Lola Broomberg
Testimonials
"When my grandma died, my mom started to grieve. I felt lost and didn't know how to cope with sad parents. The house seemed quiet and we didn't talk about it. I tried to cry, but no tears came out. It hurt me to think of myself. I felt somewhat angry with myself. I felt angry at others. Thank you for coming to our school and talking about this subject when no one else would."
-Middle school student
"After one show, an eighth grader approached me in tears, speaking about how her father had died of cancer. The show had triggered things for her and I gave her some advice on how to get through it. It felt so good to have made an impact."
-Claire LaPoma, troupe member
"Thank you for sharing yourself with all of us. I have felt all the emotions you portrayed. My dad died eight months ago. Even as old as I am it has been a really difficult experience. You showed me I am not alone.”
-Middle School teacher
"Somehow, through weeks of rehearsals, meetings, and the sharing of countless stories, we put together a collage of skits powerful enough to have audiences laughing and sobbing and everything in between."
-Shelly Steward, troupe member
"When I saw the show last year I felt like a door that I had been searching for had opened and everything inside was suddenly revealed to me. It was such an amazing feeling. I immediately knew that I wanted to participate in a performance group like that one and I'm so happy I was able to have the extraordinary opportunity to this year. It has been an amazing experience and I have learned a huge amount about myself, my grief, and how to deal with the hardships in life, as well as the great feeling of knowing that other people are going through a lot of the same things. Many thanks to Lola for her amazing support."
-Jaclyn Bovee, troupe member
During the past three years, It's been a great blessing to watch Lola skillfully and compassionately weave each teen's deep feelings and profound personal story into wonderfully poignant performances that have been well-received by our local school communities.
-Cheryl Coughran Director of Courageous Kids
Grief Support Performance
Grief Support Performance Troupes
Grieving teenagers can make a difference ...for themselves and others.
Imagine a group of teenagers with the capacity to reach thousands of their peers, to:
· Dismantle the taboo around grief.
· Invite peer to peer dialogue
· Create community out of strangers
Lola Broomberg has created an innovative program that facilitates an exciting liaison between grieving teenagers and the broader teenage population.
Within a short period of time a group of teenagers, affiliated with their local grief support agency, will be provided with the tools to create a self sustaining peer support performance troupe that can tour the schools in their area.
During the course of troupe training, teens are presented with
· Exercises and games that establish common ground and build a team spirit.
· Theatrical devices in vocalization, staging and physical presence.
· A range of forms with which to frame their stories.
· The requisite skills for leading rehearsals and pre-performance warm-up.
Why this work is so important
Adolescents inhabit a world of change in which complicated feelings are rarely discussed. Sharing feelings means risking vulnerability, ridicule and rejection.
Teenagers in pain tend to alienate themselves from their peers, the people who could best help them normalize their feelings.
Many teenagers are silently grieving losses, stories about the passage through pain are a balm to their fears. Teens who have processed their grief can teach theirs peers about how to cope in difficult times.
Grief performances are a powerful conduit to dialogue; proof that pain transforms and loss is survivable.
Performance Programs
If you work with teenagers or teen group facilitators who are interested in learning interactive theatrical activities to support communication around stories of loss and survival; a weekend-long troupe training retreat with Lola will:
· introduce basic personal story telling forms and warm up activitites
· offer guidelines for creating a safe space to support the development of this work
· give you a performance- ready show, good to go.
· include a handbook of activities including guidelines for rehearsals and performances
Lola Broomberg, a Theater Arts Bereavement Specialist with Courageous Kids in Eugene, Oregon, is available to visit your community to help with the development of your Peer Support Performance Troupe. Whether you are interested in training trainers or having Lola work directly with your teenagers, the process of creating a troupe is efficient, exciting and beneficial to all.
Call Lola at 541-341-3477 for details.