Arden for All
With your support, every child can experience the joy of live theatre.
Arden for All in the Classroom
Arden for All (AFA) is the Arden’s in-school arts education residency program. AFA serves third through fifth grade classrooms in schools across the Philadelphia region, targeting student populations who have little to no arts education and would otherwise not be able to attend a live theatre performance. AFA offers in-classroom lessons taught by Arden Teaching Artists in partner classrooms built around state Core Curriculum and the themes of Arden Children’s Theatre, as well as tickets to two Arden Children’s Theatre productions followed by onsite lessons.
AFA is based on the belief that arts-inspired education should be equally available to children from all socioeconomic backgrounds, and is designed to encourage literacy, inspire creativity and confidence, and allow students to discover their unique strengths and abilities.
In the 2023/24 school year, we successfully delivered our AFA Residency to 1,683 students across 11 schools. We also expanded our AFA Stage initiative, providing free theatre tickets to 2,056 students from underserved schools and community organizations.
Through Arden for All, each year participating students receive:
- 10 Literacy-based lessons led by professional teaching artists: 8 in-classroom and 2 onsite at the Arden
- Tickets to 2 Children’s Theatre productions followed by Q&A sessions with the actors
- 2 show-related books and lesson workbooks for every students
- Bus transportation
- Supplementary curricula connecting the themes of the play to other subjects
- Social narratives that prepare students for their theatregoing experience at the Arden
Our Lessons
- AFA is the only theatre-access program in Philadelphia that directly connects onstage work to classic pieces of Children’s Literature, with lessons developed in conjunction with sate Core Curriculum standards.
- We teach literacy concepts such as: setting, character, plot, and dialogue by encouraging students to create their own adaptations of these stories through utilizing the actor’s toolkit: their bodies, voices, and imaginations.
- Students learn career positions on and off stage that are necessary to create a play, as well as the basics of all theatrical design elements: scenic, costumes, lighting, and sound.
As a direct result of AFA, after three consecutive years of program participation, students will have:
Lessons
Students will have received 30 high-quality theatre lessons led by Arden Teaching Artists
Live Theatre
Students will have seen six Arden Children’s Theatre productions and received six show-related books
Skills
Students will have displayed growth in literacy skills, theatre knowledge and skills, and teamwork skills
“The students love the lessons and the play was terrific. I see all my students engaged with the lessons. They still ask to play Barnyard Talk Show. Many of them would never have the opportunity to see a play without this program.”
Support for Arden for All
Your gift will help provide arts-inspired education to children throughout Philadelphia!
EITC
Arden for All is approved for Pennsylvania’s Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program! Ask us about how you or your company can benefit from this exciting tax credit. Contact Jessica Abel at 215.922.8900 x 149 or jabel@ardentheatre.org.