Between You and Me
Between You and Me
PETE’s Between You and Me: A High School Devising Residency
In Between You and Me, students engage in an eight-week curriculum where they collaboratively create, design, and perform a new play based on their own unique perspective and experience. They are guided by a pair of teaching artists, then partnered with another school to help cultivate diversity of perspective. The two student populations are brought together throughout the 8 weeks to create performance together, respond to one another’s work, and engage in dialogue about the issues they are seeking to address in their performance work. In the final week of the program, both schools’ performances are shown, as a double feature, at each high school.
PETE’s Between You and Me high school devising project seeks to:
Foster dialogue and collaboration across difference
Engage creativity in problem solving
Use the power of narrative to reveal deep truths
Increase the expressive confidence and leadership skills of young people
Demonstrate tools for group collaboration
Cultivate a possibility mindset
Our core values:
Connect young artists with Portland area professionals working in theatre
In Between You and Me each high school is partnered with two teaching artists who work and perform in the Portland metro area. PETE artistic directors Cristi Miles and Jacob Coleman also lead group workshops for partnered high schools.
Representation matters
We prioritize employing BIPOC graduates of PETE’s training program. Representation is a core value in Between You and Me because we want the high school students we engage to see themselves in the professionals coming to their schools.
Bring arts education to regional high schools at no cost to the students or school
PETE is committed to fundraising that covers the cost of Between You and Me, allowing us to partner with as diverse a range of schools and students as possible.
Bridge racial, cultural and socio-economic divides in our region
Our core belief is that interacting and collaborating with people unlike ourselves creates a broadened understanding and experience of the world. Devised theatre is a container for collaboration that necessitates deep connection and dialogue.
If you are interested in knowing more about the program, or inquiring about bringing PETE artists to your school, please contact Jacob Coleman (jacob@petensemble.org)
Production History:
2022: McDaniel High and Woodburn High
For 8 weeks in fall of 2022, we partnered with McDaniel High (Portland) and Woodburn High (Woodburn) for Between You and Me. ICP facilitators in 2022 were Olivia Mathews + Sofia Marks at Woodburn High (in collaboration with their amazing theatre teacher Caleb Thurston), and Kelsea Ashenbrenner + Kai Hynes at McDaniel High (in concert with the fantastic theatre teacher Dr. Zena). Final performances took place November 4 at McDaniel High (at 4pm and 7pm), and November 5 at Woodburn (at 4pm and 7pm).
2019: Woodburn High
In the fall of 2019, PETE, ICP and teams of Woodburn High School student performers and designers are working together to create and perform a pair of new short plays. We hired recent graduates from the ICP program to guide the high schoolers in devising to explore different ways of viewing events in their lives. The result: The High School Devised Play Festival, November 1-2 and 8-9, at the Woodburn High School
This pilot project was made possible by Ellyn Bye, John Rothermitch & Shelley Turley, and The Blair Family Philanthropy Fund.
The pilot project was directed by Clifton Holznagel and Rebecca Miles, and coordinated by Cristi Miles.
