Integrating Theatre into Everyday Learning

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Enjoy this free download of the Storytelling for Students prompts.

Susan 

Well, welcome to the show, Sharese. I’m so excited for you to be here today. Of course. So could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey on becoming this amazing, multi-talented artist and educator?

Sharese 

Thanks for having me. I always really loved drama from being a little kid into middle school and then in high school I hardly did it and I…took a mock trial class and decided I wanted to be a lawyer. Laurie came in one day and was like, you don’t have to major in pre-law to go to law school. And I was like, great, that’s exciting. You can major in anything. So I majored in theater and that I mastered in theater. I still work in theater and I always say that I think that I will become a lawyer when I’m like in my 50s and I’ve retired. So there’s still time, God willing. but yeah, so that’s how I came to art. And then the different kinds of art that I do were just, I think, based on things I thought were really interesting that, in some ways I was allowed to do. so my undergraduate program was very general. and so that gave me lot of opportunity to try a bunch of different stuff.

And then moving to Philadelphia. I don’t know any artist who like only does one thing. Most people do multiple things because that’s what you have to do to get by. And so it’s given me this really awesome opportunity to keep doing a bunch of stuff and play around in different ways, which I feel like is very good for my brain, the neuroplasticity. But yeah, that’s kind of how I came to be.

Susan 

That’s so fun. My daughter’s actually in mock trial right now and she is so excited about it. And I was like, girl, you will perform more than anything else and just use that. I’ve had a voice teacher in college tell me, being a teacher and being a performer is pretty much the same thing. You’re always on. I love that experience for you. Philadelphia has become just this Mecca, I think, of arts and education and culture combining.

In the last five years, we just had another podcast episode with another educator who’s working in theater and the arts in Philadelphia. So I’m wondering what drew you to that area?

Sharese 

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I definitely would say that arts education in Philadelphia is quite large, which is how I’ve been able to find so many different cool work opportunities. But I actually had come to Philly in 2018 for an audition, of which I did not move on path. So it was for an apprenticeship, did not get it.

I’d applied to different theater for like a stage management thing, which is funny because I don’t like stage management. For me, I love stage managers, but I didn’t get that either. And having been in Philly, I was like, okay, I think it’s fine. Like, I’m good. I always really wanted to move to Atlanta, because again, it’s in the south, but the city.

But what ended up happening was I went to this graduate school sort of festival or like a job fair but for grad schools. And so I ended up talking to these really awesome people who were at Villanova but I had no idea where Villanova was. And so it sounded like they were gonna meet me with what I was looking to gain from the school in their graduate theater program. So I said, yeah, sure, I’ll do it, they’re so nice and then I was like you know I have no idea where Villanova is like not the slightest clue not a sports fan so I like googled it and I was like that’s basically Philadelphia you got me after I fully decided the feeling is not for everybody

And so I went, it was a two year program, smack dab in the middle of the pandemic, which makes it hard for theater. But I finished and I stayed. I like, you know, have gone out places and sort of always come back and it feels like a really good spot to explore a lot of things that I’m interested in doing and the kind of work that I’m interested in doing.

So that’s what attracted me to Philadelphia. There’s a lot of opportunity, which is awesome for an artist like me.

Susan 

Absolutely. So let’s talk about the work that you’re doing now. So you’re the program director at Yes and Collaborative Arts. Tell us how that evolved and what you do there as the program director.

Sharese

Yeah, sure. So I graduated from grad school 2021. Obviously needed a job or two. And so I was looking on Theater Philadelphia, which is like a sort of theater hub for jobs and they do a lot of listings, blah, blah, blah. And so I saw that yes and was on there and they were looking for teaching artists for summer camp. And I was… pretty interested. The last time that I’d done a summer camp was in 2018 after I graduated from undergrad. And I did this awesome program in Italy. But the way the funds were set up, know, everybody can’t go back to Italy every summer. So I was like, this sounds great. It’s like collaborative theater making with kids, which I just taken a collaborative theater class like that year or maybe the year before. And I was like, yeah, let’s do it. So I applied and they hired me and I was a teaching artist. And that summer, 2021 was pretty pivotal and magical. We were fully masked indoors and potentially outdoors. But we had such a good time like creating and imagining with these kids and really leading into what they were interested in. And so I was like, yeah, I will be back here. So I sort of worked in the fall and the spring with them. And then I did another summer. that part, by that point, I was working at a daycare as well. But I actually took the summer off of the daycare to work at Yes And. And…

So that’s two summers down at Yes Anne and then the program director at the time, Krista, was actually leaving to move to North Carolina. And so I was like, I had thought about it, but I wasn’t quite sure. And then Chris, who’s the executive director, was like, why don’t you apply? Because we had been doing these sessions to revamp our mission statement and I had come because I was like, yeah, that sounds cool, whatever.

And so I applied and again, they hired me. And what I do as a program director sort of switches to based on what programs are happening. So sometimes I’m creating entirely new programs or we’re making a program that hasn’t existed in long time. Like we just brought our studio classes back. But even I was just on a call with my boss about studio classes for next semester and getting the information out there. So we do that. do, we have a teen program that I help program direct. There is a program director tied to that program, but the teens meet year round and they spend the better part of half of a year planning and creating their own play. And that goes up in a fringe festival. So I spend a lot of time doing that.

We have our Sorta Thing program, which is our musical program, and there’s Summer Sorta Thing, which happens in the summer for like four weeks, and then there’s Winter Sorta Thing, which happens in the fall and winter for many, many months. And so helping manage that, hire people. Now there’s a program director specifically for Sorta Thing, but a lot of things that I do are onboarding people and figuring out what are ways to more seamlessly onboard them.

So that’s sort of a daily task. And then we have like our play days, which happen when the Philadelphia School District doesn’t have school and they can come to us and do a day of camp. So planning that, managing that. And I think that maybe most of the things, right now we’re in a partnership with an organization called MakeSpace, which looks at arts integration in schools based on the subjects that these teachers are teaching and so we’re sort of in the beginning steps of figuring out how to do that, but we have teaching artists there. So there’s like, no day is the same day. I’ll say it that much. Like, I’ll go from like working on contracts to being like, who do I email to reach out to this person for this sort of thing? Or I’m speaking with the other program directors or I’m planning with the teachers or I’m in the building and I’m doing all these sort of things. So it’s many different hats quite often.

Susan 

Yeah, but that’s what keeps life exciting, right? mean, it sounds like a really exciting job. So you mentioned collaborative arts and it sounds like you guys do so many different kinds of programs to support children of all ages, right? K-12. So talk to us a little bit about collaborative theater. What specifically is that and how is that imagined or reimagined at Yes And Collaborative Arts?

Sharese 

So collaborative theater making is largely seated in devising. Now there are people who have whole degrees in devising and so that’s much more specific. But collaborative theater making is largely like how can we come together to tell a story? And so when I was taking that class in grad school it would be that we had prompts and so we learned various techniques for story building and we would use those techniques to fill out the prompts.

When we’re looking at Yes and, we break it down into, like, when we’re in the summer, we break it down to four groups, which is storytelling, acting, visual art, and, man, I always forget one, and movement. And so we’re like, these are part of the storytelling. This is how you can make a story. And understanding that when you’re looking at theater, these are crucial elements to doing that story.

And so oftentimes, we’re almost tricking the kids into collaborating. Having looked at kids who have gone through the program and then ended up being what we call a traveler, which is more like a counselor position, but they’re the best camper in the room. They go along with the kids throughout the day rather than teaching specific things. And the kids who have been in the program and become adult travelers, are like, wow, I had no idea so much planning went into the day. really, the kids really think that we’re just like doing these things. And we’re fully like, how can we truly come together and be cohesive and work towards a common goal? Because we wanna do that with art as the vehicle, but we also have this understanding that some of the kids will be with us for one, you know, for a month. Some of the kids will be with us for a week. Some of the kids will be with us for 10 years. And regardless of how long they’re with us, we want them to walk away as ideally better humans who are gonna say, okay, hold on everybody. Okay, there’s lots of different ideas happening right now. Let’s figure out how to synthesize it and come together for a thing that we feel like we have consensus on. So that is collaborative theater making, specifically at Yes And and sort of our larger goals.

Susan 

So how have you seen that element of collaboration, which seems to be at the heart of everything you’re working on, how have you seen that change the students that have come through your doors?

Sharese

 think that as time goes on, they begin to have a better understanding of themselves and themselves as society, which is really exciting. Like even, I’m thinking back at our youngest level, which is our imagination camp, there’s a kid who fully, they were sort of not really engaged in what we were doing and very much interested in doing honestly anything else. And as time goes on and being very upfront with them about like, you know, we don’t really force the kids to do anything. Honestly, if they aren’t interested, we’re like, okay, well, the other option is playing around with pipe cleaners over there. Like, you know, like, yeah, you know. And so this particular kid also really drawn to Violet, but seeing over time how we’re not going to give up on you and we’re not going to give up on this idea that you can be collaborative, and sort of hand like, you know, handing it to them bit by bit and empowering us to like, what if we have that communication? What if we actually lean into bridging the gaps between what you want to do and what we want you to do? so for instance, they had gone through camp for a few weeks.

And our camps are kind of intense, so, you know, we are asking them to work creatively, which can be kind of exhausting. But, so we’re working with this kid, one of the teachers had a conversation that was like, hey, we think that you’re very smart and very creative, and we just want to see that come up in the room. So there’s some of the stuff that you’ve been doing and saying, which is not particularly helpful for what the group needs.

And so what can we agree to that’s gonna sort of balance that stuff out? So they had that conversation. I remember when I would be on lunch duty and overhearing their conversations, I would constantly be saying, new choice, which is like an improv thing, because they would be telling a story and it would get really gory. And I’d be like, new choice, new choice, make a new choice, which I’m pushing you to be creative because a lot of the violent stuff is very boring in actuality.

Like it’s not in depth or like, you know, it’s just like, and then they died. Okay. And well, I need to know more. And I need you to actually make some creative decisions as opposed to just saying things for shock value. So anyway, we’re having this journey with this kid and on the last day or one of the last days, they like to play this game with another kid in which they like, put, it’s a thing that you can sort of throw a frisbee into over their head and they would like toss a ball and they would try to catch it or whatever. And so we had been like, no, we’re not going to play that game. It feels unsafe. So they come up and they’re like, so the material is actually pretty, you can see through it. So it’s not like we’re running around and can’t see. And we won’t run. We’ll just sort of like move like this, which looked like a prance.

And I was like, okay, if you got a prance, let’s do it. And to see them like, first of all, the fact that they came up and asked about it is like a big, huge step because it means like you’ve heard the corrections that we’ve tried to make and you’re like, okay, well, what if I go about this in a different way? That’s a huge step. And then like walking us through why this is good.

I think was just another sign of like, you know, we actually can work together. We are not the enemy. You’re not the enemy. We need to figure out what are the ways for us to actually accomplish some things. So that’s like a really beautiful moment. When they get a little bit older and you’ve seen them for years, you can just see like from them being like, this thing, how many was really frustrating and we’re talking it through and we’re like, well why are we frustrated? Well because this person was stuck on this, blah blah blah blah. And so then I can say, okay, but this is a new person and you had to think about it. When you came in, you had some of these tendencies as well. And they’re like, I hadn’t even thought of that. I should have given them more grace. And so they’re learning to be empathetic for themselves, they’re learning to be empathetic for each other, and also to gain more skills of what does it look like to work together in many, different ways. And so it takes a lot of time and a lot of work, but the payoff is quite sweet.

Susan 

I love those stories because it emphasizes the agency and the empowerment that you provide in terms of that atmosphere. mean, you’re not necessarily giving it to them, but just the avenue by which you’re using the arts to provide those tools are so important. so, I mean, think about all of the social emotional skills that they’re learning, the empathy, the things that we lost so much of in the last several years. I love that you guys are bringing this back.

Now I want to quote you on here because, I don’t want to get it wrong, so I’m just going to read this part. You’ve said that theater presents what could be and helps young artists understand their full potential. Can you tell us more about that? I think that’s so interesting.

Sharese 

I mean, so much of theater is this idea, you know? There’s so many stories that we haven’t told, that we haven’t heard of, and so there’s just an infinite possibility of what can be, you know? And that’s kind of existed from the dawn of time as far as theater goes. We’ve always wanted to explore these things that we’ve never even seen come to fruition, and we tie back into like our human experiences. So that’s what could be. And in terms of empowering them to understand their potential, like I said, art is the vehicle, but understanding that you, whether or not you go on, like I was saying, whether or not you go on to do this, or this is the only time that you are an artist, you have all this creative possibility, you have all these different ideas. And we’re, I’m trying to… create a place in which you see, I have an idea, I worked on the idea, and then I actually saw it in real time, tells them about everything that’s possible and that they are in charge of a lot of things in terms of how their life will go or even, you know, you can’t affect, you can’t change the things that are gonna happen to you, but you can change like how much ownership you feel in terms of… getting the things that you really want out of this thing called life. And so that’s a little bit of what I meant or mean.

Susan 

Yeah, no, and it’s, it resonates with me because I think it speaks to the power of process, right? And we are, I think so often the arts in them and of themselves are seen as a product based commodity that could be traded or bought or sold, right? But the process, and we’re big believers that the process is more important than the product. And so it sounds like that that’s also part of your philosophy. How has process-based learning influenced your work as in programming at Yes And Collaborative.

Sharese 

Yeah, and looking at process over product, specifically at Yes And, it is so interwoven into the work that we do. Sometimes almost to what feels like a fault. Because there’s been times where we’ve been so stuck on the process that we have no product. Or it feels like, okay, what are we going to do in order to get the product?

But in general, I think we’re trying to sort of break this idea that in a lot of ways that the show must go on. It’s funny because we’re both trying to ingrain it in the sense of persistence and being creative and resourceful and also saying, I want you to understand, like person to person, none of the shows matter if you all have gained nothing from this experience.

And that’s a hard thing for some of them to really understand. A couple of years ago, did a two-week intensive for our high schoolers. And we did it, and we had the kids come up, and we attempted to do a 10-minute chat with them about how their experience was. I said attempted because some were like, OK, we have been talking for 45 minutes now. Perhaps we should stop this, but anyway, so we’re doing it and we have a conversation with one of our kids, so bright, and we’re like, so how was this for you? And they were like, it was okay. And we were like, would you feel like you got out of the process? And they were like, I don’t necessarily know if I feel like I got something out of the process. And we were like, like, really sorry to hear that and to know that that was your experience and like that’s definitely something that we’re

going to look towards the next time because you should be getting something out of it.” And they were like, no, like, it’s fine. And we were like, no, it’s not fine. That’s not how this works. even, I was like, it’s hard because we’re both worried about the group and we’re also both worried about things on a micro level, individuals, in their own personal trajectories and all that sort of thing. But in that moment, they really, like that’s part of the process is that you have been changed by this in a good way or even in a bad way. And then we should talk about what went so wrong there. But, you know, when you are drawn towards like this thing needs to happen, it’s very easy for… a lot of things to fall to the wayside, you know, people’s feelings, people’s well-being. And we really want to say, like, we feel as though if we truly spend the correct amount of time creating and thinking and editing and all these things together, that the product is only going to be better, but that a product that had a terrible process in a lot of ways is worth very little to us. And, you know, we try to hammer that home and we try to modify our processes so that they’re always reflective of that. But yeah, that’s a big, big yes and thing. Even looking at the summer, we had our first sort of smaller COVID outbreak that we’ve ever had. And so this is a musical program. So their product is quite large. It’s outdoor, there’s like mics, there’s lights. It’s very exciting.

But, you know, half of our staff is out, kids are dropping like flies. And so we’re like, well, what is going to happen? And we managed to like, get the show up and do it and modify it. But even looking back at it, I was talking about this with some of the other staff and I was like, I think in all honesty, we should have just stopped the show. we should have said show doesn’t… you know, the show’s great and all and we spent a lot of money on making this show happen. But again, it doesn’t matter if you all are feeling not great about the show because that’s something that’s really important about us that you feel proud of the work that you’ve done as an individual and as a collective. And they did talk about like doing a concert at one point in time. There was just so many movie pieces. But in general,

We don’t wanna say, well, it’s just what needs to happen. We want to actually take the information in that we have at the time and make adjustments that need to be made. So yeah, that’s what we try.

Susan 

That’s great. And it’s so valuable. I mean, it’s such a life lesson that you take with you, right? That you don’t sacrifice one for the other. So you’re not just an educator, but you’re also a performer and a playwright. I love to find from working artists, how does that, does your experiences in those areas influence you as an educator and vice versa?

Sharese

So as a performer, a lot of the ways that I like set up the room for the kids are based off of the kinds of rooms that I like to be in. And what’s funny is I actually think that kids will leave us and if they decide to pursue theater or anything like that, sometimes they’re really shocked by the way that other people run a process because they’re so used to like…

their autonomy being prioritized and like, they’re like, what’s going on? And actually an important thing that we have been sort of introducing into our rooms are like the opportunity and the right to say no and leave, which is hard in terms of managing like, we want you to get something out of this and also understanding when is something unsafe for you.

In general, I’m creating the, what is the rehearsal room look like? And how do we let them know about the next thing that’s gonna happen? A lot of that comes from me being a performer and having been in some really great rooms where they’ve given me all the information and I’m like, okay, great.

And also being in rooms where I’m like, I don’t know what’s going on and saying that I do not want this for the children in any way, shape or form. And so we need to be as prepared as we can, especially today. Like a lot of the kids have a lot of anxiety. And so we don’t need to be creating opportunities for them to be anxious because we haven’t been able to give them the information that they need.

So that’s me as a performer, how I’ve been influenced by education as a performer has been that they, you know, when I see them make these delicious, crunchy choices on stage, it only encourages me like, okay, fabulous. Like this is the true artistry that we’re referring to. And knowing that in some ways it’s quite innate only influences my work more.

So that’s one thing as a performer, as a playwright.

I think having seen so many children’s plays, it does sort of shift my mind into like what is the formula that works. And you know, the words I write is usually a little absurd, which is perfect for yes and because some of the work that we do is also a little absurd. And so it helps me put myself in the brain space of like…

Absurdity isn’t just absurdity or something that’s convoluted. I was just talking about this the other day. It’s not that things are convoluted. It means that the rules of the world are different. And so you just had to figure out what are the rules of this world and what happens when someone breaks them. That’s usually what will happen in play.

And so as a playwright, like I’m seeing that I’m taking it in even there. And then I’m also looking at the amazing choices that they will make when they’re creating their own stories. And that again, only inspires me to be like, well, you know, why does it have to be XYZ, this kid wrote an awesome thing about the most outlandish thing that has ever happened. But they love it and their fervor for it reminds me that like if you write something and you believe in it, you can usually find an audience that believes in it too.

For instance, our three week theater camp play this year was called The Ballad of Barrel Boy. The theme for the camp was medieval times. They had French barrel bat day. There was a baguette day. There’s all these different things. And like, they don’t know this, but we’re also giving them like real dramaturgical sort of exploration. And so it also reminds me like

you know, want my world that I’m writing to be just as vibrant and colorful. So they really, it feeds into each other in many, many different ways.

Susan 

I love that, that’s awesome. So before we wrap things up, I would love for you to share with us how can people get in touch with you, learn more about Yes And Collaborative, and kind of just stay in touch with all the things.

Sharese Salters

Yeah, okay, so getting in touch with me is gonna be best done by like my Instagram or my email. And both of those are my first and last name. Email sharesesalters at yahoo.com and then my Instagram is just sharesesalters. And then in terms of Yes and Collaborative Arts, people can go to our website which I always I’m like what is our website? It’s called YesAndCamp.org and they can sign up for the newsletter and that will keep them up to date with all of the awesome things that we’re doing.

And yeah, you know, if you’re in the area and you have kids, your kids to us. Or if you’re in the area and you’re looking for a job, send your resume to us. All the things. Yeah.

Susan 

Fantastic. Yeah, we will put all of those in the show notes so that people can find you and find Yes And. Sharice, thank you so much for joining me today and for sharing all of your love for theater and how it can influence students and beyond. I so appreciate you.

Sharese 

Thank you, Susan. This has been great. I’m really excited that I was asked to be a part of this. And we want to always boost as much theater education and arts education as we can. Thank you.

Susan 

Absolutely. All right. Thanks

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