funny. I’m not the one who gave the orders for Monday to deliver school and work. Friday’s just a lucky guy who gets to announce the time to relax. I’m the one that gets all the hatred and infortune that everybody’s left behind.
WEDNESDAY: No wonder you’re nicknamed “Moanday”. All you do is complain and moan.
MONDAY: Who wouldn’t? Who could if he were in my shoes? But obviously no one is. No one knows what it’s like to be born inferior. Being anyone would be better than being me.
WEDNESDAY: You know, if we exhibit all our troubles for the world to see, you’d grab yours back.
MONDAY: Who died and made you Socrates?
WEDNESDAY: All I get from people is “Yay! 2 more officers till Friday!”
MONDAY: So? All I ever get is “Monday. Yuck.”
WEDNESDAY: At least people say your name and acknowledge your presence. No one ever calls me my name; I’m just “2 more officers till Friday”.
MONDAY: You’re crazy.
WEDNESDAY: No, I’m not. Listen to me. There’s kids out there who can’t wait for Monday to bring them back to their schools and friends. Because that’s all the emotional support they have. Because they have shattered families; if they even have one.
MONDAY: That’s only the kids.
WEDNESDAY: Don’t you get it? Work is the perfect excuse for spending time with the people that you cherish and admire. Friday is the nightmare that brings loneliness and ends all fairytales.
MONDAY: Then what’s Wednesday? The monkey in the middle?
WEDNESDAY: Yup. I’m the middle guy. I don’t get particularly appreciated or despised.
MONDAY: That’s kind of boring.
WEDNESDAY: It is in a way for people like you and Friday; you guys get all the attention. But I’m just really glad I’m an officer under the Week Department of the one and only Time Company. There are only 7 officers in this department. And we’re never going to get fired. I like the eternity that I am blessed with. It makes me feel safe.
MONDAY: But that’s all you’ve got.
WEDNESDAY: What I’ve got is more than enough. You can never be happy if you compare yourself with everyone else. Everyone has their unique possessions. I’m just glad what I have is mine.
Posted By Jessica Dargo Caplan on Friday, July 8th, 2011
Check out this beautiful footage of the Kronos Quartet at the Dancing With Parkinson’s class in Toronto last month. Class lead by choreographer Sarah Robichaud. Video is directed by Karin Hazé -
Posted By Jessica Dargo Caplan on Thursday, July 7th, 2011
During the 2011 Luminato Festival, teen writers participated in a special story writing workshop at the Toronto Reference Library, with acclaimed author Lauren Kirshner (see previous blog entry below – “Jump Start to Writing”).
This and the previous two blog entries are powerful examples of their short fiction pieces, posted in their entirety:
A Deathly Hoax – by Victoria G.
Once upon a time, there was an old man who decided that he was tired of living. His name was Todd and he had no relatives and no friends left in the world. He decided to go on an adventure. He walked over to his game of Clue in his cupboard and retrieved the dice from the set. Todd held them to the lamplight, examining the sleek surface, the finality and terror in those black dots. “Come,” he said to them. “You shall determine my fate. A heavy task to lay upon a pair of dice so innocent and well-meaning, but you were created for gambling, so tonight you shall gamble away my life.”
He tucked the dice into his pocket and shuffled out onto the street, the pavement slick with uncertain rain and iridescent pools of oil. After many minutes of thoughtful steps, he entered the town pub, where the unemployed spent many a night drinking away their sorrows and gambling what little savings they had left.
At the bar, Todd encountered Death, a clean-shaven young man carrying a desperate and lonely wisdom in his eyes. “Death,” said Todd, “I give my life to you.” Death looked up tiredly and rolled his ageless eyes: “You do know, that is not how it works.”
“Then I shall lose it to you. In your game, the game of death.”
Death inclined his head, and dealt the cards: three for Todd, three for himself. “Roll your dice, Mr. Todd.”
Todd rolled: two sixes. Todd looked at his cards: a Joker and two Aces, the perfect hand with the perfect roll. He glared at Death. “No fair, I won! You cheated, Death!”
“It’s what I do,”
“Let’s play again.”
Again, Todd won. And again, and again, he never stopped; he tried his best, but failed, and failed again to fail.
Finally, they watery sun shone into the pub and Todd stood up, “I want to die! Why do you not want me, Death?”
“It’s not your time,” said Death.
“But I want it so!”
“You’re certain?”
“I am! I’m worthless, take me, Death!”
Death seemed to take pity on the old man, and snapped his fingers. The sun shone white; Todd sank into oblivion, a faint “thank you” escaping his weary lips.
Suddenly, Todd regained consciousness, feeling more refreshed than ever before, lying on the floor of that same pub. He howled at Death, who hovered nearby, “You swindler! What did you do?”
“Eternal youth,” said Death. “It’s yours until your time comes.” He laughed a dry laugh. “Now go and enjoy life, you have some good years left.” Death grinned, and disappeared. Todd scowled his handsome scowl, shrugged his strong, broad shoulders, and stalked out onto the sun-filled street.
Posted By Jessica Dargo Caplan on Thursday, July 7th, 2011
During the 2011 Luminato Festival, teen writers participated in a special story writing workshop at the Toronto Reference Library, with acclaimed author Lauren Kirshner (see previous blog entry below – “Jump Start to Writing”).
The following few blog entries are powerful examples of their short fiction pieces, posted in their entirety.
Underestimation by Maria D.
“John Landon. Age 22. Undergraduate in Engineering at Yale University.” CIA member ‘Rude’ read for the umpteenth time from a thin, worn-looking folder, and frowned at his partner, ‘Dearth.’ “As far as I can tell, this guy’s a regular Joe,” Rude stated flatly, and started to make a list on his fingers. “He has a girlfriend, for one. Not a big family, but a small, cozy one, second of all. Heck, the guy spends his weekends with his friends playing football or soccer like any other normal guy! There’s no way he’s stealing and leaking classified information if he’s busying being social 24/7,” Rude concluded firmly. “And I would know, since I’ve been shadowing him for the last week. There’s nothing special about him,” Rude grumbled, and made a frustrated sound that Dearth privately thought greatly resembled a clogged sink trying to suck in water. “Why is headquarters making us tail him for?” Rude demanded of Dearth. His taciturn partner just gave him a cool look, and shifted the car into driving mode. “Just follow your orders,” was the calm reply. About 10 meters ahead of them was a short, lean man clad in a plain, white t-shirt and what seemed to be hand-me-down shorts beginning to clamber onto a rickety bicycle. “Damn, he’s back,” Rude muttered, and fumbled for the seatbelt, well acquainted as he was with Dearth’s suicidal manner of driving. Both agents were very unhappy however, to find that another car was blocking their vehicle. Dearth jammed the horn, but the civilian was staying put, and the traffic in front didn’t seem to be letting up. Looking through the windshield, Rude let forth an expletive to find that Landon had already blended into the multitude of the city’s other bicyclists and was getting father away by the second. “I guess we have to capture him today then, huh?” the brasher of the two agents queried. “Hn. Get out,” Dearth ordered stoically. “You’re going to have to do this by foot.” Rude opened his mouth, but was cut off when Dearth sent him a cold look that brook no protest. “Right, right, I’m going,” Rude muttered, unbuckled his seatbelt, and shot out of the car with his right hand jammed into his side pocket, sprinting down the street like an overgrown bat from hell. Dearth watched the man go with a variety of mixed feelings, and ended up smirking. “What a waste of talent,” he mused, and brought a hand to his ear piece. “Get ready,” Dearth imparted. Without waiting for a reply, Dearth remorselessly steered the car out of the curb and onto the road, foot on the gas pedal but eyes hawk-ishly tracking Landon’s abrupt turn into a narrow alley between two overlooked boutique stores, and Rude’s subsequent form barreling after Landon not too far behind. The next five minutes were one of the most excruciating in Dearth’s life, in which he successfully pulled the car up to fill the alley’s slim entryway after a long progression of small increments, and clambered into the dead end himself. Though his face was a study in composure, Dearth’s partner saw through his mask anyways, and greeted him with a dry, “Took you long enough.” Down the alley’s end was a decidedly worse-for-wear ‘John Landon’ sitting comfily on top of an unconscious ‘Rude’ with prudently cuffed hands and an ugly bruise forming rapidly below his left eye. A pistol lay not far from Rude’s left leg. Approaching his partner, Dearth cocked an eyebrow that Landon interpreted flawlessly. “I’m still alive aren’t I? It would have been nice however, if a certain somebody had told me that the target fights like freak-ing Chuck Norris,” Landon quipped, and stood up not without a wince. “Whatever. I guess that whole week of being stalked was worth it if I got to beat him up in the end,” the undercover CIA member sighed contentedly. “He underestimated me—went out like a light,” Landon added when he saw Dearth’s dubious look. He patted his partner’s back good humouredly. “Good thing you didn’t get too attached to him, eh? Spies are dangerous people.” With that, Landon pulled out his cell phone and dialed headquarters, leaving Dearth to stare silently down at Rude with a peculiar expression on his normally unflappable face.
Posted By Jessica Dargo Caplan on Thursday, July 7th, 2011
During the 2011 Luminato Festival, teen writers participated in a special story writing workshop at the Toronto Reference Library, with acclaimed author Lauren Kirshner (see previous blog entry below – “Jump Start to Writing”). The following few blog entries are powerful examples of their short fiction pieces, posted in their entirety.
Xerox Streets by Habiba CD
Xerox streets, bustling and chic.
Women in red robes accented by white stilettos, cling on to their lovers- men in red trousers and white kicks.
And me- blowing bubbles in the cool, moonlit night, observing the hustle and bustle of Xerox streets.
“Ka-shuuun!” I hear it, ear- piercing and forceful like fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
White stilettos and white kicks scurry in the streets over pungent red liquid.
I drop my bubbles and take to the streets.
“Haaaaa!” A woman wails- most agonizingly so. She cups her hands over her face, revealing only dark, luminous eyes, red with tears.
Beneath her kneeling figure lies a man, his chest pierced with bullets.
It all seems like a dream- a vivid contraposition of white on red- this is Xerox streets.
Posted By Jessica Dargo Caplan on Friday, June 17th, 2011
As part of Luminato’s Education & Community Outreach Programs, we have been exploring contemporary storytelling through digital medium. [For more information about these Digital Storytelling Projects and process, see previous blog entries]
Check out related events this weekend:
DIGITAL STORYTELLING PROJECTS
Created by students in Regent Park and St Jamestown, these multi-media digital stories will be screened at TIFF Bell Lightbox – FREE!
Saturday June 18 and Sunday June 19 1:00pm – 2:00pm (Elementary School Program), 2:30pm-4:00pm (Youth Program)
LUMINATO AT THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY Bringing Stories to Life
In this interactive workshop for families of all ages, participants explore the diversity and creativity of personal family stories through the art of oral storytelling. With internationally renowned storytellers Dan Yashinsky and Laura Simms. Saturday, June 18 11:00 AM–12:30 PM Thorncliffe Branch, Toronto Public Library
THE HEALING POWER OF STORY
Storytellers Laura Simms and Dan Yashinsky discuss the power of art to effect individual and community transformation. Storytelling kept One Thousand and One Nights’ Shahrazad alive; in the real world too, it can play a life-changing role. Writer, teacher, and activist Laura Simms (the adopted mother of Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier) has worked with communities from New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina to Sierra Leone. Dan Yashinsky is a radio host, author, and community organizer whose work includes Talking You In, a words-and-music exploration of a family’s neo-natal intensive care unit experiences that has been used in medical staff training programs. Hosted by Eli Rubenstein, National Director at March of the Living. Sunday June 19, 12:00pm-1:30pm at OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street
Posted By Jessica Dargo Caplan on Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
Notes from the Festival: June 15
In this hands-on Luminato workshop, teen participants ages 12-19 filled their writer toolboxes with innovative techniques and strategies to jump-start their fiction writing. Participants learned how to invent and develop characters using everyday objects as inspiration, with a focus on using details that evoke the senses, and utilized vintage photographs to develop miniature plot-lines. Participants learned how to incorporate story elements including characterization, event, conflict and resolution into their stories as author/workshop leader Lauren Kirshner shared some of her favourite writing prompts and techniques.
The result are short fiction pieces that will be posted soon…
Posted By Jessica Dargo Caplan on Tuesday, June 14th, 2011
notes from the Festival: June 14
We were so fortunate to have an in-school concert with the Yemen Blues at Rose Avenue PS. Yemen Blues clearly demonstrate the power of music, as a universal language that dissolves cultural stereotypes. Plus, they really know how to get the students up on their feet and dancing to the incredible rhythms of Yemen Blues!
Photo Credit: Natalie Weed, Director of Communications and Public Affairs Consulate General of Israel
Photo Credit: Natalie Weed, Director of Communications and Public Affairs Consulate General of Israel
Photo Credit: Natalie Weed, Director of Communications and Public Affairs Consulate General of Israel
Posted By Jessica Dargo Caplan on Monday, June 13th, 2011
notes from the Festival: June 13
Many many thanks to David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola) and Jeffrey Zeigler (cello) for their generosity – sharing their spectacular music and artistry with the Regent Park community!
We were so honoured to have the Kronos Quartet perform two very special concerts today – one in the morning for 350 students at Lord Dufferin PS, and another at the Parliament library branch for over 50 adults and children.
A special thanks to Regent Park Film Festival Executive Director, Richard Fung, for inviting us to participate in the 2011 school program.
