Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

Girl Be Heard T&T (GBHTT) will hold its first open auditions on December 10 at the Little Carib Theatre from 3 pm to 6 pm. The auditions are open to girls from ages ranging from 13 to 18. Birthed in partnership with the U.S. State Department through the Embassy in Port of Spain and the 2 Cents Movement, Girl Be Heard T&T empowers teenage girls through theatre-making, spoken word, and song.
Girl Be Heard began in New York City. After touring eight countries, Girl Be Heard received overwhelming support from partners, and community members expressed great interest in providing the same community-based programmes provided for young women in and around New York City, to those abroad. In October 2016, Girl Be Heard received a grant from the U.S. State Department through the Embassy of T&T and the Oak Foundation to establish a GBH program outside the United States. A group of 15 girls auditioned and were chosen to be the first cohort to go through GBHTT’s girl empowerment program at Bishop’s Centenary College (BCC), which launched in January 2017.
The programme ran for three years at BCC, with some participants taking part in all three cohorts.  GBHTT Programme Manager and BCC Vice-Principal Akai Mendez-Webster said the programme had a positive effect on the girls who were chosen. “The girls from the last cohorts have become artists themselves. They are assertive; they can stand in front of any crowd and perform. They are more conscious of today’s social issues, and gender-based violence and gender identity are close to their hearts. Shenelle Vincent from the first cohort received an open Scholarship. The 2019 cohort are Centenary’s storytellers, writers, singers and actors.”
The auditions are open to girls aged 13 to 18 from any school. Following the dissolution of the GBHTT’s Board, the company BE Entertainment was formed. Mendez-Webster said this allowed the programme to reach out not only to Bishop’s Centenary College students but students and young girls from other schools and communities. In addition to Mendez-Webster, the teaching artists are two teachers from Bishop’s Centenary, Veronique Francis and Nyol Manswell. We continue to have the support of the US Embassy with the new Deputy Public Affairs officer Naureen Nalia, and the Girl Be Heard team, now headed by Chiwoniso Kaitano.”
Based on her experiences with the previous cohorts, Mendez-Webster said participants in the 2020 cohort will reap great benefits. “The experience will be very similar to the last cohorts, with meetings on a Friday afternoon, where the teaching artists will create a safe place for the girls and help them to develop their skill with social issues in mind. Lesson plans are being drafted as we speak. They will get an opportunity to be trained, a safe place to express themselves and an opportunity to amplify their voices through two large shows at Central Bank and the Little Carib Theatre. They will also become part of the US network of other girls like themselves, and be trained to train others.”
For further information and to sign up, email beentertainmentt@gmail.com andcall or Whatsapp 678-0907 and 689-2642.