Project SUCCESS uses theater as a way to inspire young people and to help them see a broader world. With the help of our 27 professional theater partners, Project SUCCESS offers every student in every school served the opportunity to attend between six and twelve theater experiences a year. Family members and teachers are invited as well. These are not field trips during the day but great seats at great theaters on evenings and weekends. Project SUCCESS chooses the appropriate plays, coordinates every element of the experience including providing transportation and childcare, and facilitates post-play discussions with the performers and directors.
These events have proved to be wonderful bonding experiences for young people and their family members as well as powerful audience-building tools for the theater partners.
Through the Theater Experience, Project SUCCESS:
- brings students and their families together for a shared experience;
- increases family involvement in students' lives, which is shown to have a positive impact on student achievement;
- fosters the appreciation of cultural diversity through theater;
- encourages a deeper understanding of the powerful impact and positive force for change theater can have on people's lives – connecting the lives of students to characters seen on stage; and
- expands, diversifies and strengthens local theater audiences.
Our 2004 survey revealed students thinking some interesting things about Project SUCCESS and Theater:
- Nearly 98% of high school students and 94% of middle school students found going to see plays with Project SUCCESS to be "valuable"!
- Over 43% of high school students and 57% of middle school students had attended a play with Project SUCCESS!
- Nearly 60% of them reported seeing two or more plays during the year!
- Two thirds of high school students said they attended the play with their parents or guardians, with nearly half of middle school students reporting the same!
- More than 92% of students who attended a play said they would consider attending another play, given the chance!
