Staging Equity in the Reform Arena

The Education Trust brings you theater for the education-reform movement. Provocative, edgy, and brutally honest, playwright-activist Brooke Haycock’s one-woman documentary dramas strip bare some of the most emotionally charged issues we face in American education today. Designed for educators, parents, policymakers, and advocates, Brooke’s performances spark tough conversations about equity in schools.

All Education Trust documentary theater productions begin as conversations. Brooke spends hundreds of hours in schools across the country talking one-on-one with students, teachers, administrators, and school counselors about issues of race, class, opportunity, and achievement. She then weaves these voices into often-raw, richly honest dramatizations that help stimulate uncomfortable but necessary discussions in schools and communities.

“At a recent meeting, I had the pleasure of watching the performance, Dilated Pupils and the Not-so-Soft Bigotry of a Nation. I found it to be a moving portrayal of some of the true difficulties faced by disadvantaged, minority, high school students. Unlike reading a report, a theater performance has a way of putting the viewer right in the shoes of the students portrayed. This performance does, indeed, bring the words to life.” –The Honorable Richard W. Riley, Former U.S. Secretary of Education

Check out the Education Week review,

'Much Ado About Teaching'

Bio

The Shows:

	Buzz Defying Expectations and Other Lessons from the Bumble Bee Those who question whether all students can soar academically need to hear the story of the aerodynamicist and the bumble bee. Buzz is a testimony to hope, hard work, and high achievement in America’s high-poverty, high-minority high schools. This dynamic performance chronicles the educational struggles and ultimate triumphs of schools, educators, and students who refuse to settle for anything short of real success. Straight from the mouths of students, teachers and school leaders and onto the stage…catch the Buzz. [Click here for more info]
	NEW! Catalyst   Catalyst is an unflinching portrayal of the power of teachers to change students’ lives. Following two young men, Carl and Isaiah, Catalyst takes on the tough questions of student engagement, bringing audiences face to face with some of the most devastating—and inspiring—images of student transformation. [Click here for more info]
	Dilated Pupils and the Not-So-Soft Bigotry of a Nation   Dilated Pupils and the Not-So-Soft Bigotry of a Nation takes audiences on a whirlwind tour through the school doors, past the metal detectors, and straight into the lives of three high school students. Told from the perspectives of students and the adults in their lives, Dilated Pupils dares audiences to confront the stories of young people hobbled by low expectations.   [Click here for more info]
	Six Degrees of Preparation   Six Degrees of Preparation offers a powerful and intimate opportunity to examine teacher preparation, support, and retention. Commissioned by a state body of higher education, and based on more than 300 interviews with teachers, teacher candidates, teacher educators, teacher leaders, and students, Six Degrees exposes damaging beliefs and practices in school districts and schools of education, vividly portraying their impact on new teachers and the children they serve. One woman, 15 characters, 45 minutes. [Click here for more info]

Click here to bring an Education Trust production to your school, organization, district, or state to help advance dialogue and action on gap-closing issues in your community.

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