About Us
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Our Vision and Our Mission
Arts are for everyone, and everyone learns through the arts!
InterAct Story Theatre is a theatre for young audiences and multidisciplinary arts-in-education organization based in Wheaton, Maryland, an urban district just outside of Washington, DC.
Our mission is to create meaningful, accessible, interactive theatre and arts learning experiences for kids and the people who love them--especially to those who experience economic, social, or geographic barriers to equitable arts access. We believe that every kid, every grown-up, everywhere deserves great theatre, whether or not you can get to a theatre building. We believe that everyone, everywhere can learn and grow through artistic creation and exploration. And we believe that the arts help foster communication and understanding in our communities, because the arts help us express our ideas, our hopes, our emotions and our experiences when words alone are not enough.
We create and produce original theatre for young audiences (professional artists performing for children, youth, families, and communities); present arts programming in our local community; and design and implement innovative, engaging, effective theatre and arts-based educational programs for all ages and stages. In our educational work, we are dedicated to providing quality performances, arts-infused workshops and artist-in-residency programs for students, teachers and families throughout our region and across the country. As experts in arts education and arts integration, InterAct is committed to producing arts programs with artistic integrity and direct relevance to the educational objectives of the schools and community organizations we serve. Our merry band of performers and teaching artists weave their artistry in theatre and drama, music, dance, creative opera and filmmaking with content curricula for students and teachers of all ages.
InterAct Story Theatre creates performances and arts learning opportunities for all ages in:
Drama and Theatre
Applied Theatre
Playwriting and Devising
Improv for Actors
Music
Creative Opera
Dance
Creative Movement
Media Arts and Technology
Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Arts
Our Core Values
Humans treating Humans like Humans
Our work at InterAct Story Theatre—on stage, in the community, in the classroom, and behind the scenes, are driven by these core values:
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Arts are for everyone, and everyone learns through the arts
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People above things
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Be open, be transparent, be inclusive
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Compassion and respect above all
Diversity ✴︎ Equity ✴︎ Inclusion ✴︎ Accessibility
We are a proud member of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, and strongly align with AATE's Equity and Inclusion Statement: We believe in equity, justice, and inclusion for all. We believe our work is stronger by the many voices, perspectives, and experiences we bring to the organization and the field. We will actively welcome and include all people regardless of race, socioeconomic class, color, national origin, religion, diverse perspectives, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, neurological or physical ability, veteran status, legal status, or education level.
As a company dedicated to creating arts and arts learning opportunities for all and motivated by the belief that Arts are for everyone and everyone learns through the arts, the goals of DEIA are near and dear to our hearts. We have been actively implementing our DEIA action plan, which we consider to be a living, evolving part of our mission. We are inspired by the work and transparency of so many in our field.
Goal 1: By July 2023, InterAct Story Theatre will develop, produce, and publish a clear, transparent, and consistent set of equity primes for all functional areas that articulate our DEIA-driven mission, vision, and values in a concrete way to internal and external stakeholders.
Goal 2: By June 2023, InterAct Story Theatre will advance racial equity in the workplace and all areas of operations by creating equitable, sustainable artistic, instructional, and operational opportunities, with systems of accountability and assessment.
Goal 3: By June 2024, all public programs produced and presented by InterAct Story Theatre in Montgomery County and Prince George's County will offer participants the opportunity, welcome, and resources to engage meaningfully in the arts experience in either Spanish or English.
Goal 4: By June 2024, 90% of all public programs produced and presented by InterAct Story Theatre in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties will offer fully accessible opportunities for arts participation for persons with disabilities.
Goal 5: By June 2023, InterAct Story Theatre will create explicitly supportive and brave spaces for LGBTQ+ students, parents, artists, staff, and volunteers in all areas of programming and operations, and will implement specific training and accountability protocols for company members in creating supportive and brave spaces for LGBTQ+ students, parents, artists, staff, and volunteers.
