Hippodrome Improvisational Teen Theatre
Alachua County
Author,
Kate Reid’s, explanation “acting is not being emotional, but
being able to express emotion,” is an example of one of the foundational
principles of the Hippodrome Improvisational Teen Theatre (HITT) project
of Gainesville, FL. Housed within North Florida’s only professional
regional theater, the Hippodrome State Theater, the HITT project team believes
that if one can teach a teenager to constructively express emotion concerning
major life issues, that teenager will experience an enhanced life. When
the HITT project started in 1984, the major goal was to give at-risk youth
a chance to gain exposure to alternative ways to view major life issues.
HITT also sought to serve the community’s youth as a creative outlet
for their own expression.
Sociologically
based, HITT was founded on the belief that through the act of creating,
youth can experience an “enlargement of the human condition, a self-balancing
and increased self-understanding.” Through workshops, performances
and service learning outreach, HITT promotes self-expression, conflict
mediation and team cooperation. The HITT participants create dramatic scenes
that explore such life issues as self-esteem, alcohol and substance abuse,
teen pregnancy, violence, delinquency and HIV/AIDS. The participants then
conduct discussions along with the theater specialists about the issues
explored. At the end of the session, participants go on tour as peer educators.
The youth then teach acting techniques to other students, perform skits
concerning major life issues and conduct a round-table discussion based
on the issues presented. A psychologist tours with the HITT team to participate
in the discussion part of the sessions. He or she is able to provide referrals
as a result of information disclosed during the discussions.
Having served over 30,000 teens, HITT works with many students from alternative programs who are highly at-risk. The HITT project team, along with English teachers, select students to participate. The students receive classroom credit for participating in HITT. As a result of being a part of HITT, a student can also expect “to gain self-esteem, establish positive influences, have opportunities to deliver strong messages, experience goal setting and planning, become empowered to make better decisions and live better lives.” Florida Learn and Serve has supported the HITT project for nearly ten years. Joe Follman, Director of Florida Learn & Serve, notes that HITT is very empowering for students; “It has them practice behaviors they need to learn through teaching their peers – it is true service learning.” Having been recognized as one of the best prevention and intervention programs for teens in the nation, the HITT project has performed and participated in several conferences at local, regional and national levels. The HITT project team has also created manuals for setting up improvisational teen theater and helped others to set up their own projects. For more information, please contact the Educational Director at (352)373-5968.
