Planning an Educational Theatre Tour: Pepperdine University

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Keywords

Outreach, Theatre, Community, Local Schools

Department

Theater Arts

Major

Theater (Directing Emphasis)

Abstract

Last fall, I was the Assistant Director for the Pepperdine Theater Department’s show This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing directed by Hollace Starr. Professor Starr and I brainstormed ways to tour this play since it was a particularly good show for a younger audience by taking it to the local elementary schools near Pepperdine. In the end, we were unable to tour the show, but we still had interest in the idea of some sort of outreach to local schools so we looked at the hypothetical idea of what it would look like if we- the theater department- were to do an outreach event with the local grade schools. The purpose of this study is to see if there is an interest from the local elementary schools in engaging with Pepperdine’s theater program. If yes, then answering the question: How can the theater department most effectively reach the community’s students to explore theater? To answer this question, I contacted the two elementary schools in Malibu- Webster Elementary School and Malibu Elementary School- surveying to see how interested they are in the hypothetical idea of working with Pepperdine Theater on giving the elementary schoolers so the students would have an opportunity to experience theater. I also interviewed Mason Eubank, the arts education coordinator, who works on the ARTSReach program at Pepperdine since he has experience with outreach and knowledge about how to engage with the Malibu community. After researching engagement programs across the United States and conducting my own research, I concluded three main ways how the Theater Department could engage in the local community: (1) the theater department receiving help from the ARTSReach program to bus students in to see a performance, (2) some students volunteer on behalf of the theater department to play theater games or do a warm up with the students who are inviting Pepperdine University to see a show at CFA that same day, or (3) the Pepperdine theater students going to the schools to do a workshop, perform a song or a scene to the students.

Faculty Mentor

Hollace Starr

Funding Source or Research Program

Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative

Location

Black Family Plaza Classroom 191

Start Date

22-3-2024 3:30 PM

End Date

22-3-2024 3:45 PM

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Mar 22nd, 3:30 PM Mar 22nd, 3:45 PM

Planning an Educational Theatre Tour: Pepperdine University

Black Family Plaza Classroom 191

Last fall, I was the Assistant Director for the Pepperdine Theater Department’s show This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing directed by Hollace Starr. Professor Starr and I brainstormed ways to tour this play since it was a particularly good show for a younger audience by taking it to the local elementary schools near Pepperdine. In the end, we were unable to tour the show, but we still had interest in the idea of some sort of outreach to local schools so we looked at the hypothetical idea of what it would look like if we- the theater department- were to do an outreach event with the local grade schools. The purpose of this study is to see if there is an interest from the local elementary schools in engaging with Pepperdine’s theater program. If yes, then answering the question: How can the theater department most effectively reach the community’s students to explore theater? To answer this question, I contacted the two elementary schools in Malibu- Webster Elementary School and Malibu Elementary School- surveying to see how interested they are in the hypothetical idea of working with Pepperdine Theater on giving the elementary schoolers so the students would have an opportunity to experience theater. I also interviewed Mason Eubank, the arts education coordinator, who works on the ARTSReach program at Pepperdine since he has experience with outreach and knowledge about how to engage with the Malibu community. After researching engagement programs across the United States and conducting my own research, I concluded three main ways how the Theater Department could engage in the local community: (1) the theater department receiving help from the ARTSReach program to bus students in to see a performance, (2) some students volunteer on behalf of the theater department to play theater games or do a warm up with the students who are inviting Pepperdine University to see a show at CFA that same day, or (3) the Pepperdine theater students going to the schools to do a workshop, perform a song or a scene to the students.