mission
As the effects of climate crisis intensify around the globe and the pace of the digital era continues to accelerate, anxiety is on the rise. We all need the connection and restorative balm that nature provides, and our ecosystems need us to feel deeply invested in their care. The KSU & SGG Family Theatre Project creates intergenerational opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to engage in play, build meaningful connections, and deepen understanding of the natural world, ourselves, and our communities. Through deeply crafted artistic experiences created in and with the natural environment, the project seeks individual and collective transformation by inviting participants to engage with complex questions through shared, imaginative processes.
history
Since its inception, this program has served and involved hundreds of family audience members in our community through interactive shows and collaborative, responsive test performances at Smith-Gilbert Garden, Swift Cantrell and Depot Parks, as well as visits to and partnerships with local libraries, museums, and schools. We hope to serve thousands more as we continue to develop and expand access and reach.
The idea for this endeavor was seeded by a stroll through the gardens in 2021, wherein Vanita Keswani, Education and Exhibits Manager at Smith-Gilbert Gardens and Chuck Meacham, Chair of KSU's Department of Theatre & Performing Studies, met and dreamed up a potential collaboration between our organizations.
Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) theatre-maker and educator Nicole B. Adkins was delighted to be invited help nurture and work to grow this seed idea into a fruitful garden. She was quickly joined by other collaborators, including local Theatre for the Very Young (TVY) theatre artist and expert Andrea Washington, Early Education expert Karen Meacham, and Assistant Professor of Acting of Theatre and Performance Studies Emily Kitchens.
Alumni, such as Lauren Lee, Michelle Lee, Sarah Rogers, and Caro Kok, have also taken on professional roles after graduating. The list of collaborators continues to expand. It is truly a community effort.
Besides our Test Audiences, some of our Community Partners to date include:
The idea for this endeavor was seeded by a stroll through the gardens in 2021, wherein Vanita Keswani, Education and Exhibits Manager at Smith-Gilbert Gardens and Chuck Meacham, Chair of KSU's Department of Theatre & Performing Studies, met and dreamed up a potential collaboration between our organizations.
Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) theatre-maker and educator Nicole B. Adkins was delighted to be invited help nurture and work to grow this seed idea into a fruitful garden. She was quickly joined by other collaborators, including local Theatre for the Very Young (TVY) theatre artist and expert Andrea Washington, Early Education expert Karen Meacham, and Assistant Professor of Acting of Theatre and Performance Studies Emily Kitchens.
Alumni, such as Lauren Lee, Michelle Lee, Sarah Rogers, and Caro Kok, have also taken on professional roles after graduating. The list of collaborators continues to expand. It is truly a community effort.
Besides our Test Audiences, some of our Community Partners to date include:
- City of Kennesaw Parks & Recreation
- Cobb County School District
- Cobb Travel and Tourism
- North Cobb Library
- Alliance Theatre & Olivia Aston Bosworth
- Found Stages & Nichole Palmietto
- Teller Productions & Scottie Rowell
- Chattahoochee Nature Center's Outreach Program (and opossum!)
- Georgia Herpetological Society & Rescue
- Razzmatazz Music & Flutist and Music Educator Anna Hobgood
- Professional Cellist & Theatre Artist Kristin Haverty
- KSU's Textiles Program (Amanda Britton, Neal Vipperman, and Students)
- KSU's Department of Dance (Andrea Knowlton & Students)
- 5th-grade students from The Marietta Center for Advanced Academics. (Special thanks to teacher Stella Kilpatrick).
- Fellow Theatre & Performance Studies Faculty and Staff, including: Emily Kitchens, Amanda Wansa Morgan, Cara O'Connell, Chuck Meacham, Brandon Bagwell, Ricky Greenwell, Brittany Johnson, Tom Fish, Pamela Rodríguez-Montero, Jodye Carroll Underwood, & Jim Davis
- Our students!!! (Please see The Seedling and Opossum and the Season Stone pages for the full list of student creators and collaborators)
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PRODUCTION PROCESS: STRUCTURE
To assure quality of process (for our student artists) and product (for our public audiences), we engage in a three-semester structure for each of our productions. With rare exception, all phases of the project occur outside.
Each semester involves a deep dive into related training. This includes an overview of trends and best practices of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) and Theatre for the Very Young (TVY), sensory and play-based learning, core principles of child development, as well as workshops with local experts in a variety of skills and topics, including music education, found-object puppetry, nature and biology, and immersive theatre. We explore and pursue best practices in accessibility and disability and health inclusion strategies.
In nature, you never know what the weather may bring, and in a garden, each day brings new vistas to be enjoyed. Though there may be some crossover, each semester we are gifted a new crop of student artists. Keeping the throughline, but also leaving room for our stories to evolve through the varied additions and perspectives is part of what makes this project so special and unique.
Our approach to teaching and artmaking is intentional, generous, flexible, and reflective. Each student and audience member, each story, each semester, and each collaborative partner merits individual attention and deserves a voice. We do our best to consider all parties as we design and implement our course and our productions. We can't wait to welcome you to our growing garden!
1. The Seedling
Spring, 2022: Devising the Story
Fall, 2022: Workshopping the Script (written over summer break)
Spring, 2023: Premiered April 21-22/28-29 at Smith-Gilbert Gardens
2. Opossum and the Season Stone
Fall, 2023: Devising the Story
Spring, 2023: Workshopping the Script (written over winter break)
Fall, 2024: Premiered November 15-16/22-23 at Swift-Cantrell Park
3. The Beauty Project: Through the Looking Glass
Spring, 2025: Devising the Story
Fall, 2025: Workshopping the Script (written over summer break)
Spring, 2026: Premiering April 17 - 25 at Smith-Gilbert Gardens
Stay tuned for more information!
Plans for future projects are in the works...
Each semester involves a deep dive into related training. This includes an overview of trends and best practices of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) and Theatre for the Very Young (TVY), sensory and play-based learning, core principles of child development, as well as workshops with local experts in a variety of skills and topics, including music education, found-object puppetry, nature and biology, and immersive theatre. We explore and pursue best practices in accessibility and disability and health inclusion strategies.
In nature, you never know what the weather may bring, and in a garden, each day brings new vistas to be enjoyed. Though there may be some crossover, each semester we are gifted a new crop of student artists. Keeping the throughline, but also leaving room for our stories to evolve through the varied additions and perspectives is part of what makes this project so special and unique.
Our approach to teaching and artmaking is intentional, generous, flexible, and reflective. Each student and audience member, each story, each semester, and each collaborative partner merits individual attention and deserves a voice. We do our best to consider all parties as we design and implement our course and our productions. We can't wait to welcome you to our growing garden!
1. The Seedling
Spring, 2022: Devising the Story
Fall, 2022: Workshopping the Script (written over summer break)
Spring, 2023: Premiered April 21-22/28-29 at Smith-Gilbert Gardens
2. Opossum and the Season Stone
Fall, 2023: Devising the Story
Spring, 2023: Workshopping the Script (written over winter break)
Fall, 2024: Premiered November 15-16/22-23 at Swift-Cantrell Park
3. The Beauty Project: Through the Looking Glass
Spring, 2025: Devising the Story
Fall, 2025: Workshopping the Script (written over summer break)
Spring, 2026: Premiering April 17 - 25 at Smith-Gilbert Gardens
Stay tuned for more information!
Plans for future projects are in the works...
