We are excited to offer Part One of our training again in January!
Want to learn how to plan and facilitate projects/workshops in schools and community settings in engaging and meaningful ways? Take our fun, embodied, community-driven training and leave feeling empowered, prepared, and supported with engaging strategies at your fingertips!
All are welcome! We have extensive experience training diverse artists of all art forms!
Send us an email now to express your interest in participating and we will update you as soon as we have more details.
Fee: $495. We are happy to arrange a payment plan in advance of the course starting. Please reach out to our artistic director to arrange that directly. Sheena@KickStartArts.com
Modules Explored in Part One:
- Relationships and Community Building
- Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Creating Equitable Spaces
- The 21st Century Learner: Play and Learning
- Classroom Management: Understanding the Context
- Ages and Stages of Development
- Embodied Knowledge
- Effective Partnering
- Planning
- Planning (Part 2): Questioning
- Differentiation and One-on-One Feedback
- Lab Style Sharing and Feedback
- Wrap Up
“The creators of this course are dynamic artist-educators, mentors and trainers who focus on creating a safe space for learning and creativity. They are professional, flexible, and highly skilled at helping artist-educators achieve their full potential. I still use many of the activities and strategies shared with me in the training I did years ago. I highly recommend training with Kick Start Arts – this mentorship has made me a better artist/educator.”
Shelley MacDonald (Mi’kmaw – Ugpi’Ganjig, Eel River New Brunswick and Scottish Ancestry, she/her)
“The designers and instructors of this course have provided me invaluable mentorship throughout my career as an artist facilitator. Their breadth of knowledge and experience of the arts as a unique tool to explore curriculum, conflict and hard conversations will be an amazing asset for anyone looking to develop or deepen their skills in arts facilitation.”
Michael O’Connell (he/they)
Mentor-Artists
Sheena D. Robertson, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed
Artistic Director
Sheena is an accomplished independent director, producer, and photographer whose professional roots lie in the theatre world, and the realm of devised creation work. An expert in arts-education, literacy, youth engagement, and social justice consulting, Sheena has worked extensively in diverse settings both nationally and internationally – both as an artist and an educator. She understands the significance of developing a thorough grasp of the cultural context for each project, and brings her responsive, grounded, and intuitive approach to all the work she does. Sheena taught in Toronto’s inner city community of Regent Park for many years, has a Master’s degree in Education from OISE/UofT, and is much in demand as a consultant. She teaches at OISE, and pioneered the ground-breaking artist-training certification program at the Royal Conservatory. She is passionate about using the arts as powerful tools to create community, engage participants, and establish equitable environments that encourage critical thinking, debate, and creative freedom. Those who have the opportunity to collaborate with her never leave disappointed. Sheena has been recognized for her work by her community – she was a finalist for the TAC’s Diversity Award.
Paula Wing
Paula Wing is a teacher, playwright, translator and dramaturge with more than 30 years experience. Her teaching has taken her as far north as Pond Inlet and as far south as Cordoba province in Argentina. She has worked with young folks in India and Germany, all across Canada, and memorably with Kick Start Arts in various projects around Toronto, notably the Regent Park Project. She believes firmly in learning through play and experimentation. Paula’s adaptation of Lena Coakley’s novel Wicked Nix will receive its world premiere at Young Peoples Theatre in the spring of 2025, and her translation of Stefano Massini’s Intractable Woman will have a third production in March at Brandeis University in Boston. Paula is the Educator in Residence at the Tarragon Theatre and the creative writing teacher at the Native Men’s Residence.
Additional Expert Mentor-Artists will join us as guests over the twelve week course.
“A shining ability to promote personal and collaborative growth inside and outside the arts.”
~ Larry Swartz, Drama Teacher, Author