Finding Your Voice

We all remember our middle school days—discovering who you are, figuring out who you want to be, trying to fit in while staying true to yourself. Now imagine doing all that while navigating systemic oppression and racial inequities. That’s the reality many middle schoolers face today.

That’s why Arlington Public School teacher Alam wanted to bring ETC’s Devising Hope program to his students at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Alam first experienced the program through our recent partnership with Challenging Racism and Our Stomping Ground and it left a lasting impression.

In that session of Devising Hope: The Stories that Bind Us: Race, Reflection and Resilience, adults of all ages and backgrounds met weekly to participate in theatre activities and workshops to share their experiences and thoughts on inclusion, implicit bias, belonging, and hope as it pertains to living in Arlington. Their conversations were then turned into an original script that they performed  for the community.

Alam shared his stories throughout the sessions and spoke of being an immigrant, his sense of community and how he finds belonging anywhere he lives. He strives to create that same sense of belonging in his classroom for his middle schoolers. 

He tells his students…

A slide from Alam's lesson on belonging for his students.

“I belong everywhere I want to go. Because I own my story. I own my truth, I own my self esteem. I can remove the labels and rip them up. I know who I am. I'm telling them, it doesn't matter how your hair is, your look, your color of your skin, how you smell, or how you walk, but if you feel that…I'm telling you…you can go anywhere and fit in or make it too. You're gonna make that place love you.”

After that performance in fall of 2024, Alam wanted his students to have the same opportunity to find their voices too.  He approached me and said “Ok. When are you bringing Devising Hope to my students?”

Theatre changes lives, and this felt more urgent than ever.

As chance would have it, ETC’s summer musical camps were held at Thomas Jefferson Middle School this year and one day I ran into Alam! He shared that he had already spoken with his administration and they were on board with offering the program to their students for the entire school year!

But the funding that supported Devising Hope had ended. We were back at square one, but I knew we had to find a way to get the program up and running again. Theatre changes lives, and this felt more urgent than ever. 

Middle school students experience, recognize, and internalize racism and oppression in ways that the adults in their lives do not realize. Everyone at any age has a story to tell, and by giving those stories a voice, we can inspire understanding and empathy that extends beyond the stage.

Helping the younger generation find their voice, we effect real change in our communities.

Don’t underestimate our ETC community - they know how important it is to hear the stories of others! After sharing our need for funding, individual ETC donors stepped up to help us take our Devising Hope program to Thomas Jefferson Middle School this fall, with the hope that it will continue throughout the school year. It’s time to tell their stories.

Alam uses his own experiences to teach about belonging in his classroom:

“I'm teaching students right now about identity and belonging in Spanish language arts. They don’t feel confident enough to fit in because they feel there's not enough resources. I'm telling them that you need to make yourself comfortable wherever you are and feel part of any type of culture. They don't feel comfortable with the neighborhood. Arlington.”

As a Teaching Artist, I know that by helping the younger generation find their voice, we effect real change in our communities that lasts long after the performance ends.

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Update: I have completed three Devising Hope classes so far. This group of kids is amazing! Most of the group has only lived in the United States for a few years. The students represent countries from all over the world - Bolivia, El Salvador, Columbia, Guatemala, just to name a few. They were quiet and hesitant at first, but since we have begun to trust each other, now they won’t stop talking…but won’t stop talking in Spanish! They told me I need Duolingo. I am on the first lesson.

What is Devising Hope?

Since 2015, ETC’s Devising Hope has used devised theatre techniques to help participants create scenes, monologues, and movement pieces that address homelessness or racial inequities all of which culminate in a public performance for our communities. At Thomas Jefferson Middle School, students are sharing their thoughts and stories about family and friendship, racial inequities, and belonging.

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This incredible program at Thomas Jefferson was fully funded by just three individual donors - members of the ETC community who felt passionate about this program and the students involved and wanted to help.  You can help make this program, and more, go beyond 2025 by giving directly to ETC.  Monthly donations help us plan beyond one semester at a time and can promise the students that their programs will continue.  Will you give to help keep (Devising) Hope alive for our students?