Mackenzie Dickson

As summer approaches I feel a certain pull that I first experienced over a decade ago. It began as a gravitation, but to what I was unsure. While most individuals my age were excited about the prospects of warming weather and the end of the education season, I knew I felt something more. It wasn’t the sense of freedom that comes from being released, but a pull to the belonging of a greater group. For me, the beginning of summer has equated with The Haven for over a decade – over half my life.

The first time I came to The Haven, I was eight years old; I still remember the overwhelming feeling of serenity I experienced upon arrival. This summer will be the eleventh year I have visited The Haven, and I look forward to the sensation once more.

For ten consecutive summers I have participated in Denise Goldbeck’s program Kids in the Spotlight, formerly Dance and Games for Kids. On the first night of the program, about twenty participants and their families arrive at The Haven. Over the course of the next four days these 20 children – ranging in age from three to 13 – mount a unique production to be performed for an audience of family members and resort guests on the evening of the fifth day. Along with the help of the skilled Youth Interns – participants who have progressed through Kids in the Spotlight, ranging upwards from age 13 – and Denise – the program leader – the group is able to create their own version of a popular musical. As participants use their creativity by designing props and posters, their imaginations by thinking up new ideas to add into the production, and their bodies by playing games and choreographing dances, they also use their minds to learn about their own process and where they fit in the developmental spectrum. The program structure is conducive to this, as the large age range of participants and supporting Youth Interns allows each individual to learn from those both older and younger than them and in turn help and be helped.

When people first hear about the program, they sometimes think of it simply as a children’s theatre camp, but it so much more. It is the actions the children take during the program, not how they perform on the night of the show, that matter.

During my time as a participant in the program I was able to see transformations taking place around me. I was able to see children learning to be independent, learning to be dependent, learning to care, and learning to communicate. When I was just twelve years old I took on my lead role in one of productions. In most aspects of theatre, the lead role implies that you are the main character and have the most limelight in the production. In Kids in the Spotlight, this description barely scratches the surface of the true lead. To become the lead of the production you don’t necessarily have to be the lead character, but you must be the leader of the group. In just five days, I was able to get to know each participant and understand who they were and why they were at The Haven. I was able to teach something to each one of them and learn something in return. I was able to share my ideas with them and receive even more innovative thoughts from them. A sense of community was created as the participants bonded together and looked to the lead for support. As we progressed through the program, everyone began to feel a sense of awe at our connectedness.

But no mistake, things were not quite so serene physically. We were all rushing around trying to mount a show in just five days! But the hectic chaos is what allows participants to lower their walls and express themselves. As we drew closer to the show night, participants would come to me with their worries and I would share mine and we worked them through together. Minutes before the start of the show I remember one of the younger children becoming nervous. As the lead, I took on the responsibility of comforting them and encouraging them. To my surprise, all the other participants came around the child and me, and as a collective we were able to reassure the participant and everyone became excited once more.

As Denise finished introducing the show, I stepped on stage. The lights were momentarily blinding, in classic dramatic fashion, but I wasn’t afraid of the audience. I wasn’t nervous at all. All I could feel was a sense of pride that we, a group of 20 children, were able to do this.

Words cannot come close to adequately describing the experience of connectedness I felt with each of the participants. I knew that this was the way life should be: connected. I also knew that others should share in this experience. At this time, the Kids in the Spotlight program was not as developed as it is today. There were only a couple of “Junior Leaders”, former participants who were still dedicated to the program and still came to The Haven to help out. After experiencing being the lead, I understood why these participants stuck around. The following year I joined their ranks and became a Junior Leader.

It is now six years later and a full-fledged Youth Intern Program has been established. The Youth Intern Program allows participants who have gone through the Kids in the Spotlight program to continue to learn about themselves and others and to teach others to do the same. I continue to participate in this program for a multitude of reasons. First, I want to reunite with all the participants and other Youth Interns to see how they have progressed throughout the year, I know I have made bonds that will last with them my whole life. Second, I want to teach participants – and Youth Interns – to become leaders and effective communicators in the program who are able to teach these things to others in the group. Third, I want to help the participants and Youth Interns to be leaders in their everyday lives and to feel a sense of connection wherever they go. Now as the Senior Assistant and right hand to the course leader Denise Goldbeck, I am able to do this. I have learned that the sense of connection does not come easy to many people, but with the Youth Intern Program, I have been given the opportunity to teach others about communicating and leading and have helped many Youth Interns create connections with each other and the participants. With the help of The Haven, these young people will be able to experience further leadership training in the Youth Intern Workshop and are becoming more confident and more skilful in all kinds of situations thanks to the Kids in the Spotlight program.

While the benefits of the Youth Interns Program to the Youth Interns are limitless, there are clear benefits to the participants in the program as well. With more Youth Interns, more children are allowed to come to each of the Kids in the Spotlight sessions that is run in the summer. When I first began coming to The Haven, there were only two sessions of Dance and Games for Kids lead by Denise and a team of either two or three more adults. Now there are five sessions of Kids in the Spotlight with a team of over 30 Youth Interns lead by Denise and myself. While formerly only about 40 children could attend the program each year, now about one hundred children can come through the program. Also with Youth Interns taking on more responsibilities Denise has been able to create a workshop for the participants’ parents called Window to Your Child which adds even more benefit to the whole program. Not only that, but a second program created by myself and Annika Raithby is in the works called Youth in the Spotlight – created by youth, for youth.

With the amazing progress that keeps happening with the Kids in the Spotlight program, this summer I hope to instil a sense of connection into each of the participants so that they will have that chance to experience the amazing feeling of the lead role and into each of the Youth Interns so they can become confident young leaders who can carry the program – or whatever they chose to do – further than anyone could imagine.

Mackenzie Dickson is 19 years old and beginning his third year of a Psychology degree at the University of British Columbia. He has been attending Kids in the Spotlight for 11 years and is now the coleader of the Kids in the Spotlight program.

Kids in the Spotlight