Cardboard Citizens

I saw Cardboard Citizens latest show 'The Help!' on Tuesday night at uni. I really enjoyed the experience of being at a professional forum theatre piece and I came out with the feeling that if they could create a piece of work to challenge views of homelessness, of even more importantly to educate and give hope to those who are homeless, then maybe I could do something just as inspirational with a group that i am passionate about. The show gave a sense of confidence almost, that I am capable, which in turn has given my a lot of enthusiasm for the project.
One thing that came out of a discussion with the cast after the show was that people were very aware of offending the group they want to work with and how to get around this. I have to say that when the show had finished i hit a bit of a low thinking that i may never be able to produce work like this, because i myself have never been homeless, etc. But when i started to think about the logistics of working with my chosen group (either in a care home for children or with young offenders) i realised that the only way to create something realistic and inspirational, is to research with that group, ask them what their experiences have been and use those ideas to start a piece (with their permission, of course!). Through the discussion in the lecture it also became apparent how important it is to get the subject of the story on board with the project, let them to direct and criticise you're piece, and by doing this you will be presenting the story as the subject would want it to be presented. By doing this i feel i will get across the most important thing to me in my work, truth.