Artful Impact: Bridging Communities through Movement and Theatre

 

Q: Please tell me little bit more about yourself, where you're from, what you studied, anything you want people to know:

A: I’m Libby Wellington, a current Bond Street Intern and Program Facilitator. I am a 24 year old graduate student studying Public Policy at NYU and lifelong dancer. Although I am currently based in Brooklyn, I grew up in South Salem, NY, as one of three daughters to my Mother and Father. My parents were never artists or makers themselves but loving patrons of the arts who instilled that love in me and my sisters early on in our lives. The tots ballet class my parents put me quickly bloomed in dance classes everyday, theatre on weekends, and countless performances with my sisters. Growing up, arts spaces are where I found community and they were an integral way my family connected. However, it was not until I arrived at college did I start to understand dance, theatre, or performance in general as a means to a larger good. At Bates college I studied both dance and politics and was not only able to but encouraged to explore the ways these two areas served as lenses to better understand the other. It was during this time that I solidified that fact that I didn’t want to be a performer but wanted the arts - performance specifically- to be the method through which I leave an impact on the world - public, social, or political. 

After graduating and several random jobs later, I found myself at NYU Wagner as a public policy and nonprofit administration student focusing on social advocacy and political organizing. I went into this degree with the goal of developing methods through which the arts can act as policy development and implementation tools. In my quest to find opportunities to gain experience and learn from those who are doing this work I found Bond Street - an organization that has been relying on theatre and performance to discuss social issues, resolve conflict, and spark conversations since the 80’s. Since starting my internship at BST in late May of this year, I have been welcomed into the BST family and had the opportunity to try my hand at so many different tasks. From witnessing the grant writing process, helping with the creation of projects final reports, fundraising brainstorms, issue research, and writing problem statements, to the development of a program I helped see get off the ground. 

My summer with BST has solidified my desire to continue this line of work both in my studies and post graduation this coming spring. I am looking forward to staying connected with BST this fall as I work with Women for Afghan Women and help facilitate their seniors program!

Q: How did this collaboration come to be? What led to you working with Women for Afghan Women in NYC? 

A: It was evident from the moment I started working with BST that Afghanistan and specifically Afghan women were pivotal to the organization's makeup and fed the soul of its founders Joanna and Michael. Early on in my internship, I learned of how BST had to end their 20 year long work in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 as the Taliban took over and how the company worked that summer to support their in-country artists and partners. Although this work was necessary, I could tell that the organization missed creating with this community. In meeting former interns Maihan and Rukshar and hearing about their ideas for programing that could reach women and girls in Afghanistan virtually that never quite got going, I started to work on figuring out a way for BST to still engage with the Afghan community. Due much to Maihan and Rushar’s brainstorming and guidance, I was able to connect with Women for Afghan Women, an organization that supports Afghan Women both in Afghanistan and here in the states. I hoped they would want to collaborate on a NY based program as a way for BST to continue our connection and support of the Afghan community. Thankfully, they were interested and excited about the incorporation of physical theater and the arts into their seniors program. Throughout the summer I have been working on developing program sessions in which dance and theatre are used to help build community and spark joy among the senior community of Women for Afghan Women. 

Q: Why movement therapy? Why theatre? 

A: Dance and theatre have always served important but very different roles in my life. I grew up dancing everyday and loved the physicality of it. Growing up it was the best way to express myself, work through my own emotions, and develop a very deep sense of self. Once in college, I realized how being a dancer had fundamentally altered my perception and understanding of the world and how I function in it. I believe I owe dance, in part, my sense of empathy, my desire for community and connectedness, and my continued curiosity in how the body plays a role in our social, political, and cultural lives. 

Doing theatre never gave me this same feeling. I was alway shy when it came to singing on stage, and awkward when interacting in a scene with others. Performing this type of storytelling did not click for me in the same way. However, watching theatre, witnessing people in real time tell a story this way, always packed an emotional punch. As much as I loved the act of dancing I’ve loved watching theatre. Seeing stories be told in real time in the codified space of a theatre has made me a more hopeful, emotional, and compassionate human. 

I have been lucky enough to experience both this doing and witnessing and understand how powerful a force both have been in my life. Performing as a way of communicating, understanding, and being in relationship with others has purpose and importance outside of the theatre and I hope workshops and training like the ones held by BST can help bring that purpose to manifest and it excites me to be a part of that process.