theatre workshops + residencies
Below you'll find information about:
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Workshops: Hands-on workshops bring together individual artists to encourage students to actively discover their own artistic potential. Ideal for after school, library, or community center programs. Most workshops are product based.
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Residencies: Offer experiences implemented by a specialized teaching artist. Residencies are multiple, participatory workshops and require a minimum of 3 sequential sessions per student group, and can be expanded into semester-long projects. Residencies take place in partnership with the classroom teacher and either focus on arts-integration or the artistic process.
For more information please call 713.520.9264 or email us at scheduling@yahouston.org.

Behind the Curtain
RESIDENCY
Another Level Entertainment Group
In this program, participants will learn the technical part of how a theatrical production is created, teaching participants that you don’t always have to be an actor or in front of the camera to enter into the world of theatre, television or film. Participants select a class focus in audio, lighting, and/or stage management and will learn: how to operate a mixing board, the difference between microphones and how to mic an actor, the job of a stage manager, lighting and color hues, how to create a light design, and how to read, follow, and dissect a script.
Per-Session Fee
$115 per 45-min. session; $125 per 60-min. session
2+ Sessions, Same Day
$95 per 45-min. session; $115 per 60-min. session
Participant Limit
10-12
Grade Levels
4-12

Wish You Were Here: Creative Collaborations with Students with Learning Differences
RESIDENCY
Brave Little Company
Our creative theatre programs for students with learning differences and/or physical disabilities go beyond inclusion. Through the Discovery Arts program of Young Audiences of Houston, our teaching artists work with students to create and perform original works of theatre. Our programs are designed in consultation with the students’ classroom teacher to ensure that we understand each student’s strengths and challenges. The resulting theatre experiences are sensory-based, using sounds, smells, and sensations to help tell stories (in addition to words, images, actions, and music). They are guided by theatre artists and draw from students’ imaginations, favorite books, and/or learning objectives that develop social skills and job skills. Depending on a class’s needs, a final film may be created from the piece to help teach future classes. This workshop is taught by 2 Teaching Artists.
*Subsidies available, call for details
Per-Session Fee
$230 per 45-min. session; $250 per 60-min. session
2+ Sessions, Same Day
$190 per 45-min. session; $230 per 60-min. session
Participant Limit
25
Grade Levels
EC-12

Missing from the Museum - Virtual
VIRTUAL RESIDENCY
Brave Little Company
Missing from the Museum combines visual art, theatre, and history in a unique audience-driven adventure. Created in a nationwide collaboration among 4 theatres, this interactive mystery develops students' observational skills, creative expression, and understanding of history as they meet female artists throughout history and around the world. Students will be drawn in by the chance to follow clues, solve puzzles, and rescue lost artworks.
Package Includes: 12 two hours sessions, scheduling flexibility, mixture of video and extension activities, and a virtual experience to share student work. Scheduling is flexible.
*Subsidies available, call for details
Per-Session Fee
$115 per session
Packaged Sessions
12 Days, 2 sessions per day
Participant Limit
Grade Level
Grade Levels
4-8

Yoga and Mindfulness for Beginners
WORKSHOP AND RESIDENCY
Brave Little Company
Relax your mind, body, and soul with Kids Yoga! Children of all ages join a certified Yoga instructor from Brave Little Company through introductory Yoga movements that are structured to fit the skill levels of participants in grades PK-12. Meditation teaches children to control their emotions to handle daily and lifetime struggles. Facing failure and making decisions can put a lot of pressure on young children, and yoga can help them relax and refocus.
*Subsidies available, call for details
Per-Session Fee
$115 per 45-min. session; $125 per 60-min. session
2+ Sessions, Same Day
$95 per 45-min. session; $115 per 60-min. session
Participant Limit
30
Grade Levels
PK-12

Musical Theater: Disciplines to Make a Triple Threat!
WORKSHOP
iAct Houston
Instruction in dance, singing and acting that builds into the performance of a musical scene/showcase. This workshop gives students (trained and untrained alike) the opportunity to perform in a musical number. For participants who may be nervous on stage, performing in the chorus will allow them to cooperate with others in a group. For those who wish to step out of their own a little, performing special solos and leading routines will be offered. In the end all parts work together to make a very entertaining whole.
Per-Session Fee
$115 per 45-min. session; $125 per 60-min. session
2+ Sessions, Same Day
$95 per 45-min. session; $115 per 60-min. session
Participant Limit
40
Grade Levels
3-12

Stage Combat AKA Dancing with Swords
WORKSHOP
iAct Houston
These classes are designed to train young students how to use the traditional positions of fencing in order to choreograph a performance. Most of the entertainment for young people, boys and girls alike, involves swordplay. Many children have a light saber or foams sword in their toy chest. By taking this class, students come to understand partnering, teamwork and by completion each student will choreograph their own stage combat combination/scene. Students will practice/perform with special safety foam swords.
Per-Session Fee
$115 per 45-min. session; $125 per 60-min. session
2+ Sessions, Same Day
$95 per 45-min. session; $115 per 60-min. session
Participant Limit
25
Grade Levels
3-12

Class Act
WORKSHOP AND RESIDENCY
Jean Donatto
Let actress Jean Donatto customize an after-school or in-class theatre residency for your school. In-school residencies are subject and grade level specific and help students understand any material of their teachers choosing. Students love to learn by doing, and Miss Jean guides them through active learning in subjects from literacy, to history, to science. After-school, this process-oriented residency focuses on communication, acting, and writing. Student experience how teamwork makes ideas reality in the world of theatre. Either in-class or after-school, this residency serves all students - shining stars and retiring violets alike – often with surprising results as students and their love of learning blossoms!
Per-Session Fee
$115 per 45-min. session; $125 per 60-min. session
2+ Sessions, Same Day
$95 per 45-min. session; $115 per 60-min. session
Participant Limit
30
Grade Levels
PK-7

A New and Distant Land: A Colonial Times In-Class Residency
RESIDENCY
Jean Donatto
Imagine arriving in a strange place with no amenities whatsoever and being uncertain if the skills you possessed were sufficient to guarantee you and your family’s survival. Such was the predicament of the earliest immigrants to the shores of our nation. Examining a time in the very early history of America when children were considered “little adults” and expected to shoulder a viable workload, this classroom residency looks at many of the aspects of early Colonial times. Theatre teaching artist Jean Donatto will guide your class through a creative process using teams, peer-coaching, and teacher side-coaching. Students will discover recreation possibilities from existing natural resources. Students will observe through research colonial activities from Dame schools, to harvesting logs, to the beginning of river commerce. Nobody knows what happened to the “lost” colony of Roanoke, but by using inference and knowledge of the conditions, students could certainly express a point of view. Using Language Arts creative writing strategies, students will plan and construct a travel brochure to entice visitors to their colony of choice.
Per-Session Fee
$115 per 45-min. session; $125 per 60-min. session
2+ Sessions, Same Day
$95 per 45-min. session; $115 per 60-min. session
Participant Limit
25
Grade Levels
3-12

After-School Performing Arts Workshop
WORKSHOP
The Ensemble Theatre
The Ensemble Theatre’s Education and Touring Department engages the community via arts programming specifically designed for current and future audiences in an effort to broaden their understanding of theatre. Through exciting and thought provoking residencies, workshops and master classes, Ensemble assists students with ways of thinking outside of the box while exploring their emotional development and strengthening the ability to communicate effectively. For over 30 years, Ensemble has helped nurture young minds and talent by empowering them with the disciplines of theatre, music, dance, and spoken word.
*Subsidies available, call for details
Per-Session Fee
$115 per 45-min. session; $125 per 60-min. session
2+ Sessions, Same Day
$95 per 45-min. session; $115 per 60-min. session
Participant Limit
25
Grade Levels
K-12

Humpty Dumpty's Rhyme & Rhythm Musical
WORKSHOP AND RESIDENCY
Twanda's Theatre on Wheels
Humpty Dumpty finds new friends to help him get up when he falls down. The audience will learn the value of compassion and true friendship as they travel on a musical adventure with Humpty Dumpty and his new friends. Students will also have fun creating a make and take a Humpty Dumpty character and a paper plate wall.
Sites are encouraged to book this workshop in conjunction with Twanda's Theatre on Wheels' Humpty Dumpty's Rhyme and Rhythm Musical performance.
Per-Session Fee
$115 per 45-min. session; $125 per 60-min. session
2+ Sessions, Same Day
$95 per 45-min. session; $115 per 60-min. session
Participant Limit
25
Grade Levels
EC-1