Voices in the Crowd is an audience participation storytelling performance in which audience members tell personal stories and the Montclair State actors perform, or “play back” aspects of the stories.  Voices in the Crowd performances promote a more cohesive and collaborative community within the classroom, encourage listening skills, build empathy, discourage bullying, and provide the opportunity for teen’s stories to be heard and validated by their classmates and college performers.  The performances are based in Playback Theatre techniques, an improvisational and therapeutic form of theater, founded by Jo Salas and Jonathon Fox in 1975 and currently practiced in over sixty countries across the world.  While these performances can be centered around various topics, the current theme of “acceptance” asks students to think about times they have felt accepted or not felt accepted by others and turn their attention to ways they have acted in an accepting and non-accepting manner.

• This show is best suited for grades 9-12 (we may make exceptions for middle school students)
• Up to 40 students. This is also dependent on the size of the space, age of students and where the performance is being held. The performance is roughly 60 minutes long.
• The show is rehearsed to be performed in a playing area that is about 20' by 12' (In addition, there needs to be space for the audience.)
• We ask for no sound interruptions for the duration of the performance unless it is requested by the performers.
• We need access to the space 30 minutes prior to the performance start time for setup and 30 min after for breakdown. 
• Please note that our tour will be able to travel to schools no more than 45 minutes away from Montclair State University.