Support Unspoken inclusive theatre group
PRESS RELEASE FROM UNSPOKEN
Unspoken, a new London-based theatre group, are holding a fundraising event on Saturday 16th November at Tottenham Chances, to raise money for a unique performing arts project that will give people without speech a voice.
The project, anticipated to be the first of its kind, aims to bring together people who use communication aids to express themselves (known as augmentative and alternative communication – AAC), and other artists to develop and stage a theatrical performance in 2015 that focuses on the issue of communication.
The fundraising event, Unspoken Outspoken, hosted by Jason Why from 8pm, will feature a range of performers including Rosie Vachat, a musician who uses a communication aid; Actability Inclusive Theatre; singers, Lucia Bellini and Tina Linsey; actor Justin Mason; AAC campaigner Sam Sillars and Comedienne, Cazz Regan as well as an exclusive scene from Unspoken’s debut show.
The money raised will go towards funding development workshops that will be held in the summer of 2014, focusing on script writing and raising awareness of AAC in the community.
Unspoken is a unique project led by AAC user Kate Caryer, her writing partner Cazz Regan and supported by Wendy Greenwell. The organisation was established to raise awareness of AAC through performing arts.
Speaking about the activity, Kate Caryer who has cerebral palsy and uses an AAC device to communicate, said: “In this society if you haven’t got speech you don’t have a voice. The Shining a Light report [1] by Communication Matters suggested that fewer than half of the people who need a communication aid actually have access to them. I have always been passionate about theatre and the performing arts and I want to raise awareness of this unspoken situation, I think that by combining these mediums I can create something that raises awareness as well as being fun and accessible to mainstream audiences.
“Unspoken is a coming-of-age story with a new voice centered around the experiences and thoughts of Rebecca Walker, a young adult who has no speech, nor the use of a communication aid. Using the ideas from the play we want to work with a range of artists in creative environments focusing on communication.
“Unspoken Outspoken will be our opportunity to engage with our local community and raise awareness of communication issues within the mainstream community. We will use the Unspoken Outspoken events to promote our own characters as well showcase works by other artists with a focus on broad communication issues. We will be including local artists as well as searching far and wide across the land for the gems amongst the communication aid-using world and giving them an opportunity to take the limelight.”
Some children and adults find communication difficult because they have little or no clear speech. There are many reasons including as a result of cerebral palsy, stroke, head injury, motor neurone disease or learning difficulty. Alternative and augmentative communication encompasses a wide variety of non-standard communication methods that enable people to participate in their local communities and to make friends, share feelings, ideas, and experiences.
Date: Saturday November 16th at 8pm
Venue: Tottenham Chances, 399 High Road, London, N17 6QN.
Entry: £7. All proceeds will go towards the Unspoken theatre project.
Unspoken will be holding more Unspoken Outspoken fundraising events in January and March 2014.
For more information on Unspoken, please visit www.facebook.com/unspokenAAC
[1] Shining a Light on Augmentative and Alternative Communication, part of the AAC Evidence Base project (2013) www.communicationmatters.org.uk/shining-a-light-on-aac
