Jump-TT at Big Black Box

JUMP-TT, a project using parkour and physical theatre as an aesthetic to tell the stories of young people transitioning from childhood to adulthood, opens tomorrow.

But what is parkour and what is Jump-TT?

Newsday spoke with director Wendell Manwarren on the project earlier this week.

Asked to explain parkour, Manwarren said it is “a form of movement that was developed in the French ghettos back in the 70s/80s and like the immigrants who settled on the outskirts of Paris, they started developing this form of moving through space, through objects, as seen in ads and movie sequences, where people jump from one roof to the next and tumble down, etc. So most people think of it in those extreme forms. But it is really about navigating obstacles creatively.”

He said parkour was developed as a “metaphor” to help people navigate obstacles in their life and in 2014, the National Theatre of Scotland decided to create a project using it and the “hero journey,” a standard plotline in literature and film, to work with young men in schools in Glasgow. It was very successful and was then tried in Jamaica in 2014. Then they produced a film, Run Free, which premiered at the TT Film Festival (TTFF) this year.

Manwarren said some time last year he and his team were approached to do the TT version of the project – hence Jump-TT.

He emphasised: “Parkour is the vehicle that allows the youths to move, and the hero journey is the heart of the project.”

The National Theatre of Scotland is very much involved, since one of the co-creators of the project Simon Sharkey, came to TT last year and in conjunction with the British Council’s Annalee Davis at that time, they approached Manwarren to get involved. He is directing the project, with a script written by Muhammad Muwakil, choreographed by Sonja Dumas; the parkour instructor is Jermold Compton and original music is by Keshav Chandradathsingh.

The team also includes Sharkey, co-creator of the Jump programme and co-director of the National Theatre of Scotland; project consultant, Christopher Grant, an nternational parkour specialist who designed a bespoke version of the programme for TT and co-created the show; and producer Roger Roberts for cut + clear productions. It’s being produced in association with the National Theatre of Scotland and supported by the British Council.

What exactly is Jump-TT about?

Manwarren said the story is that the hero gets a call one day and when he answers it he begins his adventure/journey, and meets the mentor who helps him discover powers that he didn’t know he had. He has to cross the threshold from the ordinary world into the next, extraordinary world, and is tested when he meets allies, trickster and all kinds of obstacles along the way. At some point he might meet his nemesis, or greatest fear, then gets into a big battle and dies – but he doesn’t really. He is reborn as the new hero and starts with new powers.

“It is a mythological journey that everybody has to go through at some point in their life,” explained Manwarren. “This project was designed to help young people in crisis situations, to help discover whatever their powers are and give them skills to deal with whatever challenges they may face and eventually embark on their own success.”

The project began last year, when Manwarren and his team ran a number of workshops to which they invited a lot of people.

“We worked with all kinds of different communities and the police youth clubs at some point, just to find the right mix of people.

“The vast majority of the group comes from the Tallman Foundation, and recently we had additions from the Milat programme run by the TTDF.”

In the last two years, since the Jump-TT team was first approached, they have worked on the project for three months all told, including the last six weeks, which have been spent gearing towards this weekend’s showcase.

Questioned as to the reasons for this project, Manwarren responded: “I remember reading a long time ago the World Health Organization saying one of the biggest problems we face by 2020 was the breakdown in mental health globally, and anybody who is living here knows that TT is getting crazier. One of things I have been observing, working with young people for a long time, is that a lot of them don’t seem to have the kind of resilience that the older generation had. So it is a timely project.”

Manwarren feels the project is going to have an impact on society since the idea of working with a small core group is already producing results.

Some 22 people ages 16-26 are involved in the project.

Manwarren said: “We have already seen a transformation in them, and they can now be leaders in their own communities. The ultimate goal is that we want to give people the tools and the opportunity to challenge their growth, develop their resilience to deal with any difficulties and to claim their power.

“We have the power to choose, and when you are aware of your power, you can decide what you want to do in your best interest. I thing the impact of this project is multifold and...can benefit the whole society, and not just the young people.”

Manwarren is hopeful that Jump-TT will continue. His team has put things in place to document it and after tomorrow’s showcase they will be working towards cutting a film to present at TTFF next year, to help tell the story to a bigger audience.

Manwarren concluded: “I am very happy to be working with this particular bunch of young people in such an in-depth manner because they are really getting into their own stories. We want youths to speak their mind and it is hoped they will join the #MeToo movement. I am happy that they are brave enough to do that and I’m happy that the process was strong enough to pull that out of them and to share it in a safe way.

“The programme is explosive, thrilling, invigorating, original and compelling in its form of storytelling, physical theatre and dance.”

Jump-TT will be showcased in a one-off show

tomorrow at the Big Black Box on Murray Street, Woodbrook, starting at 7 pm.