Free-Range Drama Farm

And now, for the next installment in our Idea Distillation Series: In 2 or 3 paragraphs, give an overview of the program, with detail about the philosophy behind it and benefits of it.

Turns out the 2-3 sentences from Step Two were a great opening paragraph for this section - so it looks like this exercise is working after all. They gave me a good overview of what we’re doing, and then I just had to write a few more paragraphs about the philosophy and benefits of the program. Here’s what I came up with:

The Free-Range Drama Farm is a non-profit organization that allows young theatre professionals to create and produce their own professional production, without the constraints of a typical academic environment. This free program provides students with all the resources they need, including a staff of theatre professionals to advise them, and allows them to adapt their experience to their own needs and interests. The students receive a taste of real-world theatre experience, while continuing to learn through collaboration with their peers and mentors.

The Drama Farm philosophy is based on the idea that students deserve a chance to practice their skills and refine their craft in the same type of environment they will experience when they begin their professional careers. At the same time, we recognize that theatre professionals are always learning, and we aim to provide the resources they need to acquire knowledge through their work. Our staff will create a nurturing environment in which to work and learn, while encouraging our students to continually challenge themselves and find creative solutions to their problems.

Every student is different. Our ideal program will be intimate and flexible enough to adapt to the needs and interests of each individual student. Some students will benefit from being given the freedom to make their own decisions and seek the knowledge they lack; others will benefit from the experience of leading and participating in a collaborative production; others still will learn what life is like for a working theatre professional – an experience very different from that of an undergraduate student. Our goal is to provide our students with mentors and resources that can adapt to their particular needs, giving each student the best, most constructive experience we possibly can.

This is just a first pass, and obviously will need a little refinement, but I think it expresses why we’re doing it, and what the really important values of the Drama Farm are - what we believe and what we want the students to get out of it.

What do you think?