What is ITSC?
The Institute for Theatre & Social Change (ITSC) provides a research and development forum for expressive and interactive dramatic art practices, relative to education, therapy, and social justice, that disrupts oppression and engages communities in meaningful dialogue for social change. The interdisciplinary collaboration of dramatic arts, fine arts, and media offers a powerful creative weapon for artists, academics, healers, activists, and community organizers to ignite critical cultural dialogue.
The ITSC has ongoing collaborations with other arts schools and disciplines devoted to social change to host prominent rigorous interdisciplinary and intersectional conversations on campus. The ITSC also hosts biennial conferences with international practitioners and scholars in the field, produces critical papers exploring the efficacy and trends of this work, and provides training and networking opportunities for local, national, and international organizations dedicated to the expressive arts and social change.
Why is an Institute needed?
The institute provides a framework for best practices, extensive research, and meaningful dialogue to further this field globally. In a world where the few control the culture of the many, the ITSC offers a truly democratic alternative environment to read, reflect, rewrite, and implement a new culture, one that is driven by and for the majority. As poet Toni Cade Bambara said: “Art makes the revolution irresistible.”
