Over the last few months I have had the privilege to be involved in an arts project taking place at a local Homeless drop-in centre with the aim to use the arts to get those who attend to tell their stories. Reflecting on this time and looking forward I’ve realised a lot about the way I work and am also excited about the way God is using this project and all that he has done within it so far.

I’m not the most organised person in the world, but I take great comfort in having a nicely printed out structure to any session that I may be involved in. But after the first week there was the realisation that no matter how great my session may look printed out it didn’t mean that anyone was going to get involved.

So we forgot about drama for a few weeks, and instead concentrated on building relationships. I have learnt that the arts work so much better when in collaboration especially when it comes to drama which can be a scary activity to become involved in! Those with musical abilities on our team have used their skills and this has broken down enormous boundaries and everyone now looks forward to a sing-a-long. This has enabled our relationships to flourish and as a result we have started to introduce simple drama exercises that have started to un-earth some budding thespians in our midsts!

Thinking back to the first week and what’s happened since I am reminded of what James Thompson says about taking drama into communities where this isn’t the norm. He makes the point that we are nothing more than visitors in this community and to see ourselves as anything other is a massive mistake (Thompson, 2003). The relationships, building trust and gaining understanding of the community is vital to this work, it’s their voice that we want to hear; not ours. As we continue this project and explore the ways in which drama, music and photography can give people a voice and as God continues to work through all of this I’m so excited to see what will happen…!