Somebody’s Daughter Theatre Company (SDTC) is a group of artists whose mission is to work with the most marginalised in our community to empower them and give them a voice through drama, art and film.
For vulnerable young people at risk of falling through the cracks in mainstream education, the creatively led education program – Nobody’s Fool – a partnership with Newcomb Secondary College and SDTC – gives them the opportunity to reconnect into education and their community develop new life skills and create change.
While in the program the participants continue their schooling in a non-traditional and supportive environment, while also learning how to express themselves through the arts.
The Foundation provided the group a $20,000 2022 Survive & Thrive grant, to fund the creation of a short film addressing the issue of consent, based on the song ‘No Means No’ from the new Nobody’s Fool Theatre play ‘When the Light Went Walking’.
The story was created in collaboration with the young cast, many who have had their own experiences and questions about consent.
One of the young people Kiara, was inspired to share her own experience with issues of consent after seeing a speech by Grace Tame.
“I was just on my phone one night and I saw a Grace Tame speech. And that had a massive impact on me, so I ended up just coming here the next day and talking to Maud and Kgshak about it.”
“We spoke about the speech and consent with the kids during their rehearsals that day,” Kiara said.
Kiara shares in her own words that she has experienced a “very toxic relationship that was abusive in any way possible,” and hadn’t realised that her own personal experience resonated with many of her fellow cast members.
“That was a big thing for me, to tell everyone about that and then get everyone else’s stories.”
“There’s a lot of young people out there that are scared to say ‘no’ in certain situations. I know, I was petrified of saying the word ‘no’… ‘No, I don’t want that.’ ‘No, don’t do that,” Kiara added.
These thoughts and conversations resulted in a powerful moment in the play, through a song entitled ‘No Means No.’
Maud Clark, Artistic Director and CEO of Somebody’s Daughter Theatre Company, sees the discussion around consent as vital to de-stigmatising it.
She says the aim of the film is to help start normalizing conversations about consent and educate people on their rights in relationships.
“There’s a lot of fear around consent and where people stand with that. I think the more that can be discussed the better.”
“A conversation about consent doesn’t have to be something that becomes really angry. Everyone has the right to be very clear about what your boundaries are.” Maud added.
Somebody’s Daughter hopes that by creating the film, they can spark conversations about consent across the community. The group are also supporting the Foundation’s first Conversations That Matter event featuring guest speaker Grace Tame, performing their original song ‘No means No’ during the event.
The film will be released October 2022.