My
Quest for Youth came to an end finally with the completion of final audio editing to the piece I entitled, "
Shoots, Scores.
Shoots, Scores was created with the
Quest for Youth's overall themes in minds including mental health, marginalization and "
coming out of the shadows" - creating a reach out message to educators to existing programs in the community.
In this case I chose road hockey since it is a real entity started in a mixed income,
Mulock Village Newmarket community, in response to a growing need to engage the local youth.The idea started out as a 'challenge" with the community team challenging another to a game of road hockey and we included free hot chocolate and the like.
The following year we had 4 teams entered into the then 2nd Annual
Friendly Neighbourhood Youth Road hockey Challenge, but prior a local youth who'd been volunteering in the community and determined to change his former lifestyle was murdered in town outside a local Tim Horton's Donut shop. This kid grew up with a biker leader as a dad, so his efforts to live a changed life needed applauding we felt, and as well the community youth were traumatized by it and received no therapy or counseling. In fact the local papers erroneously stated that the youth, Mike Thornhill, lived in "the patch" at the time of his death which was not true - although his family(mom and him) had previously - thus the kids were even alienated from that connection to a dead neighbour who'd teach the local youths guitar. So we added the
Mike Thornhill Friendship Award to be given to the kid most valuable to his or her community and who usually forms the team - showing leadership in doing so.
The event encourages youths 12 - 18 to form their own Road hockey teams, enter free and they are fed on the day too with a trophy given the winning team in addition to the award nominees received.At any rate the
March break ending
Saturday event grew and 10 years later it continues to act as an opportunity for kids to play an organized team tourney alongside their peers with community and team pride...and its all still free.
So with this in mind I wrote a script that included a kid from back when I was a kid and when road hockey was everything to kids and then jump it to the present at the end to connect the dots and show how the tradition continues to build esteem and friendships and now even language / culture barriers for newcomer kids to Canada and as a way to learn about (and ultimately love)the national game of hockey.
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| "Billy" in Shoots, Scores |
I took situations from real life experiences, including my own and others', to ensure an authentic storyline, and combined them to tell it in such a way as to leave it somewhat open to interpretation. For example there is a hospital scene but I don't explain why..it could be from mental health or an overdose or maybe he was busted?...the storyline leads you there but leaves a gap of time where the viewer is forced to use conjecture.
It was sophisticated audience so I was trying to tailor something that included this forcing possible choices from their own experiences with students to become their subconscious conjectured reason. They were literally educators attending the
Quest for Youth 3 day forum - so to perhaps think of a particular student or situation where the student appeared uncaring or unresponsive or "changed" from good student to bad was a goal. The hope is/was to have teachers care enough to look for possible underlying issues and then reach out somehow - and in cases where income may be part of an issue and transportation a community "program" like the road hockey tourney fits in as it encourages teams to practice etc leading up to it as well all the while they are active and learning life coping skills..just don't know it!
Filming - or technically video taping -
Shoots, Scores was a unique experience. I had to act as Writer, Locations Manager, D.O.P., Camera Operator, Director, Actor, Co-Editor, Voice-over - including both a man and woman arguing!) and lighting even! Oh and had to pull it all together with actors, locations etc in 2 weeks!
My first script was very good I thought, but off topic a bit, and then it was suggested I include the annual road hockey event and away it went. I wrote it in one night. It's not great, but it's good and I took particular care in making sure the actors came off o.k., as none really had experience on camera - and some no acting experience at all!
Several of the young actors chosen actually have afflictions that can sometimes lead to marginalization, and later in life sometimes to despair or even homelessness, and I encompassed this by having a real life experiences poet, David Rogers Author of
The Dark Road a book of poetry, read his poem
Lessons Learned, at mid point of the movie. For Quest purposes David read it live onstage. but I've captured a reading by him on video too.
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| Author Dave Rogers rehearses reading for Quest Producer |
Those afflictions
for some of the kids I worked with on
Shoots, Scores had included A.D.D.,
Aspergers Syndrome, one a multitude of mental health ailments and others no "issues" at all, but I took it as a personal challenge to ensure you can't tell who's who and think I pulled it off. Or rather they did. The kids didn't need any prodding just direction and trust and then their talent took over! And just like the road hockey event they "played" side by side with everyone / peers with no special labels.
All inclusive without pandering, in fact I'd argue ultimately enhancing Shoots Scores not only as an onscreen product but fitting the theme so much more so than anyone knew!
After the 1st day of filming actually one of the mothers came up to me and said I was doing a great job and that she was surprised how much I was getting out of her son. He has Asperger's she'd said, and I remember thinking about that and replying,
"No I didn't. I don't care what he has. He's doing a good job regardless. He's listening to direction and I've not been treating him any differently really."
I did notice his eye-line tended to sway at times but so what, like any actor's might, I adjusted by breaking the script lines down into smaller stretches and then spliced them all together at the end! I knew they'd be surprised when they saw the final product at the
Quest for Youth Showing, and know they were happy, at least witnessed by the big hug I received after the showing, but I've now finished adding a few bells and whistles to it and look forward to getting copies out to all those parents of the kids who participated and for it airing in the new year on Rogers Tv..
Congrats to all who were involved and I hope you all learned a little bit about film making - if not about life itself!
TP Out!
Here's some words from a participant's parent who made the experience all worth doing......
