La Jolla Playhouse partners with school districts across the county to place professional theatre educators in the schools for long-term, intensive artist residencies aimed at providing young people with meaningful opportunities to experience, learn about, and create theatre.
Since 1999 La Jolla Playhouse and the Visual and Performing Arts Department of San Diego County Office of Education, have been recognized as a “Partners-In-Education” site as certified by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. This unique partnership places professional teaching artists in schools with classroom teachers to incorporate theatre activities and exercises into existing curriculum as well as provides professional learning opportunities for educators.
La Jolla Playhouse is a national partner of the Educational Theatre Association’s JumpStart Theatre program. This three-year program consists of dedicated curriculum developed by iTheatrics to provide middle school teachers with the skills and resources needed to produce musicals in their schools for the first time. From a series of boot camp training sessions to one-on-one mentorship by Playhouse staff, this ground-breaking program is provided to schools free of charge and targets underserved schools in San Diego County that do not already have a Theatre program in place. JumpStart Theatre currently works with 3 San Diego Middle Schools, has graduated 5 Middle Schools, and will be accepting applications for 2-3 new middle schools for the 2024-25 school year.
» Learn more about JumpStart Theatre
La Jolla Playhouse is also pleased to partner with schools and teachers to develop specialized workshops and residency programs for the classroom. Our teaching artists provide multi-level instruction in stage combat, storytelling, play development, movement and other theatre techniques. Requests for workshops and residency programs are welcomed.
If you are interested in hosting La Jolla Playhouse in your school, please contact [email protected].
This three week program is an exciting, personalized exploration of community and history through docu play theatre. Docu Play theatre is a form of devised theatre in which participants will create a story based on their own stories and stories of members of their communities. Students will participate in ensemble building theatre exercises, explore elements of storytelling, learn how to conduct an informational interview, edit and revise language to create a focused piece of theatre, learn performance techniques, and explore stories from within their own community. This fun theatre program will have students learning new techniques, all the while growing their creativity and confidence. This program is in partnership with The San Diego Foundation and San Diego Unified School District’s LEVEL UP program.
La Jolla Playhouse and SDUSD are excited to partner with engaged youth from all high schools in the San Diego Unified School District for the Honors Theatre Project. Through the process, students collaborate through theatre exercises and performance under the guidance of a La Jolla Playhouse Teaching Artist to develop a brand new piece of theatre that will be performed for audiences at the 2022 La Jolla Playhouse Without Walls (WOW) Festival. Students also spend a day at La Jolla Playhouse receiving mentorship and learning about the ins and outs of creating professional theatre by meeting with some of the most innovative LJP staff members from scenic production, lighting, sound design, costumes, and props and discover how you can promote your show and develop a marketing plan to bring audiences to your performances by learning from the Marketing and Communications Dept at LJP.
For any questions on in-school programs, please contact [email protected].
For lesson plans, digital performances, and videos to use in your classroom, please visit our FOR EDUCATORS page.
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