TEACHING LITERATURE ON YOUR FEET:  Ensemble Theatre Tools for the Classroom Teacher

a two-day intensive with Sarah Sanford

How do we breathe life into texts through collaboration and teamwork?

Explore how dynamic, collaborative theater practices can fill the classroom with creativity and excitement. During this on-your-feet intensive, Pig Iron faculty Sarah Sanford will introduce exercises to get your students physically engaged in lessons and stories. These ensemble theater techniques foster imagination, encourage group problem-solving, and offer new, innovative ways to learn through live performance. 

This workshop is intended for K-12 classroom teachers of literature, history, and drama and is appropriate for all levels (no previous performance experience required).

WHAT TO EXPECT:

This workshop requires active participation. We will play games with one another, create images together, and problem-solve in the studio, rather than on the page or screen. With an emphasis on experiential learning and the benefits of getting students moving and being physically present, we want you to experience the exercises that you'll be leading your students through. Time will be set aside for note-taking so you can bring these new tools back to the classroom.

 

About Sarah Sanford

Sarah Sanford is a director, performer, and theater instructor. She has been core faculty at the Pig Iron School since its inception in 2011. Sarah joined Pig Iron in 2001 to make Shut Eye and became a company member, co-creating and performing in Twelfth Night, Hell Meets Henry Halfway, and 99 Breakups among others. Locally, Sarah has acted at the Arden, Wilma, Lantern, Theatre Exile, BRAT, Mauckingbird, and Montgomery Theatre and has toured internationally with Pig Iron, Jo Stromgren Kompani, Volcano, and The Riot Group.

Sarah directed InFlux Theatre Collective’s Fringie-winning The Choice at the 2021 Philly Fringe, and the 2015 Philadelphia premiere of Underground Railroad Game, which went on to win the OBIE for Best New American Theatre Work and garner international acclaim. She has choreographed shows at Villanova Theatre, The Acting Company, Quintessence Theatre, and the Lantern. Additional teaching includes adjunct positions at Swarthmore College and Villanova, leadership and playmaking workshops at Wharton Business School, and numerous professional and pre-professional theatre intensives. Sarah is a graduate of École Jacques Lecoq and winner of the 2010 F. Otto Haas award for Best Emerging Theatre Artist.