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Hudson River Playback Theatre designs programs according to the school's needs and resources. Staff training is also available. Call us at 845.255.7716 or email                                             to discuss a playback theatre program in your school.

"With ingenuity, energy, and knowledge of the task at hand, you created an interactive learning environment where students felt safe enough to take risks in regard to a difficult social issue."
"Diversity Week at Saugerties High School grew out of terrible racial incidents. For this one week, at least, there seems to be a genuine sense of fun and enjoyment about what is different and unusual in our world. Hudson River Playback Theatre is one of the most important parts of the week because it allows students to express the deeply personal side of what it means to be culturally diverse."

Playback theatre also addresses character education through promoting tolerance, self-awareness, compassion, acceptance, co-operation, and other core values.
 

CDOS:
Standard 3a
Social Studies:
Standards 2, 3, 5
English Language Arts:
Standards 2, 4
Health. Physical Education
and Home Economics:
Standards 2,3
The Arts:
Standards 1, 2, 3, and 4

"We learned what it's like to be in other people's shoes."
"Students benefit because they get to express their feelings."
" I learnt that it is okay when you want to try to stop teasing and  that I could do that."
"Bullying is wrong, and if you help someone you'll feel good."
"They showed us ways to solve our problems."

• 10-performance series for sixth graders on bullying
• 10-performance series for students grades 2-12,  teachers, and the community on cultural awareness post-9/11
• 20-performance series  on building respect for high school  students.

In a Hudson River Playback Theatre show, we invite the students to tell their personal experiences, thoughts, and feelings, then watch as our actors enact their stories on the spot.
 
Seeing their personal stories brought to life on stage enables students to understand their own and other children's experiences in a new way. It promotes empathy and reduces isolation.
 
A troubling story can become an opportunity for the teller and other students to explore alternative actions.
 
HRPT helps to create a shared frame of reference for further classroom discussion. Everyone can remember and refer to the stories that were shared in the performance.