Monthly Summer Workshops on Saturdays at Studio 34

SUMMER 2017: T.O. Philly hosts workshops one Saturday a month in West Philadelphia. Each session kicks off the morning with a slew of group games that build skills toward the deeper techniques in the afternoon. Proceeds from these workshops will go support our Forum Theatre project on immigration premiering this fall. 

DATES: June 24 • July 15 • August 5

TIMES: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
(includes a one-hour lunch break)

PLACE: Studio 34 • 4522 Baltimore Ave
(the studio is air conditioned)

SIGN UP for one, two, or all three workshops 
TUITION: $15–$45 sliding scale per session
(No one ever turned away for lack of funds.
Worktrade and scholarships available.)
EMAIL "tophilly@gmail.com" to register
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Saturday June 24, 2017 • 10AM–4PM 

RIFTS: A Workshop About
What Divides Us and What Unites Us

Led by Morgan FitzPatrick Andrews

RIFTS is a workshop about social and political differences that cause schisms between individuals and groups. Whether it's ongoing dynamics within a relationship, heated family talk around the dinner table, clashing opinions at work or school, or polarized viewpoints that divide a nation, the roots of these rifts have much in common. In this workshop we'll physicalize our experiences by using the language of theatre to dig up these roots in order to build the world we want.
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Saturday July 15, 2017 • 10AM–4PM 
How Do We Facilitate and Difficultate
A training with Morgan FitzPatrick Andrews

Teachers, trainers, facilitators, organizers and educators of every sort are invited to come to this action-oriented think-tank with three key components: 1. Sharing and playing icebreakers and group games and strategizing how we can use them in what we do. 2. Reenact challenging situations that arise in our work, then use techniques from Theatre of the Oppressed to devise ways to surmount those challenges. 3. Delve into design and flow of whatever we do, be it a workshop, event, ongoing class, or direct action. You will leave this training with useful tools to make group work more productive and fun, as well as handy strategies for turning problems into solutions. 

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Saturday August 5, 2017 • 10AM–4PM
BORDERLANDS: Boundaries & Migrations

Led by Paloma Irizarry and Hariprasad Kowtha

Based on Gloria Anzaldzúa's seminal work, Borderland/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, T.O. Philly explores the borderlands between nation-states, languages, neighborhoods, work and home. Using the tools of Image Theatre—movement and stillness, acting and witnessing, observing and storytelling—participants dive into a study on personal boundaries and the intersections that lie in between. 

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To sign up for one, two, or all three workshops, email "tophilly@gmail.com" or leave a message at 267-282-1057. Each session has a suggested donation on $15 to $45—you can pay more or you can pay less. We also offer worktrade as an alternative to using money. Got questions? Please email of call us!

SAFER SPACE: a workshop to benefit Project READ

Saturday, July 8, 2017 • 2:00–5:00 PM

The Adrienne Theatre
2030 Sansom Street

Suggested donation of $0–$50 and/or items for Project READ's drop-in center (see list below)

Pre-register with an email to "tophilly@gmail.com"
and click here to read an article about this event!

The term "safe space" has been scrutinized as a catchphrase of the privileged, an underpinning of political over-correctness, or as a pass to avoid uncomfortable situations. At the same time, the need for personal safety is a human right and one that all of us want for ourselves and those we care about. In this workshop we will use techniques from the Theatre of the Oppressed to unpack what "safer space" actually means and looks like.

• How can we disagree safely? 
• What are the impacts and advantages of existing in "unsafer" spaces? 
• What are the fine points between feeling uncomfortable and being unsafe? 

Together let’s discover what practical action we can take toward creating safer space in our daily lives.

All proceeds from this workshop go to benefit Project READ (Restoration Education Arts Development) an initiative with a goal of creating safe places for girls between the ages of 12 and 18 in Liberia. Since 2014, Project READ has founded a female-run public library café, a makers' workshop space, and girls' drop-in center. In addition to cash donations, items needed for the drop-in center include: shampoo, facial cleanser, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, hand sanitizer, nail clippers, maxi pads, tampons, panty liners, underwear, body wash, pencils, pens, notebooks, crayons, colored pencils, and young adult books.