Our Orphan Train: Devising and Communicating History Through Theatre

This is a collaborative theatre research project exploring best practices of devising new works of historical theatre with social activism at its core. We discuss how we have created a team-based ‘company’ approach to theatre-inquiry. Our research question is: How the history of the Orphan Train Movement, 1853-1929, might best be dramatized, performed, and presented in order to educate the general public about this hidden piece of American history. We based our current research on our pilot project, Orphan Train Spring 2016), which required us to work as a theatre company and learn research already published on the topic. We were charged with crafting an original and collaborative theatre piece focusing on the social issues and lived experience of the Orphan Train Movement. This work-in-progress was presented to the public in April 2016. We built on this foundation and used the outcomes from the project (nascent script, radio interview on Lake Effect, post-show discussions and lectures, dramaturgical and historical research from archives and other primary and secondary sources, and music pertaining to Orphan Train history) to pursue new research on the subject. In the Fall 2016 we developed and implemented workshops that engage new learners in both the history and the craft of devising new work. We have strengthened our collaborative by sharing leadership roles, working as a supportive team, and finding ways to explore new ideas while developing a shared vision. In February we began new archive research and are in the midst of rewriting and expanding the Pilot script. Our presentation will briefly present the workshop content, engagement with archival materials, and examples from the evolving script. We will also review lessons learned, processes that support our collaborative, audience feedback, and what we view our next steps to be