Connecting Theater to Life

At Project Success, we understand not only the importance of connecting students to their purpose, but also of connecting students to themselves, with their peers, and to the world.  Theater education has an impact across all grade levels and diverse student populations. Its numerous benefits include helping students improve peer relationships, develop a strong sense of self, and better understand the world and their place within it.  To set students up for a successful future, we bring the Arts to students through our theater experience program because building up our students from within is a priority for Project Success. 

Theater Curriculum Workshop 

Our theater experience program starts by preparing a theater workshop before students are scheduled to see a live performance.  Our Theater Curriculum Associate, Khary Jackson, creates a workshop that gives students the necessary tools to relate the theater performance to their lives and provides an interactive discussion surrounding the major themes or issues within the performance. This high-level prep work prepares students to see the performance and be able to fully immerse themselves without the confusion that a first-time viewer may have.  

Depending on the complexity of the performance, Project Success may do a follow-up discussion to unpack the performance with the students to help them process the performance on a deeper level. For example, the performance of Sally & Tom at the Guthrie required a deeper discussion to understand the complexity surrounding our history of slavery, race, and power. The discussion helped students to explore questions like whose history is the truth? And whose story gets to be written in history?  

“Through the power of theater, students can experience a life different from their own,” says Khary. “By stepping into the character’s shoes and contemplating their choices, students can reflect on their own choices. With discussion questions and classroom activities, we encourage students to become active participants and use their stories to help them explore their understanding of what happened in the performance while reflecting on similarities to their own lives.” 

– KHARY JACKSON, THEATER CURRICULUM ASSOCIATE

Theater Education Benefits 

Theater enables students’ minds to be opened to new possibilities that can stoke their imaginations to discover new thoughts, emotions, and to challenge perceptions of the world.  At PS, we know that theater can be more than mere entertainment and can serve as a medium for insight and self-reflection. Theater is a uniquely accessible learning environment that can immerse and be open to all ages and demographics. It can provide a safe and supportive space for students to be vulnerable while navigating challenging social scenarios, developing a strong sense of self, and broadening their view of the world.   

Building Connections 

Connecting students to their purpose is our mission, but to do this we first must investigate how students can connect with themselves, their peers, and ultimately, their place within the world. Our theater workshops help students connect to a deeper sense of self by reflecting on difficult questions the performances bring up and how those issues arise in their own daily lives. At Project Success, we start building our students up from within to give them the confidence to seek out their purpose in the world and find what makes them spark. 

Free Theater Experiences 

All theater experiences are free for students and their families. We work to remove barriers that prevent anyone from attending because we believe in providing an inclusive theater experience for all – which is why transportation and childcare services are provided. If you need any of these services, please inquire upon registering and we will do our best to accommodate you. Click here to see all upcoming theater experiences. 

Theater workshops so far this year…