Volunteer

Adventure Stage Chicago is currently seeking volunteer artists and teaching artists for our upcoming Mentorship Program. If you are interested in working with us as a volunteer mentor, please read about the program below and submit an application.

Mentorship Program Overview:

Adventure Stage Chicago is part of the Northwestern University Settlement House, a social service organization that serves neighbors in the West Town community. Northwestern Settlement's mission is to nurture, educate and inspire children and families in need to take personal responsibility and attain self-sufficiency. In addition to a well-respected Head Start program, there are a number of after-school and summer programs already in place within Northwestern Settlement to address the needs of young people. However, once those children reach the age of 12, they age out of those programs and currently have no further options for involvement.

Beginning July 2012, ASC will be embarking on a new Mentorship Program that will work with select youth (ages 12-15) who have been associated with Northwestern Settlement, but have aged out of current programming. We are currently looking for artists and teaching artists who would be interested in working with these young people for about four hours a week. Each volunteer mentor will be paired with one young person. Meetings will be structured and led by ASC ensemble member and teaching artist Sarah Rose Graber. She is currently developing a curriculum that will use theater to build confidence, encourage collaboration and develop interpersonal skills among participants.

These mentorship pairs will also collect stories from people throughout the West Town neighborhood who have agreed to share their experiences. Professional playwright Sandy Asher will be working with the group through several workshops and compiling stories collected into a show about the Northwestern Settlement and its community. It will be performed with the program's young participants late Spring of 2013.

Ideally, ASC is looking for mentor volunteers who can be involved with the project beginning the second week of July and continuing through the following school year. The time commitment will be approximately four hours a week. This summer the group will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30pm-6:30pm starting July10th and running through August. Once the school year begins, the group will determine when they will continue to meet during after-school hours. Meetings will take place at Adventure Stage Chicago's Vittum Theater (1012 N. Noble, Chicago, IL).

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer mentor, please fill out an application and return it by email along with any questions and concerns to Associate Artistic Director Allison Latta Lashford at allison@adventurestage.org.