In-School Programs

McCarter’s In-School Residencies provide an opportunity for students to experience theater in their own classrooms. All residencies are taught by experienced theater professionals and are designed to foster creative thinking, collaboration, personal agency, artistry, joy, and empathy.

Residencies range from one-day workshops to twelve-session intensive programs. All residencies are specifically designed to align with common core and NJCCC standards, and some can be adapted to focus on a variety central curricular themes.

McCarter teaching artists are in classrooms more than 100 days out of the school year, with many long-standing partnerships in Princeton, Trenton, East Brunswick, and New Brunswick. Our calendar fills up early, but we are happy to discuss options for connecting with your school!

For more information about scheduling, cost, and financial aid opportunities for qualifying schools, contact education@mccarter.org or call 609.258.6512.

Current residency offerings for the 2020-2021 school year

Creating Fables (5 sessions)

Students learn about the essential elements of story structure as well as the distinguishing features of fables, before collaboratively writing their own script for an original fable. Learning goals include confident performance, vocal projection, creating characters and settings, and understanding story structure. This residency culminates in a celebratory staged reading for friends and family.

Theater to Learn (12 sessions)

Created as a state-wide partnership with Young Audiences of New Jersey, Paper Mill Playhouse, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Theater to Learn is a sequential arts integration curriculum for 2nd through 5th grade that teaches both theater skills and language arts content. Unit 1 (2nd grade) focuses on elements of character, setting, and plot. The program is designed with the goal that all students complete units in order; we strongly encourage starting with the second grade unit, and adding additional grades in subsequent years.

Arts Integration Poetry (10 sessions)

Directly linked to the New Jersey 3rd grade science curriculum, students explore theater, astronomy, and language arts by collaboratively learning and performing poems related to planets, seasons, and constellations. Learning goals include confident self-expression, understanding rhythm and meter, using physicality to express emotion, reading comprehension, and increased knowledge of the science of astronomy. This residency can be adapted to other subject areas such as history, language arts, and math.

Bringing Mythology Alive (5 sessions)

Students learn about major characters and stories of Greek mythology by performing in a reading of adapted text. Learning goals include character analysis, reading fluency, and reading comprehension, familiarity with elements of myth, application of knowledge, vocal projection, and using voices and text to communicate a story.

School Play Master Classes (3-10 sessions)

Perfect for schools with an active drama program working towards a production in-class or after school. McCarter will bring in professional guest artists to work with students for 3-10 sessions on specific skills related to their existing project. Examples include Shakespeare scansion boot camp, character development, voice and speech, ensemble movement, and stage combat.

Single Session Workshops (1 session or a series of several!)

As one of the nation’s top regional theaters, McCarter has a large network of professional artists who can visit classes and drama clubs to offer interactive introductions to their art forms. Examples of workshops include improvisation, intro to acting, intro to playwriting, audition technique, intro to musical theater, movement for the actor, breath and relaxation, Shakespeare’s verse, and intro to costume design. McCarter can also help arrange for guest artist visits for Q&As, career talks, and panel discussions.

Student Matinee Enhancement Residencies (1-2 sessions)

These in-school workshops, led by a member of McCarter’s artistic department, are designed to enrich students’ experience of plays in production at McCarter. Depending on the content and genre of the show, these residencies may be grounded in scene study, character analysis, dramatic writing, or movement to offer unique and effective points of entry or post-show reflection on the play and production.

Text Analysis and Playwriting (6 sessions)

Students read and analyze a contemporary or classic play to discover principles of playwriting, dialogue, and dramatic structure, then use what they’ve learned through play analysis to write their own scenes, monologues, or short plays. Students are provided feedback on their writing, and are coached in the art of dramaturgy to support and develop the work of their peers. This residency can be adapted to focus on a number of thematic or content areas and are an excellent fit for English, theater, history, or social studies classrooms. For an additional fee, McCarter can arrange for professional actors to read the students’ work aloud during the final session.

Living Newspaper (6-8 sessions)

Students learn about the Living Newspaper theater project of the 1930s, in which newspaper articles were turned into plays. Based on your choice of historical moment or content area, students research primary sources, then create original scripts that share the information of the article in a compelling way. Learning goals include media literacy, elements of dramatic structure, creating dialogue, and building an argument. The project culminates with an in-class sharing or public reading of the scripts by participating students. For an additional fee, McCarter can arrange for professional actors to read the students’ work aloud during the final session. This residency can be adapted to focus on a number of thematic or content areas and are an excellent fit for English, theater, history, or social studies classrooms.