School & Community Residencies

The Residency Process

Our goal in conducting a residency is to lead participants to a new understanding of the origin and history of their community, neighborhood and family. We accomplish this goal by gathering oral histories and stories about a particular place, and then directing the creation of short plays based on local incidents and/or personalities. A residency might include:

A series of performances in various locations around the community, such as schools, senior citizen centers, or factory lunchrooms. These performances might generate interest in a final public performance, or serve to reach individuals who wouldn't normally attend arts events.

Lecture/demonstrations in association with performances to talk about and/or demonstrate our play creation process.

Work with a small group of students or community members over one or two weeks, collecting oral histories and stories in a community, creating short plays and staging a final public performance of these new plays.

We can design a schedule to suit the needs of an individual sponsor using any or all of the above ideas, and can tailor the program to emphasize literature, folklore, or theater skills.

View the Recent School Residency at Mills Lawn Elementary, Yellow Springs, OH

For more information about School & Communities Residencies, contact:
Margaret Piatt, Executive Director
(937) 844-3902