Kevin Carroll Katalyst

Theater as a tool for change

By Jennifer Holder, TC Daily Planet
May 27, 2008

“The theater [can be used] as a tool for personal and social change,” said Jan Mandell, teacher and director of the Central Touring Theater (CTT) Program at St. Paul’s Central High School. For the past thirty years, her CTT students have used theater for change: creating, performing and touring original theater throughout the Twin Cities. They delight, inspire and motivate diverse audiences with their artistic expressions of social issues.

“The students work together, play together inside and outside of the theater, and have formed a very positive group for each other and those around them – and that’s great,” said a parent at CTT’s final performance for the 2007-08 school year.

CTT’s printed program claims the title of “Minnesota’s premier youth social activism theater troupe.” Its students come from a variety of racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and are “engaged in vigorous theater training that helps them to learn about each other and to transform their communities.”

Two years ago, Mandell asked her students, “How do we lower the achievement gap?” Closing the achievement gap between student groups is one of the goals set forth in the St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) current Strategic Plan. CTT students responded with the creation of Seeds of Change.

Achievement Gap

Twin Cities Compass recently reported on disparities in the seven-county metro area:

• About 9 of 10 white third grade children in the Twin Cities region meet or exceed reading proficiency standards while only about 6 of 10 third grade children of color do.

• In 2007, about 42% of white (non-Hispanic) students in the region met or exceeded Minnesota’s math proficiency standards compared to 17% of students of color.

• The on-time graduation rate for white students is about 34 percentage points higher than the rate for students of color.

St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) administration describes Seeds of Change as “both a production and a support network that aims to lower the achievement gap between African American males and other student groups.” At its start in 2006, nine students (six black males, a black female, a white female and an Asian male) participated in the development of the play. That number has since grown to twenty.

Students meet weekly and receive one-on-one academic tutoring, homework help, and a mentoring relationship with a Concordia University student, who serves as a positive role model for the students. Mandell describes the program as highly successful. In this group, the achievement gap has been lowered – their grades have improved and, with the exception of one dropout, they all plan on attending college.

(Follow the link below to read the entire article.)

Combine a pressing human need with a desire to address it; then find a talent, a skill, or a game that can engage the latent abilities of people who need just a little bit of help firing their imagination….and PRESTO…you’ve got Seeds of Change.

What’s your Red Rubber Ball?!