Theater Arts Workshop teaches ongoing after school theater classes, serving children from the Bolinas/Stinson community in conjunction with the Bolinas Stinson School after school program. Classes meet weekly at the Bolinas Community Center and focus on an exploration of theater arts including theater and improvisation games, acting, movement, dance, voice and speech.  It also includes the rehearsal to performance process culminating in a full play or musical performed for an audience on the Bolinas Community Center stage. 

Theater training for children helps build self-esteem, self-confidence, respect for others, and self-evaluation, through theater games, the rehearsal process, and performing in front of a live audience. Theater arts teach children to trust their ideas and find their creative voices as well as helping them to become socially aware and community minded.  Theater and improvisation games inspire creativity, experimentation, and problem solving through cooperation and collaboration. We also bring in local specialists and artists who work with the children on music, dance, aerial arts, and the technical side of theater production including lights, sound, production design, and hair and makeup.

Live theater also benefits the community at large in many ways beyond just entertainment value: it brings the community together for a shared experience and helps us empathize with and understand each other’s stories and perspectives.