For Colleges, High Schools, Retreat Centers, and Community Groups

 What to Expect from a Man Question Workshop

In our workshops, we invite you to peek up the skirt of masculinity.  That can be a bit awkward.  With this in mind, we start the workshop by releasing the butterflies--the hopes and fears--that everyone feels about the question.  We then connect around power, which is a major axis of masculinity, using tools from artist and activist Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed.

What comes next depends on the unique group in which we are working. At Roanoke College, we led a public presentation, visited classes and student groups, and ended with a community celebration. With a group of men that came together to meet in Brooklyn, we focused on debates about how masculinity came to be and challenges in expressing emotions and finding closeness.  With a group of incarcerated men at a maximum security prison in Connecticut, we focused on similar questions but with more intense focus on power, and we also supported the group in developing seeds of scenes that they are now crafting into an original piece of theatre.  As we work, we alternate between action and discussion, spiraling towards an essential question and project that will unite and culminate the group's work.

Designed in dialogue

Together we design custom-tailored workshops for your organization.

In past workshops and residencies, we have addressed:

• Sexual assault, #metoo and masculinity

• Love and intimacy

• Freedom of expression in the arts

• Manhood historically expressed in literature and its implications

• Meanings of manhood in gay men’s communities

• Undoing gender binaries: fluid and trans explorations of masculinity

• Feminist me? Men’s roles in achieving gender equity

• Addressing internal and external homophobia.

• Exclusivity in different men’s groups (sports teams, Greek life, etc.)

• Incarceration and masculinity: racism and the school-to-prison pipeline

• Masculinity and the Black Lives Matter movement

Some workshops culminate with deep dialogue. Longer workshops may culminate in performance, to sharpen and articulate the discoveries and questions arising in the workshop. Some examples of theatrical culminations include:

• A ritual we perform together to close the workshop

• A piece in a community variety show

• A piece shared as a part of a broader community dialogue—for example, in 2014 we presented a piece in an evening about sexual violence for activists, artists, and care providers in Brooklyn.

• A piece performed at the New Masculinities Festival

For booking and inquiries

Selected Past Projects

Rhode Island College Presentation | September 2019
Delivered an interactive presentation for of Rhode Island College’s Welcome Week program. The audience was especially interested in sexuality, so we gave an impromptu “queer 101” and facilitated dialogue about LGBTQIA+ community on campus.

Roanoke College Residency | April 2018
All-campus evening presentation on the history and impact of the expectations of mainstream masculinity; visits with the lacrosse team, fraternity brothers, and the LGBTQ+ support group; five class visits; and the fabulous return of the Roanoke College Drag Ball.

Masculinity and #Metoo | April 2018
Public workshop in NYC for people of all genders, exploring the #metoo movement, masculinity, and the revolutionary potential of the moment. Covered by The Guardian.

Garner Correctional Institution | October 2011 to Summer 2017
Facilitate theater-based workshops for a group of inmates at a maximum security men’s prison in CT.

American Men's Studies Association Annual Conference Artist in Residence Project | March 2016
Collaborated with AMSA Artist-in-Residence Joan Lipkin to create an original play with conference participants.

Re:Gender Gala | March 2015
Spoke to invite men's participation in research and organizing for equity.

Exploring the Upward Spiral | April 2014
With the Applied Theatre Collective, devised an original piece of theatre addressing sexual violence.

The New Masculinities Festival  | June 2012 - Present
Our annual performance festival, produced at various venues in NYC (most recently at the LGBT Center for the past two years), inviting multidisciplinary artists to explore the impacts of the expectations of masculinity. Click here to learn more about the fest.

Easton Mountain | December 2012 to May 2017
Facilitated personal growth focused workshops at various retreats hosted at this LGBTQ retreat center in Upstate NY.

Rowan University | February 2013
Presented about past work and facilitated a workshop for students in a gender studies class.

Eastside Institute | June 2012
Session for human development professionals.