Education: Other Initiatives

The Playhouse periodically worked with adults in other, more unusual, ways. For example, for a short time in the mid-90’s the Playhouse offered a class for attorneys that fulfilled part of their required Continuing Legal Education. Most of their other continuing education courses were presented in a lecture format, but this two-day class was unusual in that it included vocal and physical work. On the first day, the lawyers viewed the Playhouse’s mainstage production and spoke with the actors. The second day, the attorneys presented oral arguments based on pre-selected scenes from the previous day’s play. They chose their costumes from the Playhouse’s wardrobe–and presented their closing argument.

“Playwrights at Seven” was a series that presented play readings. Here, a reading of Jack Hefner’s “Natural Disasters.

For Adults

Classes for adults, offered in six-week sessions, covered basic acting techniques including improvisation and character development, as well as techniques for commercial auditioning. The Education Department for some time in the 1980’s had a regular offering, “Playwrights at Seven,” where readings of new and classic plays were presented on the mainstage at 7pm Monday evenings. Judith Delgado saw this as an opportunity to present plays rooted in humanist themes and not often seen in regional theater partly because of their subject matter. Delgado also worked to bring together people in the humanities and social sciences to lead after-reading discussions that brought together the audience, actors, and directors. Some of the classic plays scheduled in 1986 were Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” Harold Pinter’s “The Homecoming,” and Luigi Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author.” The series was open to the public.