The Give It a Go, Joe, story…..
So, I was in my flat wondering why my life had taken a turn into the world of psychosis. Wondering what I could do to turn things around and how to cope with the occasional voices and deal with the fact that I had been diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Then there was A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. It was the assertive outreach team. “Hello Tom, there’s this drama thingy on if you fancy it. For those in recovery from mental illness. “
So, I went because it was something to do opposed to the usual routine, of day time T.V. and boredom.
I LOVED IT! I had found something I loved and still love doing to this day.
I stumbled across the joy of drama through having a mental health problem.
This led on to me achieving a qualification from a local university in theatre. During this period of study, I choose to do a module called ‘theatre in social context ‘. The first week we were asked who we wanted to work with. So, I said, ‘the general public ‘.
This was because I feel that there are a lot of people out there, who haven’t really had a chance to give a drama workshop a go. Having found this joy of performing arts later on in life, I feel that this opportunity could and should be available to more people. The Joe is very much for ‘Joe public ‘. There are a lot of people who never had the chance to give a theatre workshop a go. Perhaps didn’t do it at school, or it has been something that hasn’t been made readily available. Theatre should be available for anyone to try, not just the rich, or the lucky.
My life experience has taught me that all of a sudden I realised that my whole life is about mental health. I had my flat because I was mentally ill, all my friends were mentally ill, the reason I got my benefits to be able to eat is because I was mentally ill.
What importantly helps to make a difference with Give it a Go, Joe is that it welcomes people through the door who are not stamped and labelled with any kind of social label, to mix with people who do. When I say stamped and labelled I am referring to minority categories in society, other than those who suffer from a mental health problem. These could be anything you like, autism, people with learning difficulties, people who are unemployed and so and so forth.
Give It a Go, Joe runs at Tang Hall Smart which fosters and encourages an atmosphere of inclusion between the local community and those who suffer from adversity. Making this project a home here is very much in alinement with the values of Tang Hall Smart and what I envisaged during my time of study where it originated.
Last July it was my absolute honour to direct ‘Nightingales Game’, with a cast made up from people who come to Give It a Go Joe. The play was autobiographical and was based around my own experiences of schizophrenia. There are some clips of this on this face book page.
Please do come along and ‘Give It a Go,’
This project has three main aims.
1 To broaden social circles
2 To challenge stigma around minority groups within society.
3 To invite members of the public (who might not ordinarily get the chance) to Give DOING a drama
