Roadside’s Community Residency Methodology

Roadside’s community-strengthening residencies begin with public performances of plays selected from Roadside’s repertoire, complemented by workshops that explore Roadside’s history, purpose, and artistic process.

In the second phase of a multi-year residency, the community, with Roadside’s help, begins to uncover its own stories and music through a specific story and music collecting process (story circles). This second phase culminates with public performances by the community of its stories and music – often in conjunction with big potluck suppers or community cook-outs.

In the third phase of a residency, a community’s stories and music form the natural resource to craft plays, which are produced by a community’s artists for the public.

The final phase of the residency formally acknowledges the local project leaders and artists, seeks to identify infrastructure and resources to establish a place for their work in their community, and introduces their work to other theaters and presenters in the national arts community.