Week 1 - THE GET GO
We had a lovely welcome from Laura to artsdepot’s #CreationSpace. There were ongoing introductions to the staff as we walked through to their lovely cafe. We had such an interesting conversation with one member of staff from the get go, our question: ‘What would you do if someone murdered a loved one of yours? Could you forgive the perpetrator?’ Their answer: ‘Kill the perpetrator, and then hunt down his family and kill them too!’ This response may have raised the hairs on the backs of mine and Cara’s necks, however, it was just the kind of answer that is at the other end of the spectrum to a parent who seeks forgiveness rather than revenge.
So, why are we asking such loaded questions first thing on a Tuesday morning? My new play, They Know What They Do, focusses on the meetings between Moselle, a grieving mother, and DeAngelo, a seventeen year old teenager who Moselle visits in prison. DeAngelo stabbed to death Moselle’s only son, Christopher, whilst trying to rob him. Moselle believes she will find solace in forgiving her son's murderer. However, she battles with her anger when it emerges that maybe the boy who killed her son does not want to be saved.
Underpinning Moselle and DeAngelo’s meetings is the idea of Restorative Justice (RJ). So, what is Restorative Justice? Restorative Justice is a system of criminal justice which focusses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. Cara and I, were keen to research this further. We needed to compare the action in the play with the reality of the RJ process, did the two reflect each other? In order to do this we were having an ongoing conversation with a member of the Restorative Justice Council.
So, why are we asking such loaded questions first thing on a Tuesday morning? My new play, They Know What They Do, focusses on the meetings between Moselle, a grieving mother, and DeAngelo, a seventeen year old teenager who Moselle visits in prison. DeAngelo stabbed to death Moselle’s only son, Christopher, whilst trying to rob him. Moselle believes she will find solace in forgiving her son's murderer. However, she battles with her anger when it emerges that maybe the boy who killed her son does not want to be saved.
Underpinning Moselle and DeAngelo’s meetings is the idea of Restorative Justice (RJ). So, what is Restorative Justice? Restorative Justice is a system of criminal justice which focusses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. Cara and I, were keen to research this further. We needed to compare the action in the play with the reality of the RJ process, did the two reflect each other? In order to do this we were having an ongoing conversation with a member of the Restorative Justice Council.
An initiation to #BISCUIT WEDNESDAYS
Tuesday’s conversation of, ‘What would you do?’ led into #BiscuitWednesday. What a fantastic way to start getting to know the lovely artsdepot staff! A warm welcome from artdepot’s Chief Executive, Tracy Cooper, who also provided our yummy biscuit hit. We may have lowered the tone ever so slightly of the usual #BiscuitWednesday’s conversation but no-one seemed to be at all phased. It was great to find out what people thought about the idea of Restorative Justice. It was also a treat to be able to help choose the winner of artsdepot’s beautiful Intergalactic Exhibition! Well done, Zara’s Planet!
Nida, Chef and the whole café team kept us supplied with our daily caffiene fix and lots of smiles! |
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Surrounded by text!
Then came the cutting, shifting and editing of the script. We also bent Laura’s ear and engaged her in some detective work! By Friday we literally were surrounded by text! However, we were now script ready for our wonderful actors in Week 2.
Week 1’s verdict in artdepot’s #CreationSpace?
Unanimous agreement from Cara and myself: Productive and Fun! Roll on Week 2!
Week 1’s verdict in artdepot’s #CreationSpace?
Unanimous agreement from Cara and myself: Productive and Fun! Roll on Week 2!