Most of us who went into theatre education wanted to make a difference: to provide those we serve with new understanding of what it means to be human, to excite their imaginations, enhance their quality of life, add an element of joy and possibility to the world of the everyday and the humdrum. So we constantly ask, are we attaining this end? Are we contributing to the growth and understanding of the learners we serve? Are we changing people's lives?

At MTC, sometimes the answer is a clear, resounding "Yes!" In the Highlights section of this report, we provide instances of dramatic changes in the lives of three students. There's Dan, who won a national playwriting contest after participating in our Write Now! after-school playwriting program; Mac, who was admitted to college based solely on a play he had written through a Write on the Edge playwriting residency; and David, who, having been declared functionally illiterate by his school, astounded his teachers by writing a powerfully affecting monologue as part of a Core Unit of Study.

But more often the differences we seem to make are subtle and incremental. We know, for example, that one third of the roughly 3,000 students we serve have never before seen a professional theatrical production. Nearly 100% told us that their work with our teaching artists made the performance they attended more meaningful, and 91% reported an increased interest in seeing live theatre.

Teachers report on how disaffected students become deeply engaged, motivated, and participatory in our residencies. More than a few tell us of failing students who received passing grades because of their work with MTC. And many write about students with low self-esteem and poor work habits developing a sense of pride and accomplishment and a genuine artistic voice through our playwriting residencies.

The students themselves tell us about growth and change.  One, in connection with The Pitmen Painters, wrote about appreciating the distinction between price and value. 

Others wrote about gaining empathy and insight through their experience with The Whipping Man.  Still others, in encountering Good People, deepened their understanding of selflessness, the relationship between luck and success, and the meaning of the play’s title. 

Do such individual anecdotes constitute evidence of permanent life changes?  Perhaps not.  But we believe that these kinds of small instances of increased understanding or changed attitudes, if repeated sufficiently, do make a difference in learners’ lives. 

David Shookhoff
Director of Education

PAST LETTERS

2009 Director’s Letter
2008 Director’s Letter
2007 Director’s Letter
2006 Director’s Letter
2005 Director's Letter