With the California Arts Council’s generous support, Handful Players will conduct free performing arts summer programs for children from under-resourced San Francisco communities, culminating in original multidisciplinary performances by the youth at community showcases. Our enrichment programs will include theater, spoken word, dance, and puppetry workshops led by accomplished artists.
Handful Players offers free, inclusive year-round performing arts enrichment programs of sufficient frequency for youth from under-resourced communities at multiple sites of community partner organizations and public schools in San Francisco. Programs include: 1) creative workshops to expose and engage youth with a spectrum of artistic disciplines (acting, dance, song, puppetry, rap, clowning, spoken word, costume, set design) taught by experienced, diverse teaching artists, reflecting the demographics of the students; 2) original plays written by celebrated playwrights in collaboration with students, school principals and community partners with themes linked to learning and social justice issues and the community’s rich cultural history; 3) enriching performances by students at school and community venues; and 4) a distinctive opportunity for students and their families to attend professional theater, some for the first time, exposing them to richly diverse culture that would be inaccessible otherwise.

