YAB
The YAB, a group of peer health educators, will use Forum Theatre to educate and engage audiences on youth issues in a meaningful way!
About You
About You
First Name
Marcia
Last Name
Zorrilla
Twitter URL
Facebook URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Balboa Teen Health Center
Organization Website
Organization Country
United States, CA, San Francisco
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, CA, San Francisco
Is your organization a
Government entity
Your role in Education
Other.
The type of school(s) your solution is affiliated with
Public (tuition-free)
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
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Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
How long has your solution been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
YAB focuses on solving communal issues through peer-to-peer networking and advocacy. Youth do not have the support and knowledge in our community on issues concerning stress, relationships, emotional well-being, and sexual education. We feel that the adults, from parents to teachers, are not aware of what youth are experiencing in our lives as we navigate this developmental stage. Additionally, we feel that many youth at Balboa High School are unaware of the health resources available at the Balboa Teen Health Center. It's up to the YAB to reach out to the Balboa High School community of students, parents, teachers, and staff in fun, creative, and meaningful ways to foster dialogue and collaborative solutions to the issues facing youth.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
The YAB will use Forum Theatre, developed by Augusto Boal, as a tool to engage the school community in dialogue on issues relevant to young people's lives. What makes Forum Theatre unique from other types of drama performances is that this type of drama is participatory. The audience will be able to participate in a dialogue about the problems they see in the skit and will develop several solutions to these problems. Also, the audience will be able to participate in the skit by rehearsing real-life solutions in the scenarios with the youth performers.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
I will describe what the YAB did in their last Forum Theatre performance. There were two YAB who acted as the facilitators during a skit on bullying; the other YAB were involved as youth performers. We see our young person "Deandre" and what a typical day is like for him at home and school. He lives at home with parents and a sister who goes to the same school. During the course of the day, the audience sees "Deandre" not wanting to go to school, being bullied by another student, not having friends, and not feeling supported. When the skit ended, the facilitators processed what occurred in the skit, discussed the outcome, and asked the audience how they would change the negative outcome into a more positive outcome, and invited them down to perform the skit as they envision it with the new outcome. Using Forum Theatre has the audience act as “spect-actor,” offering solutions to the problem, and empowering the audience in applying solutions to their own real-life situations. We did three separate Forum Theatre events (two during the school day and one evening event for parents and the community) and they were all different. Each dramatic outcome was unique due to the audience participating in developing solutions towards a more positive outcome.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
The San Francisco Mime Troupe has a Youth Theater Project. One of our YAB was part of this troupe. They do not use Forum Theatre, but use other forms of theatre and work at their own site. We consulted with the San Francisco Mime Troupe when the YAB first started doing youth theater about three years ago. They provided theater training (acting games/warm-up, skit brainstorming, skit development)for our YAB. Kaiser Permanente has an educational theatre program component that is health focused and more of a traditional drama performance. We also consulted them in the early days of YAB starting drama performances (brainstorming). We don't view either group as a competitor. With San Francisco Mime troupe, we have an on-going relationship with them to provide theater training expertise.
Now that you have thought out your entry, help us pitch it.
Define your company, program, service, or product in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
The YAB, a group of peer health educators, will use Forum Theatre to educate and engage audiences on youth issues in a meaningful way!
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
Lights! Camera! Forum Drama! It's not your usual, "sit and be entertained" drama. Let's have an honest dialogue about youth issues!
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
We had close nearly 150 people in our school's Little Theatre for our last theatre performance on March 2nd. Feedback forms from our last theatre performance on March 2nd showed that the audience wanted to continue the dialogue and they enjoyed the youth performers. Additionally, the school principal recently told me that he would like YAB to do teacher training on working with gender issues. The youth performers want to do more of these Forum Theatre and these may replace the parent workshop series that the Balboa Teen Health Center currently offers to parents.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
We hope to do more Forum Theatre performances and reach out to the entire school population (approximately 1200 students) every year. Also, hope to engage more teachers and families in Forum Theatre. Over time, we hope to invite other schools to our Forum Theatre performances.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Recruit and train YAB members
Task 2
Brainstorm issues and concerns facing teens
Task 3
Plan skit
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
Coordinate schedule of Forum Theatre events with schools.
Task 2
Market Forum Theatre events.
Task 3
Implement and evaluate Forum Theatre events.
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world [125 words]
This was my first time doing Forum Theatre. I was so impressed with the uniqueness of the solutions from the three different performances. It really speaks to how this type of theatre is "audience-centered" and can have a huge impact on the members. Having Forum Theatre in a small venue created the ideal setting for dialogue and active participation from the audience. This type of drama makes the audience members feel appreciated, valued, and acknowledged. When the facilitators concluded the drama, the audience responded by saying "Aww!" That meant that they wanted to keep the dialogue going on and developing even more positive solutions! Having youth as the youth performers who created the skit and acted on stage adds to the reality of what is happening in young people's lives and adds visibility to their roles as peer health educators in the Balboa High School community. The YAB felt really good about the work they did and received a lot of compliments from the audience.
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
We have strong partnerships with the Balboa High School, especially the health teacher, music teacher (borrow Little Theatre), and media teacher (his students videotaped our last show). We also have strong partnership with the Balboa PTSA, state association of school health center (California School Health Centers Association), Adolescent Health Working Group (adolescent provider group), San Francisco Mime Troup, and Youth Funding Youth Ideas (youth grant funders) to just name a few.
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section? [75 words]
Balboa clinic staff, Balboa HS administrators, Balboa HS teachers, YAB, Balboa HS students (CAST pathway and other volunteers).
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
My dream is to have a sustainable youth theatre group as a program of our county health department similar to the Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theatre Program model.
 | 63 weeks ago Marcia Zorrilla updated this Competition Entry. |
| 64 weeks ago Marcia Zorrilla submitted this idea. |
