By Thia James and Jayani Perera
Young People's Press

Behind a cracked wooden door, the sound of music trails up the stairway and into a colourful kitchen filled with laughing young people. The mouth-watering aromas of lunch cooking on the stove float into the adjoining theatre. The walls of the theatre double as a gallery for the artwork created by the young people assembled in the kitchen. This is KYTES.

The Kensington Youth Theatre and Employment Skills (KYTES) program, founded in 1983, helps street-involved youth recognize their potential and make positive changes in their lives by way of theatre games and exercises, visual arts, and the production of an original play.

KYTES teaches, "employment skills and teaches you how to get along [with others] by collectively writing a play and directing it," says Jane, 23, a graduate of the program.

In this unconventional setting, the students of KYTES use the fantasy world of theatre as a rehearsal space for tackling real-world problems. The theatre program instructs the students in many of the skills they will need in their everyday lives.

Loree Lawrence, KYTES's theatre director, explains that in developing a play youth have to form a collective, learn to communicate effectively and to compromise, and develop anger-management and problem-solving skills. In other words, KYTES troupe members must gain the skills it takes to thrive in the workplace. She says that there is an indirect connection between employability and experience in this kind of work atmosphere.

Nigel, 17, a student at KYTES, has really benefited from the anger-management workshops. "I don't come off as a violent person when I'm in social places. But sometimes, when I'm at home, I'd snap, and I would kick something, put my arm through the wall. I had a really short temper," he says. "Alternative schools promote using your anger towards a positive change. Instead of getting really frustrated, you can use that energy positively to do things."

Lawrence adds, "We give people some tools to deal with different issues that begin to pile up and create negative patterns. They see that they can do things. Working creatively can help them to develop a positive self image."

The students spend their afternoons in the theatre, but their days are not all fun and games, mornings are dedicated to academic studies. The students earn credits and learn life skills, such as budgeting and financial management. They also see plays and regularly attend rallies and debates.

Just as in a regular school setting, counseling is available to them. "If you are in a situation where you can't get help, and you want to talk to somebody other than your friends, you can talk to staff that work here because they give good advice," says Deka, 17, a student in the program. However, this kind of personal attention is easier to access at KYTES than at a regular high school because KYTES boasts a high teacher-to-student ratio.

And, Jane adds, "In alternative schools, you can call your teacher by their first name, which makes you have more respect for them. You see them as a person with emotions, rather than an authority figure."

The staff at KYTES take the time to get to know their students. Cherie MacDonald, a KYTES school teacher, explains that they try not to pass judgment on the students based on their history, "When I'm working with young people, I usually don't look at their school file until the end." In fact, she is often surprised when she finally does look at the information contained in those records, "Oh my God," she has been known to say to herself, "that kid did those things?!"

Jane likes that the students spend all day together. "We get to know each other better and that helps with trusting. In [regular] high schools, students are in different classes all day long so you might only get to know three of four kids very well in high school."

Ilana, 18, thinks the concentrated time the students spend together makes for a relaxed atmosphere, creating an environment where it is easier to make friends than in a 'regular' high school, "I noticed when I came here, there's other people like me, other people that are in the same situation that I am and understand what I'm going through. So that really helps me."

Kenzie, 18, compares the atmosphere at KYTES to the cold reception that she received when she enrolled in a 'normal' high school. "I started school in the middle of the second semester at Western Tech and it was my first period. I got to the class and the teacher said, 'This is Kenzie, everybody.'

"There were about three pages of notes that I had to copy down because I was late," she explains. "The teacher said, 'Can I have someone volunteer to let Kenzie write the notes from your book?' The class was like 31 people, it was a huge class, and I swear no one volunteered. No one. So, I'm standing there, and the teacher had to assign someone to sit beside me and let me copy their notes. After about three days, I said 'Screw this, the school is way too big. I'm being way too judged for no reason.'"

"We're all from such different walks of life," says Nigel. "We have so much to offer each other. It's just a good feeling."

Jane knows the importance of learning how to get along with your peers. "Without those skills, you can't survive in the working place. So you do other illegal activities that don't require social skills. You don't need social skills for break-and-enter." All of the students at KYTES see school as a part-crime prevention program. Jane thinks that community activities and, "things to do after school will definitely help with youth crime, otherwise kids have nothing to do and that's why a lot of crimes occur." She adds, "KYTES teaches you how to be active in your community."

Lawrence believes that working creatively in a combination of theatre and of fine art can be a creative outlet for youthful energies. "Especially for youth that may have difficult pasts."

It is this perspective has led some members of the public to think of KYTES as a school for "bad kids". Randy, 19, another student at KYTES, understands first-hand how the program is sometimes misunderstood based on its outward appearance, "When I came to KYTES, I thought, 'This is an old crummy house. Wooden floors and look at the kitchen, the utensils are older than what I have in my house'. And I thought, 'What can I get out of here?'"

"I stayed with it anyway," Randy continues, "I was in the troupe before, but I took it for granted, and I got kicked out because I hardly used to come. I used to always come late. I wouldn't do my work. Then after, I started realizing what you could get out of it. One of the things that KYTES has taught me is not to judge a book by its cover."

Stephanie, 18, has also learned this age-old rule, "When I first came here, I thought I hated everybody. But now that I got to know them, they've grown on me. I had low self-esteem. When I first had do things in front of the group, I couldn't. Now I feel comfortable, I get along with the group, so I can do it. It's like my second home."

While Stephanie compares KYTES to a second home, Ilana compares it to a day camp. "When I was little, I used to go to day camp in the summer, and I found it so much fun," she says. "I come here and I go to school and it's like camp."

The reason that KYTES resembles a 'second home' or 'day camp' rather than a school can be attributed to the attitudes of the students enrolled.

"I think that one of the differences [from regular schools and KYTES] is that people that come into this program have decided that they are going to make some real changes in their lives," says MacDonald. "It also makes a big difference that [KYTES] is so richly staffed. There's a lot of things [provided] like nutrition, that you don't have in a lot of schools."

KYTES also provides the troupes with opportunities to do things that they wouldn't normally do in regular school, such as creating an original play.

The troupe is currently working on a play about creating a Utopia. "(The students) come together as a group of desperate youth at this place where they learn to deal with (their problems)," says Lawrence of the play's central plot.

The plot of the play resembles the group themselves in the sense that they have come together to move forward in life through the development of various life skills.

The combination of skills and regular school courses allow the students to get the most out of their experience at KYTES. Deka says, "I just wanted a job," The KYTES program is helping her. "I'm getting school credits, and I already got a job. I think it's a good opportunity and it changes your life."

The enthusiastic bunch of students make their way to the dining area to enjoy lunch and take a break from their long workday. The kitchen is filled with the scent of a home-cooked meal, and a young group of students dedicated to new beginnings.

The next KYTES play will be open to public audiences on the evenings of June 8, 9 and 10 at the KYTES centre, 466 Bathurst St.