This week Marfa Live Arts is back in Marfa ISD Junior High for the 10th Annual Marfa Live Arts Playwriting Preparatory workshop. “It’s been ten years of working with students and fostering their voices through the exploration of writing a play,” said Marfa Live Arts workshop instructor Rachel Tate. “I have only been teaching this program for the past four years, but I am so grateful to have something well-loved to step into each January.” The workshop, Tate explains, takes MISD students through a four-day instruction on writing theatrical monologues that will be sent to a panel that will choose selected works to be performed at the Winter Showcase by local actors at Planet Marfa in, what she calls, “a celebration with the students, families and members of the community.”

Though the performance is a festive affair with many Marfans coming out to support the children, Tate’s favorite part of the process is watching the students find their voices as writers. “Each year, I have to remember that to enter as a learner puts me in the same shoes as the students,” she said. “They start the week having no clue what a monologue is or how to write one, but ultimately they all do. I believe in the gift of words, and I see power in the process of finding those words and exploring their voices.” The program, she added, has become a beacon of the sense of community that is found in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere. “I say it every year, but I really do believe it is vital that we are listening to and caring for the young voices  in this community,” she said. “This past year there has been many articles on the state of education in our town with many elder voices being heard, but what about the ones who are in the classroom day in and day out? How many of us actually take the chance to hear them?” For Tate, seeing the students work in this part of their development as humans is especially poignant. “I love the opportunity to hear how their minds work as they grow in such an odd and wonderful place in their lives: middle school. I think we all can recall back at least a little to the big feelings in their lives,” she explained. “So much is happening in their bodies and in their dynamics, it’s prime content for writing. The monologue is the perfect format to try out their thoughts and see what their voices are really wanting to say. The monologue is one person, one voice.” The workshop also allows the students unbridled access to their creativity, as students are not given prompts, Tate explained. “There is no grown up or other perspective to come in and quiet the thoughts or silence the expression. Here they get full reign. At the end of the day, it might be a reflection on heartbreak or their words through the perspective of a javelina or some other worldly warrior,” she said. “The choice is theirs and it’s my aim to encourage that choice.”

The ability to choose what they want to write is one of the students’ favorite parts of the program, according to first-time Marfa Live Arts collaborator and Marfa ISD Junior High English teacher Catherine Gore. “I have heard nothing but positive feedback from students and teachers who have participated in previous years,” Ms. Gore said. “This program offers something that feels different from the typical classroom experience. Most of the time, students are told exactly what to write about and how to write it. This program gives them the freedom to express themselves in creative and individual ways, without fear of getting it ‘wrong.’ Students get to discover their own voices as writers.” The students themselves have told Ms. Gore so much with conversations she’d had with the children. “My current 8th grade students expressed that they enjoyed the Marfa Live Arts writing experience last year. Lea said that she enjoyed the writing because ‘we got
to pick our own topic.’ Raivon echoed what Lea said and added that he liked that he was able to type the monologue and use any tools he wanted, and Olivia said that she was one of last year’s winners and received a small prize,” she said. For Tate, however, the real prize is seeing what the students are capable of when they are able to explore their creativity without the typical boundaries of the classroom. “And then here comes the exciting part for all of you,” Tate began. “We get to listen.

Every single year I leave the Winter Showcase with dewy eyes and a full heart, and it’s not just me. There is a power in sharing and even more so in being heard. I would love to see as many folks show up to listen to the children as we do in town hall discussions. It’s also just so silly and fun.” Marfa Live Arts, Tate added, is open to hearing from community members of all walks of life to engage and join in on the fun. “If you would to be considered to perform at the Winter Showcase in March (date to be determined) please reach out to us. We would love to have some new collaborators!”