REPORT ON EDUCATION PROGRAMS July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019

Young Actors Summer Institute (YASI) 2018 Final Showcase

Overview Since the inception of Project Discovery (created with a 1966 grant from the NEA), Trinity Repertory Company has introduced more than 1.4 million students to the experience of live theater. We provide some of the best formal education and training programs in the country to students in grades K-12 from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, creating not only the next generation of theater audiences, but also the next generation of artists and creative thinkers. Our offerings continue with lifelong learning programs for adults.

Trinity Rep’s education programs serve thousands of students, teachers and adults from schools in RI, MA and CT each year. We provide access to professional live theater with student matinee performances of most of our mainstage productions and curricular, in-school programming. We also offer year-round, out-of-school programming in theater arts through the Young Actors Studio, a Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 2 variety of supplemental school-to-career activities for students of all ages, classes for adults, and professional development for teachers.

Providing a diverse range of programming, Trinity Rep’s education activities also include workshops and residencies in schools and community organizations, and school-to-career activities. TRAIN, the Trinity Rep Active Imagination Network, uses drama as a therapeutic and educational tool for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other cognitive and physical disabilities.

During the 2018-2019 season, Trinity Rep served more than 20,000 students, adults and teachers from 201 schools. All of our education programs operated at or near capacity for the funding period.

Education Program Participation Summary

ACTIVITY OCCURENCES ATTENDANCE

33 performances of Pride and Prejudice, A Christmas Carol, black 15,701 students and teachers Project Discovery odyssey, An Iliad, Macbeth, Little from 201 schools in RI, MA, and Student Matinees Shop of Horrors and Marisol; and CT MFA program touring Shakespeare

6,020 students participated in All invited, following every Post-show discussions discussions with cast, crew and performance staff

Project Discovery Plus 35 workshops for Macbeth 662 students from 15 schools Workshops

Teacher Previews One for each main stage show 145 teachers

More than 50 classes for grades 5-12; 9am-4:30pm M-F for 5 weeks in Young Actors Summer summer 2018; with extension weeks 195 students from RI and MA Institute for YASI Shakespeare, Junior, Players & Masters

Young Actors Studio Courses for students in grades K-12 School Year ranging from 6 weeks to full 2018-19 152 students from RI and MA Programming school year programming Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 3 1,304 students from Achievement First Mayoral Academy, Classical High School, Blackstone Academy, Boy Scouts of RI, Providence After School Alliance/Esek Hopkins Elementary School, Off-Site Residencies and Frequency and duration varied by Cole Middle School, Workshops location Providence Athenaeum, Rocky Hill School, Dighton-Rehoboth High School, School One, Norton Middle School, The Learning Center, Wheeler School, Moses Brown School, North Attleboro High School, St. Augustine Academy 575 students at Asa Messer, Creative Classrooms arts Carl Lauro, Frank Spaziano, and integration in throughout the school year Alan Shawn Feinstein at Broad elementary schools St. Elementary Schools

School-to-career internships, lectures, Approximately 1,000 students backstage tours, throughout the year from RI and MA outreach activities, career fairs, & workshops

850 students from Sargent Rehabilitation Center, The Autism Project, Seven Hills RI, Bradley Hospital adolescent inpatient unit, Bradley Hospital Intensive, long-term and short-term TRAIN: Trinity Rep Active Center for Autism and drama therapy workshops Imagination Network Developmental Disabilities, throughout the school year Bradley Center/Cranston, Bradley School/North, Portsmouth, New London Regional, South County and Providence; Brown University

327 students and teachers from North Providence High ArtsTalk throughout the year School, Toll Gate High School, Cranston East High School, Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex

Adult classes Variety of classes September - May 56 students from RI and MA

Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 4 PROJECT DISCOVERY AND PD PLUS

Project Discovery and Project Discovery Plus encompass our curricular-based programs for grades K- 12 that bring students and teachers to the theater, provide in-school workshops with teaching artists, and offer comprehensive study guides and post-show discussions with the actors and artists involved with the production.

Rachael Warren as Darcy and Rebecca Gibel as Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice

Project Discovery The 2018-19 season marked the 52nd season of Project Discovery, our pioneering educational outreach program, which has served more than 1.4 million children since its inception in 1966. Project Discovery activities center on the student matinees, which provide students and teachers with significantly reduced cost (and in cases of extreme need, complimentary) tickets to Trinity Rep mainstage productions. Every class attending a student matinee is offered the opportunity to enhance their theater learning experience with standards-based study guides for teachers that highlight themes of the play and suggest activities for integrating the play into the classroom experience. Students and teachers attending a Project Discovery matinee performance are also invited to stay after the production for an in-depth discussion and analysis of the play with actors, the artistic/production team, and staff members.

Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 5 Teachers, students, teaching artists, and parents all testify that Project Discovery and Project Discovery Plus increase students’ interest in the subject, their class participation, and their comprehension of the text.

Jude Sandy as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors

After seeing Little Shop of Horrors, a teacher wrote, “The students loved hearing all of the music and identifying the different genres, rock chords, Motown, and other influences and elements. The Providence students were thrilled to see the diversity of the cast and felt inspired to complete "reach" tasks as a result. They were enthralled, even those who are usually not engaged. Wonderful experience."

After black odyssey, teachers wrote: “Plays like this, that tackle so beautifully the realities of our country and world, are so needed. I loved how this play tied a 'classic' to the contemporary. It was important to see an entirely African American cast; the first we've ever seen.”

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The cast of Marcus Gardley’s black odyssey

“I really appreciated the opportunity to attend the talk back following the show. It's such a special experience for the kids to speak directly to these fantastic artists. After this show, especially, the actors were able to add a deeper level of understanding and empathy for my students that they are continuing to talk and ask about today. Thanks again for this opportunity!”

“This was hands-down the best performance we have seen at Trinity and this is our 7th trip. It took very difficult literature and broke it down in such a relatable way. This is the first year all of my students, and I mean ALL, said they loved the play.”

Project Discovery Attendance

ATTEND PLAY # MATINEES SCHOOLS ANCE 18 schools: Barrington Christian Academy, Barnstable High School, Classical High School, Dartmouth High School, Gilpin Homeschool, Middletown High School, North Smithfield High School, The Pennfield School, Providence Pride and Prejudice 849 by Jane Austen, 4 Career and Technical Academy, Putnam High School, adapted by Kate Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College, Rocky Hill Hamill School, Saint Philomena School, Saint Rose of Lima School, Somerset Berkley Regional High School, Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts, Westborough High School, Wheeler School Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 7 98 schools: Agnes Little Elementary School, Ahern Middle School, Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School of Coventry, Alfred Lima Elementary School, Asa Messer Elementary School, Barrington Middle School, Beacon Charter School for the Arts, Birchwood Middle School, Blackrock Elementary School, Block Island School, Bradley School - New London Regional, Brennan Middle School, Brooklyn Middle School, Burrillville Middle School, Carl Lauro Elementary School, Carver Middle High School, Chariho Middle School, Chester Barrows Elementary School, Clark Lane Middle School, Classical High School, Clayville Elementary School, Coelho Middle School, Community School, Community Solutions Inc., Davisville Academy, Davisville Middle School, D.L. Beckwith Middle School, Dr. E. A. Ricci Middle School, East Providence Senior High School, Edward S. Rhodes Elementary School, Exeter West Greenwich Jr. High School, Fogarty Memorial School, Forest Park Elementary School, Griswold Middle School, Holliman School, Hope High School, Hope Highlands Middle School, Hugh Cole School, Immaculate Conception Catholic Regional School, Jenness Home School, John F. Deering Middle School, Johnston Senior High School, Kent Heights Elementary School, La Salle Academy, Lillian Feinstein A Christmas Carol at Sackett Street School, Lincoln Central Elementary School, by Charles Lincoln Middle School, Millis Middle School, Miscoe Hill 16 9,504 Dickens, music by School, Myron J. Francis Elementary School, Narragansett Pier Middle School, North Attleboro Middle School, North Scituate Richard Cumming Elementary School, North Smithfield Middle School, Norwich Free Academy, Oakland Beach Elementary School, Oaklawn Elementary School, Orchard Farms, Our Lady of Mercy School, The Pennfield School, Portsmouth Middle School, Providence Autism School to Tomorrow Academy, Providence Country Day, Qualters Middle School, Quest Montessori School, Quidnessett Elementary School, Ragosta Homeschool, Riverside Middle School, Rockwell Elementary School, Roger Williams Middle School, St. Andrew's School, St. Augustine's School, St. Cecilia's School, St. Joseph School, St. Luke's School, St. Mary Academy Bay View, St. Rose of Lima, St. Thomas Regional School, San Miguel Academy, Scituate Middle School, Seekonk High School, Somerset Middle School, Steere Farm Elementary School, Stevens Homeschool, Swansea Wood School, Tiogue School, Vincent J. Gallagher Middle School, Warwick Veterans Middle School, Washington Oak School, West Bay Collaborative - RI Transition Academy, West Broadway Middle School, Westerly Middle School, Western Hills Middle School, Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, Wickford Middle School, William R. Dutemple Elementary School, Winman Junior High School, Woodridge Elementary School Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 8 15 schools: Barrington Christian Academy, Central High School, Dartmouth High School, Moses Brown School, Norton Middle School, Norwich Free Academy, Providence black odyssey by 3 Career and Technical Academy, Rocky Hill School, Roger 721 Marcus Gardley Williams Middle School, Rogers High School, Sophia Academy, Tierney Homeschool, Village Green Charter School, Wheeler School

An Iliad by Lisa 5 schools: Apponequet Regional High School, Feinstein Middle School of Coventry, The Pennfield School, Peterson and 1 Rutherford Homeschool, Tierney Homeschool 200 Denis O’Hare Brant 37 schools: Bishop Feehan High School, Central High School, Classical High School, Dartmouth High School, Dighton Rehoboth Regional High School, East Providence High School, Exeter-West Greenwich High, Holy Name High School, Hopedale Jr. Sr. High School, La Salle Academy, Lincoln School, The Literacy Center, Martha's Vineyard Macbeth by William Regional High School, Middletown High School, Moses Shakespeare 6 Brown School, Newport Public School, North Smithfield 2,523 High School, Our Sister's School, Pennfield School, Providence Career and Technical Academy, Putnam High School, Rocky Hill School, Rogers High School, Rutherford Homeschool, St. Patrick Academy, St. Peter School, School One, Segue Institute for Learning, Smith Homeschool, Somerset Berkley Regional High School, Tierney Homeschool, Toll Gate High School, Village Green Charter School, West Bay Christian Academy, Wheeler School, Woodside Montessori Academy 17 schools: Central High School, St. Raphael Academy, Barnstable High School, Thurston Middle School, Dighton- Little Shop of Rehoboth Regional High School, Barrington High School, Horrors by Howard The Grace School, LaSalle Academy, Somerset Berkley 2 1024 Ashman and Alan Regional High School, West Bay Collaborative - RI Transition Menken Academy, The Met School, Rutherford Homeschool, Lincoln School, PASA (Esek Hopkins, Roger Williams, Del Sesto, Nathan Bishop Middle Schools) Marisol by Jose 1 4 schools: North Smithfield High School, Rogers High Rivera School, Bishop Hendricken High School, Paul Cuffee Middle School 180

MFA program 8 8 schools 700 touring Shakespeare

TOTALS 37 matinees 216 schools 16,267 Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 9

Project Discovery Plus (PD Plus) PD Plus, our most comprehensive in-school program, is based on the principles of our traditional Project Discovery program. Each season, one or two of our mainstage productions are selected to be our “education centerpiece”. These plays, or the novels than inspired them, are often found on school reading lists, allowing us to address themes and ideas present in both classrooms and contemporary society. We offer a larger number of Project Discovery matinees, as well as free PD Plus workshops for all schools attending the show. During the 2018-2019 school year, our PD Plus play was Shakespeare’s Macbeth. PD Plus engaged more than 3,000 students and teachers through six student matinee performances, post-show talkbacks and 35 in-school supporting workshops.

Julia Atwood as Lady Macbeth and Mauro Hantman as Macbeth in Macbeth

Fifteen schools hosted teaching artists, often members of the cast, for customized Project Discovery Plus workshops with classes, before and/or after students attended Macbeth. Workshops explored the text, characters, Shakespeare’s world, and got students up on their feet to perform and interpret scenes and offer their responses.

DATE # OF # OF SCHOOL WORKSHOPS STUDENTS Feb 1 2 50 Classical High School, Providence Feb 8 3 55 Middletown High School, Middletown, RI Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 10 Feb 8 3 8 Woodside Montessori Academy, Millis, MA Feb 11 2 16 Dighton-Rehoboth High School, North Dighton, MA Feb 19 2 26 School One, Providence, RI Feb 21 1 28 Lincoln School, Providence, RI Feb 25 3 54 Barrington Christian Academy, Barrington, RI Feb 26 1 28 West Bay Christian Academy, North Kingstown, RI Feb 26 2 46 Toll Gate High School, Warwick, RI Feb 26 2 80 Moses Brown School, Providence, RI Feb 27 1 28 West Bay Christian Academy, North Kingstown, RI Feb 27 1 80 Moses Brown School, Providence, RI Feb 28 2 5 St. Patrick Academy, Providence, RI Mar 6 3 50 East Providence High School, East Providence, RI Mar 7 2 46 Toll Gate High School, Warwick, RI Mar 7 2 16 St. Peter’s School, Warwick, RI Mar 11 1 21 Our Sister’s School, New Bedford, MA Mar 11 2 25 Rogers High School, Newport, RI

Teachers told us: “It was one of the most valuable educational experiences that I have been offered in my 20+ years of teaching. The workshop that was conducted with my students by Mr. Thorne was amazing. He shared his obvious love of Shakespeare with my students. As a result, they now have a greater appreciation of it. I also very much appreciated that Mr. Thorne and Mr. Hantman took time to speak to my students after the show. It made my students feel valued. I also think that Matt Tibbs does an incredible job running the program. It is nice to meet someone from the community who cares so deeply about the next generation of artists and audience members. He always goes above and beyond to help our program.”

“It was really great having Natalie visit my class to talk with the kids about Macbeth. We keep referring back to our conversation about the text; for example, yesterday we found the quote she referenced, when Macbeth says he's "too far stepped in blood" to back out and take any other course of action. We've also been keeping in mind and trying to track where Lady Macbeth and Macbeth shift in their force of aspiration for power. I'll be using that game as a community-builder with my ninth graders next week. Thanks for sharing it with us and for taking time to come over to St. Patrick Academy!”

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Macbeth (Mauro Hantman) and the weird sisters in Macbeth

Students told us:

“I loved Ms. Dreyer's visit. I loved getting all of the behind-the-scenes information and the game that we played!”

“I LOVED the set!! It was very simple yet complimented the play perfectly. The simplicity allowed me to be able to focus on the words, and since Shakespeare can be particularly difficult to decipher, eliminating that possible distraction was a huge help for me. Also, the acting was brilliant, but that’s kind of a given.”

“The play was great! The setting of the play was my favorite. I like how they wore modern clothes and played modern music in the background. I was also surprised about the amount of blood used for props!”

“I really enjoyed how the cast members came into the aisles! It felt more personal and like we were a part of the production.”

“If I were to sum up my experience at Trinity, I would say that it was fantastic! This was the fourth time that I had seen Macbeth performed and it was by far my favorite. I truly loved the gore and excitement and I was particularly impressed at the bathtub scene and the final decapitation scene.”

Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 12 “I really enjoyed the show today! I liked the modern aspects such as Macbeth on the treadmill and their "costumes". I thought that the use of sound and colored light was very creative and helped the audience through some of the longer monologues. Overall, I think the horse heads and the closing scene with Macbeth in the cauldron were the most powerful.”

“I loved everything, especially the little details such as the extra cup for the soon-to-be-dead Banquo and Lady M’s nervous fiddling with her wedding ring.”

Studies prove that exposure to high-quality arts experiences enhance the intellectual and creative development of young people, and PD Plus is one of the most in-depth, comprehensive, quality arts learning programs in the region. Designed to help students improve a number of academic and social skills -- including reading, writing, conflict resolution, and leadership -- Project Discovery Plus provides opportunities for thousands of children every year who might not otherwise engage with theater due to economic, social, geographic, language, or other constraints.

In addition to Macbeth, schools hosted workshops to enhance their experience with other Project Discovery performances: four schools for black odyssey, two for A Christmas Carol, and four for Little Shop of Horrors.

CREATIVE CLASSROOMS

Left: Creative Classroom participants perform for their peers. Right: Teaching Artist Natalie Dreyer leads a class discussion

The 2018-2019 season marked the fifth year of Creative Classrooms, our arts integration program for elementary school children. Arts integration pairs the content and skills from an artistic form with those of a core subject. Emphasis rests equally on the core subject and art form to allow accessible learning through multiple modalities. Teaching artists create arts-based workshops and residencies founded on Common Core standards and aligned with classroom curriculum. It is our goal to enhance the work of the teacher and assist the goals of the school. This year, we worked with 575 Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 13 first, second- and third-grade students from Asa Messer, Carl Lauro, Frank Spaziano, and Alan Shawn Feinstein at Broad St. Elementary Schools, teaching theater along with Common Core curricular subjects.

YOUNG ACTORS STUDIO (YAS) AND YOUNG ACTORS SUMMER INSTITUTE (YASI)

The Young Actors Studio and Young Actors Summer Institute (YASI) provide year-round out-of- school arts enrichment classes to students in grades K-12. After-school and Saturday classes during the school year range in length from six weeks to nine months, and focus on a wide range of activities, from basic acting skills to improvisation to the language of Shakespeare. The Summer Institute, which takes place for five weeks in July and August for students in grades 5-12, supplements acting classes with playwriting, musical theater, improvisation, Shakespeare, visual arts, stage combat and more. During the 2018-2019 fiscal year, 347 students enrolled in Young Actors Studio and YASI classes.

YASI Final Showcase Young Actors Studio The Young Actors Studio provides in-depth, out-of-school classes from September-May each year. Classes are based on a continuum of learning, beginning with short-term introductory classes and continuing through year-round intermediate and advanced classes that focus on a wide range of theater-related topics. Introductory classes for 104 students K-12 took place over the fall 2018, winter 2019, and spring 2019 trimesters, and focused on the basics of playwriting, acting, improvisation, and scene study, as well as specialized topics.

Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 14 Full school-year classes, which served an additional 48 students, included Theater Lab, a writing and performance ensemble for high school students; Theater Explosion, which focused on adaptation and acting techniques through the lens of musical theater, group scenes and monologues; and the Junior Ensemble, our advanced program for students in grades 5-7 emphasizing Shakespeare and improvisation.

Kindergarten and first grade students prepare to perform, 2018

2018-2019 Young Actors Studio Enrollment

# GEOGRAPHIC CLASS CLASS SCHEDULE STUDENTS DISTRIBUTION K-4th grades Fall, Winter, and Spring trimesters 35 RI and MA 5th-7th grades Fall, Winter, and Spring trimesters 40 RI and MA 8th-12th grades Fall, Winter, and Spring trimesters 29 RI and MA Junior Ensemble September 2018-May 2019 11 RI and MA Theater Explosion September 2018-May 2019 1 RI Theater Lab September 2018-May 2019 7 RI and MA Trinity Zoo September 2018-May 2019 10 RI and MA Theater September 2018-May 2019 13 RI and MA Ambassadors Trinity Technicians September 2018-May 2019 6 RI and MA Write Here, Write Annual HS playwriting competition 125 RI and MA Now

Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 15 Young Actors Summer Institute (YASI)

The Young Actors Summer Institute (YASI) is the only summer theater program in New England for students to train at a Tony Award-winning theater with the best professional instructors from around the region. Budding theater artists learn from Trinity Rep's nationally renowned acting ensemble, resident artists, Brown/Trinity Rep MFA graduate students, and local working artists. Students customize their experience by choosing electives from playwriting, musical theater, and improvisation, to YouTube video making, Shakespeare and more. This month-long program brings the fun, friends and energy of summer camp, while students take their skills to the next level with our exceptional curricula. YASI is a supportive, competition-free zone that culminates in two public performances on the Trinity Rep stage.

One of our most popular out-of-school programs, YASI and its companion programs YASI Shakes, YASI Junior, YASI Players and YASI Masters served 195 students during the summer of 2018. The core program ran for five weeks for students in grades 5-12. Young artists enrolled in dozens of courses taught by faculty from Trinity Rep’s resident acting company, the Brown/Trinity MFA alumni and students and local artists. YASI culminated in final performances for all grade levels and a joint showcase featuring scenes, monologues, dances, and songs.

YASI Shakes is a week-long extension for 10th-12th grade students who can’t get enough Shakespeare. Last summer, 14 young actors created and performed A Winter’s Tale in just five days of intensive staging, continuing Trinity Rep’s mission of making theater, and Shakespeare, accessible to all.

Students perform A Winter’s Tale in YASI Shakes Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 16

YASI Masters is a week-long program for high school and college students seeking intensive training with experts in their fields. Last year, 12 students enrolled in as many as nine sessions: Playwriting, Classic Comedy, Creature Creation, Drag, Tell Your Story, Audition Technique, Tap, the 11 O’Clock Number, and Acting for the Camera

YASI Jr. concentrates on our youngest students, rising 1st – 4th graders. 23 young actors participated in FY19.

YASI Players is a group for 5th-9th grade students who put on a new, family-friendly play in just one week. 26 students performed Rose and Iris by Dave Rabinow, twice in the Dowling Theater.

A 14-year-old YASI student wrote: “My education in theater adds so much to my life and allows me to positively influence the lives of those around me. After attending YASI, I became so much more confident and willing to express myself. That self-confidence encouraged the group experience of theater – teamwork and shared support.”

YASI Showcase highlight

Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 17 Summer 2018 YASI Enrollment GEOGRAPHIC CLASS SCHEDULE # STUDENTS DISTRIBUTION Range of classes for grades 5-12; 9am-4:30pm M-F for 5 weeks in 5th-7th grades 37 RI, MA summer 2017, extended day option 7:30am-6pm Range of classes for grades 5-12; 9am-4:30pm M-F for 5 weeks in 8th-9th grades 34 RI, MA summer 2017, extended day option 7:30am-6pm Range of classes for grades 5-12; 9am-4:30pm M-F for 5 weeks in 10th-12th grades 49 RI, MA summer 2017, extended day option 7:30am-6pm YASI Shakes 8th-12th grade week: A Winter’s Tale 14 RI, MA Range of classes for 1st-4th grade, 1 YASI Jr. 23 RI, MA week YASI Masters Nine intensives for college & HS, 1 12 RI, MA week 5th-9th grade week: Rose and Iris by YASI Players 26 RI, MA Dave Rabinow TOTAL 204

Adult classes: Trinity Rep is committed to lifelong learning. Classes for adults served 56 students last year. Taught by members of our resident acting company and artistic staff, courses included Introduction to Performance, Beginning Acting, Acting for Non-Actors, Improv, Scene Study and Acting for the Camera.

Adult students in Scene Study

Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 18 TRINITY REP ACTIVE IMAGINATION NETWORK (TRAIN)

The full company of TRAIN’s BFGs takes a curtain call on stage at Trinity Rep, with director Jordan Butterfield (far right)

Founded in 2010, Trinity Rep Active Imagination Network (TRAIN) is a series of drama classes specially designed for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other cognitive, psychiatric and physical disabilities. In FY 2019, TRAIN served 850 students from Sargent Rehabilitation Center, The Autism Project, Seven Hills RI, Bradley Hospital adolescent inpatient unit, Bradley Hospital Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Bradley Center/Cranston, Bradley School/North, Portsmouth, New London Regional, South County and Providence; and Brown University

Our program's curriculum is designed to instill pragmatic skills such as initiating and maintaining conversations, building long-term friendships, problem solving, and conflict resolution; enhance coping skills, such as goal setting and relaxation techniques; increase non-verbal skills, including reading facial expressions and body language, defining personal space, and learning eye contact; raise students' self-esteem by encouraging and rewarding autonomy, public speaking, and a willingness to take positive risks; and give teachers and therapists the skills necessary to incorporate the arts into their classes and sessions on a permanent basis. Through acting and improvisation, students learn to socialize, build self-confidence, and express themselves in a healthy, productive, and enjoyable way. According to the most recent studies, autism affects more than one in eighty children, and the number of students affected by other behavioral and emotional disabilities that can Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 19 be helped with drama therapy is almost immeasurable. TRAIN has garnered significant national interest, and we are developing it as a model program.

TRAIN collaborated with Seven Hills RI to produce a Monty Python tribute, Knights of the Wholly Fail, at Bishop Hendricken School and an adapted staging of Roald Dahl’s The BFGs on stage at Trinity Rep. TRAIN students at Sargent Rehabilitation Center performed Frosty the Snowman and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. With Brown University undergrads, TRAIN taught a three-month spring residency at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, creating an original play with middle and high school students.

TRAIN’s Monty Python-inspired Knights of the Wholly Fail prepares for their audience

Jonathan D’Amico of Seven Hills told us, “Seven Hills RI seeks to ‘Define Dignity’ for people with special healthcare needs. For the better part of a decade, our relationship with TRAIN has enhanced our programing as lessons learned from arts instruction have transcended the stage, impacting the empowerment of participants. I believe our partnership to be one in which both organizations win, to the extent that the identities of gardener and rose are indistinguishable.”

Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 20 ARTS TALK

Arts Talk is an arts integration professional development program for Rhode Island high school educators in all subject areas. Teams of teachers attend professional development and planning sessions with Trinity Repertory Company, the RISD Museum, and the Music School of the RI Philharmonic, and then receive funds to carry out an arts-integrated project in their classroom. In addition to the opportunity to attend a performance, we offer in-school workshops tailored to meet the needs of each individual class, ranging from the fundamentals of how to read, analyze and create dramatic texts to the role of theater in culture and environment. 327 students from five Rhode Island public schools participated in Arts Talk activities with Trinity Rep this year. Participating schools included North Providence High School, Toll Gate High School, Cranston East High School, and Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex.

SCHOOL-TO-CAREER ACTIVITIES

We offer a wide range of opportunities for students interested in working in the backstage, production, administrative, and technical aspects of theater. Offerings include backstage tours, a variety of workshops, career fairs, job shadows, internships, Theater Ambassadors and Trinity Technicians. During the 2018-19 school year, we reached approximately 1,000 students through our school-to-career activities.

Theater Ambassadors Our Theater Ambassadors program brings together talented, motivated teens in grades 9-12 who are united by a shared interest in theater. These students meet at Trinity Rep two or three times each month throughout the school year, seeing each mainstage production and participating in discussions with theater staff. There is no charge to participate, and no prior theater experience is required. However, applicants must have a strong interest in theater, and have demonstrated maturity and eagerness to learn. This year, they were offered many more opportunities to see plays, through Brown’s Department of Theater Arts and Performance Studies and the Brown/Trinity MFA Programs. During the 2018-2019 school year, 13 students participated in the program, chosen through a competitive application process that included a personal essay and a statement of commitment.

Theater Ambassadors:  Attend rehearsals and/or performances of all Trinity Rep mainstage productions.  Attend pre-show workshops with education staff members, actors, directors, and designers. These workshops explored topics in acting using the themes and text of the play.  Assist Trinity Rep staff in at least one event held at the theater.  Attend performances of one another's school plays or other performances available in the community. Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 21  Recruit at least one student for Trinity Rep’s Young Actor Studio classes or Summer Institute, or bring their class to attend a Project Discovery matinee.  Invite students from their schools and communities to participate in a post-show panel about topics in the play. Last year, Ambassadors coordinated, facilitated and participated in these panels for six productions.

Ambassadors form a panel to host a Teen Talk Back, after a performance.

Through these activities, Ambassadors are introduced to the full range of skills essential to professional theater. Interaction between students from different communities and between students and theater professionals helps them develop a richer understanding of the productions they attend and the plays they read. Students leave the program with enhanced skills as young theater artists and enthusiastic spokespeople for the performing arts in their own schools and communities.

Trinity Technicians Trinity Technicians is for students in grades 7-12 interested in working backstage. During the 2018-19 year, six students from Rhode Island and Massachusetts observed technical rehearsals, met with designers and production crew members, and attended every Trinity Rep mainstage production.

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“WRITE HERE! WRITE NOW!”

Write Here! Write Now! is a one-act playwriting contest for high school students, launched in 2012. Pairing Trinity Rep’s commitments to education and to new play development, WHWN seeks submissions from young people throughout the region. Scripts are read and evaluated by our staff, and four winners are selected for full production, including rehearsal with a dramaturg, director and professional actors. In its seventh season, WHWN received 125 submissions. Winning playwrights work on play development with Trinity Rep staff before having their play read by professionally- trained actors for an audience of the winners’ friends and family. Winners also received a scholarship towards any Trinity Rep Young Actors Studio after-school class. Each winner’s school received 20 free tickets to a Project Discovery student matinee. For the first time in 2019, we created a study guide for teachers, to help them integrate playwriting into their curriculum.

One of Write Here! Write Now!’s winning short plays in performance

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OUTREACH AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Classical High School’s Othello residency, in performance

During the 2018-2019 season, Trinity Rep worked with 19 schools and organizations throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts, to offer special programs to more than 1300 children. These initiatives ranged in length from one-time programs to multi-month residencies.

 We returned to Esek Hopkins Middle School throughout the year, through the Providence After School Alliance (PASA). Fall and spring were devoted to creating original videos and an original adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Our winter production of Annie Jr. was the school’s first-ever musical. We also partnered with PASA to bring all middle school students involved in musicals at their schools through PASA and the Turnaround Arts program to see Little Shop of Horrors: 100 students from Esek Hopkins, Del Sesto, Nathan Bishop, and Roger Williams Middle Schools. Hillary Salmons, PASA’s Executive Director, wrote: “As our staff reflected on the high points of the year, the trip to Trinity with the 100 actors from the four middle school plays was cited by almost every staff member. It was so inspiring to see 100 middle school youth emotionally transformed. Most of them had never seen a real play and gained huge depth perception on their own productions. The youth continued to talk about the experience all spring. The trip also helped boost our partnerships with the schools where faculty and administrators alike.” Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 24  In a new partnership with Turnaround Arts: Providence, we provided arts integration professional development at three middle schools – Del Sesto Middle School, Roger Williams Middle School and Gilbert Stuart Middle School. We also offered a series of workshops to ELA classrooms at Del Sesto Middle School to support work and demonstrate different arts integration strategies.

 At Classical High School, Trinity Rep teaching artists returned to work with two classes, about 50 students, for a 10-workshop residency on a new adaptation and production of Othello.

Classical High School Othello residency participants

 Our year-long residency at Rocky Hill School in East Greenwich included 19 fall workshops with 20 students each, a winter musical, Curtains, and May’s Much Ado About Nothing at the carousel in Goddard Park and an art gallery at the Hope Artiste Village.

 At Dighton-Rehoboth High School, four workshops with the advanced theater program served about 20 students each.

 Playwriting residencies took place at School One (eight classes with eight students) and Blackstone Academy (two classes, 30 students).

 Workshops on A Christmas Carol, Little Shop of Horrors and black odyssey served nearly 600 students at ten schools.

 50 students at Cole Middle School participated in a long-term residency for their musical.

 We provided two sessions of Expeditions for Achievement First Mayoral Academy – one in New Haven, partnered with Yale Rep and Yale Art Gallery, and one in Providence, partnered with the RISD Museum. Trinity Rep 2018-2019 Education Report Page 25  In the return of Shakespeare in the Stacks, nine third, fourth, fifth and sixth graders met weekly for several months to mount an abridged version of The Tempest at the Providence Athenaeum.

Left: Shakespeare in the Stacks students perform at the Providence Athenaeum. Right: cast with director Natalie Dreyer.

CONCLUSION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Education is at the heart of all of the artistic work we do at Trinity Repertory Company, as it has been for more than 50 years. Since receiving the first major grant to support Project Discovery from the National Endowment for the Arts and the US Department of Education in 1966, the theater has served as an invaluable and unique arts education resource to over 1.4 million students and teachers, offering a singular experience that marries in-depth, multi-faceted learning programs with the unique experience of enjoying some of the best live professional theater in the country. Grants and contributions help Trinity Rep ensure that programs remain financially accessible to schools, teachers, and students.

Major support for Trinity Rep’s education programs during the 2018-2019 season was provided by:

Proceeds from the Project Discovery Gala Billy Andrade and Brad Faxon Charities for Children Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and Theatre Forward / Educating Through Theatre and the General Assembly of RI Making Music Programs Shakespeare in American Communities, a Phyllis Kimball Johnstone & H. Earl Kimball program of the National Endowment for Foundation the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest The Claiborne and Nuala Pell Fund for Arts The June Rockwell Levy Foundation Education IGT Victoria Irene Ball Fund for Arts Education McAdams Charitable Foundation The Project Discovery Endowment Fund Otto H. York Foundation Southwest Airlines Textron, Inc. and Many Individual Donors – thank you!

On behalf of our students, teachers, and community, thank you for supporting this important work. For more information about Trinity Rep’s arts education programs, and how you can help them thrive and grow, please contact Jen Canole, Director of Development at (401) 453-9234 or [email protected], or visit www.TrinityRep.com.