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Program Design
Building Community consists of drama-in-education (DiE) residencies at high schools in Puerto Rico. The program uses drama in the classroom to deepen the learning process and encourage civic engagement. It offers a safe, non-threatening environment for students to express themselves, practice new behaviors and form productive relationships.
Beginning with a 30-minute play, and continuing with a series of skill-building workshops in the classroom, the first part of the program introduces students to the concepts of community and identity. The workshops use DiE techniques--role playing, theater games and playwriting—to guide students as they identify the most pressing issues in their communities, explore the roots of the problems and create action plans.
The second part of the program brings together a smaller group of students from participating public and private schools to build on their workshop experiences and write a play. The socio-economic divide in Puerto Rico is such that young people from different backgrounds rarely mix. Writing a play together gives students the opportunity to share their stories, put themselves in each other’s shoes and work together to solve shared problems. Their challenge is to conceive a plot that includes different perspectives on issues that concern all of them. At the end of project, students present a public reading of their play.
The workshops are facilitated by Tere Martínez, however teacher participation and a classroom setting are crucial to the success of Building Community. In order for the program to have a lasting impact, teachers join in the exercises and begin to develop DiE skills themselves. They can then apply those techniques to future lessons that reinforce the teachings of Building Community.