Re: Service-Learning and Theatre

Karina: I posted a question during the Fall semester about service-learning and 
theatre ideas and readings. The following are the responses I received. Also, 
the attachment is from another collegue who sent me responses she received from 
a similar question as well. Check it out. Thanks, Sylvia Dana King/Boise State 
University/208-426-1004

Here it goes:::

*Hello!  My name is Kim Barber.  I am the Chair of the Department of Theatre
Arts at LaGrange College in LaGrange, GA.  I received your email regarding
servant leadership for theatre from our Vice President of Student Life and
Retention, Linda Buchanan, here at LC.

For our Spring semester, as their Senior thesis project, four actors are
putting together a Children's Theatre tour of folk and fairy tales that
they will write, produce, perform and tour to local area elementary schools
which are very desperate for "artful" activities to suppliment their
curriculum.  The performers then meet the children after each performance
and answer questions.  These students worked for me at my professional
summer theatre in Lincoln, New Hampshire where we tour Children's Theatre
throughout the state.  (papermilltheatre.org.)  One of the students wrote
the scripts and most of the music last summer for these original musicals
which bring these fairy/folk tales to life!

We were fortunate to receive a Servant Leadership grant from LC so as to
offer this service to the community free of charge.

We are also entertaining the possibility in the near future of "Classical
Scenes in the Schools" (similar to many professional outreach
programs)where we would tour scenes from classics to teens and have a
follow up Q and A on issues and impressions.

I hope this helps,

Sincerely,

Kim Barber
Chair, Department of Theatre Arts
LaGrange College
706.880.8324
kbarber@lgc.edu 

*Hello.  The SL program at CU just funded a proposal for a Music 
Performance Class.  Students will be setting up and doing 
performances for non-profits in the community.  They will be 
practicing business skills along with performing.  Course will be 
taught next semester and is actually labeled ad an internship. 
Although the students will reflect on issues in weekly course 
meetings.

ChristinaOne author you might look at is Don Hellison.  The reflection 
questions he poses in regard to physical education and sport can be translated 
to dance and  other arts.
Don does have a new book out (with 5 other authors).  I haven't see it yet - a 
copy is on its way from Human Kinetics.

Anne Stewart, Professor
Department of Kinesiology
Service Learning Coordinator
Del Mar College
101 Baldwin Boulevard
Corpus Christi, TX  78404

(O) 361-698-1336
(F) 361 -698-1936


*We have had a couple of theatre course integrate service-learning.  

Mime and Movement
The class partnered with members of On Stage! to create mime performances
with a cirus theme. The On Stage! program conducts theater classes and
provides performance opportunities to adults coping with mental illness. Our
students taught their students about mime and developed over the course of
the semester a joint performance that was put on on-campus at the end of the
semester.

Improvisational Acting
Students conducted improv workshops at four different sites. One site was On
Stage!. Another  site was with mentally disabled children. Another site was
at a local elementary school with 3rd graders. And the last site was at an
after-school program through the YMCA for middle school students. In groups
the students conducted 3 workshops at each site. For the first half of the
semester, they researched and studied ways to adapt improv to different
populations. 

Karina Boslet
Service-Learning Coordinator, Whitworth College
509-777-4238

*Jerry Hanson  - Gettysburg College Theatre Dept. -- has been very involved
in international service-learning projects to Nicaragua, Peru, and has done
a lot of work/research in Bali -- works with students around street theatre
and other themes.  You may mention that I referred you to him.  I don't know
his extention but Gettyburg is 717-337-6000 -- he MAY be
jhanson@gettysburg.edu (I never tried it).

Madeline Yates
Maryland State Department of Education
Project Gettysburg-Leon (sister-city project with Nicaragua)
410-767-0366

*try contacting folk at Columbia College, Chicago....they have extensive arts 
programming with high levels of experiential learning..

*John Wallace from the U of Minnesota forwarded your query to me.

I use service-learning in my theater class, however, it is less 'traditional' 
in its focus, and seems to lend itself more clearly to service-learning work. 
I teach a version of Performance and Social Change and Community-based 
theater to a class of 15 graduate and undergraduate students who spend 20-30 
hours working with (somewhat vaguely defined) community-based theater groups. 
 These include a program using theater to teach literacy in elementary 
schools, a theater company for highschool kids on the north side of 
Minneapolis, a few interactive theater companies, and a Latina women's group 
celebrating La Posada.  

We spend a lot of time in the classroom asking questions about cultural 
colonization, social agency, and the responsibility of the artist/community 
to engage in mutual exchange. We also question the notion of 'community' as a 
positive, homogenous entity, examining the boundaries of 'community,' their 
fluidity/stability, and various ways of addressing the inclusion/exclusion 
paradigm that often defines community. 

The class is a combination of history/theory and practice. We look at the 
pageantry movement of the early 20th century, Little Theaters, grassroots 
theaters, separatist political movements identified with theater (such as the 
Black Arts Movement, El Teatro Campesino), Cornerstone Theater, and 
contemporary grassroots movements. I use Boal techniques, bring in guests 
from Yugoslavia using the work of Grotowski and Barba, and introduce some 
sociodrama to the classroom.

 I realize this model doesn't fit with how to use Service Learning in a voice 
or playwrighting class, but if it is of interest, I can send you a syllabus. 
Good luck!

Sonja Kuftinec
Assistant Professor
Theater Arts and Dance
University of Minnesota
580 Rarig--330 21st Ave. S. 
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-626-9238

*I would recommend finding a previously "unvoiced" community (maybe poor,
of color, etc) and working with them to tell their story.  See syllabus
below and definitely contact the professor Billy Yalowitz,
yalowitz@dca.net 

An idea for a short assignment would be to create street theater
performances that have been popular during the large protests we've seen
recently (Seattle, DC, Prague, etc.)  I'm sure there's a much richer
history to them then this past year, but recent events makes it more
salient.

Also, interesting disucssions could be on the use of art (especially
movies, books, and other story telling devices) in creating social
change.  Is this the purpose of art or not?  As Bertolt Brecht said,
"Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to
shape it."

Good luck!

Hillary

http://www.upenn.edu/ccp/PHENND/syllabi/THAR250.html 

*I searched the database of the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse and 
came up with the following information.  The first list is of programs - you 
can contact the person for more information. Some of the programs are based in 
high schools, but the themes and practices may be adaptable for college level. 
And next is a list of publications and articles
that might be helpful. I hope you can use some of this information and good 
luck!

Vicki McEvoy
Information Specialist
National Service-Learning Clearinghouse
1-800-808-7378

Program Examples:

Mindy Nierenberg
Director of Community Service and Service-Learning
Associate Dean of Students
Massachusetts College of Art
621 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
617-879-7701
Mindy has a lot of information on service learning in the visual arts and would 
be happy to share some of what they do at MassArt. She prefers to talk by 
phone- feel free to call her.

Program Title: Service-Learning
Organization:  Lynchburg College
Contact: Dr. Woody Greenberg, Dean: School of Communication & the Arts
Address: 1501 Lahecide Drive, Lynchburg, VA 24501
Phone: 804-544-8544
Email: greenberg_h@mail.lynchburg.edu 
Total participants for the school year: 25
The basic idea of the service learning project was to offer community
organizations our students' abilities to create audiovisual and/or
printed materials which could be used by those organizations to promote
their community work. Students from classes in public relations,
audiovisual communication and persuasive communication worked with staff
or volunteers at ten different community service organizations to
produce brochures, flyers, web pages, PowerPoint presentations and
videos to further the work of those organizations. The sustainability of
the project depends on follow-through. Materials created this year will
have a shelf life of one to three years. The partnerships would have to
be continued in order to update he materials students created. Students
learned the objectives and public communication strategies of the
participating groups, and in some cases continued to work for the
organizations after the class ended.

Program Title: Very Special Arts
Organization:  Piedmont High School
Contact: Tracy K. Price, Art Teacher
Address: 1619 Piedmont School Road, Monroe, NC 28110
Phone: 704-753-2825
Email: meersp@aol.com 
Total participants for the school year: 130
The Piedmont High School service learning project is called "Very
Special Arts." It utilizes the power of the arts to reach every child
and adult with a disability through a cooperative effort involving high
school art students and partners within the community. Students in the
art curriculum receive disability training through guest speakers,
videos, and class projects. Students in the National Art Honor Society
work one on one with individuals with disabilities on field trips, and
then report back to their classmates on their experiences. A countywide
festival is planned round a children's story book author and each art
activity is related to one of the author's books. On this day,
participants have the opportunity to celebrate and share accomplishments
in the arts. Many businesses and members of the community attend to make
this day a true celebration.

Program Title: Beyond El Gran Capoquero (The Great Kapok Tree)
Organization:  SAIL High School
Contact: Rosanne Wood, Principal
Address: 725 N. Macomb Street, Tallahassee, FL 32303
Phone: 850-488-2468
Email: rosanne@m2l.sail.leaon.k12.fl.us 
Total participants for the school year: 27
Beyond El Gran Capoquero (The Great Kapok Tree) Description
"Beyond El Gran Capoquero" extends SAIL's 1997-98 interdisciplinary
project whereby high school students acquire conversational Spanish
skills via Drama while providing community service to K-2 Spanish
students. That project's success, our desire to capitalize on the strong
oral presentation/drama skills of SAIL students and the support of our
school improvement plan (expansion of hands-on, applied experiential
learning and a greater emphasis on community service for our students)
encouraged us to continue. First semester included joint lesson
planning, student training in Spanish, Drama, and Early Childhood
Education teaching techniques, and development of student-produced
curriculum implementation activities. SAIL students met with Ruediger
second-grade students four times (informal "icebreakers", discussion of
rainforest animals and habitats, and painting murals used as scenery for
the first-grade students' second-semester performance). Second semester
included SAIL students meeting ten times with the first-graders,
teaching Spanish dialogue, drama and movement techniques, mask making,
and performance preparation. There were four performances * one, early
in the project, with SAIL students showing the Ruediger students "how
it's done"; one, near the end, with all the students, for Ruediger
parents and students; and two joint-cast productions, one for the
"Celebrate the Arts Festival" at Gretchen Everhart School for
Exceptional Students and one opportunity to entertain and exchange ideas
with visitors from the Ecuadorian rainforest. Sail students provided
approximately 700 hours of community service (including travel and
preparation) and helped develop replicable curriculum materials. All
students stayed enrolled in the program and took seriously their
responsibilities as teachers and role models. There is positive
anecdotal feedback from Everhart, Ruedigerand SAIL staff and plans to
continue the Spanish/Drama curriculum and Ruediger/SAIL relationship. We
may also pursue ways to replicate and use this Learn and Serve project
as a model to implement the Sunshine State Standards for Foreign
Language instruction for high school and elementary students and for
using authentic assessment for evaluation.

Program Title: Building Bridges
Organization:  Alcoa City Schools
Contact: Sherry E. Bundren, Director
Address: 524 Faraday Street, Alcoa, TN 37701
Phone: 423-984-0531
Email: SBundren@alcoaschools.net 
Total participants for the school year: 87
Alcoa High School in coordination with the School to Career programs
have selected violence reduction and reading improvement as the two area
where "Building Bridges" between the schools, businesses, and community
agencies create safe pathways for children. The objective is to empower
high school students to become problem solvers as they address the
issues that deal with violence and diversity. By utilizing reading,
drama, art, music and puppetry this group of student role models will
impact younger children with the message of peaceful resolution and
making positive choices.

Program Title: Teens With Attitude (TWA)
Organization:  Emma L. Minnis Jr. Academy
Contact: Glenn Timmons, Project Director
Address: 1735 Dixie Hwy, Louisville, KY 40210
Phone: 502-634-1121
Teens With Altitude (TWA) is a sociodrama designed to address community
problems of drug abuse, teen pregnancy, fire, safety, and gangs. The
sociodrama is presented through music, skits, puppetry, poetry, and
black light performances. It will strengthen social and resiliency
skills of children and youth to exhibit appropriate social behavior, to
use safe and healthful practices with their peers, to refuse to become
involved with drugs and gangs, and to refuse to become teenage parents.

Program Title: In Harmony
Organization:  Hillsborough County Schools
Contact: Nikki Schmidt, Music Specialist / Project director
Address: 723 East Hamilton Ave, Tampa, FL 33604
Phone: 813-276-5583
Email: bebop1@att.net 
Total participants for the school year: 492
IN HARMONY is a project that has established a service learning program
within our inner city school while establishing an intergenerational
link between our 480 at risk students and 500 senior citizens at a
nearby, non-profit, HUD subsidized retirement home. Our students are
meeting actual community needs while extending student learning beyond
the classroom. The students visit the retirement home each month to
present interactive programs of newly acquired academic skills. IN
HARMONY incorporates art, music, P.E., and drama to enhance what is
taught in the academic curriculum. This program fosters the development
of a sense of caring for others as the students share songs, games,
stories, dances, art projects, and much more with the elderly and
disabled residents form the senior citizen facility.

Program Title: Partners in Art
Organization:  Dodge County High School
Contact: Karl Hilliard, Art Teacher
Address: 1001 Cochran Highway, Eastman, GA 31023
Phone: 912-374-7711
Total participants for the school year: 33
Thanks to a group of enthusiastic team workers our community as a whole
will be greatly enriched. Owing to a combined effort of our local Arts
Guild, Construction students, who were responsible for designing and
building a brand new performance-art interior for our local movie
theater and a 6th Period Drama class, our community now has a top notch,
state of the art theatre that the entire community and county can take
pride in. The students profit greatly from the experience because it
provides a setting (The Magnolia Theatre) that inspires them more so
than a normal classroom environment. They are taught the history of the
theater, all aspects of stagecraft (including lighting and sound), and
lastly they are given the opportunity to improvise and perform. They
spend a total of 180 hours in this "classroom". Not only do the students
attend classes in the theater they are also custodians, who maintain and
cleanup the facility for various performances. They operate the sound
and lighting equipment and act as House Manager and staff for
school-related performances. All the students find the experience to be
greatly rewarding.

Program Title: Play with a Purpose
Organization:  Surry Arts Council
Contact: Brack Llewellyn, Artisitc Director
Address: PO Box 14, Mount Airy, NC 27030
Phone: 336-786-7998
Email: surryarts@advi.net 
Total participants for the school year: 34
"Play With A Purpose" participants conceptualized and produced three
different shows that were shared with our community. These included a
video, a radio drama, and a series of monologues and short scenes
addressing teen issues important to them. Most of the participants were
at risk. Students participating were involved in their first theatre
experiences. It was inspiring to see these students get excited about
both the production and the response of others to their efforts. The
project was based at three sites including the Andy Griffith Playhouse,
Foothills (alternative school) and the Eckerd Camp (a wilderness camp
for youth offenders). Performances were held in housing authority
recreation centers and in the Andy Griffith Playhouse. Students learned
about the productions from conceptualization to final performances. They
learned numerous skills relating to theater while focusing on issues
that were relevant to them-these ranged from teen pregnancy and suicide
to violence related topics.

NY State Education Department
Contact Information: Barbara Fischer, 393 Saint Pauls Avenue, Staten Island NY 
10304-2127; Phone: 718-442-7429; Email: 72713.3625@computerserve.com 
Description: The NYC Vocational Training Center (VTC), a 5-borough multi sited 
High School Program, the Fredrick Douglas Literacy Center (FDLC) and the 
Waterways Project of Ten Penny Players, Inc. (WP), a literacy arts publishing 
and performance program, are providing inclusive service learning and literacy 
enhancement opportunities for 400 VTC and 50 FDLC
at risk 11th grade NYC young adults. The program is implemented within the 
context of meeting targeted NYS Learning Standards through interdisciplinary 
arts programming and a school to work philosophy. VTC students receive 90 
minutes a day of academic instruction from 9 teachers and spend the remainder 
of the educational day in service learning activities.
Students participate in weekly reflection classes at their site. The Empire 
State Partnership (ESP) grant received by the three partners has enabled 
artists to work with both groups of students and with faculty. Two of the FDLC 
classes are preparing puppet shows with Brooklyn College based Puppetry in 
Practice. They will perform at their local nursing home,
the elementary school and at VTC nursing home sites. Similarly, VTC students 
based at Hyam Salomon also will work with the puppeteers to prepare productions 
which will be performed at the nursing home. The students will perform at their 
schools and libraries also. Students from both schools are working as well with 
poets, visual and performing artists to
create productions based on their own writing, oral histories they collect form 
family or community members, and picture books. Last year FDLC and VTC students 
worked together with a performance artist to prepare a production of student 
poetry which they then performed at a nursing home, a library and a park.

Lanett City Schools
Contact: Phillip Johnson, 1302 Cherry Drive, Lanett AL 36863; Phone: 
334-644-5962; Email: lbsljhs@mindspring.com 
Description: L.B. Sykes-Lanett Junior High School in Lanett, Alabama, was 
awarded $4,990.00 for their Learn and Serve project called Project SYKES: 
Successful Youth Knowledgeable & Eager for Service. Project SYKES incorporates 
service activities into required classes as well as clubs and organizations. 
The organizations and projects include: 1. National
Honor Society sponsors peer tutoring. 2. The Drama Class sponsors theatrical 
productions and a summer theater workshop. Students perform for community 
groups and other schools in the district. The summer theater workshop is 
planned for elementary age children in the community.

Blue Eye R-V School
Contact: Maude Coy, PO Box 105, Blue Eye MO 65611; Phone: 417-779-5331; Email: 
mcoy@mail.tri-lakes.net 
Description: The drama department's contribution to the service-learning 
program at this school is the  medieval Festival it organizes, involving most 
departments in the high school as well as the community. This event is a cross 
curricular project, including parental involvement, concentrating on a past 
time period. Students research medieval times while
focusing on originality and creativity in the areas of literature, music, art, 
family life, health, and sports of the time period. Students apply academic 
skills and research by writing historically plausible scripts and music. All 
areas of the curriculum are involved including business and commerce with 
ticket sales and guild booths at the festival.

Greater Ft. Hood Area Communities In Schools
Contact: Carolyn Coats, 1003 Medical Drive, Suite C, Killeen TX 76543; Phone: 
817-554-2132
Description: With the help of Scott and White Hospital, Teen Health corps at 
Temple High School is working to promote community awareness of HIV/AIDS. The 
students are currently educating the health classes at Temple High. They are 
using skits and slide shows to reinforce their message of health behavior. In 
the spring, THC members will present a docudrama
(a staged drunk driving accident, including all rescue personnel) to further 
educate students about the risks associated with drunk driving.

Stoughton School District
Contact: Don McHugh, 235 N Forest St, Soughton WI 53589; Phone: 608-877-5500
Description: The purpose of the service learning project is to create 
students-produced video taped vignettes of middle school students confronting 
peer pressure situation in which they need to make tough choices. The 
coordinator, Michael Walsh, is the drama and video production teacher who has 
attended a service learning in-service hosted by CESA 2. The
videos would be used to spark discussion in classrooms throughout Stoughton. 
Students also will participate by creating videos demonstrating bike and 
pedestrian safety. The students will plan, perform and shoot the video as well 
as post-production editing.

Methacton High School
Contact: Rosemary Welsh, 1001 Kriebel Mill Road, Norristown PA 19403; Phone: 
610-489-5000
Description: The Women's Performance Group considers itself more than just a 
club. It is an environment where young women and men consider women's issues, 
develop their unique talents, nurture their aspirations, and support others who 
are in needs. The group often uses visual and performing in its many service 
learning projects. As members of this group,
the students design and prepare each activity. Student officers and committees 
plan, oversee, and coordinate activities, and all members proudly demonstrate 
ownership of this service learning group. The women's Performance Group is 
currently working with district elementary and middle schools and with other 
districts, encouraging them to start similar
service learning programs. The group's many project include: Head Start Art & 
Literacy Program; Living Museum; Breast Cancer Awareness Month; Teddy Bear 
Drive; Women's Performance Group Home Page; National Women's History Month 
Celebrations and Conference; Montgomery County Women's Conference; Wall of 
Women; and a Dance Program.

Literature:

.**Note: Literature references cited below with an ED (ERIC document) number 
are available in ERIC and can be purchased through EDRS at: 
https://orders.edrs.com/Webstore/Default.cfm or by calling 800-443-3742 (If you 
have access to a college/university library they may have these items on 
microfiche, ask your librarian.)  Citations with an EJ (ERIC journal)
number are available through the originating journal, interlibrary loan 
services, or from the following: CARL UnCover S.O.S.: sos@carl.org, 
800-787-7979, online order form: http://uncweb.carl.org/sos/sosform.html; or 
ISI Document Solution: ids@isinet.com, 800-336-4474, 215-386-4399, online order 
form: http://www.isinet.com/prodserv/ids/idsfm.html 

TITLE: Be a Part of the Equation: A User's Guide on Arts in Community Service.
AUTHOR: Sam Quan Krueger
PUBLICATION DATE: 1999
PAGES: 44
ABSTRACT: This guide contains 19 program profiles, more than 25 additional 
summaries on other programs, 19 lesson activities, worksheets to develop an art 
in the community service activity, and information on contacting and locating 
community artists, groups, and other resources.
AVAILABILITY: 
http://www.nationalservice.org/research/fellows_reports/99/krueger.pdf; or 
contact the Corporation for National Service at 202-606-5000.

TITLE: Praxis I. A Faculty Casebook on Community Service Learning.
AUTHOR: Howard, Jeffrey, Ed.
PUBLICATION_DATE: 1993
ABSTRACT: This book is addressed to faculty trying to incorporate or use 
community service learning in their courses. The 17 papers are grouped into 
those on generic issues, on undergraduate course models, and on graduate course 
models. The papers are: "Community Service in the Curriculum" (Jeffrey Howard); 
(2) "Preparing Students to Learn from the
Experience of Community Service" (Allen Menlo); (3) "Community Service Learning 
as Innovation in the University" (Mark A. Chesler); (4) "Creating Spaces: Two 
Examples of Community-Based Learning" (Buzz Alexander); (5) "Integrating 
Service-Learning into a Course in Contemporary Political Issues" (Gregory B. 
Markus); (6) "Detroit Summer: A Model for
Service-Learning" (Bunyan Bryant); (7) "Community Service Writing in an 
Advanced Composition Class" (Karis Crawford); "(8) "Field Research: A 
Complement for Service Learning" (Kathleen Daly); (9) "Women in the Community: 
A Course in Social Change" (Christina Jose Kampfner); (10) "Taking Over the 
Reins: Service Projects in Environmental Studies" (Lisa
Bardwell and Shannon Sullivan); (11) "Psychology in the Community" (Jerry 
Miller); (12) "Adapting Drama Activities for Individuals with Disabilities" 
(Hilary U. Cohen); (13) "Environmental Action Projects as Community Service 
Learning" (Peter B. Kaufman and Mari Ziegler); (14) "Contradictory Missions of 
a Tempered Radical's Teaching" (Sharon E. Sutton);
(15) "Student Workshops as Community Service Learning" (Barry Checkoway), (16) 
"The Social Work Practicum as Service-Learning" (Lily Jarman-Rohde and John E. 
Tropman); and (17) "Linking Community Service with Independent Studies" (Toby 
Citrin);(Contains approximately 75 references.) (CH)
PAGES: 200
AVAILABILITY: OCSL Press, University of Michigan, Office of Community Service 
Learning, 2205 Michigan Union, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 ($18 plus $2 shipping and 
handling).

TITLE: Building Community: Service Learning In the Academic Disciplines.
AUTHORS: Richard Kraft; Marc Swadener
YEAR: 1994
PAGES: 276
ABSTRACT: This book is an attempt to provide the theoretical underpinnings and 
practical help for college and university professors or public school teachers 
who are attempting to institutionalize service-learning into their own courses 
or across the disciplines. Articles were contributed by scholars and 
practitioners in the field. One of the articles
presented is "Service Learning: Projects in Theatre" by Morris Burns.
AVAILABILITY: Colorado Campus Compact, 1392 N SPeer Blvd, Ste 200, Denver CO 
80203; Phone: 303-866-6897; Email: rapoport@csf.colorado.edu; URL: 
csf.colorado.edu/sl/ccc/ccc.htm

TITLE: Full Circle: Linking the Generations through Improvisational Theatre.
AUTHORS: Nancy Z. Henkin; Rosalie Minkin
YEAR: 1985
PAGES: 4
ABSTRACT: The article describes how the Center for Intergenerational Learning 
at Temple University created an intergenerational improvisational theatre 
troupe (Full Circle) to enhance age relations. The troupe consists of ten teens 
and 10 seniors who receive training in lifespan development and improvisational 
theatre. The troupe has effectively dispelled
age related myths and stereotypes. (SH)
AVAILABILITY: Children Today p23-26 Sep/Oct 1985

TITLE: Towards Excellence: Developing High Standards in Youth Programs.
AUTHOR: Diane Harrington
YEAR: 1983
PAGES: 24
ABSTRACT: Examination of 4 programs in which young people have consistently 
excelled shows common elements, despite differences in setting, population and 
goals. The 4 programs, which exemplify problem solving, peer counseling, 
community service and communication, respectively, include: (1) the Youth 
Action Program in New York City, a community improvement
program created and run by East Harlem youth with the help of adult 
facilitators; (2) the Rap Room, located in a Hartsdale, New York, high school, 
a drop in peer counseling center staffed by students trained by a school 
psychologist; (3) the Family Life Theatre in New York City, in which, with the 
help of adult mentors, high school students develop and
present short skits on health related issues for other young people and 
community groups; and (4) Youth Communication/Chicago Center in Chicago, 
Illinois, in which teenagers, with the help of adult facilitators, work to 
promote positive ideas about the role of adolescents in society. Elements 
common to all, and which seem to be requisites for excellence,
are meaningful and challenging work, a collaborative group that allows for both 
structure and flexibility and provides responsible roles for youth, 
facilitating roles for adults that permit careful preparation and training of 
youth, opportunities for reflection and rewards for excellence (ERIC).
AVAILABILITY: EDRS -- ERIC number is ED240187








Sylvia King - Service-Learning Program Graduate Assistant
Boise State University, Idaho
208-426-1004
sking1@boisestate.edu 
servlern@boisestate.edu

SL Theater syllabi.doc