The theater of life, or about sharing fears, struggles, and dreams
The entire theater was on its feet, applauding, and thirteen young people stood on stage, bowing in gratitude for the warm welcome. They weren't trained actors, nor were they performing any roles. A week ago they didn't know each other, and now they've just premiered a self-created work, woven from fragments of their lives, delicately crafted over five days to share their fears, struggles, and dreams with the audience.
For a week, using the Theatre of the Oppressed methodology and with the support of uTOpia Barcelona, the group of young people has been constructing, deconstructing, and reconstructing the narrative of what they want to explain. It's not an easy process, but Antonio and Miriam, the project's creative directors, make it seem that way.
UTeenagers Theatre Company
From our first meeting, where each of us arrives with our own story, nerves, and anxieties, we gradually move toward a shared space of trust and understanding. And so, through activities and mutual discoveries, the days unfold, becoming a week filled with experiences, hugs, and above all, time to simply be with each other. A constant stirring that breaks down barriers in every conversation and every silence.
And they manage to get everyone to do it from their own place and time, keeping in mind that all places and times are equally important.
The Theatre of Life is essentially a theatrical creation project about young people and mental health. But it is also a theatre with its own unique style, made with tenderness, humor, and poetry.
The Theater of Life is a 23-minute documentary that captures this entire experience through the eyes of its protagonists. It aims to bring the magic of what happened closer to the viewer and allow us to be challenged by its witnesses.
As a companion and privileged observer of the entire process, sharing the week with the group was an immense gift that also confronted me with my own doubts and fears, but with the certainty that projects like this sow essential seeds for creating a more welcoming world and give meaning to the awareness-raising work we do at San Juan de Dios. Because if we want to change perspectives, we must also be willing to change our own. To navigate our own prejudices as a first step to combating them. To allow ourselves to be touched by shared vulnerabilities and identify our own so that we can collectively become stronger.
Silvia, Youssef, Gerard, Aymane, Alicia, Sandra, Ali, Imanol, Lucía, Mirella, Said, Anna María and Kiara, thank you so much for this trip.
Featuring
