Regent Park Focus

I guess Ryan Cunningham is a big fan of Regent Park Focus as much as we are a fan of him because he came in again! It was amazing to see him come in and spend some more time with us in our studio to discuss the Native Earth Performing Arts. This time around, one of our youths from Council Fire Native Cultural Centre interviewed him in front of the camera and discussed topics surrounding Arts and Culture in the Indigenous community. The youth had to step up their game, in relation to their interviewing skills and stay focused and precise in their questions while still keeping a smile on their face, which wasn't hard to do since Ryan was a great delight to be around. The youth had more opportunity in front and behind the camera and it showed that night in their actions. Even though there were some snags in between shots, about the next line, how we are going to go about questioning Ryan and how to focus the camera on our host and guest. They pulled through and made it a great night ...

Prior to the filming, the girls interviewed their families and friends about their experiences as first-generation immigrants. Most of the girls were born in Canada. Some came at an early age and can barely remember their first day in this new country. Therefore, getting to know how people feel when they first arrived, what motivated them to start a new life here and the difficulties they encountered would enable the girls to look at things from a different perspective. For the first part of the show, we created a short "draw my life" video on the story of the first-generation immigrants in Canada. The girls then discussed some of their findings from the interviewing process. It was the first time they filmed a TV show in the studio, and they were very excited. We hope that you will like it! By: Dan Cai

This past week we had the opportunity to have Ryan Cunningham from Native Earth Performing Arts theatre company come in and visit our site.  Ryan is Metis (Cree/Scottish) from Edmonton, Alberta; the co-founder and Artistic Manager of Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts and the co-curator/producer of the RUBABOO Arts festival.  Being a part of many other titles to his name as well as many theatre, TV and big screen productions such as "Blackstone" and "Blue Murder" he still has the time to be a part of our very own production concerning Indigenous youth. The youth from Council Fire had the chance to talk to Ryan about his role in the theater company as well as what native earth was all about. The youth also created and asked him their own questions as to how he sees the Indigenous community in the performing arts her in Canada. They got the idea as to how they can be a part of the performing community and the steps they could take after high school going on to Colle...

Last week Jeff Kugler, one of the original founders of Model Schools came into Regent Park Focus to discuss the program with our youth on our Catch Da Flava Radio show.  Model schools in Toronto are those that receive extra funding to help their students (who are often of lower economic status) receive the same opportunities and social supports as more fortunate children.  The schools are determined by the Learning Opportunities Index which rank schools depending on the socioeconomic need of the community.  Model Schools initiative for Inner Cities ensures that students in the inner city will grow up with all the positive choices and opportunities they need to thrive. Through focusing on the needs of the child and by working together with students, families, community and governments; Model schools help make a difference to battle challenges like poverty and language barriers that affect a students outcome in school and life.  Our youth greatly enjoyed the opportuni...

Regent Park Focus welcomed Toronto city councilor Kristyn Wong-Tam to our studio. We interviewed Kristyn about her experiences in politics, her career inspirations and how she copes with difficulties in life. Our host Maeashah had an interactive conversation with Kristyn and asked for her advice to young women who come from diverse cultural backgrounds and are interested in becoming politically involved. We really appreciate Kristyn for sharing her stories, and hope that our audience would gain something helpful from watching the upcoming show! By: Dan Cai

The Diva's Media Group is an all-girls group that meets up every Friday at 5pm - 6:30pm. This past Friday I  had the opportunity to meet the girls for the first time.  I am a George Brown student who is doing my placement at Focus on youth media arts center. I loved being able to interact with the girls, who have both amazing personalities and amazing opinions. We started with an introduction. Then we went onto play some interactive games. One of the games consisted of having the girls draw a picture in 5 minutes that depicted their personalities and themselves without the use of words. We then took turns guessing who drew what. Later we went on to have a discussion about some ideas and concepts for the 3 shows the girls will be producing for Girls Talk.  Afterwards we discussed fundraising opportunities to help the girls raise funds for the divas group itself. We ended with a spirited game of two truths one lie in which we got to bond further and continue the process o...

Morgan Baskin, a high school student and active community volunteer, weighs in on lobbying for youth involvement at City Hall. After a long soliciting time, finally last week, we had her as a guest at Focus. Both on radio show and Tv show , she showed her well formed and clear thoughts on city's affairs. She described her experience through this journey. We learned that coming to mayoral candidacy, it was her own decision. And that took many people in surprise. Being too young, inexperienced in politics, she knew from the outset that she wouldn't had any chance to win the mayoral election. But what's is so encouraging is that she wanted to get youth voice being heard, weighed, measured, and considered seriously.  She believed that  her goals have been well achieved through this unexpected experience. Thanks,   Mori Teacher Candidate at Focus

Today we filmed our first Girls Talk show in the studio. Prior to the filming, the girls interviewed their families and friends about their experiences as first-generation immigrants. Most of the girls were born in Canada. Some came at an early age and can barely remember their first day in this new country. Therefore, getting to know how people feel when they first arrived, what motivated them to start a new life here and the difficulties they encountered would enable the girls to look at things from a different perspective. For the first part of the show, we created a short "draw my life" video on the story of the first-generation immigrants in Canada. The girls then discussed some of their findings from the interviewing process. It was the first time they filmed a TV show in the studio, and they were very excited. We hope that you would like it and the other two winter shows that are coming up on RPTV! By: Dan Cai

Over the past few months, a group of youth with RPTV have been meeting every Wednesday evening on the creation of a three-part mini series called "Samira's Choice."  The mini series is set in modern day Regent Park and we hope to accurately represent the issues and current events facing the community.   Samira’s Choice centres around our main character, Samira, who faces conflicts growing up in Canada and attempting to appease her parents and culture.  The process of trying to bring this script to life has been an interesting and new experience for many of our participants.  We have learned that script writing is a lengthy and detailed process.  We have a diverse and fun group of people:  Some high school students, University students from Ryerson media arts program, York Bed program and even middle school students.  Our diverse backgrounds contribute to eclectic and thought-provoking Wednesday e...