The Mosaic Theatre Company is a lot more than just a group of actors.
The members of the company go beyond performing to create their own work. They then use this work as a tool to bring about social change through community outreach.
The work they create is personal, stemming from the members’ own life experiences.
Kat McKenna, senior in theater, said that the company will pick moments from the lives of the company members and then build on those stories.
“Dr. Carr, the director, will give us some kind of prompt, like tell us about a time when you felt like discriminated against … or something like that, and we recreate the story and improvise," McKenna said." Kind of like the stuff you see on ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’ but not funny."
Mosaic Theatre Company’s cornerstone issue is diversity, and much of their work centers around discussing this issue.
This year, because of a grant that the artistic director Dr. Tessa Carr received, the group was able to travel around the state of Alabama, holding workshops in high schools, a Native American tribal council and in a juvenile delinquent center, amongst other places.
Members are also involved with charities like I Am My Brother’s Keeper, which aims to help at-risk and disadvantaged families by offering family and youth services designed to help participants thrive at home, at school and in the community.
Nora Brown, a senior in theater and a member of Mosaic Theatre Company, said that I Am My Brother’s Keeper is her favorite community service project she has participated in because of the insight that children offer into the issue of diversity.
“They have a lot to say about issues of diversity. People think … like, 'Oh, they don't know about this yet. This isn’t something that they have come in contact with,' but it’s something they come in contact with every day,” Brown said.
Each place the Mosaic Theatre Company visits, the members perform for an audience and then help guide audience members in creating their own performance pieces.
Tessa Carr, the artistic director, said that she believes the Mosaic Theater Company had a wonderful year getting to travel around Alabama to share their work and their message of diversity.
“We did a great deal of outreach work, and we also did performances for the Multicultural Center kick-offs, and most of our company has been involved with creating The Integration of Tuskegee High School play,” Carr said.
Brown encourages everyone, whether or not they are a theater major, to come try out for the group and get involved.
“This theater company will change your life. It will change the way you see the world. It will make you a more empathic, kind, caring person. Try out for it. Become a part of it. Give your whole heart to it, because it will give that and more back to you,” Brown said.
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