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A project that you are currently working on:
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I am currently working on a devised project about Gender and Race with a few students exploring folk tale and personal narratives. I am also working on a theatre for the very young piece that was co-devised and conceived with members of the Alliance Theatre Teen Ensemble. We just completed our 3rd workshop performance session.
A piece of art that is inspiring and fueling you right now:
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I’m currently moved by Wings, the children’s book by Christopher Myers. I think it’s absolutely stunning. I am also moved by the poetry of Alexis Pauline Gumbs in thinking about changing making with and for youth.
An upcoming project:
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I would love to continue to create devised work with teenagers, and TVY. I’m about to start a workshop for another devised project I co-created two years ago called Fishing for Stars. I am deeply interested in creating immersive experiences for little ones and their families and having youth voice in the room as co-creators.
Why TYA?:
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I love how expansive the field is. I love how so often theatre for young audiences disrupts what we envision theatre to look like, and to feel like. I am also excited by the prospect of uplifting youth voice and youth experience and naming that there is so much knowledge and power when we invite young people into artistic spaces. It’s an ever evolving field.
Shout out a collaborator:
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S. Elliott, who worked on Remember, a theatre for the very young piece around boxes and memory. We’ve been working on this project for over a year and she constantly brings in new ideas, and a fresh perspective that keeps the work exciting. Where I might miss the mark on inclusive practices, S.Elliott is always there ready to name what’s missing in the room. I so appreciate her.
Shout out a mentor:
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Julia Flood. She is an incredible cheerleader, and anytime I am in her presence I learn so much about the joy of a process.
How can readers connect with you if they want to follow your work/get in touch?:
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Feel free to follow me on instagram: @renitajam. Check out my website (updates coming soon): renitajames.com or send me an email: renitajameseducator@gmail.com.
A project that you have recently worked on:
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At Flying Leap, we just closed the second iteration of Lights in the Sky, an immersive children’s Shabbat ceremony directed by Flying Leap’s Logan gabrielle Schulman. It’s basically a radically queer progressive Jewish baby rave about the right to rest, and it’s a blast!
A piece of art that is inspiring and fueling you right now:
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I’m reading Sensory Theatre by Tim Webb, and it’s speaking to so many aspects of the accessible work I’m most passionate about. Tim writes about how to make Sensory Theatre, how it benefits very young spectators and spectators with disabilities, and interviews/case studies other theatre companies doing this work. Highly recommend!
An upcoming project:
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Right now, I’m super excited that Flying Leap is bringing back Beyond the wall Más Allá del Muro, a binational puppetry project exploring cultural identity with teens at the US/Mexico border. The teens work in binational pen-pal pairs for 10 weeks, and then meet for the first time in person at a performance happening where they build 15 foot tall puppets and meet at the border wall for an improvised playdate. We’ve secured some exciting support from NYC cultural institutions like Guggenheim museum, and in the long term, we’re exploring how to connect the project to migrant teens in NYC. In the short term, we’re all getting together in August in person for the first time since 2020! I’m SO excited to be reunited with our borderland collaborators!
Why TYA?:
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Theater is play! That’s how young people learn and make sense of the world. I believe that young people have a human right to ask questions about the world and get answers, and that live theatre and performance is a natural way to acknowledge that right and empower kids.
Shout out a collaborator:
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Susanna Brock! We made The Garden together for Flying Leap, and she’s doing groundbreaking work in accessible theater for young people. She directed The Garden and does community outreach for Flying Leap, and I’m so grateful to work with her.
Shout out a mentor:
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Hope Hartup, my high school drama teacher at Hopkins School in New Haven!
How can readers connect with you if they want to follow your work/get in touch?:
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Follow @flyingleapproductions on IG or email me at jess@flying-leap.com!
A project that you have recently worked on:
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World premiere of ¡Lotería: Game On! by Mabelle Reynoso.
A piece of art that is inspiring and fueling you right now:
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Reading stories written by elementary school students after a writing workshop Theatre SilCo held in 3 elementary schools.
An upcoming project:
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An upcoming project: The Amish Project by Jessica Dickey. A dream project: Destiny of Desire by Karen Zacarías / would also love to direct ¡Lotería: Game On! for a different community.
Why TYA?:
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It is a deep need in my local community. Our youth needs a safe place to be after school where they can confidently grow into themselves and work on their sense of community and connectedness, all while igniting their curiosity and providing opportunity for exploration.
Shout out a collaborator:
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Mabelle Reynoso – ¡Lotería: Game On!
José Cruz González – Thomas and the Library Lady
Shout out a mentor:
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Andy Cuk who I met at John Abbott College in Montreal.
How can readers connect with you if they want to follow your work/get in touch?:
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Sara@thesilco.org or follow me on IG @sararodriguezm13.
