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Imagination Stage

Using theatre productions and educational workshops to bridge cultural divides and lift up underrepresented voices, Imagination Stage’s Theatre for Change program explores complex social justice issues to help build a new generation of compassionate, collaborative children who are capable of changing the world.

10 Seconds

This play by Miriam Gonzales is based on conversations and discoveries from two years of workshops with police officers and young people ages (12-18). The piece was filmed in spring 2021 to offer a virtual tour of the show during the pandemic for audiences in the DC and Dallas regions. In November 2021, the live production premiered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library in Washington, DC, and will tour to schools and community centers in the coming years. All performances are accompanied by an audience workshop facilitated by a teaching artist, as well as a discussion guide.

 

To receive a virtual 10 Seconds experience, contact

Travis Xavier Brown
Theatre for Change Manager
301-280-1674
[email protected]

¡Óyeme!

This multifaceted initiative includes an intensive series of educational workshops for immigrant youths—offered through in-school programs—and Óyeme, the beautiful, an Imagination Stage-commissioned, touring production inspired by the experiences shared by the students who have participated in the workshops.

Enhancing the impact and engagement of the show is a range of resources, including a learning activity guide, a post-performance workshop for attendees, and professional development training for teachers.

 

For more information contact:

Hilda Lee Tijerina

Theatre for Change Manager

301-280-1688

[email protected]

The Youth and Police Partnership

Imagination Stage’s Youth and Police Partnership brings together young people and DC law enforcement officers to build trusting relationships and find common ground. Officers and youth use acting, improv, and visual art as a way to begin conversations around themes that are relevant to their lives and the communities they live and work in. Through this program, a space is provided for youth and officers to create art and share experiences that strengthen relationships and foster a community of trust and understanding that can be taken beyond the workshop.

 

Our lead partner is the DC Police Foundation; the project is supported by Wells Fargo, DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, and The Children’s Theatre Foundation of America.

Voices Beyond Bars

In a continuation of our mission to explore complex social issues to help build a new generation of compassionate, collaborative children who are capable of changing the world, the Theatre for Change department of Imagination Stage launched the Voices Beyond Bars (VBB) program in 2019 that included 18 young men between the ages of 17 and 21. This was possible through a successful partnership with the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyd, Maryland.

The VBB program was launched with the goal of having participants increase their competency in self-awareness and self-actualization through the use of theatre arts and other creative techniques. Workshops for VBB include instructions on improvisation, poetry writing, playwriting, and performance techniques. The workshops culminate in a final presentation of original poetry, monologues, and short scenes written by incarcerated young people. 

Recently, through generous funding from the National Endowment of the Arts, Theatre for Change began facilitating Voices Beyond Bars in partnership with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services at the Alfred D. Noyes’ Children’s Center, Victor Cullen Center, and the Lower Eastern Shore Children’s Center.

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