Show Home development workshop.
Artists on stage during a development workshop for Show Home.
We were able to offer two candle-making workshops for caregivers working with adults with disabilities, or Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). Many of them shared that they really appreciated a place to go after work to unwind (many of them live on-site with the people they care for and therefore down-time is hard to come by) and the chance to make connections with other DSPs, both in their organizations and outside. We engaged a couple of DSP care workers in art making experiences and show development workshops. These individuals shared how affirming it was to have an opportunity to share their stories and perspectives in a safe environment. We look forward to welcoming them into the cast of Show Home, our final performance of this work, as part of our professional ensemble.
Open Heart Arts Theatre
Open Heart Arts Theatre
Engaging and supporting care workers
Level UP! Strategy Area: Care Solutions
Pilot Project: Engaging with care workers to support and participate in workshops for Show Home—a production featuring and exploring the experiences of people with disabilities living in congregate care settings and the people who support them—and offering self-care workshops.
Project Duration: January to June 2024
Continuing to Implement: Yes
Resources Shared: Project Field Notes, Artist Handbook (Draft)
About Open Heart Arts Theatre
Location: Ontario
Artistic Discipline: Theatre
Operating Budget: Less than $100,000
Hamilton-based Open Heart Arts Theatre produces performances with a conscience. The company’s practice is centred around community-engaged collaboration and committed to creating performances through storytelling, music, and movement that celebrates the amazing people in Hamilton—fostering connections within the community.
Early short site-specific works include, HERE, and In Sight, presented at the Hamilton Frost Bites Festival, I Really Wish You Knew Me and the award-winning Hamilton Fringe productions of Normal Shmormal, and Through the Woods.
In 2022, after a two-year relationship-building process, Open Heart presented Conversations Around the Table at the Theatre Aquarius Brave New Works Festival. The project was developed alongside people with lived experience of homelessness and substance use. Through this process, we built a relationship with Keeping Six Hamilton, a grassroots harm reduction organization, which launched an ongoing art programming and Open Mic series.
Open Heart Arts Theatre‘s Level UP! Project
Open Heart’s project focused on engaging direct support workers to support and participate as artists in Show Home, a production exploring the experiences of people with disabilities in congregate care settings and the people who support them. In collaboration with L’Arche Hamilton, Open Heart contracted two additional direct support workers to participate creatively in production workshops while also providing assistance to artists with disabilities where needed.
To further support the well-being of the support workers, the company facilitated two off-site self-care sessions. This initiative reinforced Open Heart’s commitment to reducing barriers, fostering creativity, and ensuring that both care workers and the people they support are included in the artistic process.
Resources
Open Heart Arts Theatre | Project Field Notes
About This Resource Open Heart Arts Theatre created these Project Field Notes in 2024 to share details about their Level UP! Pilot Project. Their project focused on creating opportunities for direct support workers (DSWs) to participate in the creation of the Summer...
Open Heart Arts Theatre | Artist Handbook (Draft)
About This Resource Open Heart Arts Theatre created this Artist Handbook in 2024 as part of their Level UP! Pilot Project. This is a draft version of the handbook and was developed in collaboration with a trauma-informed facilitator and educator.
More Information
For more information about Open Heart Arts Theatre visit www.openheartartstheatre.com.
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