The Theatrical Improvisation Circle gives you a great reason to get up Saturday mornings from 10:00 AM to Noon on May 4, 11, 18 and 25th.* Working with professional actor and theater coach Clark Jackson, participants will make discoveries about themselves and each other through playful give and take in a safe space for taking risks and being vulnerable. Sessions begin with community-building activities followed by exercises to build trust, enhance listening/observation skills, and connect with making physical choices as a basis for creating theatre. These sessions will also explore the acting basics of actions, obstacles and objectives through scene work and structured improvisation.

* May 25th is a holiday weekend, so the last session may move to Saturday June 1.

Conversations on Race: Disinformation & the Fight for Racial Equity

Dr. Kelly Harris, sr. staff director at University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Africana Studies, will explore the threats of disinformation and its historical roots in perpetuating racial stereotypes and dismantling progress in equity and inclusion. Join us for this community conversation to gain understanding and to develop collective action steps against the harmful effects of intentionally misleading, racially charged propaganda at this critical moment in public affairs. Read more here about the event and for resources about disinformation.

Join our June Art Circle with teaching artist Roberta Melzl to create a multi-unit, colorful installation on Springfield Avenue. Assist in the planning and creation of this public art project from concept to installation. The concrete planters in front of Hilton Library will be enveloped with painted wraps, lining the walkway in this highly trafficked area. Work collaboratively and build friendships with other neighbors. Mural Circles meet every Monday starting June 3rd and continue through June 24th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM to Prospect Presbyterian Church, 646 Prospect St. in Maplewood NJ.  Sessions are free and space is limited.  

If you love a good drama, this circle is for you! In two sessions, participants are introduced to operas centered around the lives of marginalized people. Concert-performing artist and music educator Lori Mirabal will instruct participants on the basics of opera and how music amplifies storytelling. For the second session, students will receive priority seating at the screening of the award-winning documentary Gabriel’s Daughter about Black slave, Clara Brown who became one of the wealthiest women in Colorado in the 1800s, and her search for her daughter who was sold into slavery. The screening is .on Juneteenth, June 19^th, at SOPAC Cinema in South Orange.

This award-winning historic documentary uses narration and opera to tell the story of real-life pioneer, Clara Brown, an African American pioneer, and freed slave who became a community leader and entrepreneur in Colorado and launched a relentless search for her daughter who was sold away as a child. Lead performer/co-producer Lori Mirabal and co-producer Sharon Shepard-Levine are both SOMA residents, and they will hold a Q&A with attendees in the theater following the screening. Register here to attend.