Community Actors Program (CAP)
Community Actors Program (CAP) is an introductory performance program utilizing Theater of the Oppressed, participatory theater, and performance as tools for community building and social change. In this program, teens work together to create theater productions and related events responding to a community issue or specific site.
CAP Spring 2021 Coursework Assignments
Community Actors Program participants had the great pleasure of working with playwright Natyna Osborne, who created an original piece based on the stories and lived experiences of the young artists of CAP. Learn how they honed their performance skills in preparation for the debut of this new work.
Meet Arts+Public Life’s Community Actors
Meeting new people for the first time in a virtual space can be awkward and challenging, but this opening activity allowed teens to introduce themselves in an authentic way without the stress of public speaking.
The Art of the Audition
As a class, we read and analyzed the play Blood at the Root by Dominique Morriseau. Students then chose a monologue from the play that resonated with them, and performed it in the style of a video audition, using the elements of voice to craft their dramatic performance.
Explore all CAP audition videos
Solo Performance
Each CAP student created and recorded a solo piece, based on a poem that resonated with them or their own original poetry.
FINAL PROJECT
After the Fight Broke Out
Playwright Natyna Osbourne was invited to create a new play based on the stories and lived experiences of students. This new work is a reflection of in-class conversations and interviews with students and topics of interest of the students. Enjoy excerpts of After the Fight Broke Out.
CAP Instructor
Nora Carroll is an Actor/Teaching Artist who believes in the transformative power of storytelling. Before receiving her MFA from the University of San Diego, she attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Nora has had the pleasure of storytelling in a variety of diverse spaces, including: Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, The Old Globe, The Public Theatre, Centinela Prison in San Diego, Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, and Armory Women’s Shelter in Manhattan. Nora is invested in creating artistic spaces that are transformative, gender expansive, and equitable. She is excited to continue this work with the young artists of Community Actors Program