QUESTIONS?
ESME WU
School Programs Manager
713-315-5425
EsmeW@alleytheatre.org
Alley Theatre offers an array of exciting and impactful workshops and residencies to middle and high schools that are designed for in-person or online learning. Our programs challenge students’ understanding of current events and explore the fundamental questions with which we all wrestle.
Available Workshops & Residencies
*Residencies marked with an * include showcase opportunities at Alley Theatre.
Build confidence by bringing language to life. Local professional Slam Poets guide students through the process of writing and performing their own Slam poems while also exploring dynamic literary techniques. This residency can be conducted in-person or virtually. Click here for more information.
Required length: 10 sessions.
Provide an entry point for the next great American playwright…or any student who just needs to tell their story. Five of the country’s most prolific playwrights help your students unearth the stories they need to tell. Using a customized online module, students are guided through a carefully curated and engaging program featuring a mix of synchronous and asynchronous instruction. The process culminates in each student crafting their own 10-minute play. Click here for more information.
Required length: 14 sessions
Transform memories into personal narratives. Students explore a combination of playwriting and creative non-fiction techniques to generate stories. These first drafts create a solid foundation for college essays, monologues, and devised performance. This residency can be conducted in-person or virtually. Click here to learn more.
Recommended length: 8 sessions.
Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be performed, so we help students shake off the “Shakes-Fear” while bringing his stories to life. Students investigate the universal themes represented in the work and how it applies to modern day, while learning fundamental concepts including poetry and characterization. Great for ELA or Theatre classes.
Recommended length: 5 sessions
Our Teaching Artist help students become more comfortable with spontaneity while also fostering a sense of ensemble, strengthening listening skills, and encouraging bold choices. Perfect for beginning and advanced performers.
Recommended length: 4 sessions.
Delve into script and character analysis by working on the actor’s calling card – the monologue. Students are guided through a process to help them create character, environment, and clear intention – essential foundational skills for all performers.
Recommended length: 5 sessions.
Executive Presence is an essential tool for almost all professions, but not all students understand the nuances of effective presentation and communication. Adapted from our successful coaching program for business professionals, Alley Teaching Artists help students refine skills that give them a leg up in job interviews, auditions, and public speaking.
Recommended length: 5-10 class days
An ovation-worthy performance in a musical requires more than just a pretty voice. Our accomplished Teaching Artists, who have appeared on Broadway and in major theatres across the country, will guide your students through the process of developing a three-dimensional character with a show-stopping character arch.
Recommended length: 5-8 sessions.
The Alley can work with you to achieve specific goals tied to a particular show or theatrical work. Based on availability, the Alley can partner you with a Teaching Artist who has extensive experience as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Our current roster includes Broadway veterans and alumni of the American Ballet Theatre.
Recommended length: 3-5 class days
A professional theatre or film artist needs more than just talent to sustain a career. They must have a keen understanding of how technology and social media can serve as essential tools for promoting themselves and their work. Led by Broadway veteran and Social Media Influencer Bret Shuford, Show Business will show students how to build a brand for themselves while staying true to their art. This residency can be conducted in-person or virtually.
Recommended length: 5 sessions.
Explore social justice issues that impact your community and your future, using Forum Theatre techniques pioneered by Brazilian theatre artist Augusto Boal. Students engage in meaningful discussion around difficult topics and explore potential active solutions to real life problems.
Recommended length: 10 sessions
What’s important for us to remember about what’s happening right now? Alley actors and artists guide students in creating and interviewing an 80-year-old version of themselves. Focusing on Acting fundamentals such as truth, objective, and tactic – students walk away with a powerful and cathartic piece of theatre. This residency can be conducted in-person or virtually.
Recommended length: 5 sessions.
Everyone entering the workforce – whether as an artist, entrepreneur, or administrative assistant – must have the ability to embrace lifelong upskilling to keep pace with our rapidly transforming economies. This innovative residency partners technology with the fundamentals of storytelling. Teaching Artists guide students through the process of creating their story with lessons in devising, scripting, and editing. The B.E.T.A. (Building Exceptional Theatrical Art) Project is great for classes with an array of experience with tech.
Required Length: 8 sessions
Whether it’s a stage slap or a kiss, it’s more important than ever that students and educators understand the fundamentals of physical contact between artists. Alley Theatre can partner you with a Teaching Artist who is highly trained in stage combat and/or intimacy, and they will guide you through the process of creating a safe and communicative environment in the classroom or onstage.
Recommended length: 1-3 class days
Collaboratively create theatrical works based on what matters to you. Guided by Alley Teaching Artists, students work as an ensemble to transform complex ideas into original scenes – using a variety of techniques including improvisation, physicality, and tableau.
Recommended length: 5 class days.
Select Residencies Funded by the Arts Action Fund @ Arts Connect Houston.
