Frigid Festival Previews

Recess

Author: Una Aya Osato

During the wake of one of my closest friends, her 5-year-old daughter stood up and said: "It's ok to cry everyone, crying's ok, but it's not gonna change nothing, it's not gonna bring my mommy back."  Moved beyond tears, this got me thinking about the insight children have that we, as adults, usually fail to notice.  Young people's perspectives of the world, so often filled with compassion and different ways of understanding, are often readily written off.  This experience was the seed that grew into my one-woman show Recess.  

Having grown up attending New York City public schools and then teaching in them for several years, I have been witnessing first hand what is happening to many of our youth.  As products of "No Child Left Behind" we are telling children that their role is to listen and do well on tests; essentially to just be seen and not heard; rather than actively developing their minds and persons in order to critically participate in the world around them.  My concerns about the education system compelled me to act.  I see Recess as one mean of shedding light to these issues. Recess is an attempt to give voices to those we rarely take seriously. The show deals with how our actions as an American society affect our children and their future tomorrow. Recess examines the ways in which the violence that is occurring in the world (continuing wars; police brutality; families who are being split apart because of ICE raids; workers loosing their jobs, racism, etc) ends up affecting kids, how they see themselves and how they treat one another.

What to expect from this show: Kids. Teachers. Fun. Fast pace. All over the place. Happy times. Sad times. Silly times. Difficult questions. Imagination. (Everything a good recess has... hope to see you there!)

Una Aya Osato, writer/performer