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Orientation 101: Beyond the Books!
We are already scheduling shows for the fall!
Call 773-303-0070 with any questions or to book a show! |
The transition into college can be both exciting and strange! Students are leaving home for the first time and are faced with a variety of new challenges. (Academic life can be difficult, but the social climate can be even trickier!) Our goal is to make things easier and safer for freshmen who suddenly feel like they don’t know up from down. By putting ourselves in their shoes, we’ve designed an interactive workshop lead by trained facilitators that not only inspires dialogue, but gives students a chance to step into some tough situations for a moment, to practice new strategies on stage, and have fun while developing self confidence. As the college year begins, and they are called to make decisions about roommates, money, dating, parties, the future… students who participated in College Orientation 101 will be better equipped to handle these challenges with ease.
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Where do we perform?
Since its premier in 2004, College Orientation 101: Beyond The Books has been performed at Colleges and Universities in Illinois, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. We’d love to add your state to our tour this year! Some of our previous clients include…
University of Illinois Springfield
University of Pittsburgh at Greenburg
Central Connecticut State University
St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA
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How does the show work?
College Orientation 101… is comprised of dramatic scenarios (both scripted and improvised), facilitated dialogue, and lots of audience participation. At the top of every show we bring several audience members onto the stage to voice their concerns about college through a fun (and often hilarious) warm-up game called Conduct-A-Gripe. This gets everyone laughing, comfortable, and ready to dive right into some scene-work. Imagination Theater actors present 7 dramatic scenarios, and at a moment of climax in each scene, the facilitator freezes the action and guides the student audience in a discussion: What are they are seeing on stage? What are the issues involved? What are some possible solutions? We then invite an audience member to replace one of our actors and finish the scene using their ideas to resolve the issue.
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Topics we explore:
Adjusting to a Roommate
Diversity Awareness
Planning Ahead
Managing $$$
Self Esteem
Date Rape
“Hooking Up”
Balancing Work & Fun
Substance Abuse
Plagiarism
Show length: 90 minutes (flexible)
We can perform up to 4 shows in a day!
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Scene Breakdown:
Imagine a freshman girl's disappointment when she arrives at her dorm room only to find that her New Roommate has completely taken over the room—storage spaces, decorations and all! How can she express herself without jeopardizing the relationship?
Two guys—one from the "big city," another from a tiny rural town—have been assigned as roommates. The expectations both of these students have for one another only lead to disappointment as they meet face to face… How do we embrace Diversity, get past stereotypes and accept a person for who he really is?
Some students seem to be on top of it—they know which courses to take, how many hours they can realistically fit in, and what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Other students don't seem to have a clue…What resources from the college can students tap into to help them Plan Ahead For Success? Why is it important not to wait until the last minute to sign up for your classes? Which courses will truly help you in the future?
He Loves to Party. Seven days a week. Anytime of the day. Anytime of the night. Classes? No problem! He has friends that help him… This scene takes a look at issues surrounding underage drinking, enabling friends, and Plagiarism.
Credit card companies just love college students, and college students just love credit cards; after all, being able to buy anything you want is a pretty good feeling. This scene not only explores credit card scams and high interest rates, but encourages students to Manage Money effectively, and avoid getting into debt!
“Hooking Up” is a growing epidemic on college campuses. This scene gives insight into a decision between two friends: "We don't have to make a commitment to each other. Let’s just hook up every once in awhile. Why deal with all of the messy stuff when we can just have sex?" Sounds like a good idea at first... Imagination Theater explores the consequences of hooking up, from emotional issues to STDs and pregnancy.
Self-esteem effects the decisions we make in our lives. This scene portrays an intimidated young girl "experimenting" with alcohol and drugs. She finds herself staying late at a party and ends up in a dangerous situation because she’s “too wasted to go home”. How could she have kept herself safe from Date Rape? Is it her fault? What should she do now? Should she tell? What consequences will the guy face? Just a few of theimportant issues addressed here...
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We Customize!
Have a topic in mind, but you don’t see it on our list of scenes? Is your school facing a specific issue? No problem. We are happy to customize any show to address your specific concerns. Just ask.
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Need a testimonial?
Jim Korte at University of Illinois at Springfield was so pleased with our show, he wrote us this letter:
Office of the Dean of Students, SLB 22
Division of Student Affairs
One University Plaza, MS SLB 22
Springfield, IL 62794-5407
Steve,
I wanted to take a moment thank you and the “Troupe” at Imagination Theater for the wonderful work you have done with our students at orientation over the past four years. While some of the performers may have changed over the years, the energy, enthusiasm and quality of your presentations have never wavered. The Imagination Theater presentation is always one of our most highly rated sessions on the student’s evaluations.
Perhaps the best testimonial I can give came from our student attendees following IT’s first performance at UIS. Like many orientation directors, orientation had been an “add on” to my many other responsibilities. While looking for a creative way to address personal adjustment issues, I had more or less stumbled across Imagination Theater’s website. That first “booking” was based on faith!
In spite of your many assurances, I remained a bit nervous about the presentation and how it would be received by the students—after all this was a presentation dealing with some tricky issues ranging from alcohol to roommate awareness to date rape. I became even more nervous when, after beating the bushes to make certain the students actually attended this mandatory program, I was called away from the residence hall right as the presentation began. As I scurried back, knowing that our allotted time had elapsed, I was greeted by three of our new students yelling at me across the parking lot, “That was great!” Believe it or not, as I got closer, they even thanked me for making them attend.
I can’t imagine anyone else doing for us what Imagination Theater does. The interaction and direct involvement of the students in your performances, the insightful dialogue and interaction with our students, your willingness to customize the program to meet our needs, and certainly the enthusiasm of the performers all make Imagination Theater one of a kind.
Thanks again. I’m looking forward to having you at UIS again this fall.
—James C. Korte
Assistant Dean of Students
University of Illinois at Springfield
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