The Community Initiative Project

In 1990, Mixed Company launched the first Community Initiative Project, offering a forum and a voice for people who have experienced homelessness and street life. This collective theatre experience challenges common conceptions and misconceptions about people who live a different lifestyle. It has garnered intense media interest and has resulted in transforming experiences, for both participants and company members alike.

Community Initiative Project begins with an intensive workshop led by Associate Artists of Mixed Company Theatre. Working with a core group of 10 people who are homeless or have experienced homelessness, the Troupe is then guided over a three-week period to develop a 75-minute play as a means of creative expression and of educating their community. The play then tours to community gathering places (hostels, shelters, job training centres) and also for national and international poverty and activist organizations.

The Community Initiative Project’s use of Forum Theatre and of actors from within the homeless community provides multiple perspectives, encourages understanding of different lifestyles, and helps to make people aware of the consequences of the actions they take.