THEATRE BEHIND BARS
Jill Kooymans works with prisoners at two Ontario institutions
Jill Kooymans is an extraordinary young woman.
Her interests in theatre have taken her in many directions. Singer, actor, Starbucks server, she has developed a program for using theatre as a tool to help rehabilitate prisoners in two Ontario institutions.
Kooymans recently returned from England where she completed a master’s degree in Applied Theatre.
“I specialize in the criminal justice system,” she says. “I work in prisons in Ontario doing drama projects. The participants engage creatively, developing skills that help them work as a group.”
Kooymans is currently doing a Children’s Theatre project at Beaver Creek Institution in Gravenhurst.
“We are developing and writing an original children’s play that the men will perform for their families, along with some correctional officers. I called Gravenhurst and said, ‘Hi, I do theatre in prisons. What do you say?’ I put together a proposal and went in. I work with the men every week. They’re so engaged.
“I’m not at all nervous or worried. I was taught about establishing relationships, and getting respect at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England. These men are in prison for anything from robbery to murder. I just don’t ask. Some have been in there over 20 years.”
In collaboration with Theatre of the Beat, Kooymans is also working with a group of women at Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, who are doing a high school equivalency course, learning theatre skills and working toward putting on a show.
“I’m trying to find funding for what I’m doing,” Kooymans says. “In England this kind of project has been going on for decades. It’s new here.”
Growing up “between Bracebridge and Etobicoke,” Kooymans landed in dance class at the K&K Dance Dreamz School in Markham. “My sister danced, so I tagged along. When I was 12, I became involved in competitive dancing that took me all around southern Ontario, New York state and down to Myrtle Beach. It was stressful. I was bullied. It was all too much competition for a kid.
“I went into community theatre and I thought, ‘Hey I think I found my people.’ ”
Kooymans went to Toronto’s Randolph Academy where she was part of the youth company. She loved being part of a team doing a show.
“I love losing myself in a character in a show. You become part of a family.”
Kooymans says she went a little stir crazy while earning her bachelor of arts and science at McMaster University from 2010 to 2014.
“So, I auditioned for Hammer Theatre and I’ve done a number of shows with them, from “9 to 5” to “Little Women.”
Now she’s about to appear in “[title of show] The Musical” with the same company. “It’s unique,” she says. “When I was 14, I played the show’s soundtrack in a Tim Hortons while I had coffee. I loved it. It focuses on the mundane elements of creating theatre. It’s about relationships and friendships that can both hinder and help creative prospects. In many ways I’m playing myself. It’s a four-person show and there’s a lot of relating to the audience. It’s a bit crass but it’s also hilarious. It’s about being drawn to work in theatre, even when you’ve got to make a living doing something else.”
Kooymans laughs. “It’s about surviving, I guess. I’ve spent over a year and a half at Starbucks. I make a mean latte.”