Dear Educator,


Thank you for bringing your students to New York Theatre Workshop and Playwrights Horizons’ co-production of The Shaggs: Philosophy of th


e World.


In order to help you make this the fullest experience for your students, we’ve prepared this Study Guide with background information and jumping-off points for class discussion. We hope you find it useful! If you have any comments or suggestions for future Guides, please don’t hesitate to contact me at BrynT@nytw.org.


We welcome you and your students to the theatre, and we hope to see you at New York Theatre Workshop soon. To learn more about our Education Initiatives, please visit www.nytw.org/education.asp. ‘


Enjoy the performance. Sincerely,


Bryn Thorsson Director of Education NYTW’s Education Initiatives are made possible


through the generous encouragement of Con Edison, the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, the Michael Tuch Foundation, the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, the Office of Council Member Margaret Chin and the New York State Council for the Arts-Empire State Partnership.


NYTW’s Education Initiatives provide access to the vision and methods of the artist, and enable audiences of all ages to participate in a community of dynamic learning where the developmental process, the final production, and the surrounding exchange of ideas have a profound impact on all involved. These initiatives strive to bring all members of our artistic family, which includes our audience members, closer to the creative process.


As we often collaborate with artists whose work takes risks and challenges theatrical forms, the artistic process at NYTW rarely follows a defined path. Our education initiatives embrace this iconoclastic approach, allowing us to craft each program and partnership with detail and creativity.


Learning Workshop is NYTW’s multidisciplinary theatre education program that supports middle and high school students’ creative development as artists and audience members by critically engaging them in the artistic process surrounding our productions.


With continual input from New York City public school educators,


theatre artists, community


advocates, and NYTW staff members, Learning Workshop strives to achieve key goals:


Prom medium of th


ote stuents’ critical thinking through the eatre.


d


By introducing students to provocative and challenging theatre


and fostering their


understanding and discussion of performances, NYTW aims to enrich young people’s visual, textual, and critical literacies.


Increa se cultual part r icipat ion among you g people. n


By engaging students in the collaborative process of theatre-making and offering them the opportunity to connect theatre to their own coursework and lives, NYTW hopes to increase youth attendance at, involvement in, and advocacy for the performing arts.


Please note: This production will take place at Playwrights Horizons, located at 416 West 42nd Street


in the Mainstage Theater. Build a gr eater se nse of c m y. om unit


By including students in meaningful conversations with our artists and the activities that make up the fabric of the organization, NYTW hopes to grow meaningful relationships with the students at our partner schools and encourage them to think of NYTW as a resource and creative space to return to in the future.


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