We have our first company meeting on Monday night and I am trying to prepare by researching other Education Outreach programs. When I think of Educational Outreach, I think of my experience from grade school: Worksheets and teacher's guides or one of the actors stepping out before or after the show to ask questions of the kids. Seems very simple, right? But I think there could and should be more to it than that, so I've been digging around to see what other organizations (not necessarily theatre groups) have been doing with their EO programs. Now that I have a good idea of the usual scope of such things, I know where I'd like to start - by asking the other company members for their thoughts!
My plan is to have a brainstorming session (facilitated by big art pads and lots of notes & doodles). I want to know:
- Any preconceptions about EO.
- Given a handout of other EO mission statements, what goals personally resonate?
- Who do you want to reach?
- Are there different goals for different audiences/parts of the country?
- Who will we doing the outreach? Local educators or our company members?
This should provide a solid foundation for building the program and assure that it meets both the expectations of the members and the needs of the audience. I'm excited to jump in!
