Silent Witness was started in August of 1997, as a way to teach youth excellence in the art of Mime, and allow an outlet for ministry for those youth. It was founded by Jonathan Bennett, with the administrative help of his then fianceé Nicole Roseberry. Nicole quickly became much more than administrative help, and their marriage the following June cemented her role as chief organizer, scheduler and help-mate to her husband.
For the next several years, the troupe maintained a steady membership of around 13. Performances were mainly at Mt. Zion, and although the technical skills of the members may not have been phenomenal, they were tight with their cues and performed well. When Jonathan and Nicole were able to travel to California to take part in a two week Mimeistry International workshop in the summer of 2000, they brought more technique to the pieces, and the skill level increased. Troupe membership eventually dwindled, however, as the members graduated and went to college, or became busy with jobs and other distractions of young adult life. When Jonathan and Nicole had their second child, Nicole decided she was no longer able to commit her time to rehearsals. Eventually, there were only five members left.
Far from being a sad time in troupe history however, this was a time of building leaders, and truly one of the times when the troupe had the highest quality both choreographically and technically. One of the five members (Joanna Adams) is currently attending Mimeistry (Now Innovo Physical Theatre)'s school of mime and two of the others (Stephanie and Kristina Powell) are currently co-leading, organizing, and scheduling the troupe.
In July of 2005, Mt Zion (our home church) held a youth camp called CYMA (Children and Youth in Ministry through the Arts). Twenty-five of the youth involved took part in the Mime elective, and 10 of them (between the ages of 10 and 13) joined the troupe afterwards. By the end of the following spring we were up to 18 members, and beginning to deal with size issues we had never had before. With each successive year CYMA has occurred we have continued to get some new members, as well as friends and siblings of other members.
Troupe membership reached 27 at one point, and we were able to put together "Freedom," a 40 minute performance encompassing the life of Christ, complete with a soundtrack and costumes. The choreography, costumes and backdrop curtains were all created by our own members and leaders. We have been blessed to be able to take Freedom on the road for two seasons, and give the younger members valuable experiences in flexibility on the road.
Troupe membership is currently around 25, we recently concluded our first week-long workshop put on by Joanna Adams, (now with Innovo Physical Theatre most of the time) and the energy level and excitement for the ministry and the art are wonderful to see.
