Being a teenager is a perilous path to navigate, but for Vancouver youth with a passion for the arts, there are safe spaces to be found.
Ace Crowchild, 17, has been enrolled at Arts Umbrella for the last three years. In the lead up to the non-profit school’s Expressions Theatre Festival, Crowchild recalls the support that he got from his troupe when he first came out as a trans male.
“When I first came out to them as trans, nothing changed,” Crowchild says. “They were all so accepting, and it really helped me find my place [with them].”
The Expressions Festival highlights the diversity of talent participating in Arts Umbrella’s pre-professional theatre program, including dancers, visual artists, and filmmakers. This year, the acting programs are being given the spotlight with four full productions in the festival. The productions include Urine Town: The Musical, performed by the pre-professional Musical Theatre Troupe; Charlotte’s Web, performed by the Junior Theatre Troupe; Living in my Skin, written and performed by the Laboratory Theatre Troupe; The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), performed by the Senior Theatre Troupe; as well as the Theatre and Music Showcase, performed by Theatre Intensive Program students.
This year’s Expressions Festival has Crowchild playing the male role of Officer Barrel in Urine Town.
Crowchild says that being trans in theater presents many challenges. “People aren’t really sure where to place you. I’ve had people asking, ‘Do you want to be a boy character or a girl character?’ because they’re unsure.”
Crowchild says that the shows he’s done haven’t had any gender-fluid characters, only male or female characters, which can make it difficult for someone who is transitioning to get main roles. “When you’re in that in between [of] transitioning, they usually just put you in ensemble roles, because they don’t want to offend you,” he explains.
Paul Moniz de Sá, the artistic director of Arts Umbrella’s pre-professional program, says that from his experiences as a teacher and director, the youth are very supportive of each other no matter what.
“All of our students are discovering who they are, what they want to do with their lives, and where they stand in the world, and they’re all working on it together and they’re creating something together,” he says. “The only way they can really do that is by being supportive of each other, and I think that’s the biggest part of it.”
Moniz de Sá says that young people need to have a space where everyone knows it is safe to explore whatever they need to explore. “That’s an important part of being an actor, and that’s an important part of being an artist, and being a teenager. I think that’s a beautiful thing.”
Moniz de Sá and Crowchild both agree that one of the most important things about Arts Umbrella is that members are treated like professional actors, not like children.
“People may think that because they’re teenagers, they don’t know anything, they’re still just learning, but they really have so much passion,” Moniz de Sá says. “They really do amazing work on stage, and they come at things from a different perspective, they can look at things in a different way, so they really bring something different to these characters. It’s even more spectacular for all the young people watching.”
