making faces
is a non-profit organization that helps children with facial differences.
We provide workshops that teach acting skills and improvisational
games to both build confidence and develop important life skills.
The children practice eye contact, voice projection, public speaking
and creative storytelling and are encouraged to use their voices
and express themselves in a fun, creative and safe environment.
The games build their confidence and make them feel good about who
they are and what they can achieve.
The workshops also offer the opportunity for children
to meet other children with facial differences and provide a safe,
caring environment where they can discuss differences, teasing and
related issues. Michael Williams-Stark, the workshop instructor,
was himself born with a severe cleft lip and palate. During the
workshops he shows the children a photograph of himself as a child,
"then I see the acceptance, their sense that I am one of them"
says Michael. At one picture-sharing session, a little girl put
her head on Michael's shoulder and said, "So you understand."
"They know I've walked in their shoes and taken the same journey.
If I can achieve my dreams, so can they. I want to inspire and nurture
those dreams."
Michael used his experience of growing up with
a facial difference and then becoming an award winning actor and
musician to create a series of improv classes, specifically designed
for children with facial differences. These workshops were extensively
tested at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, with great
success. Michael has also provided workshops at the Children’s
Rehabilitation Centre in Windsor and at AboutFace.
Objectives
of the Program:
- To build confidence and self-esteem
- To improve communication skills and encourage self-expression
- To teach basic "acting skills" that are also "life
skills", such as: eye contact , voice projection, public
speaking and creative storytelling
- To create an accepting and caring environment
- To provide the opportunity to discuss differences, teasing
and related issues
- To have fun and be creative
- To help kids discover their own strengths
- To inspire kids to follow their dreams
Skills
the program builds on:
- Communication
- Public speaking
- Eye contact and trust
- Body language
- Creativity
- Cooperation and teamwork
- Flexibility
- Decision-making
- Relaxation
- Memory
- Self-confidence
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