The TheatreLink curriculum is comprised of three different phases that span a full semester. At the start of each year, groups of three schools are assigned an MTC teaching artist who will serve as a mentor providing teachers and students with activities and feedback. Students begin the first phase of the project by studying a play produced by MTC during a previous season; this year’s focus is Translations by Brian Friel. MTC-provided guided writing exercises, improvisational games, reference guides, and glossaries help students gain ownership over key ideas and issues within the play. With that exploration as a common foundation, each class then writes an original script during the second phase of the project. A writing prompt based on Translations themes of community and “the outsider” was used as a starting point for this year’s plays. This has inspired immense variation amongst the current eighteen schools. Plays range from serious drama - stories that address topics like racism and suicide - to the more lighthearted – one show is about a “community” of men’s shoes living in a closet. Finally, in the third phase, each school sends its original script to a partner school, which produces it; the semester culminates in a video presentation of the plays. Though students acknowledge that the project can sometimes seem daunting, they are unanimously invigorated by the challenges, both of writing a play worthy of being passed on to their partner school, and doing justice to the one with which they’ve been entrusted. “You feel a sense of pride if you successfully comprehend their play and get the story across,” elaborates a student from Laramie High School in Wyoming. “You want to do a good job because it’s not your play to mess up; it makes the play seem a lot more personal because you hope they are affording your play the same thought.”

The majority of the students’ work is done through the TheatreLink password-protected website, utilizing different components such as electronic bulletin boards, chat rooms, and messaging. To further communication via this technological medium, students are also assigned e-pals from their partner schools. This experience was particularly meaningful to a student from Robert Morgan High School in Florida: “One aspect I liked about the TheatreLink experience is the pen pals. I think that it was quite interesting to talk with kids clear across the country and halfway across the world. I got to find out that they are very similar to me and that we sort of share the same interest. I feel that this is a good way to create ties across the earth in a friendly and safe environment.” On top of the regular online interactions via the TheatreLink website, eight schools currently employ video-conferencing as an added dimension to their work. One of the most dynamic aspects of the program, this exciting technology allows MTC’s teaching artists to “sit-in” on classes around the globe and give face-to-face advice and suggestions. “It helped us get more of a personal connection with our teaching artist. We didn’t have some unknown person give us their opinion, we were able to see her and see her immediate reactions… video-conferencing helped give us a personal connection we couldn’t have received through e-mail or message boards,” said a student from Orange High School in California.

In line with the mission of MTC’s Education Program, TheatreLink aims to help students gain a greater understanding of themselves and the world. Participants come away from the experience with a new sense of responsibility, an understanding of the importance of teamwork, and an awareness of the international community of which they are a part. A student from Greece comments “I learned that co-operation between people of different cultures is possible and, in fact, even successful, although there are many differences in the way of thought and the perception of life. Theater can be a way of global communication… for feelings are something we all know, no matter who we are or where we live.”

One student sums it up best - “In the end... THEATRELINK ROCKS!”

This year's TheatreLink program included 18 schools across the country and one school in Greece:

1. Cordova High School Cordova, TN 2. Ashland High School Ashland , OR 3. Robert Morgan Educational Center Miami, FL 4. Boulder Creek High School Anthem, AZ 5. Henderson County High School Henderson, KY 6. Laramie High School Laramie, WY 7. Manhattan Center for Science and Math New York, NY 8. Orange High School Orange, CA 9. Cesar Chavez High School Laveen, AZ 10. The Shannon Learning Center Haltom City, TX 11. Spotswood High School Spotswood, NJ 12. Springfield High School Springfield, OR 13. Henderson County High School Henderson, KY 14. Sweeny High School Sweeny, TX 15. University School of Nashville Nashville, TN 16. Loyola Academy Wilmette, IL 17. Mount Vernon High School Fortville, IN 18. Royal High School Brookshire, TX 19. Anatolia College Thessaloniki, Greece