Tenderloin Theater Discovery Program

The Tenderloin Theater Discovery Program engages and educates our neighborhood youth in theater arts and practices. As we strive to help our students find beauty and purpose in the midst of their daily realities, we're fostering substantive bonds within our local community. We provide theater classes, opportunities to see our mainstage productions and connect with our artists, and paid internships so students can learn about the internal operations of an organization. We're endeavoring to make Cutting Ball a safe space in the Tenderloin where young people may imagine and create.

Our program offers progressive theater experiences to Tenderloin youth, including:

  • Free attendance to our shows, including a pre-show dinner and and a private post-show talk with actors and staff.
  • Bi-weekly theater classes 
  • Stipended Internship positions in the areas of marketing, development, arts administration, and production.
The Tenderloin Theater Discovery Program is for youth, ages 12-23. The Tenderloin district has the highest density of children in San Francisco and Cutting Ball has begun to create a community with many of the students who live nearby.  We have formed strong partnerships with three Tenderloin organizations:
These organizations help us to implement the Tenderloin Theater Discovery Program and to better serve our neighborhood. We are currently teaching once a week onsite classes at De Marillac and Larkin St Youth Center, and are in talks with the Tenderloin Boys & Girls Club to pioneer theatre camps in the summer of 2018.
 

What is a typical class like? 

We're currently teaching introductory theatre classes that ground themselves in improvisational theatre. We play theatre games and devise scenes based on the theme for the day. Some themes have included: Building Characters, Listening Actively on Stage, Working in an Ensemble, Creating Narrative Plots, etc. 
 
To hear more about our program, check out this interview with our founder Paige Rogers.

To learn more about our Education Coordinator, Maya Herbsman, please see our staff page. You can also contact her via email (maya@cuttingball.com) with your questions.

Students from Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Clubhouse with Radhika Rao (left back) and Marilet Martinez (center front) after seeing A DREAMPLAY at Cutting Ball last June.
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 THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
WHO HELP FUND THIS PROGRAM:

California Arts Council
Dolby Laboratories
Group i
Sam Mazza Foundation
Yammer/Microsoft
Zendesk Neighbor Foundation