Samantha Thomas
St. Louis, Missouri
Samantha Thomas, Actor, Staging Old Masters/ Staging Reflections of the Buddha, moved to St. Louis from Germany seven years ago at the age of 20. Thomas is an alumni from Staging Old Masters, which she participated in early in her recovery process. The program greatly influenced her patterns of thinking and life as a whole. Thomas is a frequent star on the Dean’s List, as she works towards her social work degree in order to become a drug treatment counselor.
Presentation(s):
Staging Innovation: Uniting Theatre Arts and Social Work in a Museum Setting
Day 2 / Apr, 13 @ 4:15 pm
Lower Level : Room A
For five months the Pulitzer has partnered with Prison Performing Arts, St. Patrick Center, and Employment connection to present Staging Reflections of the Buddha, a community project inspired by our highly successful Staging Old Masters project of 2009. The project unites theater, visual arts, and social work to build connections between the art and all audiences while transforming lives and fostering connections between communities.
The program works with a group of former prisoners and homeless veterans training them to become actors through weekly workshops that also include art exploration and instruction, theatre exercises, meditation, and rehearsals. Concurrently, the actors work with St. Patrick Center and Employment Connection to apply their art experiences toward achieving their goals, which include but are not limited to, obtaining housing and employment and re-integrating into society. The workshops culminate in performances of an original work created by the actors.
After two successful Staging programs, the question is what happens next? Can we replicate the program again, and if so, in what capacity? Can the program be exported to another museum or arts institution? Can the program develop into an organization on its own?
