by Ben Gierhart on August 14, 2024

Unity in Art with UNIVERSES

Part of our "Community Response" series

By Mars Murphy

Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to participate in Actors Theatre and UNIVERSES’ New Voices summer intensive. I got to meet every day for two weeks with people my age and write and perform. The adults led us in activities to get our creative juices flowing. During the first week, we usually wrote a piece every day. These prompts were generally very open and loose, and we were able to have a lot of creative freedom. The second week was focused more on performance. They split us up into groups of three and had us combine our written pieces and perform a small sketch from all of them.

I’ve always loved writing, but I’ve never shared a space with so many people who love it with the same intensity as I do. There is so much community in that space, you feel like you can really open yourself up to the other people there because you can be vulnerable. Writing is vulnerability. Art is vulnerability. I’ve held this belief for a while now that art often requires pain. Some who make good art have been through so much pain. The amount of art that is about pain is just a testament to that. The camaraderie of that, knowing that everyone in the room has been through pain. Whether physical, mental, or emotional—pain unites. In my experience, artists make friends with other artists because we are often united in the pain that comes before art.

The 2024 Bilingual Summer Intensive with UNIVERSES cohort. Photo Credit: Ben Gierhart

I’ve been involved with theatre before, but I have never been in a show quite like this one. It was spectacular to be a part of such a great cast. It’s always fun to play a character and to escape your own life, but to play yourself is something else entirely. To be able to tell your own story in your own voice—but to also be part of the stories of others—is a feeling so deeply beautiful. It is ineffable.

I absolutely adored my time at Actors Theatre and UNIVERSES’ New Voices summer intensive. I improved my writing, acting, and communication skills during those two weeks. It was both challenging and rewarding to work with people my age and combine our writing into a unified performance. The adults who worked with us were phenomenal mentors and leaders. They led us down unexpected paths through activities which helped us to come out of our shells and work together better as an ensemble. Being in this group was such a treat. I believe that I am a better person after having done this workshop. I made deep connections with my peers and would, without a doubt, do this again.

Mars Murphy participated in the 2024 Bilingual Summer Intensive with UNIVERSES and is a student at Assumption High School.