Berkeley Playhouse Presents Educational Theatre Opportunities for Schools

Bring the stage alive and the lessons into the classrooms with Berkeley Playhouse school curriculum guides or classroom visits!

Participating schools will receive live, professional theatre performances by the cast of the Berkeley Playhouse.  In addition to the theatre performance, participating schools will receive one to three hours of creative, fun and interactive workshops conducted by trained teaching artists.

The workshops are based on a current or recent Berkeley Playhouse production.  The purpose of the workshops is to engage students in a deep understanding of the play.  The curriculum and instructors are focused on  exploring themes presented in the play, making meaningful connections with other disciplines, and exploring the world of music and theatre.

Berkeley Playhouse schools programs are dynamic, relevant, and engaging. The workshops are interactive.  They stimulate the imagination and encourage individual expression.  Teachers are given tools to help students make meaningful connections to curricula.

Steeping children in theatre can improve literacy levels. When children act out the text of a play, they are functioning on all literacy levels: reading, writing, listening and speaking. But more than that, when children create art, they become impassioned, excited and alive.
The Structure of the TheatreReach Program

There is one workshop before the theatre piece is presented and one to two workshops post-presentation.

Pre: The pre-show workshops introduce students to the text and the craft of theatre so that when they see the theatre piece, they relate to what is happening on stage with the characters, plots and themes more intimately.

Post: The post presentations provide opportunities for students to create their own theatre pieces to show their understanding of the play, the story and the experience. Each series of workshops are age appropriate and developed with input from participating teachers.  The play may be the same for various age groups, but the workshops are designed to reach the interest levels and maturity of the students.