REPORT ON EDUCATION PROGRAMS July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018

Students are welcomed to a Project Discovery matinee.

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 , 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 variety of supplemental school-to-career activities for students of all ages, classes for adults, and professional development for teachers.

Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 2 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 2017-2018 season, Trinity Rep served more than 22,000 students, adults and teachers from 216 schools. All of our education programs operated at or near capacity for the funding period.

Education Program Participation Summary ACTIVITY OCCURENCES ATTENDANCE 37 performances of Death of a Salesman, Skeleton Crew, A Christmas Carol, Into Project Discovery Student the Breeches!, Othello, Native Gardens 16,267 students and teachers from Matinees and Ragtime; and MFA student 216 schools in RI, MA, and CT productions of Love’s Labor’s Lost, Twelfth Night and Eurydice 6,445 students participated in All invited, following every performance Post-show discussions discussions with cast, crew and

staff Project Discovery Plus 74 workshops for Othello 1,171 students from 14 schools Workshops Teacher Previews One for each main stage show 131 teachers More than 50 classes for grades 5-12; Young Actors Summer 9am-4:30pm M-F for 5 weeks in summer 192 students from RI and MA Institute 2016; with extension weeks for YASI Shakespeare, Junior, Players & Masters Courses for students in grades K-12 Young Actors Studio School ranging from 6 weeks to full 2017-18 178 students from RI and MA Year Programming school year programming 1,429 students from Achievement First Mayoral Academy, Classical High School, Boy Scouts of RI, Providence After School Alliance/Esek Hopkins Elementary School, East Greenwich High School, Providence Athenaeum, Off-Site Residencies and Rocky Hill School, Norton Middle Frequency and duration varied by location Workshops School, Dighton-Rehoboth High School, Nathan Bishop Middle School, , School One, North Attleboro High School, St. Augustine Academy, Dover-Sherborn Middle School, Cole Middle School, and Wilbur McMahon Middle School Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 3

500 students at Asa Messer, Carl Creative Classrooms arts Lauro, Frank Spaziano, and Alan integration in elementary throughout the school year Shawn Feinstein at Broad St. schools Elementary Schools and Newcomer Academy

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

624 students from The Autism Project, Seven Hills RI, Bradley Intensive, long-term and short-term drama TRAIN: Trinity Rep Active Hospital adolescent inpatient unit, therapy workshops throughout the school Imagination Network Bradley Hospital Center for Autism year and Developmental Disabilities, Bradley Center/Cranston 457 students and teachers from Coventry High School, Johnston ArtsTalk throughout the year High School, Cranston East High School, North Smithfield High School, Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts

Adult classes Variety of classes September - May 85 students from RI and MA

Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 4 PROJECT DISCOVERY AND PD PLUS

Project Discovery and Project Discovery Plus encompass our in-school, 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.

Project Discovery The 2017-18 season marked the 51st 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. 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. A teacher wrote, “From the reservation process to the performance, we enjoyed every aspect. We find the teaching packet/study guide very useful and comprehensive. Although we do not read Ragtime as part of our curriculum, the play was extremely timely within our current political climate and engendered a great deal of useful discussion among the students. Thank you for making the theater experience accessible to our students. We are very fortunate to have such a professional theater company in our state.” A middle school student wrote: "The performance of Othello caused me to feel many things about the characters differently than the reading. For example, in the reading I thought Emilia was like an evil minion for Iago, but in reality Iago tricked her, like all the other characters."

Project Discovery matinee audience arrives Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 5 Project Discovery Attendance

PLAY # MATINEES SCHOOLS ATTENDANCE 17 schools: North Kingstown High School, , 1,613 Death of a Salesman The , St. Sebastian's School, Exeter-West 6 by Arthur Miller Greenwich Sr. High School, Rocky Hill School, Tabor Academy,

Bishop Feehan High School, North Smithfield High School,

Ponaganset High School, Ferragamo Home School, Nipmuc Regional Middle-High School, West Warwick High School, Williams

School, Hopedale Jr./Sr. High School, Dartmouth High School,

Cranston West High School

5 schools: East Providence High School, Barnstable High School, Woodstock Academy, The MET School, Village Green Charter Skeleton Crew by 1 183 Dominique Morrisseau School

116 schools: Riverside Middle School, Brennan Middle School, Anthony Carnevale School, Western Hills Middle School, Stephen Olney Elementary School, George J. Peters School, Lincoln Central Elementary School, Alfred Lima Elementary School, Washington Oak School, Orchard Farms Elementary School, Village Green Charter School, Saint Kevin School, Community Preparatory School, Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School, Block Island School, Classical High School, Narragansett Pier School, Clayville Elementary School, Bird Middle School, Sacred Heart School, Central High School, Miscoe Hill School, St. Mary's Catholic School, Burrillville Middle School, South Coast Educational Collaborative, A Christmas Carol Dr. Edward A. Ricci Middle School, Swansea Wood School, Lincoln by Charles Dickens, Middle School, Western Hills Middle School, John F. Deering Middle 16 9,544 music by Richard School, Oaklawn Elementary School, Cranston Transition Program, Cumming Edward S. Rhodes School, Lillian Feinstein at Sackett St. School, Winman Jr. High School, St. Augustine's School, Blackrock Elementary School, Chariho Middle School, Ricci Middle School, Hope Highlands Middle School, St. Mary Academy Bay View, East Providence High School, Community Connections Inc., North Stonington Christian Academy, Overdeep Homeschool, Griswold Middle School, EnrichRI Homeschool Group, Advanced Math & Science Academy, Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, Steere Farm Elementary School, Attleboro High School, Esek Hopkins Middle School, Lincoln Middle School, Vincent J. Gallagher Middle School, Qualters Middle School, Barrington Christian Academy, Saint Paul School, Clark Lane Middle School, Founders Academy at Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 6 Beacon Charter, Carver Middle School, San Miguel School of Providence, Community School, Vincent J. Gallagher Middle School, Providence Country Day School, Anchor Learning Academy, St. Andrew's School, Scituate Middle School, Hope Highlands Middle School, Lincoln Middle School, Attleboro High School, Mercy High School, Exeter West Greenwich Regional High School, St. Teresa School, W.R. Dutemple School, Kent Heights Elementary School, Saint Thomas Regional School, Rockwell School, Chester Barrows Elementary School, Tiogue School, Somerset Middle School, Ahern Middle School, West Bay Collaborative, Ragosta Homeschool, Manosh Homeschool, Westport Middle School, North Smithfield Middle School, Quidnessett Elementary School, Davisville Middle School, Leominster Center for Excellence, Communities for People, Rocky Hill School, Ahern Middle School, Barrington Middle School, Dartmouth High School, Block Island School, Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School, West Bay Collaborative, Myron J. Francis Elementary School, Narragansett Elementary School, North Attleboro Middle School, Community Solutions, Davisville Academy, Thompson Middle School, The MET School, Fogarty Memorial School, Wickford Middle School, Hugh Cole School, Westerly Middle School, East Providence High School, Portsmouth Middle School, North Scituate Elementary School, Millis Public School, D.L. Beckwith Middle School, Forest Park Elementary School, Meeting Street Grace School, Rogers High School

6 schools: Sophia Academy, East Providence High School, Lincoln School, North Providence High School, Wilbur McMahon School, Into the Breeches! 1 Hope High School 153 by George Brant

46 schools: , Bishop Feehan High School, Norwich Free Academy, Lincoln School, Rogers High School, Cape Cod Homeschool, Attleboro High School, Tierney Academy, Moses Brown School, Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts, St. Peter School, St. Michael's Country Day School, East Providence High School, The UCAP School, Norwell High School, Scituate High Othello by William School, South Kingstown High School, The Wheeler School, Shakespeare 6 Barnstable High School, St. Andrew's School, Coventry High 3,417

School, Somerset Berkley Regional High School, Hopedale Jr.

Senior High School, St. Patrick Academy, Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, Woodside Montessori Academy, Barrington Christian Academy, Exeter-West Greenwich Sr. High School, Westborough High School, Montessori Pathways School, The Greene School, Mount Pleasant High School, Dartmouth High School, Nathan Bishop Middle School, Cumberland High School, Cranston High School West, San Miguel Academy, Central High Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 7 School, Mansfield High School, North Providence High School, North Smithfield High School, Hope High School, Davisville Academy, French American School of RI, Esek Hopkins Middle School, Community Preparatory School

5 schools: Johnston Senior High School, Coventry High School, Native Gardens by 1 Cranston East High School, JM Walsh School of Performing Arts, 255 Karen Zacarias Bishop Hendricken High School Ragtime by Doctorow, 13 schools: Rocky Hill School, Norton Middle School, A-Venture 2 921 McNally, Ahrens, Academy, North Smithfield Jr-Sr High School, St. Andrew's School,

Flaherty JM Walsh School of Performing Arts, Bay State Learning Center,

Cranston East High School, Bishop Hendricken High School, Saint

Philomena School, Mt. Hope High School, Thurston Middle School,

The Met School

MFA productions: 4 8 schools 175 Love’s Labor’s Lost, Twelfth Night, Eurydice

TOTALS 37 matinees 216 schools 16,267

Students arrive for a Project Discovery matinee performance Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 8 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 2017-2018 school year, our PD Plus play was Shakespeare’s Othello. PD Plus engaged nearly 5,000 students and teachers through six student matinee performances, post-show talkbacks and 74 in-school supporting workshops.

Resident actors Stephen Thorne, Charlie Thurston, Jude Sandy and Rebecca Gibel discuss Othello with students.

Schools hosted workshops to enhance their experience with other Project Discovery performances: one for Death of a Salesman, two for Skeleton Crew, four for A Christmas Carol, two for Into the Breeches!, and 11 for Ragtime at six schools.

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. Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 9 Fourteen schools hosted members of the cast or the director for customized Project Discovery Plus workshops with classes, before and/or after students attended a performance. 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 23 2 34 Lincoln School, Providence Feb 28 2 37 Barnstable High School, Barnstable, MA Mar 1 3 45 Moses Brown School, Providence Mar 5 1 25 Woodside Montessori Academy, Millis, MA Mar 5, 6, 7 9 180 Barrington Christian Academy, Barrington Mar 7 2 50 St. Peter School, Warwick Mar 7 3 72 St. Michael’s Country Day School, Newport Mar 8 3 30 Woodside Montessori Academy, Millis, MA Mar 9 4 50 St. Andrew’s School, Barrington Mar 9 4 105 Rogers High School, Newport Mar 9 3 24 St. Michael’s Country Day School, Newport Mar 15 4 50 St. Andrew’s School, Barrington Mar 16 3 30 Woodside Montessori Academy, Millis, MA Mar 20 4 100 Hope High School, Providence Mar 23 2 16 Davisville Academy, North Kingstown Mar 26 6 138 Nathan Bishop Middle School, Providence Mar 27 1 25 Esek Hopkins Middle School, Providence Mar 27 2 25 The Greene School, West Greenwich Apr 6 2 25 Montessori Pathways School, Exeter Apr 13 2 25 Montessori Pathways School, Exeter Apr 27 2 25 Montessori Pathways School, Exeter

Teachers wrote: "I love to look around and see the awe on my students’ faces, especially those that have never ever been to a live performance. I am so thankful that we have a theater of your ilk and quality so close to us." "These performances are a highlight of the year for us. For many of our students, this is their introduction to live, professional theater. It touches them in powerful ways." "Great experience for my students. Especially as a special educator, it was special for my self-contained kids to be with gen ed kids (and, may I say, they behaved even better)." "Seeing the play as a culminating activity after studying the play is perfect!" Middle school students wrote: "Overall, the play was amazing. It was funny, shocking, scary and I enjoyed it. The live performance made me love Iago’s character more because he was a really great actor and I loved how he used people as if they were puppets, it was really cool. Also, side note, as a middle schooler that can be immature at times, I liked the party scene a lot." Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 10 "We were able to see the play come to life. The play made me change many opinions on the characters. The way they acted was more detailed and how they felt about the other characters. One thing that definitely stood out to me as different from my reading was the masculinity of the play, specifically in the party scene. In the reading, the characters seemed more respectful and thoughtful, but in the play they were portrayed in a very masculine way which I thought was interesting and smart. I was also interested by the importance of Emilia. It was clear she was one of the most important characters in the play. I was interested by how she cared for Desdemona and was almost like a mother to her in her time of need. I thought that actress did a wonderful job with her role."

Students engage in a post-show discussion with cast and crew.

High school students wrote: "The director was able to successfully unite the women who have been suppressed and bring attention to them, their stories and the moments when they gain the power over their oppressive husbands and Iago's manipulation. She brought the women back to the heart of this intense story." "The plays that give a deeper understanding and leave a lasting impression are those where there is harmony between a perceptive director and actors that master their characters… The production brought these fictional characters to life and humanized them. Iago’s charisma mixed with the dramatic irony of him manipulating Othello makes his actions so much more frightening and sinister to watch. Meanwhile, Othello’s gullible nature is pitied all the more." "By itself, Shakespearean English is not the most entertaining thing to hear or read. But, when coupled with the actors’ movement and body gestures, the play truly came to life for me, similar to how we put scenes on their feet in the classroom each day while we were reading the play. I particularly took note of Stephen Thorne’s performance and the liberties he took to bring the villain to life." Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 11 CREATIVE CLASSROOMS

Creative Classroom participants perform for their peers

The 2017-2018 season marked the fourth 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, teaching artist Natalie Dreyer, her teaching assistant, and high school intern worked with 500 first, second- and third-grade students from Asa Messer, Carl Lauro, Frank Spaziano, and Alan Shawn Feinstein at Broad St. Elementary Schools and Newcomer Academy, teaching theater along with Common Core curricular subjects. Teaching Artist Natalie Dreyer leads a class discussion Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 12

Creative Classroom students on a backstage tour of Trinity Rep, 2017

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 2017-2018 fiscal year, 372 students enrolled in Young Actors Studio and YASI classes.

Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 13

High school students share scene work in Young Actors Studio

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 128 students K-12 took place over the fall 2017, winter 2018, and spring 2018 trimesters, and focused on the basics of playwriting, acting, improvisation, and scene study, as well as specialized topics.

Full school-year classes, which served an additional 50 students, included The Collaborative, 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.

Second and third grade YAS students perform Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 14

Kindergarten and first grade students perform, 2018

2017-2018 Young Actors Studio Enrollment

# GEOGRAPHIC CLASS CLASS SCHEDULE STUDENTS DISTRIBUTION K-3rd grades Fall, Winter, and Spring trimesters 52 RI and MA 4th-6th grades Fall, Winter, and Spring trimesters 10 RI and MA 7th-12th grades Fall, Winter, and Spring trimesters 66 RI and MA Junior Ensemble September 2017-May 2018 7 RI Theater Explosion September 2017-May 2018 8 RI and MA The Collaborative September 2017-May 2018 8 RI and MA Trinity Zoo September 2017-May 2018 9 RI and MA Theater Ambassadors September 2017-May 2018 12 RI and MA Trinity Technicians September 2017-May 2018 6 RI and MA Write Here, Write Now Annual HS playwriting competition 165 RI and MA

Trinity Rep 2017-2018 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 YASI students work in class 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 192 students during the summer of 2017. 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.

A YASI showcase highlight

Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 16 YASI Shakes is a week-long extension for 10th-12th grade students who can’t get enough Shakespeare. Under Jeff Church’s direction last summer, 17 young actors made Macbeth an engaging multi-genre musical -- in just five days of intensive staging, continuing Trinity Rep’s mission of making theater, and Shakespeare, accessible to all.

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

Associate Artistic Director Tyler Dobrowsky works with students in YASI Masters

YASI Jr. concentrates on our youngest students, rising 1st – 4th graders. 15 young actors participated in FY18.

YASI Players is a group for 5th-9th grade students who put on a new, family-friendly play in just one week: The Whale in the Hudson by Bradley Wilson.

A sixth-grade YASI student wrote: “When I was just five years old, I joined YASI Jr. I can’t imagine my life now, without Trinity. Theater is important to me because it allows me to be someone else and to learn about how other people think. I love to learn about different cultures and writers and I also like to create my own characters. I have a wild imagination and theater helps me to express that side of myself. Without theater in my life, I believe I would be sad, shy, and not have a life, really. My goal when I get older is to be a neurosurgeon and actress, so I want to one day go to Berkeley and Harvard.” YASI Jr. students connect Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 17

YASI Players students rehearse

Summer 2017 YASI Enrollment GEOGRAPHIC CLASS SCHEDULE # STUDENTS DISTRIBUTION Range of classes for grades 5-12; 9am- 5th-7th grades 4:30pm M-F for 5 weeks in summer 35 RI, MA, VT & Japan 2017, extended day option 7:30am-6pm Range of classes for grades 5-12; 9am- RI, MA, ME, France & 8th-9th grades 4:30pm M-F for 5 weeks in summer 37 Indonesia 2017, extended day option 7:30am-6pm Range of classes for grades 5-12; 9am- 10th-12th grades 4:30pm M-F for 5 weeks in summer 51 RI, VT, & MA 2017, extended day option 7:30am-6pm YASI Shakes 8th-12th grade week: Macbeth 17 RI and MA Range of classes for 1st-4th grade, 1 YASI Jr. 15 RI and MA week YASI Masters Nine intensives for college & HS, 1 12 RI and MA week 5th-9th grade week: The Whale In the YASI Players 24 RI and MA Hudson by Bradley Wilson TOTAL 204 Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 18

Acting for the Camera students collaborate

Adult classes: Trinity Rep is committed to lifelong learning. Classes for adults served 80 students last year. Taught by members of our resident acting company and artistic staff, courses included Oral History, Introduction to Acting, Beginning Acting (2 sections), Character Development and Acting for the Camera (levels 1 and 2).

Adult students in Introduction to Performance Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 19 TRINITY REP ACTIVE IMAGINATION NETWORK (TRAIN)

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 2018, TRAIN served 624 students from The Autism Project, Seven Hills RI, Bradley Hospital adolescent inpatient unit, Bradley Hospital Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, and Bradley Center/Cranston.

TRAIN students in JURASSIC PARK(ody)

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 be helped with drama therapy is almost immeasurable. TRAIN has garnered significant national interest, and we are developing it as a model program.

Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 20 TRAIN collaborated with Seven Hills RI to produce an adapted, updated staging of The Velveteen Rabbit and Jurassic Park(ody): a Parody at Trinity Rep and at Bishop Hendricken Academy. The Autism Project’s students created and performed an original play called Indie.

TRAIN’s VELVETEEN RABBIT on stage at Trinity Rep

Marissa Ruff of Seven Hills told us, “TRAIN has changed the lives of the participants and their families at Seven Hills Rhode Island. This program has helped our kids flourish in their abilities to socialize with peers and to attain goals that many may have struggled with, through role playing and group interaction. The changes that can be seen between the first week of rehearsals and final performance are remarkable and the emotion on actors' and families' faces is unforgettable. TRAIN has given our participants the opportunity to have their time in the spotlight and to show the world that they are capable of amazing things. It has given all of the actors a sense of responsibility, commitment and pride. The program has had a positive impact on participants and families, and on anyone in the audience. We are proud of this partnership and honored to share this experience with colleagues and friends.”

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 Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 21 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. 457 students from five Rhode Island public schools participated in Arts Talk activities with Trinity Rep this year; most teachers limited their requests to tickets main stage productions. Participating schools included Coventry High School, Johnston High School, Cranston East High School, North Smithfield High School, and Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.

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 2017-18 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 their common 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 2017-2018 school year, 12 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. • 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.

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 Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 22

Trinity Technicians Trinity Technicians is for students in grades 7-12 interested in working backstage. During the 2017-18 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.

“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 sixth season, WHWN received 165 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.

Write Here! Write Now!’s honored playwrights

Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 23 OUTREACH AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Rocky Hill School’s The Whale In the Hudson

During the 2017-2018 season, Trinity Rep worked with 23 schools and organizations throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts, to offer special programs to more than 1400 children. These initiatives ranged in length from one- time programs to multi-month residencies. • We returned to Esek Hopkins Middle School throughout the year, as part of the Providence After School Alliance. • Our year-long residency at Rocky Hill School in East Greenwich produced a variety show and Into the Woods, Big Love by Charles Mee and The Whale In the Hudson by Bradley Wilson. • At Dighton Rehoboth High School, we did five workshops with the advanced theater program covering a variety of subjects, about 20 students each. • Nathan Bishop Middle School hosted a 16-session residency with 60 students, on poetry, movement, and literature. • We partnered with School One on a playwriting residency, for eight classes with 15 students. • East Greenwich High School hosted eight workshops on stage combat and dialects, with 120 students. • For Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, we did 12 workshops with 240 students at Dover Sherborn Middle School. • 50 students at Cole Middle School worked with us in two workshops on character development, for their production of Into the Woods. Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 24 • In the return of Shakespeare in the Stacks, third, fourth, fifth and sixth graders met weekly for several months to mount an abridged version of Shakespeare’s King Lear at the Providence Athenaeum.

Shakespeare in the Stacks students perform at the Providence Athenaeum

At Classical High School, Trinity Rep teaching artists worked with three classes, 90 students, for a 10- workshop residency on a new adaptation and production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Students’ reflections demonstrate the power of theater in the classroom: • “Personally, I have never been the type to like doing presentations or performances or anything that requires being in front of a crowd. But this was definitely a very fun example. Something I would even consider doing again!” - Isaiah

• “This has been an amazing experience. I feel this play has made us closer as a class.” - Alexis

• “I am grateful for all the help and encouragement that you gave to us. Your enthusiasm was inspiring, and gave me the extra courage to play my part to the best of my ability. Your energetic personality kind of rubbed off on me and I just wanted to say… thank you.” - Marlon

• “I am grateful to have been a part of this project and it is a memory that I will remember forever.” - Carissa

• “If I ever become famous and get my own television show, I will give you a big shout out on The Tonight Show.” – Lesley

Trinity Rep 2017-2018 Education Report Page 25

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 institutional support for Trinity Rep’s arts education programs during the 2017-2018 season was provided by:

Proceeds from Flights of Fancy: the 2017 Project McAdams Charitable Foundation Discovery Gala, held on Nov. 15, 2017 Textron, Inc. Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and Billy Andrade and Brad Faxon Charities for Children the General Assembly of RI Theatre Forward / Educating Through Theatre and The Murray Family Charitable Foundation Making Music Programs The Norman and Rosalie Fain Family Foundation Phyllis Kimball Johnstone & H. Earl Kimball The Yawkey Foundation Foundation Shakespeare in American Communities, a Mary Dexter Chafee Fund program of the National Endowment for the The Claiborne and Nuala Pell Fund for Arts Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest Education The June Rockwell Levy Foundation Victoria Irene Ball Fund for Arts Education IGT Dexter Donation Trust Otto H. York Foundation Southwest Airlines Hasbro Children’s Fund 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.