For Immediate Release: May 1, 2006
Media Contact: Amy Watson Bish, Delaware Theatre Company, 302.594.1104 x228

Drum roll please! There's an important change happening in one of the departments here at DTC this spring. What was formerly known as the Education Department is now the Department of Education and Community Engagement.

Since its foundation in 1978, Delaware Theatre Company has always included education as part of its mission. In an effort to reflect the theatre's appreciation for lifelong learning, which goes beyond the classroom, a decision was made to change the Department's name to echo these sentiments. In addition, Producing Director Anne Marie Cammarato says, "If you've been a part of this department's activities this season, you know that they do more than educate our audience about the plays we produce. They truly engage the community and develop our audience in new and creative ways. I hope you'll take advantage of the exciting work they do in the future."

The Department's many programs reach both student and adult audiences. Before several performances of each show, DTC Staff present Viewpoints, which invites audiences to explore the creative process and put the play in context. On the second Thursday evening performance of each show, DTC artists and actors host an informal discussion following the performance called Talkback. After a 2005 pilot program, this season DTC presented a series of three public forums entitled Connections: A Community Conversation (through the generous funding of the Delaware Humanities Forum) which sought to "connect" the selected plays to broader community and civic issues while giving the audience a deeper understanding of the plays and their relationship to the humanities. The department also presents a Back to School with DTC program each year to encourage educators and the general public to become engaged in the upcoming season.

Theatre in the Schools makes the thrill of live, professional theatre available to regional middle and high school students and their teachers through its Student Matinee Series. Delaware Young Playwrights Festival introduces middle and high school students to the art of playwriting and gives a few lucky students the once in a lifetime experience of having their play produced onstage with the help of theatre professionals at DTC. The Young Critics program invites motivated students to look deeper and uses DTC's productions as a whetstone to sharpen their critical thinking skills. Youth At Risk programs serve students with special needs, including children with cognitive disabilities (Totally Awesome Kids) and youth who are incarcerated (Arts Across the Curriculum at Ferris School for Boys). Throughout the year, theatre and acting classes and Summer on Stage camp engage children, teens, and adults in the art of theatre.

"Using theatre techniques, DTC has offered innovative programs for students since its foundation," says Director of Education and Community Engagement, Charles Conway. "We have decided that the time is right for us to make these unique resources available to the community at large."

You can find out more information on the Department of Education and Community Engagement's many programs at DTC's website www.delawaretheatre.org.

The following education and outreach programs are made possible with the help of our generous sponsors:

• Connections: A Community Conversation: Delaware Humanities Forum
• Student Matinees: DuPont, Delaware Division of the Arts
• Back to School with DTC: Delaware Division of the Arts, Delaware Humanities Forum
• Delaware Young Playwrights Festival: ING DIRECT, Delaware Division of the Arts
• Totally Awesome Kids: DFRC Inc., AstraZeneca
• Arts Across the Curriculum at Ferris School: Delaware Division of the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Citizens Bank, American Honda Finance
• Summer on Stage: Comcast Cable

Delaware Theatre Company's 2005-2006 season is sponsored by JPMorgan Chase . Corporate Artist transportation provided by Amtrak. This program is made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts , a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware. The Delaware Division of the Arts provides technical and financial assistance to artists and arts programs and serves as a clearinghouse for information on the arts.

Delaware Theatre Company, Delaware's premier professional theatre, is located at 200 Water Street, on Wilmington's exciting Riverfront. Delaware Theatre Company is a member of the League of Resident Theatres, Theatre Communications Group, the Arts Consortium of Delaware, the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, and the Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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