Education Programs Overview

Chance Theater is excited to announce the launching of our new Education Program. It is our belief that theater can help instill the skills (effective communicators, adaptable problem solvers, creative contributors)  that are necessary to create compassionate, innovative, and resilient individuals ready to connect and contribute to their communities.  In addition, we believe that theater can help expand the student’s world view, and give them insight on how they can help initiate thoughtful dialogue through their art.

Studies show that developing “21st Century Skills,” which include problem-solving, critical and creative thinking, dealing with ambiguity and complexity, integration of multiple skill sets, and the ability to perform cross-disciplinary tasks, is in decline due to the loss of many arts programs in schools. By teaching these skills to our students, they will personally benefit and, ultimately, our community will benefit ten-fold as they mature and join the workforce with these skills.

CHANCE PROGRAMS

• Classes for Teens and Youth
• Speak Up – Take a ‘Chance’ summer program
• Youth Theater Collective
• Theater for Young Audiences

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Meet the Instructors

Darryl Hovis is an actor, director, and designer, and is the Education Director at Chance Theater.  He earned his MA in Theatre Production at Central Washington University and studied acting at the Professional Conservatory at UCSD under Anna Shapiro (Steppenwolf) as well as South Coast Repertory under Karen Hensel.  He is the co-founder and artistic director of the Culver City Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, where he developed an intensive arts program for high school students in theatre, film, music, and art, and has gone on to develop theatre programs at other Southern California high schools, as well as Theatre International at Leysin American School in Leysin, Switzerland. He has directed a multitude of productions, some of his favorites being Therese Raquin (Chance Theater), Rent and The Threepenny Opera (Samohi Theatre), Machinal and Resurrecting Antigone (UniTheatre), and The Miracle Worker and Treehouses (AVPA).  He dedicates his work to God and to his wife, Angela, and three children, Dylan, Andrew, and Julia.

Karen O’Hanlon, a Philadelphia area native, is delighted to be a resident artist at Chance Theater. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from East Stroudsburg University and has worked as a teaching artist, actress, and director throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware. At the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, she spent several years teaching and directing for the First Stage program, as well as their in-school residency program. Karen was the regional director for Creative Theatre, where she worked to bring after-school and summer camps to children throughout the east coast. In addition, she has worked with several outreach programs designed to help at-risk youths and teens find their voice through creative expression. In California, Karen taught Theatre at Fairmont Private School, where she produced student-driven new work. Karen is also a coach and judge for the Orange County middle school debate program.