Four Evenings of Creativity in Community
On Wednesday evenings this spring at St. Mary’s Centre for Community, come eat soup with us and enjoy one of three creative workshops:
Sessions will be held on Wednesday evenings: May 30, June 6, 13 and 20, with a wrap-up cabaret at the June 27 After Hours Coffeehouse (no registration required for the coffeehouse event).
Each evening’s schedule will include:
5:00-6:30 Soup and Conversation: Anyone welcome, come whenever
6:30-7:45 Workshops in session
7:45-8:00 Wrap up: Sharing of stories, poetry and song
In a culture in which relationships are increasingly virtual or physically distant, After Hours Arts offers an inviting and welcoming space in which to learn, heighten and hone artistic skills, and participate within a wider community. Each participant is invited to enroll in one of the workshop streams offered by our experienced facilitators. Each session is designed with novice as well as experienced participants in mind, because we believe in the value of learning from one another. Separate workshops in poetry, music and storytelling will run simultaneously each evening.
After Hours Arts evenings will begin around the table, as participants are invited to share a supper of homemade soup and bread before the workshops begin, and afterward the groups will come together again for a short, multi-disciplinary wrap-up—to share new work and/or stories about the evening’s experience. Everyone has a part to play, so come find your part!
Register for a 4-week session in one of these creative workshops. Fees are on a sliding scale, so please pay what you are able (suggested range is $40-$80 for the full 4-week series). Your registration includes soup supper, materials, and borrowing a tablet if you are participating in the “Creative Community Music Ensemble”.
Register for After Hours Arts (on CanadaHelps)
Workshops
Field Trips into Poetry
Facilitated by Anita Lahey
In each “Field Trip into Poetry” we will collectively tease apart the workings of a poem or type of poem. We’ll discuss and practice arts at the heart of poem-making, including: deep inquiry grounded in the senses and a vigorous engagement with the possibilities of language and form (or the breaking down of form). We’ll investigate the things in our midst, from objects we encounter everyday to the broader urban wilderness we inhabit. We’ll experience how poem-making arises from, engages with, and can even alter our experience of daily reality. We’ll come away from this intense, fun workshop with fresh reading and seeing eyes. We may, through engaging with poems as both readers and writers, enliven our relationship with our own environments and communities. This workshop welcomes all, from newcomers to poetry to seasoned practitioners. Expect some light outdoor walking, and homework.
Register for After Hours Arts (on CanadaHelps)
Creative Community Music Ensemble
Facilitated by Steph Khoury
Do you have some musical chops that yearn to be exercised? Are you tired of playing music only from the page? Do you wish you could play more easily in a group? Come join the Creative Community Music Ensemble and gain some practical skills and experience playing music in a group setting. We will learn to accompany each other by playing chords and simple melodic lines. The experience will include practicing your instrument at home with an iPad or tablet to help you build confidence and musical chops. (If you don’t have a tablet, we will lend you one.) We will work towards a final performance on the last session, with an opportunity for mini performances throughout the session if you choose. Most importantly, we will have fun playing music every week! All instruments and skill levels are welcome in this inclusive and laid-back group.
Register for After Hours Arts (on CanadaHelps)
Stories in the Air
Facilitated by Anne Glover
We all tell stories, in one way or another. We tell jokes; we recount our day; we tell about our childhood, our parents’ stories, our grandparents’ memories. This workshop is a place to practice and hone the skills of any kind of storytelling. Internationally acclaimed storyteller Anne Glover leads playful, relaxed sessions. We look at why stories matter; the kinds of stories we tell; what makes a story work; and how we make a story our own. Most of all, we will explore and have fun. No experience necessary, and the tongue-tied are welcome!
Register for After Hours Arts (on CanadaHelps)
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to stick to one workshop stream for all four weeks?
No, you don’t! You can choose a different topic each week. However, the facilitators do suggest that you consider sticking with one stream, in order to build confidence and momentum—and you’ll get to know the others in that stream better over time, too!